Eastex Dragway (Porter)

Write-ups usually tied it to Porter, but the strip was actually in what is now Kingwood, near Kingwood Manor Elementary School. It ran through today’s subdivision east of the school, with the starting line right up against the railroad tracks to the west that parallel Highway 494. Newspapers say very little about it. Bill Sanford was one of the original owners. The spectator stands were on the right side. A racer from the 1970s remembered loving the track, full of pine trees and barbecue pits. Another recalled a scary dip at the top end on the tower side and a return road full of potholes and chicken bones. A third said the return road ran so close to the crowd that some spectators let you know about it if you lost and cost them a bet. On April 30, 1983, during what was billed as a national drag race for bikers, a fight broke out between the Bandidos and Banshees motorcycle gangs, and John Bachelor of Houston was shot dead.