Fort Hood Dragway (Killeen)

Drag racing at Fort Hood started on November 27, 1960, at the railhead near Pritchard Stadium. The Fort Hood Sports Car Club sponsored it and ran it under NHRA rules, and more than 2,000 spectators watched 72 cars. The next event, on December 18, was opened to cars, motorcycles and karts as well as sports cars, and again drew over 2,000 people, this time with 85 entries. Bill White of Temple ran 12.1 seconds in his B dragster. The base allowed monthly races, and free admission helped keep crowds big. On July 9, 1961, 1,500 fans saw Johnny Bott break the strip record with 14.00 seconds in his 1932 Ford A/A. At a September 1961 race with trophies for class and eliminator winners, Karl Piehl lowered the record from 13.01 to 12.99 seconds in Jim Kirk’s C/G 1940 Ford.

In the early 1970s races ran on a runway of Robert Gray Army Airfield at West Fort Hood. News reports called it Fort Hood Raceway, Fort Hood Dragway or Fort Hood Drag Strip. One racer remembered that during the Vietnam years the base closed off a runway, set up a tree and concessions, and held drags every Sunday. The runway was several miles long, and everyone joked about having plenty of shutdown room. In 1974 admission was $3, and the entrance was off Reese Creek Road. Competition eliminator was added starting Sunday, February 17, 1974. On October 6, 1974, racing moved to Railhead Drive for a night race at the Fort Hood Railhead. That first meet at the new strip drew the season’s biggest crowd, with entries from as far away as Greeley, Colorado, and the strip was praised for its traction. NHRA-sanctioned racing ran on the Longhorn Airfield strip through at least 1990. Nothing has been found after that.