Horizon Drag Strip (Horizon City)

The Horizon Speedway oval was built about two miles due east of the Horizon Country Club, seven miles east of the El Paso city limits, on what is now Amsterdam Avenue next to Horizon High School. In 1965 the County Commission heard from two groups that wanted to build a drag strip if the county could rent them land. County leaders were open to it as a way to cut down on street racing. When those plans fell through, Horizon City Raceway, Inc. looked at leasing land from the Public Service Board. Whatever was arranged, the Horizon City Speedway Association filed incorporation papers on May 9, 1967. The 3/8-mile oval opened for practice on May 7, 1967, and for racing a few weeks later.

Work on the drag strip, just east of the oval, began in May 1968. Chuck Leckbee was owner and general manager. The strip was due to open July 21, 1968, under AHRA sanction, and the plans called for a big facility with seating for 6,000 and a two-story timing tower. Newspapers covered the oval in detail, but no opening date or publicity for the drag strip has been found. Andrew “JR” Gomolak worked at the strip.