Interstate 20 Raceway/Tyler Dragways

This strip was eight miles northeast of Tyler on State Highway 155 in Owentown, near Interstate 20, which gave it its first name, Interstate 20 Raceway, when it opened in September 1961. Within months it was renamed Tyler Dragways, though people still called it I-20 Dragway. The opener was set for September 10, 1961, with Art Malone, Vance Hunt, Bobby Langley and the Mayhew Dyer Special A/FD on the bill. Hunt set the track record of 8.31 seconds at 187 MPH. He was supposed to race Don Garlits on January 14, 1962, for the number one national top fuel ranking, but rain pushed the race back a week. E. J. “Parachute” Potter was the feature on March 18, 1962. In April 1962 the name changed to Tyler Speedways, and later back to Interstate 20 Raceway. The NHRA-sanctioned track raced on the second and fourth Sundays, and an ad for the Sunday, April 29, 1962, race told fans to go to church first. The April 1969 Hot Rod listed it as an NHRA track, with Harold Wilder as manager. The track’s one fatality was L. W. “Dubby” Erwin in 1965. Ken Hall ran the strip from 1982 to 1984, but when it closed is unknown.