Lee County Drag Strip (Opelika)

Very little has been found about this strip. It’s thought to have been about eight miles northeast of Opelika, just north of where Lee County Roads 262 and 263 meet. One old-timer said it was a little before his time, but his auto shop teacher ran a Thunderbolt there called the “War Eagle.” Super Stock match races were the track’s staple, and gassers drew crowds too. On September 11, 1966, Ellis Milner of Albany, Georgia, was the big winner in “The Golden Rule,” his ‘66 Chevy with an H26 Dodge engine. The next week Milner met Emmett “Rattlesnake” Austin’s fuel-injected 427 Fairlane, “The Little Rattler,” in a match race. On October 9, 1966, Billy “Big Deal” Jacobs headlined in “The Kid Goat,” a fuel-injected 426 Dodge Dart, against Ben Daniels in “The Rebel,” a fuel-injected 427 Chevelle. Other Super Stock racers there included Harold Dutton, Donnie Brewer, George Warren, Fireball Laster, Don Nicholson, J. C. Sizemore, Adell Penson, Mike Smith, Floyd Huckabee, Jesse Childers and James Kirk. Newspaper articles cover 1966 through 1968, though races were probably held before and after.