Meander Dragway/Youngstown Drag City

The May 1963 Hot Rod said this strip was under construction and should open that month, but it more likely opened in 1964, and an ad from mid-June 1965 called Ohio’s Drag City new and now open, which could mean 1965. It reportedly couldn’t get NHRA sanction because its shutdown was too short. On September 19, 1965, the Professional Drag Racers Association held the A/FX Nationals there, with ads calling the track newly paved. In May 1968 Pat McKeever won a seven-foot trophy in the 250cc class at the track’s first professional motorcycle drags. On June 1, 1969, William Davis, 52, of Sebring, Ohio, was killed when a tire blew and his car rolled several times. News reports then called it Executive Airport Drag Strip, since it also served as an airstrip, and one fan remembered races pausing while a farmer landed a small plane. Walt Arfons brought two jet dragsters, driven by Bob Tatro and John Malsin, on June 27, 1970.

In 1971, neighbors upset by noise and lights sued to stop the racing. The Mahoning County Common Pleas judge refused an injunction, noting they’d put up with the races for five years without going to court, which would date the Executive Airport strip to 1967. The early years are still unclear. Meander drag strip, Youngstown drag strip and Youngstown Executive Airport were all the same place, run by brothers Alex and George Theofilos, who also ran Sunset Drag Strip east of Sharon, Pennsylvania.