Oxford Plains Dragway

History

Oxford Dragway’s website says the eighth-mile track opened in 1969, and the records agree. It sits behind and north of the speedway oval. On Friday night, May 7, 1971, Don Garlits made his second appearance there, match racing Rhode Island’s Jimmy King, who had won the Gatornationals a few months earlier and been runner-up to Garlits at that year’s Winternationals. Garlits set a track record of 180.74 mph in 1977, and twenty years later Donny Johnson of North Waterboro, Maine, broke it with a 3.88 at 191 mph.

Five funny cars were booked on September 3, 1971, including Bob Cain’s ‘71 ‘Hurri-Cain.’ Lew Arrington’s ‘Brutus’ met the Hill Brothers funny car on May 19, 1972, and Garlits raced Don Prudhoome on July 14, 1972. The Friday night shows stayed busy. In 1976-77 the bookings included Doug Rose’s ‘Green Mamba’ jet dragster, Jungle Jim Liberman, Kosty Ivanoff’s ‘Boston Shaker,’ the ‘Hemi Under Glass’ wheelstander, Don Nicholson, Arnie Karp’s ‘Boston Strangler’ and Bill ‘Grumpy’ Jenkins. The track still mixes feature cars with a local sportsman schedule.