Rio Grande Valley Drag Strip/Harlingen Dragway

On February 18, 1959, the Harlingen city commission approved rezoning 72 acres owned by Dr. Nelson Haas, a San Benito physician, for a drag strip he planned to lease to the Rio Grande Valley Timing Association. The packed-earth strip was built east of Treasure Hills near the Arroyo Colorado, 3/4 mile north of and behind the Citrus Drive-in Theater on Whalen Park Road, between Harlingen and San Benito. It was finished in early 1961, with Jerry Jones as manager. A race on March 19, 1961, may have been the first, with about 100 entries expected, and Cecil “Butch” Harris of La Feria set the strip record at 107 MPH. The April 16 race drew car clubs from Brownsville, San Benito, Edinburg, McAllen, Weslaco, La Feria and Harlingen. On April 30 Harris raised his record to 121 MPH in his C/D, and Kenneth Fultz of Harlingen won top eliminator in his Chevy-powered B/A roadster. Class and eliminator winners got trophies. Little was found for 1962-64, though racing probably continued. By Sunday, December 19, 1965, when 700 people came, it was called Harlingen Dragway, and Bernie Edwards ran 141 MPH in his Olds-powered dragster. The next race was set for January 2, 1966. The strip appeared in a 1968 list of U.S. drag strips in the Swedish magazine Start & Strip.