Schilling Air Force Base/Smoky Hill Air Force Base (Salina)

The Road Angels, a hot rod club on the base, sponsored races on a runway at the air force base three miles southwest of Salina. Writing in Drag News on June 14, 1958, Don Elliott described a beautiful asphalt-over-concrete strip that stretched almost as far as the eye could see. The first race, on February 17, 1957, drew 6,000 people and 225 entries, most of them from Wichita, and Jim Hopper won top eliminator in his dragster at 128.76 mph. Rain canceled the March 31 race and postponed the June 23 race, where the Saline County Dairy Princess was to hand out trophies. Admission was free, with donations taken to cover costs. After a race set for July 28, the big event of the year was the Kansas State Championship on September 22, 1957, sponsored by the Road Angels and the Kansas Hot Rod Association. On runway 24, 5,500 people watched 321 entries from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Colorado, Missouri and Iowa, and Bob Sullivan of Kansas City won top eliminator at 10.42 and 142.79 mph.

Lloyd Davis of Wichita set a track record of 169.10 mph on May 25, 1958. The 1958 state championship, set for September 28, was canceled when visiting planes fleeing Hurricane Helene filled the runway. At the rescheduled race on October 12, Lou Cangelose won top eliminator at 145.16 mph, though the Martin & Sullivan fuel dragster from Kansas City had top speed at 160.71. In 1959 the Schilling Timing Association put up a mile-long safety barrier of rope and old aircraft tires between the spectators and the track. Bob Rodgers set an A gas dragster track record of 147.54 mph on June 14, 1959. With little newspaper notice, Glen Leasher set an unofficial world drag speed record of 185.567 mph there in 1959, driving Bob Sullivan’s “Pandemonium” dragster. The Schilling Timing Association ran the races in 1960. On April 10, 4,000 people watched 250 entries, and Lou Cangelose ran 180 mph despite a 35 mph wind. Another race was scheduled for May 10, but the April race may have been the last at Schilling.