Sioux City Dragway

Organized drag racing at the municipal airport in Sergeant Bluff, six miles south of Sioux City, probably started as early as 1952. An ad for an October 10, 1954, race said the Sioux City Strollers car club put it on, and the strip was often called the Stroller Strip. The airport, built in 1942 as part of an Army Air Base, is now Sioux Gateway Airport. An NHRA regional championship on July 7-8, 1956, drew over 100 racers, some from as far as California and Texas, and Melvin Heath of Oklahoma ran 137 mph in his dragster. The season usually opened in May, with Sioux City police supervising. Races also ran on an airport runway on August 7, 1960. A man who went in the early 1960s remembered a plain runway with a timing tower and bleachers on one side. Bob Coney managed the strip from 1958 into the 1960s, and an NHRA West Central Division points meet was held there on August 15, 1965. Racing ended in 1973 when federal airport rules were tightened.