Strother Field (Arkansas City)

In spring 1955 a Wichita hot rod club asked Arkansas City for permission to drag race on the Strother Field auxiliary airstrip, 6.5 miles west of town. Called Strother Air Field No. 2, and also Strother Field #5 or South Field, it was jointly owned by Winfield and Arkansas City. The two cities were building it in 1942 when it was rushed to completion to train cadet pilots for the war, and it went back to civilian use in late 1945. The city turned the Wichita club down. The Arkansas City Gear Grinders Rod and Custom Club also asked and was told it could race if the city got approval from the Civil Aeronautics Authority. Without that approval or the city’s permission, the Wichita club began holding unauthorized races early in 1956, and things got out of hand when over 200 cars showed up on February 26. City commissioners had the police stop the races. CAA approval came in late March 1956, and the city let the Gear Grinders race as long as they carried liability insurance and paid for police supervision.

The Arkansas City Chamber of Commerce held its first drag race on July 4, 1956, at the main Strother Field airport north of town instead of the auxiliary field. It got approval from the Civil Aeronautics Administration, the local hot rod association paid for insurance, timing equipment was rented from a Tulsa firm, trophies went to 27 classes, and admission was 50 cents. Another race and a fireworks show were held at the main field, about six miles north of the city, on July 4, 1957. No more races ran at either field until the 1960s.