Tanacross Air Base

This Air Force base was built in 1943 and inactivated after the war. By 1960 it was essentially abandoned, and that Labor Day drag races ran on one of its runways. The Arctic Slicks hot rod club of Fairbanks ran the racing in 1961. On July 23, 1961, 300 people watched Will Nelson of Anchorage take top eliminator in his A/A Model A. Police wouldn’t let racers run on Memorial Day 1962 because there was no proper supervision or authorization to use the airfield, and reports of underage drinking and all-night parties in earlier years helped decide it. The Delta Drag-ins car club got permission for a race on August 18, 1963, where Bob Goad of Fairbanks took top eliminator in his A/S ‘62 Chevy with a 13.5. The Fairbanks Timing Association held a race on Sunday, May 16, 1965. The Bureau of Land Management owns Tanacross Airport today.