Venice Municipal Airport

Closed

First race drew 4,000 spectators and 113 entries

Raced: 1958-60
State: Florida
What's left: A good length of the old track surface is still there, in poor to good condition.
Raced on: An airport runway
First race: July 27, 1958
Location: North taxi strip, Venice Municipal Airport
People: Vagabonds car club, race organizer (1958)
Sanction: NHRA
Elevation: 16 ft (5 m)
Coordinates: 27.07378, -82.44019

On May 13, 1958, the Venice city council voted to let the Vagabonds car club hold drag races once a month on the airport’s taxi strip. The field had been an Army Air Force training base in World War II before the government turned it over to the city. The NHRA-sanctioned races ran on the north taxi strip on the first Sunday of the month. The first one, on July 27, 1958, drew 4,000 spectators and 113 entries, all Vagabonds members. The city had approved that race only on a conditional basis, and because it went off without trouble the club was allowed to keep racing. In 1960 the Florida West Coast Timing Association ran a two-day July 4 race.

1959 flier in Venice Vagabonds scrapbook, Venice Museum & Archives. Courtesy of John Coopy

A huge crowd attended the first official meet at Venice Airport. This photo shows the pit area (far left) and north taxi strip (right background) and spectators (center and left background). Photo published in Tampa Bay Times, July 30, 1958

More in Florida