Waldron Air Field (Corpus Christi)

The South Texas Timing Association formed in the spring of 1954 and held a couple of drag races at Waldron Field near Corpus Christi. Each drew about 100 racers and 1,000 spectators. The club rented timing equipment from the Chicago-based Automobile Timing Association of America and ran 23 car classes and 7 motorcycle classes, hoping to buy its own timers and find a permanent strip. A two-day race on September 4-5, 1954, a benefit for the Civil Air Patrol at Waldron Field, drew 200 entries from Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma, and racers and their families were treated to a beach party on Padre Island with dancing and a floor show. The October 24, 1954, race raised money for the Texas State Guard Battalion. The club planned a two-day race for April 23-24, 1955, as part of the annual Navy Relief Festival and had arranged for Miss America to hand out trophies, but shortly before the event the Navy Department in Washington turned it down without explanation.