Zephyrhills Airfield
ClosedClosed No longer racing, but some of the track is still there.
- Don Garlits was among the first racers there in 1950
- Racing ended under a 1952 federal order banning drag racing on working airfields
- Raced
- 1950-52
- State
- Florida
- What's left
- A good length of the old track surface is still there, in poor to good condition.
- On the site today
- Zephyrhills Municipal Airport
- Raced on
- A military airfield
- First race
- June 1950
- Last race
- 1952
- Location
- Old Army auxiliary air strip, less than a mile east of Zephyrhills
- People
- Tampa Sports Car Club, race organizer (1951-52)
- Pinellas Timing Association, race organizer (1952)
- Elevation
- 84 ft (26 m)
- Coordinates
- 28.22732, -82.15746
In June 1950 Don Garlits and a few other racers from the Tampa-St. Petersburg area started racing on an old Army auxiliary air strip owned by the city of Zephyrhills. The Army Air Force had opened the strip in 1942. The Tampa Sports Car Club held drag races there many times in 1951 and 1952, starting May 13. There were no timing clocks, just cars racing each other. In 1952 the Pinellas Timing Association ran races every other Sunday, and Charlie Hogan’s 1933 Ford and Buster Bryan’s 1932 Ford were the quickest cars that year. Racing ended in 1952 when federal officials ordered all drag racing off working airfields. The city still runs Zephyrhills Municipal Airport, less than a mile east of town.
Background
The old auxiliary strip is now Zephyrhills Municipal Airport, a city-owned general aviation field about a mile southeast of downtown.
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