Dragsters pushed down in front of the crowdLanes swapped as they turn around in front of the finish line ... crews out for one last checkThen the sound of the cars being pushed back towards the starting line at speed ...rattling tin ... cold clutch disks...squeak and chatter ... the chugging sound of compressionThe suddeness of engines firing ... sometimes bursting to life at the very last secondNext the turnaround behind the line ... both cars at a mean idle - swapping lanes againDrivers eyes meet as they cross ... sometimes a nod ... sometimes nothingThen the starting line dance ... tuners tweek barrel valves ... glancing at each other ...give the throttle a rap ...masters of the phyc-outCrew wiping slicks ... drivers looking straight aheadA pat on the hat ... a wave - and the cars pull forwardR's up ... and the flag drops ! Ladies & Gentlemen welcome to the Lions Dragstrip......... (Fellow 3cmc Member Ken Garrett was kind enough to share some pictures of the track he worked at back in the hey days of Drag Racing. So sit back and enjoy the journey, you can almost smell the rubber burning!)
1955 Lions Dragstrip Opening Day ~ 223rd & ALAMEDA, WILMINGTON, CALIF.
Unfortunatley all good things must come to an end.............
During the Storm ~ Crowds @ The Last Drag Race 12-01-72 
1998 ~ 223rd & ALAMEDA, WILMINGTON, CALIF.Now a Container Parking Lot Lions Drag Strip was a US raceway in the Wilmington district of Los Angeles, California adjacent to Long Beach that existed from 1955 to 1972. The track was named after its sponsors Lions Clubs International and featured many races that were sanctioned by the American Hot Rod Association (AHRA).
As the area surrounding the track increased in population, complaints regarding noise were made to government officials. Subsequently, efforts were made to deny the operators of track continued use of the facility. After the last races took place on December 2, 1972, the track was quickly torn down through the efforts of the Los Angeles Harbor Department to make space for overseas shipping cargo containers which exists to this day.
Videos of Lions Dragstrip
To hear the videos, scroll down to the bottom of this page and pause the background music that is playing by clicking on the ii button
