Speedway Posters

1953 Paradise Mesa Drag Strip Poster Print

57 years ago …!! it was 1953 at the Paradise Mesa Drag Strip. This poster print measures 17 inches wide x 22 inches tall. An awesome reproduction poster print.

At Paradise Mesa, a strip southwest of San Diego California which opened in 1951 on a a site once notorious for “chaotic illegal sprint bashes,” competition was about equally divided between two and four wheeled vehicles. At the end of a day’s racing it was often a cycle that emerged on top. Still, there were four wheeled machines competing which looked a little like something purposefully designed, as opposed to having merely been “stipped to the bare essentials.”  These machines were classified as “modifieds,”, a traditional dry lakes designation for a one-seater built on a narrowed frame.
It was at Paradise Mesa that many of the first drag racers emerged who became houshold names to hot rodders nationwide.

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50 years ago … … July 9, 1960 … …  Balboa Stadium San Diego California.

1960 Balboa Stadium San Diego California Poster Print

Balboa Stadium was one of the hotbeds of midget racing starting in about 1937 until the early 1950s (except for the war years). When interest in midget racing started waning, jalopies became popular. The San Diego Racing Association was formed in 1953 and started sanctioning the racing. By 1958 the San Diego Racing Assn had transformed from a jalopy association to more sleek modified sportsman (the forerunners of today’s super modifieds). Jalopy champions of the SDRA at Balboa included Glen Hoagland (1953), Jim Wood (1954), Jack Krogh (1955), Harris Mills (1956), Don Ray (1957), and Mondo Iavelli (1958). Don Thomas (1957) was the inaugural modified champion with Art Pratt being a three time titlest (1958 – 1959 – 1960). Rip Erikson took the honors in the 1961 season that was split between Balboa Stadium and Cajon Speedway. Also holding events at Balboa Stadium during the 1950s were occasional visits by the URA midgets and the NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Models. During the 1950s it was not unusual for more than 10,000 fans to attend a weekly show at Balboa.

Auto racing took place on a 1/4 mile dirt track in Balboa Stadium from about 1937 through July 4, 1961 when the racing stopped so the facility could be used for pro football.

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49 years ago today . July 8, 1961… the place …. Connecticut Dragway. An awesome reproduction poster print. This poster measures 13 inches wide x 20 inches tall.

1961 Connecticut Dragway Poster Print

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This retro poster print is one of four prints of Gilmore Oil .Gilmore Oil –What began as a farmers market and grew to be a successful dairy farm, resulted in Arthur Fremont Gilmore striking oil at the turn of the century in Los Angeles, California. The Gilmore family took their fortune and became very active in the community, constructing Gilmore Stadium in 1934 with the very first race track specifically designed for midget racers.

This reproduction poster print from 1937 measures 15.5 inches wide x 21.5 inches tall. Makes for a great gift.

1937 Gilmore Red Lion Oil Co. Advertisement Poster Print

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1921 Tacoma Speedway Poster Print, measures 17 inches wide x 22 inches tall. Did a little Google search and found an awesome site with some great Washington State History. During its years of operation between 1912 and 1922, the Tacoma Speedway, located in Lakewood, hosted some of the big names of racing, rivaling the best in the world. The “Who’s Who” of races — “Terrible” Teddy Tetzlaff, Earl Cooper, Barney Oldfield, among others — left rubber on that track. Others left their lives. The grandstands closed in 1922, and the site is now (2004) home to Clover Park Technical College. Lakewood is a suburb of Tacoma.

1921 Tacoma Speedway Poster Print

The track was built by a group of Tacoma businessmen led by Arthur Pitchard, president of the Tacoma Automobile Association. They collected backers and built a five-mile, all-dirt track, which opened in 1912. The track ran around what is now Lakeview Avenue, where the grandstands stood, to Steilacoom Boulevard to Gravelly Lake Drive to 112th Street. The first races were held on July 5 and 6, 1912.

“Terrible” Teddy Tetzlaff, a famous racer of the day, was set to headline the first race that year. He was kidnapped days before the race, however, and held for ransom. Rumor has it he was held in a Tacoma brothel.

“When his bosses came to pick him up, he didn’t want to leave,” Herstad said.

The track changed quickly in those first few years. It shrunk to a 3.5-mile course in 1913, then in 1914 to a two-mile track. The shorter course was roughly what is now Steilacoom Boulevard and Gravelly Lake Drive to 100th, then back to Lakeview.

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1933 Los Angeles Air Races Poster Print

Today is July 4 th !! Happy Birthday America !! Back in 1933 there was the Los Angeles Air Races. This poster print measures 17 inches wide x 22 inches tall. A great reproduction poster from the 30′s.

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