Anyone remember Rocky Mtn. Dragway at Commerce, CO?

bill dedman · 06-20-2009, 05:18 PM

In the summer of 1964, I lived in Colorado Springs, CO, and saw a lot of drag racing as a spectator at Denver, which had a suburb called "Commerce City." There was a drag strip there at that time, named "Rocky Mountain Dragway" (IIRC) and it was one of the nicest facilities I ever visited.

For instance, it had TWO public-address systems, with two "sets" of speakers; one in the stands for the spectators' race descriptions, and another, completely separate one in the pits for the "racer information" (calling to the lanes, etc.) This made it especially nice for the racers, who didn't have to constantly monitor the general announcements about the goings-on on the track, in order to hear their calls to the lanes.

That was the first time I'd encountered that dual P.A. system. Haven't seen one since...

The grandstands were very colorful (everything seemed brand new, but I don't know how long this strip had been in operation when I discovered it in '64; not very long, from the looks of things.) The grandstands were wood, but good-quality, smooth wood seats, and every row of seats were painted a different color!!!

It was really nice to look at...

They seemed to generate good crowd numbers, and I saw a lot of really good Sportsman racing there; lots of Stockers, Gassers, etc....

I moved to Des Moines at the end of that summer and never got back to the Denver area, but have often wondered how long that strip lasted. Seems like it was in an industrial area, if I remember right.

Does anyone from that area remember that strip, and remember how long it was in operation?

They seemed to do everything right...

Thanks for any information!

Bill

06-20-2009, 05:18 PM	#1
bill dedman VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Conway, AR Posts: 1,739 Likes: 0 Liked 6 Times in 4 Posts	Anyone remember Rocky Mtn. Dragway at Commerce, CO? In the summer of 1964, I lived in Colorado Springs, CO, and saw a lot of drag racing as a spectator at Denver, which had a suburb called "Commerce City." There was a drag strip there at that time, named "Rocky Mountain Dragway" (IIRC) and it was one of the nicest facilities I ever visited. For instance, it had TWO public-address systems, with two "sets" of speakers; one in the stands for the spectators' race descriptions, and another, completely separate one in the pits for the "racer information" (calling to the lanes, etc.) This made it especially nice for the racers, who didn't have to constantly monitor the general announcements about the goings-on on the track, in order to hear their calls to the lanes. That was the first time I'd encountered that dual P.A. system. Haven't seen one since... The grandstands were very colorful (everything seemed brand new, but I don't know how long this strip had been in operation when I discovered it in '64; not very long, from the looks of things.) The grandstands were wood, but good-quality, smooth wood seats, and every row of seats were painted a different color!!! It was really nice to look at... They seemed to generate good crowd numbers, and I saw a lot of really good Sportsman racing there; lots of Stockers, Gassers, etc.... I moved to Des Moines at the end of that summer and never got back to the Denver area, but have often wondered how long that strip lasted. Seems like it was in an industrial area, if I remember right. Does anyone from that area remember that strip, and remember how long it was in operation? They seemed to do everything right... Thanks for any information! Bill __________________ Bill Last edited by bill dedman; 06-20-2009 at 05:21 PM.