While not as prominent in automotive history as Detroit or South Bend, Columbus, Ohio, has had a few claims to fame, especially in the drag and performance world, and they all raced at Columbus’s own National Trail Raceway, which was (and still is) actually located on Route 40 (the National Trail, thus the name of the track) about a dozen miles east of Columbus, in the little town of Hebron.
Sports photographer Chance Brockway of Hebron served as the track’s photographer, and he recently let H.A.M.B. member 56 Royal Lancer scan and post his collection of pictures from National Trail throughout the years. Not only is the collection fantastic for the people and the cars it captures, but also for the quality of the photography - Chance had an eye for drag racing, and he got many atypical and often downright gorgeous shots.
With permission from 56 Royal Lancer, we grabbed a few of those shots, but plenty more are on the H.A.M.B., with more on the way.
The track formally opened here in 1964, and below, a group shot of the original track crew.
If you noticed the Ford pickup in the previous photo, that’s there because Ford sponsored National Trail, a sponsorship that continued through 1968 or 1969, when this group shot was taken with the track’s new Ranchero and Torino wagon.
In fact, the sponsorship continued until 1971, when GM began offering track vehicles, including this 1972 El Camino, which ferried Wally Parks and Miss Springnationals at the 1972 Springnats.
The Rs in the circles that you see in many of the photos are not to denote that National Trails Raceway is some sort of registered trademark. Instead, it’s the brand of the Circle R Farm, owned by the Rader family, which built the track. In the photo above, the man on the left is Clark Rader Sr., the patriarch of the Rader family.
Both aerials are undated, but the top one appears to be older. Compare to a current view at Google Maps.
One of those claims to fame mentioned above is Jeg’s, now headquartered north of Columbus in Delaware, Ohio. I had the privilege of speaking with Jeg Coughlin Sr. for the Hot Rod Hero column in the August 2007 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines and was impressed at how he remains a pretty humble guy despite founding a huge mail-order parts business and despite his family’s great racing successes. Below, a shot of Jeg Sr. on the left and Troy Coughlin in the lower right corner. Also, check out the Cincinnati Reds ballcap in the background. Nobody in the Columbus area rooted for the Indians back then.
I like this photo not only for the lineup of cars, but also for the Jack Maxton sign in the background. Home of the best dog-gone deals.
Another area dealership well represented in Chance’s photos was Chesrown Olds, which, as pointed out in the thread, was actually two different Olds-Cadillac dealers - one in Newark, one in Columbus. Chesrown remains in business today, selling the remaining GM brands and Kia.
And finally, nobody seems to know exactly who this guy is or why he’s wearing a moon suit and has a huge engine cover over his blower. Or why his axle’s bent. Or why he has fenders and headlamps.
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