If you’re up on your muscle car history, you’re likely familiar with how NASCAR and drag racing helped contribute to the era of GTOs and the like. In particular, drag strips popped up all over the U.S., some of which are still standing today. But have you ever heard of indoor drag racing? For locales with climate that doesn’t allow year-round racing, this sounds like a solution. Several enterprising individuals did this in Chicago from 1962 through 1964. As it turned out, it was a short-lived but memorable phenomenon.
The now-demolished Chicago International Amphitheater was the location. A 440-foot concrete strip followed by a 700-foot shutdown area was the layout, so clearly dragsters were not permitted. Cars staged outside, then entered through some doors to compete the race while spectators watched from inside. Though traction is a common enemy even today, it was certainly a challenge in this environment (not to mention carbon monoxide)—in fact, Coca-Cola syrup was applied to the floor to aid traction, but legends like Arnie Beswick and Mr. Norm have said that it did not work.
Howard Crull and Gene Devening have created a book that documents this relic of the era. The project began with the purchase of a 1964 Dodge 330 Max Wedge, which led to the discovery of a collection of photographs (which included the Mopar) taken by Herman Zehnder. The book that you see here is the photo collection in hardcover form, one of only 100 that have been printed. At $150, it’s large, beefy, and worthy of those into muscle car or Chicago history. Visit the Chicago Amphitheater Indoor Drag Races group on Facebook to inquire.
