Drag Illustrated Issue 140, January 2019 | Page 56
DIALED IN
ARDMORE DRAGWAY
Sometime in the late 1950s the track was moved
to its present location and roughly two decades
later the original founders sold the track to Lon-
nie Sears and Johnnie Laird. Later, other part-
ners such as Johnny Jayo and Jerry Mathews have
also had a hand in it. “Pretty much all the people
who’s ever owned this track, except for the original
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founders of the 1950s, still race here,” Carrell adds.
By 2007 Ardmore Dragway hadn’t changed a
great deal, and was still considered “old school”
with a gravel return road, no LED bulbs in the
Christmas tree, or even a scoreboard – just two
win lights accompanied by a small tower and
PA system. Most of the present-day upgrades
happened post-2007, after Will and Danielle’s
parents, Rick and Brenda, bought the track, thus
returning ownership to the Carrell family.
“I have a full-time job in trucking and Dani-
elle is an accountant in town, so we just operate
the track as a hobby, so unless someone is dumb
enough to buy the place, I guess me and my sister
will just keep on running it,” laughs Will, who’s
successfully managed Ardmore since 2008.
He’s also an accomplished racer, finishing 5th
in the world in NHRA Super Comp in 2013. “I
Issue 140