PHOTOGRAPHS BY VAN ABERNETHY |
It ’ s been roughly 17 years since Kentucky native Craig Boone purchased and began operating London Dragway , located in the southeast portion of the Bluegrass State . While Boone has pressed through all sorts of climates , both weather and economic , he ’ s always managed to continue upgrading his laidback quarter-mile facility that was once nothing more than a valley in Laurel County . A neighboring mountain was mined for its valuable coal , after which , the remaining mountainside was pushed into the valley , producing what turned out to be a fine piece of property on which to construct London Dragway .
Over the years , Craig and his wife , Tammy , have built a solid clientele of racers and fans who enjoy coming to this folksy and scenic dragstrip , which is typically in operation for roughly nine months out the year . “ We have some events on the schedule beginning in March , but the weather can really go either way for us that early in the year ,” explains Craig . “ We battled it out with the weather early in the season this year , with some cold and rainy weekends early on .”
A pair of test-and-tune sessions , as well as the first points race , were all disrupted by weather . “ The first good race we had this year was the Bluegrass Stakes ,” says Boone , referencing the two-day bracket event that was successfully held on April 1-2 .
By the second month into the season , the
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London Dragway owners Craig and Tammy Boone
weather had cleaned up nicely and allowed for some consistently healthy events . “ The No Box Throwdown , along with the track points race and Grudge Wars were successful events , as was the three-day IHRA Sportsman Spectacular in late April ,” says Boone .
A big day was planned for Saturday , May 13 featuring Pro Mods , Outlaw 4.70 / 4.50 , along with a track points race , but then the weather decided to stop cooperating . “ That ’ s what killed us ... rain returned just as we were getting on a
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roll . Almost everything in May was rained out !” shrugs Boone . They finally caught a break on the last weekend in May with the running of No Box Throwdown and Grudge Wars .
June continued to be favorable weather for racing , and the month began with the Bee Handshoe Memorial , featuring three days of racing , including a pair of IHRA points events . The second annual Charlie Short Memorial event was slated for mid-June .
July was jam-packed with action , beginning with the July Jackpot / Summit points races 9 and 10 , with the following week featuring Outlaw Pro Mods , Outlaw 4.70 / 4.50 , along with a track points race . The following weekend , the explosive Southeast Gassers Association made their return to London on July 14-15 . “ This is their fourth year coming here , and those guys put on a great show !” says Boone .
A brand-new event called Outlaw Society was slated for July 22 , along with Grudge Wars . “ Outlaw Society is Wes Clapp ’ s deal . Wes operates Knoxville Dragway in Tennessee , so we ’ ve partnered with him to bring his show to London ,” says Craig . The month of July is closed out with no-prep racing , along with track points # 10 and a small-tire event .
August ushers in the return of the Summer Bucks Shootout on August 5-6 , and features a pair of IHRA Summit point races .
The High Dollar Nationals kicks things off in
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September / October 2023 |
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