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The Era of the
Oswego Dragway 
Email:
jaysspeedshop@gmail.com
Desire is the key to motivation, but it's the determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek. - Mario Andretti
Mission Statement
The ERA, an on-going documentary project, was designed to record, research, document and preserve the personal histories of the enthusiastic old people who were the energetic young people from the greater Fox Valley and Midwest who played a vital role in merging land speed racing and hot rodding creating modern drag racing.
The ERA simultaneously tries to note some of the many positive benefits that accrued to the lives, enterprises, citizenship, military service, and avocations of these young people by the very nature of their activities, involvement and labors at the track whether as individuals, as racing teams, in car clubs or even as spectators.
From my observations over time I have the impression if you don't give young people something positive to do they'll find something else to do. But if they get to pick the activity you don't know how good or bad it's going to be. Ironically the impetus behind the Oswego drag strip was a few individuals who wanted to drag race some place locally in the Fox Valley area. These individuals were members of the Aurora Autocrats, a car club whose name Bob Louden thought up one day while driving.
Phew! - Jay Thompson
Yes, that's a crib at the strip.
Photo on loan from Norb Locke and George Hutchinson
Tell Us Your Story!
Or we'll make one up!
Email:
jaysthompson@comcast.net
Suggestions, polite corrections big and small, new information, new ideas, support, encouragement, old photos, old home movies . . . you tell me, etc. are all welcome!
Also the
Official "The ERA" Biography Forms
can be printed directly from this website
and are available free at the
Oswego Antique Market
78 Main Street Downtown Oswego, Illinois
Driving Force Trailer from TV.
