Lions Drag Strip

Lions Drag Strip was a US raceway in the Wilmington district of Los Angeles, California adjacent to Long Beach that existed from 1955 to 1972. The track was named after its sponsors Lions Clubs International and featured many races that were sanctioned by the American Hot Rod Association (AHRA).

As the area surrounding the track increased in population, complaints regarding noise were made to government officials. Subsequently, efforts were made to deny the operators of track continued use of the facility. After the last races took place on December 2, 1972, the track was quickly torn down through the efforts of the Los Angeles Harbor Department to make space for overseas shipping cargo containers which exists to this day.

Trivia

*The television series The Munsters filmed most of the episode "Hot Rod Herman" at Lions Drag Strip.
*The common advertising slogan used for this raceway was "Drive the highways...race at Lions."
*The track announcer for many races in the late 1960s and early 1970s was broadcast personality and motorsports announcer Larry Huffman, [ [http://www.larryhuffman.com Larry "Supermouth" Huffman] ] whose frenetic announcing style was later spoofed by countless stand-up comedians.

References

*"Last Call for Lions", Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, December 1, 1972.
*"Following "The Last Drag Race": Souvenir hunters attack Lions strip", Long Beach Independent/Press-Telegram, December 4, 1972.

Links

* [http://www.geocities.com/deandecibel/Lions.html Copy of a Petersen publication from 1973 detailing the history of Lions]