The drag racing history of Pacific Raceway isn’t lost on drag racing veterans of current and previous generations.
Ed McCulloch has his memories as a driver at the facility located outside of Seattle in Kent, Wash. For current NHRA Full Throttle Top Fuel driver Larry Dixon, his memories date back to childhood, riding in the back of the family’s station wagon, the tow vehicle for Larry Dixon Sr.’s Top Fuel dragster.
“Over the years, Seattle has been a great venue for drag racing,” said McCulloch, who never claimed an NHRA win at the facility. “In the old days, we had an awful lot of fun racing up here. [Pacific Raceways] was the key race track in the Northwest … with the key events. A lot of the guys from back east made their way up here to go racing. We used to have a ball.”
Promoters the likes of Bill Doner, Jim Rockstad and the late Steve Evans had a way of incorporating both the thrilling and ludicrous into their shows. There were 64-car Funny Car events, Fox Hunts and even a race with former porn star Linda Lovelace as the race queen.
These kinds of shows brought out the best in race fans, and depending on your moral character – the worst.