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Thunder Valley Dragways 50th Anniversary Reunion

By Tom Olsen

When Thunder Valley Dragways, Marion, SD, held its first drag races in the summer of 1967, do you think anyone considered that it would still be in operation 50 years later? It’s hard to imagine that the group of teens and 20-somethings that worked there would possibly envision such a thing. And, what drag racers from 1967 would have thought about the possibility of getting together with TVD staff and fellow racers in the year 2016? In the ‘60s, many young men had concerns in terms of two, three, or four years: the terms of the military draft or enlistment periods. Thoughts of what you’d be doing in 2016 just didn’t exist! There are very few drag strips in the country that have endured 50 years of operation, but Thunder Valley Dragways has done just that. (While racing began in 1967, the business plan and construction began in 1966, hence the 50 years.) On June 10 and 11, there was a Thunder Valley Dragways 50^th Anniversary Reunion, and it was an amazing time!

The celebration began with an evening at “Wheelz”, the automotive hobby shop of Ron Roddel and Jim Christensen. On that Friday, around 200 past and current drag racers and Thunder Valley staff members gathered to renew old acquaintances and reminisce about drag racing. Racing enthusiasts connected with TVD came from all over the country for the event; Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Washington, California, and many other states were represented. Glen Rapp, the founder/owner of the track was there, as was Jim Christensen, who managed the track for its first seven years of operation. Virtually all of the original key staff members from Thunder Valley were present.

There was an impressive car display on hand that evening which included some of the most famous cars to race at Thunder Valley: the Hairbender and the Hairbender too. The Hairbender is a 1964 Plymouth Savoy lightweight 426 Hemi powered race car. Now owned by Gordie Rohde, the Hairbender has been fully restore to “new, as delivered” condition. The Hairbender too is a 1968 Plymouth Hemi Barracuda. Randy Stewart has the Hairbender too. It has been very well cared for over the years and appears much as it did when raced in 1968. Gordon Stewart of the Stewart School of Hairstyling owned both of these rare cars when new, and was present at the festivities as well. In addition to these cars, approximately 30 other race cars, muscle cars, and classics were on display.

It was a great evening of visiting and re-kindling old friendships; I talked with a number of people I hadn’t seen in 35-40 years and I’m sure many others did the same. Drag racing stories went on all evening long! It didn’t matter what group you walked up to or where you sat, within a minute or two you’d hear “do you remember the time that…?” Many great events were recounted and, as TV disclaimers say, most were “based on actual events.” You probably had to be there to sort out the actual story on many of these tales of racing back in the day. I don’t know if deals on any cars were made, but there was some “wheeling and dealing” going on…some car guys just never change.

After that fun evening, many of the same players re-convened Saturday at Thunder Valley Dragways for a day of Stock/Super Stock racing put on by the Midwest Class Racers. Midwest Class Racers are a well-organized group with very competitive cars in their ranks. About 75 cars were entered for the event and the competition was fierce all afternoon. I hadn’t been to Thunder Valley in many years and was totally impressed with the caliber of race cars in competition that day! All the cars I saw were meticulously prepared and looked great to boot. Many of these guys have been at this for decades, so they have everything down to a real science. It was an excellent afternoon of very competitive racing!

Also at Thunder Valley was a display of a few race cars from the early years. Some of these cars were displayed at “Wheelz” the evening before, but there were others as well. Iverson Motors brought over their beautifully restored 1965 Super Stock Dodge with 426 wedge power. The 1957 Chevy “Tension”, formerly raced by Don Stephenson for many years, was on display, as was Curt Rees’s 1969 340 Cuda that was purchased originally for the sole purpose of racing at Thunder Valley.

In addition to watching the great racing and visiting with racer friends in the pits, another highlight of the day for me was sitting in the stands with my car buddies from the 1960s. Chatter about the cars went on all afternoon long. On most match-ups, someone would have an observation about a car: likes, dislikes, who would win (and why), Ford vs Chevy vs Mopar, and on and on. It was just like watching the races back in 1967, only now, some of the players were just a tad older!

It was a great 50^th anniversary event! Now, a few weeks later, many of us are still talking about the friends we saw and the great memories that were rekindled. My compliments go out to Ron Roddel and Jim Christensen for hosting Friday night, Glen Rapp and the crew at Thunder Valley Dragways for a fine weekend of racing, and the Midwest Class Racers for the first class racing. What do you think…is it too early to get excited for the 60^th Anniversary Reunion?

August 2016

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Thunder Valley Dragways 50th Anniversary Reunion

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