Sunday Revisited...Again

Reading Sunday Revisited on the San Antonio Radio Memories website brought back a flood of memories for me.

I was stationed at Fort Sam Houston two different times between 1965 and 1972 for a total of 7 years.

During my time in San Antonio, I raced a '65 and then a '67 Olds 442 at San Antonio Drag Raceway (SADR) many times. Quite frequently I raced twice a week, since SADR was open both Wednesdays and Sundays.

I consider myself very fortunate to have raced the last night before SADR closed. I left SADR with dozens of trophies and hundreds of memories.

One of my favorite memories is the flagman start. Electronics had replaced the flagman just about everywhere - except SADR and it was a big part of the fun. If you examine the photo below, can see the turn at the end of the track is a very sharp hairpin turn and very short. A brake hose failed on my (at the time) brand new car and I had to use the parking brake and downshifting to it slow down. I took the turn so fast that the oil in the oil pan shifted to the outside and I momentarily lost engine oil pressure. That was tight!

Over the years, I raced at a number of tracks over much of the country. In Texas and San Antonio, I found the folks who ran the tracks were bascially nice people who treated the racers and fans fairly while running a business.

By the way...I STILL own the '67 Olds 442!

Bob Handren

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