Green Valley

[BlackSnake]

My dad use to run that track when I was a kid. I can remember seeing lots of races there growing up before Ennis.

[mikeb]

You betcha! I used to race there and I have fond memories of the place. The texas metroplex just didn't have the same "color".

[talisman]

Smells like a retirement home in here.

[cbrjames]

I live in the area now, and never knew there was a track there. But yes, y'all some old fuckers!

[Zippo]

Ran at Kennedale on Friday nights (it was a quarter mile track back then), and Green Valley on Saturdays.
I was still in high school, yeah pass the Geritol

[fitzwell]

And hell was just a campfire. Right?

Hell, I roasted marshmallows over that fire. Lived about a mile from there in the mid 80's. Good times indeed.

[TexasT]

[FastFox]

Go and cut out a square of the track if some is still there. Frame it with some treated 2X4's and put it on your patio. Yeah, I know, I am crazy. But, what can I say.......

[EW]

There is a DVD at the NRH library about the history of NRH. It has lots of info about the track.
There is still some asphalt out there but mostly houses.

[Chopped54]

I vaguely remember going out there with my old man....

[46Tbird]

Ran at Kennedale on Friday nights (it was a quarter mile track back then), and Green Valley on Saturdays.

Really? Wow, I've never heard that Kennedale was anything other than an eighth mile track. You must be pretty old.

[Chili]

Apparently I went a few times as a real young kid but I don't remember it. My mom won a couple of ladies' drag races there.

Here is some various Green Valley 'stuff.'

http://ardmoredragway.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=talkaboutadhistory&action=display&thread=1263

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8267740

It wasn't just drag racing, either. The SCCA hosted several road racing events in the mid-late '60s.

Thanks for linking that film, really cool. I love seeing amateur / candid stuff from back then. Helps you to imagine what it was really like.

[Chili]

BTW, from that footage it looks like it was bigger than Ennis is today.. Tons of room around the starting line and such. Awesome. Would love to see an aerial photo of it in it's prime.

[Chili]

Doing some googling and this thread from 2009 in Canada was a result:

http://www.dfwstangs.net/forums/showthread.php?t=394519

I am sure that many of you on this forum like myself grew up hanging out at Bill Hielscher's Green Valley Race City on the weekends. Like Dallas International, Green Valley was ahead of its time in many ways. Unfortunately, Smithville began being swallowed up by the explosive growth of the area. Very simply put, growth led to noise complaints and as the squeaky wheel became louder, Green Valley was forced to close. I thought that many of you might find this interesting; and, if you would like to see a closer look at the following photos, you can go to Google Earth and use the following co-ordinates: Latitude 32°53'56.63"N Longitude 97°12'42.17"W

1995 - Almost 10 years after its close, many of the structures are still present including the crossover bridge, spectator entrance and tower.


2001- The track is being reclaimed by overgrowth. The structures with the exception of that rediculously nasty cinder block bathroom have all been demolished. The staging lanes are now a parking lot for road work equipment and earth movers.


2002 - Sections of the track have been removed. The really cool pond in the back were we would go fishing and dig for fossils has been filled in and destroyed. The ground is being prepared for what is comming.

[Chili]

Historical aerial shots I captured from Google Earth from 1995 to 2011. I didn't get all of the versions, just the ones that had the most noticeable change.

1/30/95


2/27/01


12/20/02


3/31/2005


10/21/2005