Central Michigan Airport

Bob George was a local auto racing promoter that the members of the Strokers of Saginaw knew. Bob got hold of a fellow up in Edmore, Michigan that owned the Central Michigan Airport. "He let us use his airport, and that's when we started drag racing," Al Benaway told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama early in 2021. The year was 1957, and Al recalled that the airport consisted of sand and grass. "The first time I drag raced up there, I had the Model A Coupe with the flathead in it. I was drag racing in the dirt," he chuckled. Sunday, July 7, 1957, 2,117 spectators came to watch the first supervised Drag Strip race in Central Michigan make it into the history books. Al became the area’s top winner in Class C. Later on, he also raced a channeled '34 two-door sedan that he lost the grille on while racing, as the pointed 34 grille kept digging down into the sand. Photo from The Strokers of Saginaw Photo Collection.