"Harmony Memories"
From Richard ColemanI used to frequent Harmony and Nazareth in the mid 60s. I was out of college and living at home in south Easton, so I spent my weekends at those two tracks, or at Island Dragway or Mountain View Drag Strip outside Wind Gap. I never minded the drag strip being between the stands and the dirt track but I understand the youngsters' frustration at not being able to talk to the drivers. Before Nazareth was reconfigured with the seats on the old backstretch, I can remember talking to drivers through the fence.
What used to impress me about Harmony was how disorganized the parking lot always was. I spent 20 minutes on a damp night, getting a sore throat in the process, trying to find my car. The next day when I read the paper, I found out that by choosing Harmony over Nazareth that particular night, I missed Jackie McLaughlin being killed at Nazareth.
That area now is all fenced off and grown up in trees, although there are bits and pieces of the track fencing still there, also what is left after 40 years of neglect has wreaked havoc on the grandstand. Even with the trees, the track outline shows up plainly on Google Earth, along with the drag strip and what is left of the grandstand.
Inserted are several photos I took at the drag strip in the mid 60s. My neighbor Fess used to run the Black Widow at the drag strip. It was a mid 50s Packard that he built up for the bull ring drag strips close to Easton at the time, though he did get to Kel Reca near Tamaqua on occasion.
Richard Coleman
Date Name To Add Your Comments, Click Here 02.16.11 Lancers Racing Team I remember drag racing at Harmony back in 1963 with a Altered. We found then strip ok and prepared the car. Then we walked the track to the end and saw the gravel hill, if you did not make the turn during shut down. After that the return road was full of pot holes, and for a car with no rear suspension, it was rough. That was on a Saturday Night, next day we raced at Island. Think we slept under the truck at the gate into the pits at Island Dragway. Lancers Racing Team 02.05.12 Ed Beers Thanks for putting these RARE pictures of Harmony Dragstrip/Drag O Way on the site. I have tons of newspaper results but only one picture from opening night. I believe the sprint car in the bottom photo is Lew Hann from Phillipsburg, NJ. His nephew used to work with me.
My friend’s dad raced a stock ‘64 Nova 283 4 speed there. I also know a few other who raced at Harmony. A.Y. Hissim from Oxford NJ is one. Russ Woolf drove a C/D and his son went to school with me. Clayton Janisch ran a C/D at Harmony and at Vargo and Island. His nephew is a friend of mine. Mel Carty used to have a business here in Phillipsburg.
One driver that won at Harmony back then may still be racing. George Cabel was running a 7 second dragster last time I saw him about 2 years ago.
I live about 5 miles from Harmony and wish they’d open that place up again. I never got to experience it as I was born in late ‘65.
BTW My Grandfather’s 2nd cousin, Jay Beers, won the final race ever at the Harmony Speedway dirt track in 1973.
Thanks again for the chance to see pictures I had never seen before.
Ed Beers
Phillipsburg, NJ07.04.12 Jack Burroughs This is , Jack Burroughs, JHB Racing, orig. from Sparta,N.J. now Palm Coast Fl., I used to run by SBC. powered Chassis Research Rail there on Sat. nights, then Island on Sun.
