Beaver Springs Dragway – Some interesting tidbits of history to consider!

Buick was started by David Buick in 1899. With the sad ending of Oldsmobile in 2004 (for the record, I think that was a huge mistake and GM would benefit from spitting out 442s today), Buick became the oldest surviving American car company.

Oldsmobile was started by Ransom Olds in 1897. Throughout its’ GM life, the company was considered a step above Chevrolet and Pontiac, but a step below Buick and Cadillac. It was the oldest American car company when GM pulled the plug on it.

Now, here’s something I never knew, Pontiac was introduced in 1926 as a companion to the more expensive and luxurious Oakland (When was the last time you saw an Oakland car?). By 1933, Pontiac was more popular than its’ parent company and Oakland went away. A white G6 was the last Pontiac built in 2010 (Anyone else think a 2025 GTO would sell?).

Finally, Cadillac was founded in 1902 as a premier luxury car maker. It was named for Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, founder of Detroit, Michigan. The Cadillac emblem is based on his coat of arms.

Now here we are, over a century removed from the founding of these companies to celebrate their creations at the Buick Oldsmobile Pontiac Cadillac Race day at Beaver Springs Dragway. Early in the morning, the sky looked like it had a potential for rain, but liquid sunshine never came and the skies became more beautiful as the day wore on. Not only a just a race, but also a car show that showed off some really impressive examples of Buicks. Since this was for car guys (and gals) by car guys (and gals), there were not only pristine cars, but also some not as pristine but unusual and special in their own ways. Something for everyone!

On the track, there was the same thing. Some outrageous hot rods that were flat-out wicked by their design, yet beautiful enough to be at home in any car show. Along with them there were also a number of them concentrating on the “go” and not the “show.” Throw in some pretty stout test-and-tune cars along with those, and the spectators were treated to a very impressive show of drag racing. If you missed this one, you missed some pretty hot Buicks, Olds, Pontiac, and Cadillac automobiles. Mark your calendar for next year’s event!

To wrap this up, I’d like to give a shout-out to the crew on the line. Eagle eyes spotted a broken tie rod end on a race car coming into the staging lanes and they were able to head off a potentially dangerous situation before anything happened. Mikey McCracken was a true pro, joining the rest to get the car out of the way, then expertly doing what needed done to get the car safely loaded onto a rollback. And all of this on his birthday!!! Hats off to Mikey McCracken for working so hard on his special day to make the day special for others!