Drag Illustrated Issue 116, December 2016 | Page 33

DIALED IN

Beaver Springs Hosts York Nostalgia Nationals

PHOTOS : VAN ABERNETHY
By Van Abernethy

Pennsylvania ’ s Beaver Springs Dragway hosted the 13th running of the York Nostalgia Nationals on July 9-10 , 2016 with this year ’ s attendance far and away the largest ever . The event , which features a wide array of cars and personalities , gets its title from the hallowed York US 30 Dragway , a legendary south central Pennsylvania dragstrip which closed in 1979 , yet is fondly remembered to this present day . Famously , York US 30 was the site of what many believe was the largest one-day drag race in the nation when it held the 1965 Super Stock

Nationals .
“ It was all Super Stock and Factory Experimental stuff , and although the race was moved around a few times in later years , the event at York is the one that everybody remembers ,” says Beaver Springs Dragway owner “ Beaver Bob ” McCardle . Each year , McCardle puts forth a solid and wellreceived effort toward recapturing the fabled magic by presenting the York Nostalgia Nationals at his folksy quarter-mile facility in central Pennsylvania . Beaver Springs is the perfect location to host an event of this nature , with its laid-back atmosphere being complimented by a sprawling distant mountain range . The grassy pit area seems to go on for miles , offering a picturesque
setting reminiscent to drag racing ’ s golden years .
For McCardle , his yearly hosting of the York Nostalgia Nationals strikes a deeply personal cord of passion . “ This is the kind of stuff I love ,” smiles McCardle , who particularly referenced the nostalgia Super Stock entries that flock to Beaver Springs each year for the annual pilgrimage to celebrate all things York . McCardle has been very vocal over the years in his belief that drag racing ’ s “ heyday ” was when Detroit got involved and Super Stocks were the big thing . “ Not exactly the muscle car era ; I ’ m more talking about when manufacturers started putting big engines in big cars like Ford Galaxies and such ,” McCardle commented .
December 2016
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