every track in the eastern part of the country and it ’ s the people that keep me coming back here to race ... they ’ re top notch !” says Marlin .
Incidentally , it was Lish who faired the best in this family on the weekend that Drag Illustrated stopped by , going all the way to the finals , but he fell just short to Peggy Klinesmith , who took home tops honors . Klinesmith and her husband , Bill , are regulars here and race a pair of Camaros at Free Bird .
At a glance , this is a perfect blend of nature and
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racing , but the one thing that makes this track so unique is also the very thing that ’ s causing concern regarding the dragstrip ’ s future , and that unfortunately is the park itself . The dragstrip ’ s lease is up at the end of October and the park board is stalling in terms of negotiating a new one . “ I ’ ve heard they want to put a swimming pool where the dragstrip is located ,” Glover says .
The board has also made comments that campers are complaining about noise , but the track
says they have obtained signed papers from the campground stating that zero complaints have been made .
“ They ’ re not willing to talk to us mid-year about making improvements to the track , and that ’ s been a source of concern ,” says Robin Heald , who ’ s been racing at Free Bird for the last 15 years along with her husband . “ At least one park board member has even gone on record by publicly stating he would prefer the track not be here .”
62 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 170