Engines roaring and rubber burning kicked off the season for Hypoxia Drag Strip. An amazing variety of hot rods took to the track to find out how well they can run at America’s highest permanent drag strip. It was a day of attitude at altitude.

The track has made improvements over last year, the biggest improvement is the addition of a return lane. Now cars can race without being forced to wait for the previous race cars to turn around and come back to the pits driving on the track. A return lane on the side of the track protected by barriers allows more runs per day. 

The casual, laid-back drag strip is a favorite among many racers from Bridger Valley, Rock Springs, Utah and one racer from Casper trying out his car for the first time.

The quality of race cars and their stories is what makes Hypoxia such a fun day for the whole family. You can sit out on the bleachers or bring your own lawn chairs. You can wander through the pits and meet the drivers, get a closer look at their cars and sometimes hear their stories.

There is even a snack bar open with hot dogs, hamburgers, drinks and more for a reasonable price.

Meet some of the drivers

Back in the pits, three people and vehicles were putting on a show. Baxter Grow of Logan, Utah was burning up the 1/8-mile track with times around 6.9 seconds and speeds of more than 100 miles per hour in his 1996 Ford Mustang. 

The surprising part of Grow’s Mustang was when he opened the hood and stuffed between the fender wells was a 5.3 liter Chevrolet engine that he did some work to and then added a turbocharger, boosting the horsepower of the small block to about 600.

“It was a lot of work,” Grow said, “but you work with what you have. I think the results have worked out well.”

His friend, Travis Condos, of Mountain View, decided to build a hot rod, too. Condos has a 2001 Chevrolet pickup truck with a 6.0-liter engine. Like Grow, Condos added some high-performance parts and then a turbocharger. He produces more horsepower than Grow but the added 1,000 pounds of pickup negates much of the added horsepower and the two are very competitive. There were a lot of cars who learned how fast Condos’ pickup really is and why he has those drag slicks tucked under the wheel wells. This truck gets great traction and launches quickly from the starting line.

Travis Condos and his friend Baxter Grow decided to talk Condos’ father, John, into letting them make a few modifications to his 1966 Chevrolet stepside pickup. This is John’s daily driver he uses for work and whatever he needs to haul. When they were finished with the truck, it looked pretty much the same as always, but under the hood is a monster high performance 6.0-liter with a six-speed transmission. 

Under what appears to be a good old farm truck beats a heart capable of moving it down the strip in about 8.4 seconds but only after changing out the street tires with drag slicks to help launch the truck instead of watching it burn the rubber off the rims.

John worked alongside his sons Kyle and Travis with help from their friend Grow to build one of the finest sleepers around.

Larry Withrow was out for the day with his beautiful 1970 Nova Super Sport, and yes, it is a true Super Sport, according to Larry. 

Larry was racing the car Saturday not only for fun, but to honor his beloved wife.

Larry’s wife Pat died recently from cancer. They had been together for 23 years.

“Pat had as much time and money in the car as I do,” Larry said and then choked up a bit when he continued. “I feel like she is still riding with me.”

When the Withrows purchased the car, it had a 396-cubic inch engine with 325 horsepower from the factory. The previous owner had already gutted the interior so they didn’t feel bad about converting it into a drag car. Now the Nova has a 540-cubic inch motor producing a whopping 855 horsepower. With six pounds of air pressure in the slicks this amazing car turns the 1.8-mile in just a little more than six seconds.

The next races at Hypoxia Drag Strip take place June  17. Gates open at 8 a.m. and racing begins about 11 a.m. Cost is $10 per person and for another $20 you can race your car.