2012 Hall of Fame
Bill Cairns
MIR Owner from 1967-1972
Bill Cairns saved MIR
from certain
destruction, and then he
introduced it to the
drag racing world. Bill
ushered in the era of
big pro shows, including
perhaps the first
all-pro show in drag
racing history. From
1967 to 1972, the
innovations Bill Cairns
introduced to drag
racing at his newly
named Budds Creek
Dragway continue to this
day.
Bill Cairns wanted to be
a drag racer since he
was a young kid in
Boston. He loved cars
from the age of 10 and
eventually raced at
Sanford, Maine, until
entering the Navy. After
the Navy, Bill raced at
nearby Aquasco Raceway.
Back in those days,
Budds Creek, Maryland,
was considered far away
from everything. Bill
drove by one day during
a snowstorm and noticed
a For Sale sign. He
thought about it for
about an hour and then
called. He asked if the
current owners would
lease it to him for a
year but they were tired
of pilots using the
track for touch and go
landings and hot rodders
sneaking in to use the
asphalt after hours.
They did not want the
liability anymore so
they told Bill this was
his last chance to buy
it or they would bust up
the black top. Bill
talked them into letting
him rent it for a year
and then he did buy it.
If he hadn't done that,
MIR would not be here
today.
When Bill bought the
property, there were no
grandstands or lights
for running at night. He
put in 3000 seat
grandstands, and then
installed the track’s
first set of lights.
With the help of friends
from the electric
company and John Calder,
who headed a
construction company,
Bill and the team were
able to put up all the
light poles and wire
them up over two
weekends! One of Bill's
proudest moments was the
night they turned on the
lights for the first
time.
Bill also put in nice
rest rooms and rebuilt
the snack bars so that
they were fast,
efficient, and had great
food. He bought the
timing clocks from
previous owner Joe
Laroque, and credits Joe
with building the
biggest and best track
in the country. It was
100 feet wide and a mile
long... all the other
tracks in the country
were 60 feet wide and
3000 feet long.
Bill pitched in with all
the jobs. He announced,
did tech inspection, and
in doing so, got to know
all the racers, who
really supported him,
including many from
Virginia, who finally
had a closer place to
race than Richmond.
Bill introduced the
world to Budds Creek
Dragway by putting on
perhaps the first
pro-only show in drag
racing history. It was
considered one of the
best shows ever held.
Held on a Wednesday
night in June 1970, the
show followed the NHRA
Summernationals in
Englishtown, New Jersey,
where all the best cars
in the country were just
hours away. Bill signed
up the best 16 fuel
funny cars, 16 top fuel
dragsters, four Fuel
Altereds, four
Supercharged Gassers,
and a couple of
wheelstanders!
The names read like a
who's who of drag
racing: The Snake, the
Mongoose, the Hawaiian,
Jungle Jim, Brutus, the
Chi Town Hustler, Don
Garlits, Shirley
Muldowney, Connie
Kalitta, the Fighting
Irish, Ohio George, Big
John Mazmanian, S&S
Speed Shop, Wild Bill
Shrewsberry, and many
more.
Six thousand people
showed up to watch the
event, which started at
8pm sharp and ended at
11pm sharp! Bill always
started his shows on
time to the MINUTE, with
the funny cars firing up
during the last five
beats of the National
Anthem. Bill said he got
letters for months with
folks thanking him for
the great show and for
getting them home in
time to go to work the
next day. After this
race, everybody knew
about Budds Creek
Dragway!
Another innovation was
four wide funny car
racing. Bill was one of
the very first to run
cars four wide. His
first race was the
Hawaiian, Charlie Allen,
the Hill Bros, and the
Mori Bros. The Mori's
little ChevWagon got a
head start but the nitro
funny cars blew by them
at the finish line! Bill
had three four wide
events before deciding
to stop pushing his luck
with the NHRA!
Bill and his wife ran
Budds Creek Dragway for
six years without one
paid employee. He would
run his used car
dealership and gas
station during the day
and run the track at
night and weekends with
the help of a group of
volunteers! Bill had
been stationed at Pax
River, and all the folks
who worked at the track
were Navy friends who
had stayed in the
Southern Maryland area
after leaving the
service. Bill says he
never could have run
Budds Creek Dragway
without these great
volunteers.
Despite the successes,
the weather had not been
a friend to Bill. But a
perfect storm occurred
in late 1973, when he
got the opportunity to
buy a Pontiac franchise,
which became the famous
Bill Cairns Pontiac. At
the same time, Tod Mack
and Larry Clayton made
an offer to buy the
track. It was perfect
timing, and Bill sold
the property to Tod and
Larry, who renamed it
Maryland International
Raceway, a name that
survives to this day.
Bill Cairns took
beautiful St. Mary's
Drag-O-Way, saved it
from the jackhammer, and
then introduced it to
the top names in
professional drag racing
as Budds Creek Dragway.
These efforts provided
the springboard to the
successes of the
following 40 years.
Thank you, Bill Cairns,
a true Legend of Budds
Creek.
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