CNIIARCHIVES
P130
BY KENT TAYLOR
O
nce heralded as "The
Eighth Wonder of the
World," the Houston
Astrodome is now the world's
largest storage unit. The playing
surface where the Astros' Nolan
Ryan once threw 100-mile-per-
hour fastballs is now packed
with rusty, dirty retractable
seats, their brittle fabric cracking
and splitting. The football field
where the Oilers' Earl Campbell
knocked down linebackers like
bowling pins is hidden beneath
portable outhouses and various
other equipment. Shuttered since
2009, the Astrodome is undoubt
-
edly a ghost, but one that Hous-
tonians can't bring themselves
to cast aside, so it stands at rest,
ignominiously serving as a hold-
ing pen for its replacement, the
shiny new NRG Stadium.
But oh—if this dome could
talk? The stories it could tell!
Long ago, during the lull be-
tween the end of the NFL sea-
son and the beginning of Major
League Baseball, the Houston
Astrodome served as the home
for the opening round of the
AMA's Grand National Cham-
pionship series. Two nights of
racing inside the dome featured
TT racing on the first night, while
day two showcased a short track
event. The victors' list from the
Astrodome is both a registry of
"Who's Who" and "Who's That?"
in motorcycle racing: many-time
World Champion Kenny Rob-
erts won here, as did one-time
Grand National race winner Mike
Haney.
There were repeat winners,
first-time winners, and winners
who could make a trophy girl
blush, but nobody had ever won
both the TT and the short track
events on consecutive nights.
Nobody, that is, until "Super
Steve" Eklund did it on February
3rd and 4th in 1978.
The Houston TT and short
track races were oddballs on
the Grand National circuit.
These two racetracks were built,
dismantled, and then rebuilt
the next year, making them the
only tracks that were essentially
"new" each season. Dirt track-
ers and their tuners liked to take
notes on what worked and what
didn't, regarding gearing, tires,
etc. The Houston Astrodome
resembled a first date every year,
Steve Eklund
(right) was the
first racer to win
both the TT and
the short track at
the Astrodome
doubleheader.