I always though Bob Bartell owned Cordova. He was a retired Policeman from Moline IL. The drag strip was started with donations to get the kids off the street racing. If you payed attention, the flagman always moved his right foot before he pulled the flag. Shhhhhhhhhhhh, The tree kinda ruined that home field advantage. They say Cordova is the oldest continual running strip in the country, and the World series of Dragracing was one of the big events of the year.