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THE MARCH MEET IS HAPPENIN', BABYBy Darr Hawthorne
The annual Bakersfield March Meet was the legendary place where the quickest and fastest dragsters in this country would gather for the year's bragging rights. Garlits would tow out to California along with Chris Karamesines and Connie Kalitta to take on the best of the West Coast. Sometimes the Eastern rails would show the West the door, and the following year the West Coast would prevail. (Photo above by Tim Marshall) This year's 43rd Annual Goodguys March Meet provided the best cars in front motored top fuel racing on that same track to prove who is the toughest. Even Northern California's Gerry Steiner, who first came to Bakersfield as a tire wiper in 1960, was here to show his stuff. He debuted a brand new car and grabbed the Number 1 spot in qualifying on Friday by running a solid 5.938 at 248.27. Steiner runs a low buck operation, as do many of today's front-motored nitro racers. He came to this race with one extra short block in his tag-along trailer and sat out Saturday afternoon's qualifying session to save parts.
M&H tires has been the spec tire for the entire vintage racing circuit, a 12-inch tire with a compound that had not kept up with the speeds and traction capabilities of today's front motored nitro racers. This meet would be the first race for the drivers and tuners to run a new compound M&H, and the tire withstood the test. (Photo above by Zak Hawthorne) When Saturday morning rolled around, there were 24 front-motored
top fuel dragsters vying for the 16-car field, still lead by Steiner.
In addition to a full nitro field, there were lots of winged AA/Gas
Supercharged Coupes, A/Gassers, B/Gassers, A/Fuelers, Jr/Fuelers, bracket
cars, and Nostalgia Eliminator racers. With over 400 racecars in the
house, it was packed! Unfortunately, with so many cars entered, some
drivers were on better passes than others.
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