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| Randy Walls' Funny Car smokes 'em in front of the nostalgic Famoso crowd. (Tim Marshall photo) |
It came and went again quickly this year, the California Hot Rod Reunion at Famoso Raceway in the flatlands of Bakersfield. The only thing in more abundance than front-motored dragsters and nostalgia fans were the squadrons of flies.
This is the fifth time I've made the trek North to the Reunion from SoCal, but I found a different perspective on this trip. It was the first time for me to attend as a media type and as a member of a race team with my son and his '64 Chevy II. It looked like I'd be spread a little thin, so this time it was a people trip, to hang around, see the stars, hear the stories, hear the bands, and live the weekend. I was there for the flavor of this yearly event, not the racing part, but this celebration of the Golden Years of Drag Racing.
NHRA veteran Stan Adams brought his talented track-prep crew from Pomona and with the Herculean efforts of the NHRA Motorsports Museum Director Steve Gibbs and Curator Greg Sharp along with a ton of volunteers, this version of the Reunion would present more new and restored classic dragsters than ever before.
We arrived late on Thursday evening just after tech inspection closed, but the pits had row after row of tag-along and open trailers to support this pre-catalytic converter crowd. No Castrol Technology Centers, no Skoal Girls, no multi-car teams, just the cream of nostalgia racing and exhibition cars wanting to make their statements upon this historic quarter-mile.
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| Not everything was a celebration on the top end as one of the Gassers slid along the oily Famoso track. (Zak Hawthorne photo) |
This will probably be the last time for Famoso's direct visual link to the past when over 60 diggers from all over this country would show-up to show who's the boss at the original Smokers March Meet. The place is going to change since the Kern County Department of Airports, which oversees Famoso, voted unanimously to accept NHRA's bid for the drag strip's lease over the next 20 years. Planned and much needed improvements include concrete barriers to replace the galvanized guardrails, grinding the surface of the racetrack, repaving the shut down area and repaving the return road. '64 World Champ Jack Williams, who subleases and operates the facility from NHRA, will be making some major repairs in the expansive pit area and eventually build an upgraded tower. Certainly part of the nostalgia vibe is the lack of modern upgrades, but that has also prevented usage of the strip for NHRA Division 7 meets and preseason testing prior to the Winternationals.
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| Gary Scelzi chauffeured Rance McDaniel, who is in rehab in Bakersfield, Calif. after injuries he received in a racing accident in July. (Tim Marshall photo) |
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