Mike Griffith: Drags, dirt make for big race weekend
| Thursday, Oct 09 2008 01:42 AM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 27 2009 02:45 PM
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Darcy Wandler, left, and Don MacGowan unload Brent Harris' 1933 Willys A/Gas car at Famoso Raceway for the 2002 Hot Rod Reunion. The Hot Rod Reunion returns this weekend to Famoso.
Racing fans in Bakersfield have the opportunity for a sensory overload this weekend with major events at Auto Club Famoso Raceway and Bakersfield Speedway.
The 17th annual California Hot Rod Reunion begins its three-day festival of nostalgia racing Friday at Auto Club Famoso Raceway and that same night Bakersfield Speedway kicks off its annual Budweiser Dirt Track Nationals on the third-mile clay oval.
And the best thing: Fans can catch the drag racing by day and the dirt-track action at night.
The CHRR reunion is much more than just a drag race (although 300 nostalgia-type cars will be competing) as it also has a car show, manufacturer's midway, swap meet and the highly popular Memory Lane where restored and recreated cars, many out of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, will be on display. The reunion is part of the museum's "living history" philosophy, which works to bring to life the sights, sounds and people who made history in the early days of drag racing, land speed racing and the golden age of American car culture.
A highlight of that philosophy takes place just after dusk on Saturday when dozens of vintage fuel-burning dragsters will be brought to life the old-fashioned way, by a push start, and then driven onto the drag strip for the "cacklefest."
On the racing side, competition takes place in several categories, including Nostalgia Top Fuel and Nostalgia Funny Car.
Qualifying for the 16-car Top Fuel field takes place at 2 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday with first-round eliminations set for 5 p.m. Saturday.
More than 20 Funny Cars are expected for Sunday's "Chicago-style" competition, beginning at 11 a.m. Gates open daily at 8 a.m.
Four divisions of cars will be in competition Friday night at Bakersfield Speedway -- Late Models, Super Stocks, Modifieds and Hobby Stocks. Late Models and Super Stocks will run a full program, including feature races, while the other two divisions will run preliminary events. Late Models, Modifieds and Hobby Stocks will be in action Saturday night. Racing starts each night at 6.
