The fall of Drag Racing , an article from . . .

[Greg Myers]

. . . Cartech Books "Lost Drag Strips " : http://www.cartechbooks.com/techtips/the-fall-of-drag-racing/?utm_source=TT_CT514_LOST_DRAG_STRIPS&utm_campaign=TT_CT514&utm_medium=email

Edited June 5, 2015 by Greg Myers

[Crazy Ed]

The first Track Picture in the link was my "Home" Track as I grew up. Many of the era Greats ran there. Ivo'd bring his Cars that NHRA Tracks wouldn't allow to run there.

[High octane]

I need to get a copy of that book myself.

[Daddyfink]

Real estate prices and environmental concerns killed the tracks in Southern California. Pomona hangs on a thread with the encroachment of very wealthy neighborhoods who's residents hold the ear of City Hall

[Petetrucker07]

Real estate prices and environmental concerns killed the tracks in Southern California. Pomona hangs on a thread with the encroachment of very wealthy neighborhoods who's residents hold the ear of City Hall

You got that right. I've heard some outrageous numbers for the fines if they run long for any given day. Something like a 100 dollars per minute over the races given curfew time. It's kinda funny. Pomona is pretty much a ghetto, except on the hill and near the track.

The track at Ca Speedway has a noise limit. Something wierd like 96 decibels. I was their when they had the noise tests. They had all sorts of cars, blown altereds, alcohol fun cars and dragster, street cars, pro stock. All that. They had people with meters set up in the speedway area, on side street around the track. The guy they had posted on the Cherry ave bridge at the end of the track, recorded higher noise levels from the traffic on Cherry ave than any car that was on the track.

That drag strip did get shut down a few years earlier. 1, I do mean 1 resident. Didn't like the noise coming from the drags. Now mind you the drag strip is on the same property as the speedway where NASCAR races. He filed complaint after complaint after complaint. Then finally getting a lawyer to sue the city for noise. They shut it down. Then court hearing this, lawyers meeting that. They came to an agreement. But here's the most ridiculous part. The guy that started it all moved! Before the agreements were made. I heard Ca speedway bought that house and tore it down. But I just could not believe that the guy complained about the drags, that kids off the streets, onto a track. I never heard that the guy complained the NASCAR noise, only the drags.

Los Angeles County Raceway, Palmdale, Ca. That's were I first had my car on a track. The land was leased. The sand plant next door owned the property. They decided not to renew the contract, because they needed to make their quarry pit bigger. This was at the peak of the housing market out here. Now I drive by it. It's a giant quarry, with very little going on now. It's sad.

I've driven by the old Lyons Dragway in Long Beach. It's a big rail hub for one of the big shipping companies. No sign that there used to be a track there. Can't even tell.

Same with the old Irwindale track. They sold the property to build a Miller brewery on it. This is supposedly the last year of the current Irwindale speedway. I heard it's getting tore down to build a Walmart.

The cities and law enforcement agencies preach no street racing, take it to the track. Kinda hard to do that when they're disappearing.

Edited June 5, 2015 by Petetrucker07

[djflyer]

Sad but not surprising to think of all the tracks that are gone - strips, short tracks, even long ovals. "Take it off the street" - to where?

The noise complaints reminds me of the people who move next to an airport thats been there for decades before, then complain about the noise and make the city/state/govt pay for sound-proofing the houses.

There was talk the Reno Air Races might fall for the same reason.

[Mike 1017]

Greg thanks for posting this book. I have been looking for a book like this. I just got done ordering one from Amazon

Mike

[High octane]

Thanks Mike, as I'll have to order one also.

[Dave Van]

Real estate prices and environmental concerns killed the tracks in Southern California. Pomona hangs on a thread with the encroachment of very wealthy neighborhoods who's residents hold the ear of City Hall

I'm old enough to have gone to many So Cal strips.

Dad was the Valvoline racing director so I tagged along many days.

Lions and Orange County Itnl stick in my mind.

When I was in So Cal last JAN my buddy took me by Orange County......it's gone....but not really anything in it's place!!!!

Noise....maybe....but the land just sits.

Even as a teen we'd go to Orange.......fun place. First place I saw night runs....WILD!

[Petetrucker07]

I'm old enough to have gone to many So Cal strips.

Dad was the Valvoline racing director so I tagged along many days.

Lions and Orange County Itnl stick in my mind.

When I was in So Cal last JAN my buddy took me by Orange County......it's gone....but not really anything in it's place!!!!

Noise....maybe....but the land just sits.

Even as a teen we'd go to Orange.......fun place. First place I saw night runs....WILD!

Another track lost to a land lease deal. Dam shame.

My parents left me with a baby sitter to go to the last race there. My mom still has the final race poster framed in her house. I have the pictures of when they were there. Here's a fact some may or may not know. The Bob Bondurant driving school was founded there.

It's kinda funny if you think about the old Fontana drag strip. They tore down to build the steel mills. Then, they tore down a steel mill to build the speedway.

Edited June 7, 2015 by Petetrucker07

[Rotorbolt73]

Out in my area, we had the Lakeland drag strip. This is where the drag racing scenes from the movie "Two Lane Blacktop" was filmed. The strip was shut down in 79 to make way for a shopping mall. The remains were left to deteriorate and become overtaken by the woods next to the mall. The mall itself was closed and abandoned a few years ago. Eventually, what was left of the strip after 30 years was cleared out to make way for residential development. Of course since the ecomony went sour in 08 nothing has been done with the land. Last time I drove by it, the only thing I saw was the main unpaved dirt road cut through the woods right where the strip itself used to be.

[Mooneyzs]

Looks like I may have to pick this book up. I wonder of the Baylands Fremont Raceway from Fremont California is in there. That was the home track for the Top Alcohol Dragster my family was part of the pit crew from the mid 70's to the mid 80's