Doug Davenport’s beautiful front-motored econo dragster (right) was making lap after wheels-up lap to get dialed in for the big race.

The new Quarter Mile Courtyard (below) is just about complete to welcome its members to an exclusive private seating and viewing area near the starting line that’s elevated to give a great view of the race track. To the rear of the seating, Quarter Mile Courtyard guests enjoy a member’s only area where they are treated to a catered lunch on both Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are still available for this special area.

Blake Bowser, vice president and general manager of the Kern County Racing Association, operators of Auto Club Famoso Raceway and producers of the fabled March Meet, said of the yearly event, “It’s a tradition that all of Bakersfield, Kern County and drag racing can be proud of.”

Today, the March Meet is racing’s top nostalgia event, and is the first stop on the NHRA’s nine-race Hot Rod Heritage Series. It’s still, in Bowser’s words, “…the largest single event in Bakersfield. It helped put Bakersfield on the map. Bakersfield is Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and the March Meet.”