The first weekend of Pre-March Meet testing had plenty of action over the weekend at Auto Club Famoso Raceway north of Bakersfield. New racecars, new engine combinations, gear ratios and a change of the racing surface at the “Patch” to California’s first all-concrete dragstrip gave veteran racers and newcomers issues in getting down the track.

Words by Darr Hawthorne
Photos by Rob Gibson
and Darr Hawthorne

After weeks of preparation, Saturday’s track and weather conditions were near perfect and the Famoso track was getting better with stacks of used slicks being dragged down the legendary quarter mile behind the new tractor. Track Manager Blake Bowser and his father John have invested in and built a new powerhouse dragstrip, arguably the hub of nostalgia and vintage racing of the West Coast.