Is Pomona Really Sacred Ground? (3 Viewers)

[Gordon]

I've been fortunate enough as a fan to have attended multiple races in all the "classic" locales, except Colombus. I've been to Indy twice, Gainesville twice, Pomona three or four times, and Englishtown countless times (grew up there). Yes, there is definitely a mystique when you walk out from under the stands and see the racing surface at these venues... but nothing is sacred anymore - except the almighty dollar. I've also been to a lot of the other tracks across our great nation, so I do have something to compare them too.

I'm thinking a little outside the box here, and possibly derailing the thread a little, so please bear with me.

If, and that's a HUGE IF, we eliminate Pomona (two races), why not make Indy the Finals? Now there I go, messing with mystique and sacred races again, but hear me out here. If Daytona is the start of the season in NASCAR, why not use our Grand Daddy as our Finals? Some more thought would have to go into this, sure, but I'm just throwing things at the wall to see if they'll stick. If they jockeyed the schedule a little, started the season early enough, maybe shorten the schedule by the two missing Pomona races and close a few gaps along the way, it's possible. According to weather.com precipitation averages would certainly allow for it - it's just the temps that would be questionable, but not impossible.

Quite a few of us have been on here discussing how Indy seems to have lost some of it's mystique over the years, maybe this is an idea that brings some of that back for us? Don't get me wrong, I love Indy & I always will, but I thought this might be an interesting discussion.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled thread topic - sorry for the derail...

 

[nhray]

Pomona may not be sacred ground, but there is a 1/4 mile of it that is. Great racing and performance are usually found there.

Over the years the fuel cars have set or re-set many records in Pomona, so the 1/4 mile national records it now holds may never be broken.

TF quickest field
FC quickest field
FC quickest race
TF et record
FC speed record

 

[d'kid]

In the Beginning, There was The Big Go, and it was the only National Event, we saw it, and it was good...

And there came to Pass, A need to race during the poor months of winter, and The Big Go West came to pass...

And then, in the little town of Bristol, in the Hills of Tennessee, There came The Spring National, and this also was Good. Alas, not long passed, before others coveted the quiet burgh, and the Springs moved to a new home...

Not long after, Near the shores of the Atlantic, Came the Summers in Englishtown, and this was Good for The Eastern Raiders...

And at this Time, The Big Go paid Double Points, As It Was The Most Important of All Events... And the World Finals Floated from Track to Track, Division to Division, so as not to Show Favoritism. And All was Good.

And The year 1969 arrived and a New Track was built in Dallas, and became the Home of the Spring Nationals, and the track was so loved that in that year, it also hosted the World Finals.

And It Was Good.

And from the late Sixties, Through the late Nineties, Supertracks were built, Supertracks were closed, In one case a Supertrack arose from the Ashes of an Icon track of the sixties and seventies eastward 300 miles.

And Races and Dates were added, and the four granddaddy races became lost in importance...

And so as it was written, The Eldest is showing his age, The Second Child has had many facelifts, yeah still is aging, not so gracefully. The third Child is today a different person, having taken on the identity of someone long past. The Fourth Child? Alast, he is no longer up to the task, sadly, the great grandchildren that come to visit have more energy than he can keep up with, he wants to, but his body is old and he can not stretch his bones to keep up with the youngsters.

Honor Thy Father, Always
Yet Know when to take the burden from his shoulders and pass it to the New Generation.

d'kid

 

[mike]

Pomona is the best track I've been to. And I have been to quite a number of tracks around the world. But none give me the feeling I get when I step into the Fairplex... The vibe, the atmosphere can not be beat!!!

 

[Marchboom]

Sure hope that $$$ (or politics) doesn't close Pomona. That land is pretty pricey being close to an airport. Also hope that the NHRA doesn't move the 2 races to another venue, especially the east coast. That would leave the west coast with very few races and lots in the east. Kinda like the IHRA.

I'm really surprised that the politicians haven't closed Pomona. In Kalif, if the politicians find out that you have a hobby that you have fun doing, they either try to tax it or outlaw it.

Except for soccer. Can't mess with that. That would be racist.

 

[stanman]

Re: Is Pomona Really Sacred Gound?

LACR was a pit!
But it was a good bracket racing track. I had a lot of fun there.
At least it was a drag strip, running regularly, close to LA

The only thing wrong with the racing surface at LACR was the wind and the motocross track next door.

 

[stanman]

... Know my roots? The Santa Anna Airport Predates Pomona, Bakersfield Predates Pomona.A D/SA runs as quick or quicker as fuel cars did back 'in the day'. The Writing was on the wall when I left SoCal in the early eighties. Except a very hardcore following, The Southland doesn't give a flying rats about this thing of ours... there will never again be a state of the art, purpose built Dragstrip within 100 miles of 'downtown' LA. ...

Karl,

You hit the nail square on the head with a 16# sledge! Or in drag racing terms... dead on with a zero!

The only reason Pomona has remained so significant is because NHRA's headquarters are just down the street a few miles. If NHRA wasn't officed in Glendora do you really think Pomona would still be the anchors of the schedule!?!?

Los Angeles is a an over-exposed, short attention span kind of place. There are to many entertainment options and a far more eclectic population than almost anywhere but New York. They could not care less about drag racing in general and sure as hell are not interested in a new drag racing venue... note, they could not care less about Pomona either!