OMS

[none]

I really liked Phil Burgess' article about Ontario Motor Speedway at nhra.com. You always hear people talk about Orange County, Lions, Irwindale, Fontana etc when they talk about SoCal tracks that are no more. But, Ontario must've been something! Way ahead of its time, that's for sure. Impressive performances run there on nothing more than the pit lane of the oval. I've stayed at that old Hilton built on turn 3 a lot when we've come down for Pomona, and I always think about what used to sit on that site. A real shame it was only open ten years. Would have loved to have seen a race there.
So, if there was one SoCal track that you wished was still operating, which one would it be? Crazy that these are all gone!

 

[SundayNiagara]

Long Beach, right at sea level. 32 car Top Fuel shows on Saturday nights.

 

[Race Fan]

O.C.I.R

OMS. never seemed right.
But then again nothing at the Cal Jam concerts did either...

 

[d'kid]

OMS wasn't bad for Indy Car Racing (thanks PPG)... went the 1st year to the drags... cold and boring...

 

[vegasnitro]

I never got to go to any of those tracks.

 

[Awk]

OCIR for wed. run what you brung, and Lions for friday run what you brung. And BOTH tracks for weekend balls to the walls.
Ontario was HOT and Smoggy. So smoggy, sometimes it seemed like fog

 

[glofria]

My earliest remembrance of being at the track was at San Fernando, but my favorite was always OCIR. So I voted for both.

 

[Randy]

Running a drag race at OMS was like drag boat racing in the middle of the ocean. The facility was so large and the drag racing event so small it almost made the event look foolish to me. I spent time at Lions, Irwindale and OCIR. OCIR was a perfect place in it's time with capacity crowds at a time when 100 funny car races actually drew 100 funny cars.

 

[rckymtn3]

Running a drag race at OMS was like drag boat racing in the middle of the ocean. The facility was so large and the drag racing event so small it almost made the event look foolish to me. I spent time at Lions, Irwindale and OCIR. OCIR was a perfect place in it's time with capacity crowds at a time when 100 funny car races actually drew 100 funny cars.

Nice!! I need my glasses, but they're somewhere that's not here. Are those Nick Arias Heads?

 

[stitcherbob]

neat to be in the same company as those names on the left border.... Bonin, Leong, Colson......

 

[Toejam]

Running a drag race at OMS was like drag boat racing in the middle of the ocean. The facility was so large and the drag racing event so small it almost made the event look foolish to me. I spent time at Lions, Irwindale and OCIR. OCIR was a perfect place in it's time with capacity crowds at a time when 100 funny car races actually drew 100 funny cars.

Not sure who had them, Bill Sweeney maybe? Pics from Ontario for a Drag race, and you sat a mile away from the cars! Like Sonoma today!

 

[robinjackson]

On my first USA trips, I visited OMS for the NHRA Finals three times ('74, '78, '80 -- the last drag race). They may have been racing down pitlane but it was the quickest, fastest dragstrip on the planet -- to us visitors from Britain, a fantastic place and experience.

In 2008, I stopped for a coffee at a Starbucks on Milliken Ave., just about where Turn 2 once stood. I mentioned this to the waitress.

She had no idea what I was talking about.

She looked 20-something and said she was Ontario born and bred, but had never heard of the Speedway. "I'll have to ask my dad about it," she said, somewhat doubtfully.

The area has indeed changed out of all recognition. It is extraordinary that OMS can have opened in 1970 as the racetrack of the future, closed in 1980, and have vanished from local memory just 28 years later. Perhaps in 500 years' time, archaeologists will dig up clues while excavating around there and wonder what the heck it could have been.

I was also fortunate on those trips to visit Irwindale, Fremont and OCIR, plus Pomona of course.

 

[Race Fan]

Running a drag race at OMS was like drag boat racing in the middle of the ocean. The facility was so large and the drag racing event so small it almost made the event look foolish to me. I spent time at Lions, Irwindale and OCIR. OCIR was a perfect place in it's time with capacity crowds at a time when 100 funny car races actually drew 100 funny cars.

Randy
I remember that Roadster well. Sure is a lot nicer looking then my brothers 56 in the background.....

 

[bowtiebill]

San Fernando was the first track I had ever been to (lived a bikes ride away). Been to Ontario, it was OK. I liked Irwindale a lot.
But, nothing beats OCIR.

 

[Nick Name]

OCIR had class, but there was something about the Beach that made it king.

 

[Randy]

Nice!! I need my glasses, but they're somewhere that's not here. Are those Nick Arias Heads?

I had the car built by New Visions Race Cars in 1978 and ran it a few times unpainted. While it was at Tom Stratton's getting painted Dave Calvert (piston engineer for Arias) called me and said he and Nick Arias would like to try a 3 pushrod Chevy-Hemi in my car if I wouldn't mind. I put hundreds of runs on it at OCIR's "Quick 32" bracket 1 every weekend OCIR was open until it closed in 1983. Car was way ahead of it's time.

 

[rocketman]

OCIR. I never got to go there but I feel like I have from the countless magazine articles, stories and movies that were filmed there.

 

[santed66]

I really miss Baylands. Drags, sprint cars, speedway bikes and motocross all at one facility!! It was only about 45 min from where I grew up.

 

[glofria]

In Southern California, Famoso is about all we have left. I was going to put this video in the Nostalgia page, but thought it would go well here. See the aerial shot at the end to get a perspective on what the CHRR looked like this year.

 

[Jim]

Doesn't Palmdale count?

Some years ago, I flew out of NY early so I could look for the Big Willy "track" near the shipping area (never did find it). Rather than go away empty handed, I navigated up to Palmdale where I had a great time.
I understand it's now gone, no?
I've still got my purple L.A.C.R. ball cap; ugly but it means something to me.