pomona down hill? (1 Viewer)

[sammi]

Props to the Bowsers for not letting the track go to s*&t. It really is the closest thing to late sixties racing you will see. Kinda reminds me of old Irwindale. It was cool to make a couple of test laps there a few years ago. That is the place where we discovered nitro exhaust does great things for a person with allergies.

 

[SoCal Racer]

Also - lots of drivers get their Pro license here (Famoso) now. As far as the "Nostalgia feel" goes it has changed 1000% or more since I first ran there in 1963 with no guard rails, but also most people don't know that we had to turn left at the end of Pomona toward a stack of railroad ties waiting for us. Everything has to change to keep up with the times safety wise. The track surface is probably up there with the best anywhere. There will have to be a lot of paving done, and some expansion, but that won't hurt the nostalgia events. The atmosphere will still be "This is the Smokers Track".

The first time I ever heard of Salinas was at Famoso a few years ago when he was testing (or licensing) his Big Show TF during a Saturday Night Nitro event. I have to agree the track surface is at Famoso is great, but the place is so steeped in history I would hate to see it lose that vibe if they did too many "improvements."

Roger, thanks for the info. You mentioned a lot of stuff about Famoso that I wasn't aware of. I was thinking about big city track getting the most spectators due to location, hotels, even things to do (tourism). I always hear rumors that Pomona will be shut down by anti-car factions in Calif, so was kinda thinking where would NHRA move the Winternats. Phoenix actually came to mind cuz AHRA used to run their version of the Winternats at the old Beeline Raceway. Well, see what happens.

Hopefully Pomona won't close as no matter where they held the Winters and Finals they would have less attendance, since L.A. is such a huge market. If it did close I suppose Phoenix would be an option. The weather is good, the track is good and plenty long, but for spectators the pitch of the grandstands is too low and viewing is not the best.

 

[DAN]

Noticed on the Fox show just how large some of those cracks are on the racing surface. Some great runs, but a lot more inconsistency from the fuel and pro stock teams than we normally see. Weather related, track related, or both?