pomona down hill?
- Thread starter roscoe37
- Start date
stitcherbob
Nitro Member
I said "oh boy another thread on low attendance at a race".....very surprised it wasn't 
glofria
Nitro Member
Hey Cliff, thought you might want to know that there is a get-together tomorrow at the Valley Relics Museum to discuss the Paramount Ranch and San Fernando Raceway. Just heard about it a few days ago myself.
SundayNiagara
Nitro Member
I was told by a super-reliable source the finish line is 9' lower than the start. No big deal.
Luke Nieuwhof
Nitro Member
I think the rule is 1%? New tracks are built with the maximum downtrack grade available.
Ramjet
Nitro Member
Yes - It is 1% up or down by the rule, BUT down hill is not necessarily what you always want. The "Motor" stays loaded a little harder (slightly) which is what Nitro likes, so there are times the Uphill is to your advantage of not dropping a cylinder or knocking the tires off.
ZMAX and Vegas are also built downhill. NHRA allows for a 1% downhill grade.hey, bruton can take vegas or zmax and tilt two lanes down, and two up, then it can be TF (uphill) vs. FC (downhill).....even steven. 32 car field
Interestingly Bristol is uphill through the 1/8th mile. If you stand on the pit side and look at the opposite grandstands (which I guarantee are level) near the starting line, they are much higher in the air that where they end at the 1/8th mile. Roughly 6 feet for the first 1/8th.
I love that Salinas got Bakersfield. Can only see good coming out of that. But I don't think Bakersfield would be a good location for the Winternats. If Pomona was closed by whomever wants it closed, NHRA would be wise to move the race to a large city location. Phoenix, Las Vegas would both be withing driving range from LA. Could easily fly into both cities. Lots of hotels, etc etc. Early Feb weather is good for both locations. Just my 2 cents.
Z28LT1
Nitro Member
Maybe Phoenix for Winters, Vegas is still pretty cool early February.
Ramjet
Nitro Member
I don,t quite know why Bakersfield is not a good choice for major NHRA events of any size.
#1 - Famoso is already a AAA (SCAC sponsored) track with NHRA having the master lease on the property.
#2 The rumor about this deal also is that the side opposite the pits which has already been groomed for Motorhomes will be expanded to take in the area that is a feedlot (double existing size) and the property behind will be purchased or leased for more run off.
#3 I-5 & Hwy 99 meet right at Bakersfield and are the largest - busiest highways in the western U.S. (maybe the whole U.S.). Bakersfield is approximately 3 times the size of Gainsville which does OK and Meadows field has Major airlines as well as connecting flights.
#4 Phoenix is 6.5 hours away and Vegas is 5 - LAX to Bakersfield is 115 miles (about 2.5 Hours in traffic).
#5 Part of this deal is supposed to be working with the Bakersfield Hotel / Motel / resturant associations.
#6 Famoso is 90 miles from Fresno which is about 550,000 people with lots of hotels - resturants - etc..
#7 You can get back to Bakersfield from Famoso in 20 Minutes.
#8 Those oil Pumps - grapes - pastachios - oranges and other produce could care less if you ran cars 24/7 - 365 (except on Leap Year it's 366).
The last I heard from a vendor to the track is that a "Meeting of the financial minds" has not come together yet, but it sounds Win - Win to me if it can happen.
P.S. Another rumor is that Tony Stewart wants to put a Joint Venture Eldora type (copy) dirt track on the grounds.
- Thread starter
- #17
if you ran a big show race at fomoso the changes would ruin old time feeling.they run great events there,i would be fun to see a test and tune there for big show for all their classses. a eldora type track would be really cool,if they like room.is the salinas buying the track a done deal or a rumor??
Ramjet
Nitro Member
It is still a rumor at this point, but one of their major Vendors said it was done until the Bowsers said "Oh - By the way we forgot to tell you the track equipment is not included. That's an extra 50 grand." Salinas didn't get to be a multimillianaire by being stupid so no papers have been signed yet. Pretty sure he knows what used equipment is worth.
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".
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".
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.
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