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Questions about Ontario Motor Speedway (1 Viewer)

To answer a question from back at the begining of this thread,the person in the straw hat with Shirley's car looks like it could be none other than Dave McClelland. long time announcer and at the time one of the press directors for NHRA. Below is a pic of mine from 1978

OMS 1978
2157114033_3f30a9be67_o.jpg
 
A pair of New Yorkers take home the top prize of the week...Coyle and Blake...they both must be old enough to remember what I looked like way back then...even from the rear. Great job!

Thanks to a host of posters that put up the pix of OMS. For those readers that never got the chance to attend in person, it is hard to describe the magnitude of the place and the huge number of high quality attributes it had.

The Press Room, of which I was actively involved in those days, the restaurant overlooking the finish line...four or five stories up...the unbelievable PA system...which I thought could break windows five miles away if used at full volume!!!

One of the major memories I have of the place was doing a live TV show...with the announcing position on top of a concession building located along the walkway at the top of the grandstands. Unbelievable view...but for those who complain today about being too far away from the track...you don't even have a clue!!! You needed optical aids just to see who was on the starting line!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank the Lord for TV monitors for announcers.

The OMS program, coupled with the 1971 live show from Dallas and the Springnationals were the last attempts at a full show coverage live of drag racing...to my recollection.

The Dallas show started with round one but ended midway through the program...no station or network would clear enough time for an entire race.

The OMS show started somewhere in the middle of the race and was to show all the way through to the finals. Worked great except for the funny car final where one racer had blackened a crankshaft in the semis and was slow in getting back. The TV clock kept ticking tho, and eventually ran out.

Earlier in the thread, there was lots of talk about the short race track (ie: Pit Road for the oval) and the stopping difficulties if in trouble.

Recall if you will, OMS is where the late Doug Moody crashed into the turn one wall when he failed to make the turn. The accident left him wheel chair bound for the rest of his life.

Thanks again for all the memories....that's all that remains of OMS today....another loss for the world of motorsports.

Take care and everyone have a most Merry Christmas and a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.

MaC
 
Big Mac your spot on, the top of the spectator stands were in a different zip code than the race track. It still was an awesome place to visit and to watch the WHOLE 1320 at onetime.:D
 
As Much as I hate the new Sonoma for that reason, I'd need to be in the Pits at a track like Ontario to enjoy the races. That far away you have no sensation of the races at all.
 
Registered member said:
As Much as I hate the new Sonoma for that reason, I'd need to be in the Pits at a track like Ontario to enjoy the races. That far away you have no sensation of the races at all.
Click to expand...

Went the first couple of years to the Supernationals

believe me Joe, it was much better from the pit side bleachers... reason I didn't go to the last couple of years after I got back 'to the world' is I still couldn't get pass the idea they were running on pit road... same reason I can't ever bring myself to watch a drag race in person at a parking lot...

OMS was a Palace, but... it would be like running the Big Go on pit lane at IMS

d'kid...
 
I was lucky enough to go to the OMS Supernationals in 1972, 73 and 74. The National Drag Racing Club in England organised trips to California throughout the the 1970's, and I went on the first 3 trips. Ontario was just mind boggling. The 1972 trip was the best vacation of my life. Not only did we go to OMS, but we also went to Lions, Irwindale and Orange County. Great memories!

I still have the programs from those 3 Supernationals, and in these days of small fields in the Pro classes, they make interesting reading. In those years, the number of entries in the T/F and FC classes were:

T/F 1972-67 1973-51 1974-59

FC 1972-55 1973-35 1974-34
 
Registered member said:
Wow, those are some cool pictures.

The USAC Champ Car stuff is the best....love the shots of the late Art Pollard. I think Swede Savage took over that ride in 1973, both were killed at Indy that year.

Those Champ Car crowds weren't lacking.
Click to expand...

Ahhhhh ... the old USAC 3 wide starts!!! Only at Indy do they still start this way.

I could tell from the victory lane pic that was a McLaren, so I did a websearch and it turns out that was Roger McCluskey, which was surprising to me. The late, great Peter Revson was the lead McLaren driver at the time, and he ran all the F1 races and as many USAC Indy Car races as he could. Peter was also the last American-born driver to win a F1 race ... WAYYYYYYY back in '73.

Here is a link you will probably enjoy T ... tells everything you need to know about that race at OMS in '72 ... ALL the hitters were there ... Unsers, Andretti, Foyt, Ruby, Parsons, Posey, Johncock, Lone Star JR, even Bill Simpson finished in the top 10!!!

Ontario Motor Speedway, 3 Sep 1972 « Indy Car « OldRacingCars.com
 
Ontario Motor Speedway was one of the finest racing facilities ever built. It was just ahead of it's time. I was lucky enough to attend every type of race that was held there. I remember seeing Danny Ongais going down the back straight one year on his top. The drag races were awesome but one of my favorites was the diesel truck races. Those guys could haul butt around that big oval.
Another favorite of mine was the Smothers Brothers in the night club they ran up above the grandstands.
It was a shame that the only events that ever really made money were the rock concerts. They had to be cancelled cause the police couldn't handle the crowds and the traffic. I remember one night driving on the 10 frwy after a concert let out dodging people crossing the frwy to get to where they parked their cars.
Very fond memories, thank you for bringing them back.
 
Registered member said:
Went the first couple of years to the Supernationals

believe me Joe, it was much better from the pit side bleachers... reason I didn't go to the last couple of years after I got back 'to the world' is I still couldn't get pass the idea they were running on pit road... same reason I can't ever bring myself to watch a drag race in person at a parking lot...

OMS was a Palace, but... it would be like running the Big Go on pit lane at IMS

d'kid...
Click to expand...

Speaking of Pitroad....How in the world did they get any traction on a Pitroad?? You just know it couldn't have been as smooth as say Pomona or OCIR at the time! I guess running 6's like they were then traction was not that big a factor as now!
 
I think the thing to remember about OMS is the pit road was built as a drag strip. It wasn't a situation of "hey, we've got a place to hold a drag race." So, it was built supersmooth, with what was billed as "the most advanced asphalt" of the day. And it did have the best traction until........................the aforementioned diesel races. For whatever reason, some have said fuel spills on pit lane, the place was never the same after the truck races.
 
Registered member said:
Speaking of Pitroad....How in the world did they get any traction on a Pitroad?? You just know it couldn't have been as smooth as say Pomona or OCIR at the time! I guess running 6's like they were then traction was not that big a factor as now!
Click to expand...

Well Garlits did run his [email protected] on that pit road. Which was low et of the world for seven years afterward. Same race Beck became the first racer to dip into the sixties with a 5.69. there were eight alternates that ran in the fives at that event for the first all five second top fuel field. I remember it as being the greatest top fuel event ever. And so far IMO nothing has topped it.

NHRA 50th Anniversary: Great Races
 
Last edited:
Registered member said:
Well Garlits did run his [email protected] on that pit road. Which was low et of the world for seven years afterward. Same race Beck became the first racer to dip into the sixties with a 5.69. there were eight alternates that ran in the fives at that event for the first all five second top fuel field. I remember it as being the greatest top fuel event ever. And so far IMO nothing has topped it.

NHRA 50th Anniversary: Great Races
Click to expand...

Wow, that is Impressive! I guess the thought of a Dragstrip being built within a Super track seemed like a Joke. I still cannot believe they torn it down after just 10 years! Somebody lost $100 Mil on that deal...:rolleyes:
 
Wasn't Dallas Gardner part of management at OMS?

What is funny must be how close the track in Fontana is in relation to where OMS sits. Between the two venues, one must ask, what went right, and what went wrong.
 
I'll be down on the property tonight at the new Citizen's Bank Arena to see Metallica.
 
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