Irwindale will have its last Drag Race this year.

All we got is Barona south of the grapevine.

Hate to see a track close but that place was scary

Yup Mike, very scary. I went there 4 or 5 times and there was crash every time I went. Won't be missed by me.

The symbolic last nail in the coffin...All that's left now is the twice a year dog-n-pony show at Pomona

Agree, it is a scary place. Great place to watch. Will miss the hot dog dinners on the back of Fabbro's truck.

Saw that it was closing, that is a bad sign of the Economy and restrictive laws.

We have had a few new tracks built and a few that had closed down have reopened but overall we are losing them fast now.

I believe it will be similar all over the Country. like Gavin Newsome said California is the leader and America will follow its lead. He seemed to be proud of that.

Drag racing has been on the decline for many years but it is picking up speed now going off the cliff and if the Democrats win it is just a matter of time before it is gone as we know it.

There is no place for us in the New Green Deal the Democrats are going to stick up us. If you can not afford gas you will not be racing. I do not think many of us would go to racing electric cars so this is our last chance.

Since Biden took office and said he wanted to put Gas, Coal and Oil out of business gas prices have went up and it has effected every single one of us in some way.

For me for 10 years I was making a little more money every year than I spent on it. Not much but gas prices were cheap and payout was good and I did okay. Now it cost twice as much to race and less people are racing so payout is lower and even if you was to win every week you still not making money. Or at least MUCH harder to break even.

Less racers, less money for tracks and that is part of decision to close down more tracks. As it goes down the toilet it is picking up speed.

Sad news to see it go away. As for scary, yep not the best surface and a very narrow groove. Then there was the shut down issues with the circle track wall. And lastly returning to your pit navigating the dips and holes. Having said all that we have never had an on track issue there, but have seen many. We hold the current NA10.5 track record and have since our first pass down that track. Ultimately we went 4.970/140 at Irwindale. The track prep when we were there was generally on point, with the exception of the odd Thursday night not being the best.

But even saying all that sad to see it go, don't get me wrong never loved going there for one day races. But it was a place to race, and far preferable to Barona. BTW we ran a tenth quicker than their small tire record the one and only time we went there with a 5.08. But its issues are far worse to me than Irwindale. But I hear they are planning on making some changes there as well. Equipment to prep the track is a big issue, and I hear maybe the starting line will get moved back some. But for now it is all there is. We recently lost NMCA as well, which leave sus with no place to race and a car with a lot of money in it looking for a home. We have talked about maybe just going comp racing. Need to make some small changes to do it, but at least it is a place to test and race until things look better for us.

The operator from the Irwindale Dragstrip is working on a new 1/8 mile track at Kern County. Sounds like they have made a lot of progress but that's north of the Grapevine for sure. About 100ish miles away. He always did a good job getting butts in the seats, but I a imagine that will be a new challenge in the new location. Feel sorry for all the folks who have attended and raced Irwindale for years.

Curly1, your way off base on this one. Land is worth a ton of money, lease is up at the end of the year, owners have moved a ton of equipment to Kern County Raceway so it works for all involved

So, what are the rumors or whatever about Kern County Raceway building a dragstrip. I thought some time ago it was shot down about even being a rumor. Has something changed?

2BKING

So you'll drive by Famoso 1/4 to get to Kern County's 1/8 mile.......Yep this is SoCal racing 2024....

I'll race both! I was old school 1/4 mile only but now prefer 1/8 mile. Yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks!

2BKING

Welcome to our world!
Are there two new 1/8 tracks in Keen?

I’d say there is about zero chance of that track getting built at Kern County Raceway

The more I read, the more I am glad I live on the right (hand) coast. Good luck to you all. Take care. Tom Worthington

Went there one time with Rob's T/S, car ran in the mid 4.50's/154. There was a Corvette ProMod pitted next to us that ran 3.90/195 tryin' to die. Well organized with a HUGE spectator turnout and I do mean huge! Lots of fast cars but as Mike, Larry and others have said, scary merge into one lane a little past the finish line. If you lost the laundry or brakes it would be ugly.

Bob

The first 330' of concrete has been poured for the dragstrip at Kern County, so we have been told. A couple of folks with money are in on that deal.

Al, that’s interesting because the operator was at Bakersfield last weekend for the reunion and said the dragstrip was on hold right now

Mike, the new strip manager has ties to Kern also?

Barry, Tim Huddleston was the guy who ran Irwindale and he is now running Kern County Raceway

WTF ?? There is a Kern county racetrack or there isn't one ? On hold or almost done or ?


Is there an actual story here or not?