Yesterday, Bakersfield seemed more like early or late season meets at Santa Pod. Temperatures just below freezing and a light layer of snow on the ground.
Not your typical southern Central Valley California weather.
Denver has been hovering around -30 celcius for the past few days. Roll on Racing season!
Hopefully, the elements will revert to normal before the next Reunion meet!
ahensman wrote:Yesterday, Bakersfield seemed more like early or late season meets at Santa Pod. Temperatures just below freezing and a light layer of snow on the ground.
Not your typical southern Central Valley California weather.
Denver has been hovering around -30 celcius for the past few days. Roll on Racing season!
Hopefully, the elements will revert to normal before the next Reunion meet!
I didn't think it ever got that cold in California.
Some fantastic shots Jon...I was there this year and was like a kid in a candy store when I got to the Kackle pits......so many historic FEDs/Altereds...... I took lots of close up pics of the details of how these cars were built back then, hoping that I can include some of them into the cars I build.
I spent a lot of time in the Pure Heaven pits with my buddy Chris Bennett, and had some fantastic conversations with Leon Fitzgerald about running iron Chevys on nitro......as an aside Leon told me that most of the old cars did not get entry or nitro for the event, they did it off there own backs.....those of you who have run nitro cars can figure how much that cost....The Fitzgeralds/Bennetts towed from Las Vegas so it cost them plenty.
If you are a Nostalgia Nut you have to go to this event....it had it all.........
jonmental wrote:Some fantastic shots Jon...I was there this year and was like a kid in a candy store when I got to the Kackle pits......so many historic FEDs/Altereds...... I took lots of close up pics of the details of how these cars were built back then, hoping that I can include some of them into the cars I build.
I spent a lot of time in the Pure Heaven pits with my buddy Chris Bennett, and had some fantastic conversations with Leon Fitzgerald about running iron Chevys on nitro......as an aside Leon told me that most of the old cars did not get entry or nitro for the event, they did it off there own backs.....those of you who have run nitro cars can figure how much that cost....The Fitzgeralds/Bennetts towed from Las Vegas so it cost them plenty.
If you are a Nostalgia Nut you have to go to this event....it had it all.........
Good idea with the detail pictures, I've been told many times in the past that people use the pictures on this website for the same purpose which is nice to know.
If people get the chance they should attend the meeting because it is out of this world but of course everyone has different circumstances and finances.
While I have the chance I want to wish Ron Hope all the best because I found out yesterday that he's had a triple heart bypass.
Get well soon Ron.
This is my first visit to UKDRN and what a site to find ! credit to you all.
Your visit to Bakersfield this year revived memories of my visit there in 1989 on my first ever trip to the USA.
As a bit of background, I had been reading HRM since 1963 and in the black-and-white England of the 1960s, it was a revelation, like a window on a world of colour. Naturally it was the Top Fuel rails that attracted my interest and the rate of progress then was phenomenal - first to 8 seconds, first to 200 mph etc. I spectated at Blackbushe, early days at Santa Pod. It was the noise of those rails that was other-worldly.
In 1989, four of us decided to visit the USA, specifically California. We based at Fresno in the San Joaquim Valley. One day, the other three guys said they wanted to visit Yosemite National Park. I had other ideas. Who wants to look at trees ? A local paper had a tiny ad for 'Nostalgia Drags' at Bakersfield.
I hired a car and headed south in the direction of Bakersfield, a long trip on the Freeway. Every twenty miles or so, the freeway bypassed a town and if you were lucky, you would see the original road lined with Forties semi-derelict motels and milk-shake bars .
Close to Bakersfield I stopped for gas and bought a local map (maps in the USA are pretty useless) and after a long search, found Famoso with what could have been a strip. A bit farther South on the Freeway I took a slip, turning East in what looked roughly the right spot, still way out in the boondocks. Signage in California is as useless as the maps.
After what seemed an endless lonely drive between canyons of giant corncob plants there was a turn-off and a carpark. I was still unsure whether I was in the right place. As I got out the car, there was a familiar earth-trembling burst of noise and a rooster-tail of tyre smoke behind some bleachers.
Welcome to the Fourth Annual AutumnNationals Nostalgia Drags Bakersfield October 7th 1989 ! I can't describe what a fantastic day that was : I met all the old drag heroes who I had only previously read about - particularly I remember AJ Agajanian, by now pretty bowed and bent after a lifetime stepping out of wrecked Willys Altereds, who was intrigued that someone would come all the way from London, England to see the old rails.
The drag cars were almost all from the Fifties and Sixties front-engined era, including some incredible recreations like Glass Slipper. After touring the paddock, I went to sit in a bleacher surrounded by some pretty scary and very large bike guys. When the National Anthem was played at the start of the competitive runs they, er, reminded me that it was my patriotic duty to stand up and sing. It was no moment to start a debate about nationality.
I don't think I had a camera with me, but will have a search just in case I took some photos.
I think this meeting was one of the first forerunners to the meeting you have described here and I can be sure that the impact was even more so in 2014 than it was in 1989.
Truly a day to remember ... and beats the hell out of looking at trees !
The Cackelfest is without doubt one of the best things I have ever witnessed as a drag racing fan.
The crowd on the Saturday at the CHRR is huge compared to the other days and now I understand the reason why.
Words can't do justice to the sights,sounds and smells when over 70+ cars come rumbling past you with flames belching from the headers.
I made the decision to try and take photographers instead of shooting video and it was the wrong choice because apart from a couple of half decent efforts most of them were cack.
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To our current track promoters.
One thing that I really think we should drop here in the UK is the word "cackelfest" from our version of these these type of things.
The word "cackle" is there for a reason, see below
The racing.
The first thing that took me by surprise was how close the racing was.
I know that may sound stupid but I'm just not used to seeing fuel car's running that hard and close here in the UK.
It's one thing seeing these cars in exhibition but in competition with 30 others it's a different animal.
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Being a life long funny can I loved the nostalgia funnies.
I also thought the modern nostalgia AA/FC looked a lot better in the flesh that what I'd seen in images and on film.
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Baz Young had a very expensive weekend.
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Between the gaps in the racing you get loads of this sort of thing to keep you entertained
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Despite launching the body 50ft in the air he was back out the next day.
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At times I longed for a track side pass and my main camera but did try a few panning shots but gave up.
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Baz gets ready for battle.
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Top Fuel Dragster.
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Yes that's me jumping to the blips.
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Great detail.
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So that's it, an amazing experience and something that I will never forget.
Of course there is so much more than the classes I've listed and shown, most things at the reunion are just breathtakingly stunning.
It's well worth the sacrifices I made to go and if I ever get the funds and a chance to go back with my DSLR I will jump at the chance but I do feel very lucky to have attended the event.
To finish off a couple of fuel altered's that looked so good in the California sunshine,