MARCH MEET
THE US NOSTALGIA DRAG RACING SEASON KICKS OFF WITH THE GOOD VIBRATIONS MARCH MEET IN BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA
Povi immerses himself in the history and good vibes at Bakersfield, California
EACH March, the crowded bleachers at Auto Club Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, California mark the unofficial start of the racing season for America’s west coast. Now in its 59th running, the Good Vibrations March Meet attracts hundreds of vintage and nostalgia speed freaks – both racers and fans – and this year’s event saw overflowing staging lanes and bustling pits.
The competition is split up into classes ranging from Hot Rod, for machines over 30 years old running around the 11sec mark, all the way up to Nostalgia Top Fuel and Nostalgia Funny Car, both gunning for quickest ETS in the mid-fives.
Cars are pre-’73 in almost all classes, and this allows for a great diversity in the racing field. Nose-high gassers face up against ground-hugging coupes; open-wheeled dragsters battle it out with floppy-bodied muscle cars; and the competition is always tight. Throw in some wheelstanding entertainment, a few tins of beer, and you’ve got yourself a great weekend!
After a few days of testing and qualifying, Saturday marked the start of the bracketed elimination racing. With ideal track and weather conditions, the strip was quicker than expected and a lot of racers began to break out of their indexes. Nearly half the D/ and C/gas brackets ran too quick, but those that remained battled fiercely until the end. Crowds cheered for Ed Carey’s ’71 Camaro and Chris Rea’s ’64 Chevy II as they entered the winner's circle, with less than 0.03sec deciding the winners in both classes.
Sunday was rained out, and although it was postponed to Monday the competition remained hard and fast. A full field in A/gas was one of the more entertaining battles of the event,
packed with as many wheelstands as close finishes. Mike Mossi in his bright blue ’69 Chevy took home the gong over Steve Galileo in a ’63 Corvette, who unfortunately ran a hair under the 7.60 index.
The old Aa/fuel Altered class had only reappeared at Famoso in 2014 after the ‘Awful Awfuls’ went through a revival, but with their flashy names and paintwork, nitro-breathing mills and often flamboyant drivers, their appearance is always a high point at the March Meet. After qualifying last in the eight-car field, Bryan Hall drove the pants off The Tramp to take out the win with a stonking 6.06@214mph.
As the sun began to set and the beer taps began to dry up, the nitro-fed Nostalgia Top Fuel and Funny Car classes boomed into chest-shaking, eye-watering life. Mendy Fry was a comeback kid in the Top Fuel competition, qualifying last but powering through to victory in her High Speed Motorsports dragster and setting the lowest ET with a 5.597@246mph. Ryan Hodgson in the Pacemaker ’69 Camaro escaped elimination in the semis by 0.006sec to take home the Funny Car trophy in the final against Kris Krabil in the Dayton Superior ’69 Camaro.
Jam-packed brackets in some of the quickest nostalgia classes in the country and heated competition across the spectrum definitely set the tone for this year’s racing on the west coast. If it’s any indication of the health of the nostalgia scene, next year’s 60th anniversary March Meet will be insane. Get out there.