Dean had a red '32 with a screaming small block and if you ever heard a high rpm shift it was his as it seem to explode into the next gear.
Hey toymaker thanks for starting this thread. Great to see some history so close to home. I got to make my way over there to see that tower and the strip in person.
He still has the 32 and as a matter of fact is restoring it....the small block is the first engine he built for The Teixeira Willys it ended up in the 32 when they installed the 426..
Your welcome, the gate is always open just remember people live on the property. I drove in and out just long enough to snap the photos, then took the pics of the tower thru the fence.
I found it on google earth im pretty sure but its doesnt come up at that address. Looks like someone is using it as a driveway for a house they built at 1/4 track. I couldnt see the tower or anything in the pic and I have no idea how to transfer that image to here. Hell. Maybe I just found a really nice field road, who knows?!
Try this... http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.599971,-119.92422&z=16&t=h&hl=en I went by the place a couple years ago, looked just the same as these pics. A pretty cool sight and you can see the tower thru the fence opening as you drive west along Manning.
And old friend of mine still has a timing slip for a 110 mph run on a motorcycle from '67 (I think?).
I was a little off with the link, scroll left it's just past the edge of that picture. If you zoom right in on the north end you can see the tower casting a round-ish shadow. But there is also a "Street View" on Google Earth, go to the camera symbol at 8542 Manning Ave and click that and look southwest. You can see the tower over the fence.
That's soooo cool! I tried to find the old strip once before, but was way off (going from what my dad had told me...hehe). I gotta go out there and take a look around. I have (somewhere) some photos that my late father-in-law took in the 60's. I gotta see if I can find them...
Wow cool pictures, my dad has a trophy still from Raisin City, it is dated 1967. My dad ran yellow 34 5 window with a 392. My Aunt owned a vineyard next to Blackie Gejian's also not to long ago.
use to go out with my bother and his eriend [ran a camero] summer of '70, also remember a stagecoach wheele popper run the whole strip @ about 180 MPH, when he'd come back to start line he'd drop it down lockup the rear tire spin a 180` and pull the front back up and stall it. perty neet to a 13yr.old kid, also remember acouple fuel cars tuning out there, RD
Spent a lot of time at Raisin City when I was a kid. The "Winter race of champions" was the Big Meet! It took place a week or 2 before the March meets. Saw the first 5 secont e.t. in Cali there! TF, but don't remember the driver. The Snake and the Mongoose ran a 3 race grudge match there once. Saw the Little Red Wagon whellie car there.I had forgotton about the Flintstone Cart untill I saw the pic in this thread. One of the pics shows an orange jet car-I was there! It ran on hydrogen peroxide. Ist pass it had a glitch and wouldn't fire. They brought it out later and it fired-BIG puff of white steam/smoke and it powered down about to half track and coasted the rest of the way, I think it went 270mph................memories. I have more if someone wants to hear them-I may have some fuzzy pics, and will post them if I think they are worthy.
Well, it's been a couple of weeks but I found some old pics and articles from the Fresno Bee. The pics are of poor quality-smuggled mom's old Kodak to the races. I also have a couple of articles from 1974, guess this means raisin City drag strip didn't close in 1973- as proof I offer a pit pass dated Sun. 3/17/1974. Again I appoligize for pic quality, but if someone recognizes any of the cars or some of the spectators It would be nice to hear about it. Incidently, these were taken when I was 12 or 13-my dad started taking me there when I was about 8 or 9. It's been 36 years since its closing, but I sure miss the place, and get a good feeling every time I drive by it,
Fron the spectator side near the starting line-check out the old school spot lights.The last one shows my dads hand on the left side of the pic. He passed away in 2002-hey dad, you finally made the internet!
More from the starting line. Last pic shows a nice line up from what i believe to be alcohol funny cars. they had a few races at the end featuring them.
Articles from the Fresno Bee. I have a few that are to big to fit in the scanner, Including on ad for the 1974 winter race of champions with $17,500 prize money. It says it's the "Largest prize money ever offered at Fresno Dragways or any automobile racing in San Joaquin Valley history" Featuring 40 AA/FD in a 16 top fuelers, 8 funny cars final. Including Warren,Coburn, Miller-Dennis Baca-Barry Bros.& Hughes "Valley Fever"(Denver schutz driving)-The Mongoose-Mr. Ed-Twig Ziggler- Ed "the ace" McCulloch....All for a $6 admission
Gotta do this-Me from thje top of the "hill"-probably about 12 years old. Gonna be 50 next year.............................Hope someone enjoyed my old pics and has fond memories of Raisin City Drag Strip. The ANRA drags at Famoso last weekend were great. Raisin City had a lot in common with Famoso. Maybe someone with a ton of money could turn Eagle Field into a 1/4 mile track..never happen but a nice dream anyway.
Thanks Royal Shifter. I've never been mechanical enough build a car to race but I do manage to keep my 11 yr old Sportster running good. That being said once drag racing gets in your blood, it never leaves. And I have to respect those that build and race the old cars-I'll gladly pay to watch front engine dragsters and 1964 straight axeled nova's pull the front wheels up. HAMB forever!
Dan, I just read you were at the ANRA event, next time you go look me up. I race the primer gray '72 Merc Comet. Rocky Doing some surface testing at Eagle Field
Right on, Rocky! I'll try to find you at ANRA-Famoso Aug. 22-happens to be my birthday. Think I saw you run at eagle field last time. And I remember your car at ANRA. Hey, did you or your dad race at Raisin City back in the day? Keep the rubber side down. Dan
Nice. From Manning to Springfield ave. is 1/2 mile,just to give those curious about the old track an idea how big it was. It also had a long dirt run-out area at the end. It was alkali dirt and if someone went off the end into the dirt the dust was so bad that it took a while for it to clear enough to see the car.
The Jalopy Journal
