San Fernando Drags Pictures, Show & Tell

Great thread!! What a wonderful experience it was to stand along the fence line, eyes watering and feeling the vibration in the chest when the fuel cars launched.

I didn't take many pictures then so don't have much to add for that, but in my head there are a bunch of images. So many of the top cars, builders and hot shoes of the day were based in The Valley, it was their "home" track, even though Lyons was a better track and deservedly got more press. Some brief memories: Flamin' Frank Pedregon was a hard chargin' little guy. Watching the Scribner Bros. hood pop and float back down at about 1/3 track from their '56 Chev gasser. Local "hero" Dave Doheny with his dominant, black Plymouth Super Stock sedan with the quarter windows just plastered with trophy stickers. Speaking of which, the only memento of my '39 Chev H/Gas coupe I still have is one of the quarter windows with one of those stickers. Thanks for the thread and the memories.

 

Thanks for the pic's, stilling hoping for the day someone comes up with some more of our '56, or my uncles '55 (The ER-Rat-icator) or even the "Chris & Jones" camaro shows up.

 

Anyone else?

 

Hey 64 Wildcat, The kart you're looking at is the Kendick Engineering Special, designed and built by Dick Raczuk and Ken Sliger. She's powered by 4 Mac 101's and used a fire extinguisher for a fuel tank. It's featured in the July 1967 issue of Rod and Custom. You can see it run on Youtube by typing in "Kendick Engineering Special". It sure looks like a handfull to drive. Good luck with your replica!! Sounds like fun!!

 

Roger,,the shot of Paul in the lights with the right front tire off the ground,,is that the 219 run?
I think it had the little motor in it then?

 

The Olds woodie belonged to Jeff Courtie. He was a classmate of mine at Poly High in Sun Valley. He bought it as a stock, semi beater and was his every day car. After graduation, Vietnam, getting married, etc., I was at one of the big car shows and saw it again. He was still the owner and it had a blown hemi in it. It seemed to be more of a show car, at that time, than a racer. Glad it's still around

 

"Back to the top". Anyone else stumble onto some "Pics from the Pond".

 

Bump

 

Bump

 

Tommy and Tony at their local dragstrip....

 

Grwoing up in Reseda this was our home track. I first visited there in 1965 with our neighbors. Then in 1966 I raced there for the first time. Won the N Stock class in my moms 1960 Studebaker Lark Station Wagon. 259, two barrel, automatic. Got a nice trophy (LOL) and a check. That trophy and check saved my life. Too many memories. The airport next door to the track was Whiteman Airport and was and is a county airport. The race track was built in the wash bed of a drainage channel built when LA was just getting started.

 

One blown, one injected. Too Cool!!

 

Going back a little further, does anyone recall the old DragStrip in Saugus, CA? About 40 miles north of Fernando. Used to visit when a snot-nosed teen from Ventura in the late fifties. Many Fernando cars and bikes raced here also.

I vaguely recall a Buick-engined dragster -I don't think it was Ivo- run 140 there--about the same time the Christmans were running 140 with their first flathead-powered car. I recall the Buick car ending up halfway up the hill at the far end of the Strip!! Must have been around 1956-1958 perhaps?

 

Near the old circle track?

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Kustom Falcon Build Thread:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=734282

 

Whiteman Airport runs parallel with San Fernando Road and is between Pierce St and Osborne St. I believe the airport that was next to the Dragstrip was called San Fernando as well, it was up and running until the late 70's or early 80's if memory serves me correctly, I used to go to the swap meet and remember watching the planes take off and land....

 

The track was not in the wash, it ran parallel to the wash which is still there. Keep hoping someone will post some more never before seen pics.

 

Btt

 

I raced my 55' and later my 57' Chevy there! I wouldn't know what to do if I saw it on the HAMB! I have a photo of the 57' in the 'pits' but you can only tell its San Fernando because it had trees in the pit area! If you won they offered money or trophy, I would take the money instead of the trophy sometimes. I have a few trophys left from the day! I'll try to figure how to put photo of car on here? Stan

 

Yes please do!

 

What a cool thread you started! I just typed in San Fernando dragstrip and WOW there it was! A real cool thread. I hope more photos come on here, It would be neat to see my car? I don't even know if I would know it? Nothing on the body because it was my transportation car (high school). Kinda ligh green/blue color with green tinted windows?? What year did your dad, and uncle race there? I can't beleieve I didn't look this up along time ago! Stan

 

Hey , here is a pic of my car. Wish I could have been around during the SF days.

 

This is a test

 

Sort of late to answer, but I just saw this...wonder if the Buick powered car belonged to Jarvis Earl, he first ran a straight 8 and then a V-8 buick on fuel, Tom Dyer drove, was late '50s, maybe '57?

 

finally figured out how to post the photo!


Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad

 

Cool pic. Glad to see you got the pic loaded.

 

In case anybody else was wondering, to be exact, the track was located between Glenoaks & Foothill Blvd. and it ran parallel to Arroyo Ave.

The shutdown area is where the Home Depot is now...

Up until 2007, there was still some structures and parts of the orignal lot still there which was used for the scummy swap meet they held there in more recent years.

Here's a pic I took back in 2007 before they started building in what little was left of the original lot. (Ignore the El Camino).

 

I was just on Arroyo Ave today. I have a customer right across the street from the old drag strip, which is just a flea market nowadays! Stan

 

My dad, & uncle Roger, moved to California from Maryland in 1957 and ended up in the Burbank/San Fernando area. My dad married my mom in 1960 and at that time he had a Green/White top 55 two door sedan he ran in C or D/Gas with a Rochester injected (the early version) 265, 4spd and 4.56's. He said it was a high 13/low 14 sec. runner @ 97-99mph, could never get it to run 100mph. My uncle had a white '59 Impala they called the "white cloud" or something like that that started out as 348 tripower car, and morphed into a 409 as the parts and engines became available. My uncle,(Roger Panneton) eventually sold the '59, and bought a '55 from Dyno Don, and put the 409 and running gear in it and ran B/Gas also. That car was eventually called "The Er-Rat-icator" when it got 427 power and a tunnel ram w/2 4's. It was white, and had a solid mounted rearend with a torsion bar straight axle that my dad said was EXTREMELY squirlly. The '55 also got a little sponsorship from "Auto Care" (which was an auto detail shop owned by Jones and Christensen I thingk)in Burbank, as well as J&M speed in Riverside. When you launched/shifted gears, you had to steer right a fair bit as it wanted to go left alot! Roger sold it in the early 70's to a couple guys with a gas station in Burbank, they painted it lavender. I have wondered if the '55 could have been Fast Eddie Schartmans car, as he was racing a '55 when he got hooked up with Dyno Don. My Dad had been friends with Dick Jones, and Chris Christensen, since he arrived in California, and they started racing the '56 which was actually Dick Jones car (Dicks car, dads running gear, tuning, a chassis work, along with Christensens help and money) in 1962-late 60's. One of Rogers good friends was a big Indian dude name Star Chief Williams (we just called him Star). He had a 270Hp 283 '57 white (I believe)hardtop that won B/Gas at either the '59 or '60 Smokers Meet in Bakersfield. As far as I know they all raced "The Pond" from the late 50's until it closed. From our house in Sun Valley, it took all of 15 minutes or so to tow over there. I remember as a little kid being woke up on Sunday mornings to get ready for the drags, and there would be several drag cars parked in front of the house maybe hooked to a tow bar or on a trailer, and eggs and bacon wofting through the air, with "all the guys" hanging out and jawing about the afternoon to come. What I would give to relive those years again. When ever I drive by the that spot on the 210 freeway, as we come up to the wash that paralleled the track, I tell my wife and kids (or whoever is riding with me), "hey, a moment of silence as we pass by the home of San Fernado Raceway/Drag Strip.

 

PS. Cool '57 Stan!

 

cool pics, guys !!
congrats !!