Exhibit Now Open - runs through August 2008

Scroll to the bottom of the page to watch the video of the exhibit's opening

(L-R) 1959 March Meet Fuel Finalists Tony Waters and Art Chrisman stand with Gas winner "TV Tommy" Ivo behind Chrisman's winning car.  Bill Groak photo.	March Meet winner and former NHRA Vice-President Carl Olson smiles next to his photo from Famoso during the opening ceremonies for the exhibit.  Bill Groak photo.
The Automobile Club of Southern California's Rick Lalor admires the exhibit's photography.  Bill Groak photo.	Museum Curator Greg Sharp (R) shows off the photography to (L-R) Bob Muravez, Carl Olson and Tom Ivo.  Bill Groak photo.

The legendary 1959 U.S. Fuel & Gas Finals - the first March Meet.   NHRA photo

     

 POMONA, Calif.– The March Meet, the fabled drag race that put Auto Club Famoso Raceway, as well as Bakersfield, on the motorsports map, is the focus of a new exhibit at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California. The exhibit, titled Bakersfield: A Salute to the March Meet – 50 years of Racing, opens Aug. 29, in conjunction with the Museum’s monthly Prolong® Twilight Cruise Night, and runs through August 2008 at the Fairplex in Pomona, Calif.

      The exhibit will feature dozens of photos, artifacts and even vehicles culled from the illustrious 50-year history of the March Meet, according to Greg Sharp, curator of the Parks Museum.

 

"Big Daddy" Don Garlits wore this Iskendarian T-shirt, even though his name is misspelled as "Garlit's," during the March Meet.  NHRA photo.

     “Half a century ago, Bakersfield was a sleepy oil town best known as the last stop before climbing the “Grapevine” road to Los Angeles,” but the March Meet helped change all that,” said Sharp.  “Famous drag racers such as “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, who raced at the first Meet in 1959, put Bakersfield on the world stage.”

      Initially formed as the Bakersfield Coupe and Roadster Club, a member of the Russetta Timing Association, the organizers of racing at Famoso changed their name to The Smokers in 1948, and eventually shifted their racing focus from dry lakes to drag racing.  Their first event was held in March, 1951 and they continued to build quietly upon their early successes until 1958 when, skeptical of the reported times and speeds set in the east by Garlits, they offered him a $1000 purse to compete on the west coast.  In March, 1959, he did just that.  The result was the first U.S. Fuel and Gas Championships, often called the “Woodstock of drag racing.”  Although Garlits lost in the first round, and Art Chrisman became Top Eliminator, Garlits went on to become the most celebrated drag racer in history and #1 on the NHRA’s Top 50 list. Garlits’ presence spread the fame of Famoso far and wide.

      “What eventually became known as the March Meet created an

The final event continued late into the evening in 1959.  NHRA photo.

entire generation of both racers and racing fans and marked Bakersfield as a Mecca for the sport,” said Blake Bowser, who along with his dad John, are the track operators. “The Mears family began to race here, as did the Pedregons, Kevin Harvick, Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen and many, many others.

Before the extension of NHRA’s POWERade Drag Racing Series into February, the March Meet was known as the place where professional racers went for pre-season ‘tune-up.’’’

      “Everything changed after that first Meet,” said John Bowser, who began working at Famoso in the late 1950s.  “The whole town was excited – it was like American Graffiti – one giant car show. Maybe as many as 30,000 turned out to watch the race and the image of drag racing changed forever.”

      Although the March Meet is now a nostalgia event, it’s still, in Blake’s words, “…the largest single event in Bakersfield.  It helped put Bakersfield on the map along with Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. And to have the track’s history honored in this exhibit at the Parks Museum is a fitting tribute to the Smokers and the ground-breaking work they did to establish drag racing as a major sport.”

      Also on display at the Parks Museum are:

* George Barris: “The King of the Kustomizers,” presented by Intercity Lines: through Feb. 27, 2008

* “Toyota: 50 Years in America: Motorsports Milestones,”  Aug. 1- Feb., 2008

About the March Meet: The March Meet, which inaugurated top-level drag racing in Bakersfield, features nostalgia drag racing in 12 classes. From front-engined Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars to Hot Rods, there’s a class for every nostalgia racer who ever dreamed of competing. The Kern County Racing Association (KCRA) operates historic Auto Club Famoso Raceway (just north of Bakersfield, Calif.) and promotes a full schedule of races year round, including the world famous March Meet. Now in its 50th year of racing, the March Meet, Mar. 7-9, 2008, is the recognized Mecca of Nostalgia Drag Racing. For more details, visit www.famosoraceway.com.