Sacramento Raceway-A Blast from the Past
It’s a beautiful spring day in Northern California. Certainly, not a day to spend inside. Out of the multitude of choices, I settle on Sacramento Raceway’s Funny Car Fever.
Sacramento Raceway, scarcely a heartbeat from California’s state capitol rotunda, offers the drag racing fan a wide array of programs and shows. Whether it’s the E.T. Series, Wednesday night Fun Drags, or one of their high-profile events like the venerable Governor’s Cup, Sacramento Raceway rarely gets to rest. Once the site of NHRA’s Division Seven Championship, the track now carries on without its patronage. Nonetheless, track owner Dave Smith has ‘inked’ 16 CIFCA (California Independent Funny Car Association) funny cars, a match race between nostalgia top fuel heavy-hitters Jason Richey (‘Nitro Fever’) and Adam Sorokin (John Blanchard Racing), plus side-by-side exhibition runs between Nitehawk and Warhawk jet funny cars. That is more than enough inducement for me to take the hour drive up the I-80 to Sacramento.
At a time when land close to any metropolitan area is at a premium, it’s amazing that such a track is still in existence. Given that the Fwy 99 corridor south from Sacramento all the way to Elk Grove has been turned into sub-divisions and strip malls, how can a drag strip co-exist with all this development? Proximity to the urban landscape has been a death sentence for many drag strips in California. Efforts to build a new track in Southern California have been crippled with delays, and it has yet to open its gates. Politicians and developers seem to be on the same team, and historically, this has not been good for drag racing. Does a similar fate await Sacramento Raceway? The track is actually located southeast of downtown Sacramento close to Sacramento Mather Airport. Exiting Hwy 50 at Bradshaw Rd., the landscape is suddenly transformed from houses to pasture. Urbanization ends and rural Sacramento County begins. State Highway 16 knifes through the farmland, and it is at this intersection you make a left turn onto Jackson Rd. The race track beckons. Destination: Excelsior Rd. If not for one small, indistinct sign, the uninitiated might continue east to, I would guess, the next county. But, this is a route I followed many times in the 1970s, and I find my way back like a moth to light. In the 1970s, when the divisional races included top fuel dragsters, the event at Sacramento Raceway was certainly one not to be missed. It had been a long time, though, and I wondered what the track would be like. Remembering names like Warren-Coburn-Miller, Frank Bradley, Jim Herbert, Dennis Baca, Dave Uyehara, Stan Shiroma, and Rance McDaniel, got my heart pumping as I take the left onto Excelsior Rd. Fans know that Gate 3 is for them even though the sign is gone. No matter. Been there; done that. This is self-parking boys and girls. No cadre of adolescents with ‘Event Staff" vests directing one to a space on the grass. But, without the supervision, everybody has queued up nice and straight. Exchange your $$ for a green wrist band, walk through a gate, and voila, you’re standing in, of all places, the middle of the staging lanes. Thank you! It’s only 10:00 am, but already the entire field of CIFCA funny cars is getting ready for qualifying. The CIFCA cars are super-charged alcohol funny cars running on a 7.50 index, but qualifying would show that they are capable of much quicker times. Mingling in with the the racers, officials, and other fans, I immediately realize that access to the staging lanes is not prohibited. Life is good. I decide to check out the pits. But, this is hard because a full complement of C/G, B/G, and A/G cars quickly fill the staging lanes behind the funny cars. Wow! What a treat. These cars are definitely bad-ass. No bland, generic styling here. And, they can be as evil-handling as they are fast. Remember, A/G runs on a 7.60 index and are capable of speeds in excess of 180 mph. How about Sean Renteria from Morgan Hill and his ultra clean ’65 Plymouth? The world’s quickest and fastest 4-door Valiant.
Time to see some runs. Sacramento Raceway is definitely a throw back to the way tracks were built before paddocks, luxury suites, and stadium seating. No ‘Bob Uecker’ seats here race fans. Put the Bushnell 50-power binoculars back in the case because you’re right on top of the action. Although stands 10-12 rows high line the right side of the track to the 660 ft. mark, and half-stands to the 1000 ft. mark, ‘rail bird’ watching along the starting line is a favorite spot. From right next to the track, the visceral feel of drag racing can be absorbed; the noise, the smell, the ground-pounding vibrations and rattling of your body, just as it should be. And, bring a camera too, because the view is unimpeded. I opt for a spot across from ‘the Tree’ and watch the CIFCA funnies launch. Although it is early, the fence is lined with fans, but etiquette is good and everybody has a good view of the race cars. Time to prep the track, so I decide to dash back to the pits to check out the inventory of hot rods. This is even better than advertised. In addition to the aforementioned Richey and Sorokin, Brendan Murry and Rick Williamson also are here to match race. And, what’s this? The ‘baddest-of-the bad’, Jim Murphy is here with WW2 nostalgia top fueler to test. Pete Jensen has brought his "Foothll Flyer" AA/FD with new driver, Jerry Kumre Jr., salivating at the prospect of getting-in some runs. Not to be left out, Brett Williamson, is also taking laps in his A/FD, getting ready for the next VRA meet. I’m stoked, but how am I going to see the runs, and still check out the race cars and chat with the teams. The staging lanes! At the top of the staging lanes is a broad, red line. Unless you are an essential member of the race team, you do not cross the red line. This is re-enforced with constant reminders from the announcer as well as an individual we’ll just call ‘Bruno’. But, ‘Bruno’ is just muscle, and the person actually in charge of the lanes is a young woman who has the personality, savvy, and esteemed natural gifts to keep all the boys in line. But, you are at the top of the staging lanes, and if behave yourself, you can ‘hang’ here. Remember, this is close, very close, to the starting line. Better than Famoso; probably better than anywhere. It is from this vantage point that I watch Dennis LaCharite drive his nitro-powered nostalgia funny car Corvette to a 6.093-241.21. Simply, a stunning pass stuck-in ‘the groove’.
The racing is non-stop, and one barely has enough time to grab a bite to eat at the snack bar and not miss anything. Fortunately, the proximity of the concession stand is right next to the pit of the jet funny cars. Nitehawk and Warhawk are both powered by Pratt & Whitney J-60 engines fed a diet of diesel (no kerosene) fuel. These monsters generate 5600 pounds of thrust and are scheduled for two laps, one at 5:00 p.m. and another at 7:00 p.m. It’s 4:45 pm and they are pushing into the staging lanes. Best place to watch jets? The 1000’ mark. At Sacramento Raceway, the track does not move away from the viewer’s line-of-sight. Actually, the race cars appear to be angling toward the viewer, and you can really get a good ‘feel’ for the speed. The CIFCA funny cars are really truckin’, and I have a renewed respect for 175 mph. Cars running in excess of 150 mph must be equipped with a chute. But, with Sacramento’s long outrun, some choose not to exercise that option. The jets are another deal. I last saw a jet dragster run in 1963 when Gary Gabelich in the Valkyrie jet car raced Greer-Black-Prudhomme’s top fuel rail at Lions Drag Strip. In vogue at the time, jet dragsters were a huge draw; jet vs. jet, or jet vs. top fuel dragster. Fontana Drag City once even ran 4 jets at a time! Though not as quick and fast as the modern top fuel dragster or funny car, the jet cars is still a spectacle unmatched in drag racing. The big J-60s on Nitehawk and Warhawk start to roar. Huge plumes of smoke start to billow up from the back of the engines. There is a good tailwind so no crosswind to spook the drivers. Richard Smith, driver of the Nitehawk, said that he would "drive it out the back door". OK. As the engines really start to shake the ground, the fans in the stands immediately behind the starting line disappear into a bank of black smoke and exhaust. Suddenly they’re off. After-burners light and time stops. Incredible runs from a simply perfect viewpoint; Side-by-side 6.00s and 240s. As one fan said to me at that moment, ‘that was worth the price of admission, right there". Somewhat spent, I decided to relax and take-in the view from the top row of the stands at the 660’ mark. It was from this vantage point that I watch Brendan Murry out-duel Rick Williamson in their top fuel dragster match race. The feel of how hard these cars "pull" could really be sensed here.
Funny Car Fever would continue for two-more hours at a hectic pace. Motorcycles, gassers, hot rods, the day’s entire menu, repeated, run after run. Great stuff! Boy, what a glorious day for the drag racing fan itching for a "blast from the past". But, don’t get me wrong. This facility is far from antiquated. The pits, though modest, are completely paved. Modern lights, permanent restrooms, ample parking and yummy concessions characterize this drag strip. It just has the right scale and a comfortable environment. You’re not overwhelmed by the size of the grounds, and this lends to a kind of nice ‘homey’ atmosphere. I came away totally satiated, but plan to return for their next marquee event. If you are a fan who wants to experience drag racing the way it used to be during "The Golden Years of Drag Racing", then Sacramento Raceway is the place for you. But, do it soon, because one cannot say for how long this throwback to the ‘glory days’ of drag racing will be here. Leaving the track and turning west into a dipping sun, I eye the Sacramento skyline. It’s a menacing outline for I fear that this silhouette with its voracious appetite for land may some day devour my race track. But, as I leave, I know that on this day I have been to Lions Drag Strip, Fontana Drag City, and Carlsbad Raceway, just in another decade. Sacramento Raceway. Same as it always was; just like it used to be.
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