Champion Speedway (Brisbane)

Jim McLennan built an NHRA-sanctioned eighth-mile strip beside his dirt oval south of Candlestick Park, on an old landfill leased from the Southern Pacific Railroad. One history dates the track to 1967, when construction began, but newspapers show the drag strip wasn’t ready until 1970. Steve Evans was general manager and announcer. A grudge race on Saturday night, November 7, 1970, was likely the first drag race there. The first big event, a match race between Don Garlits and Don Prudhomme set for Saturday, November 28, 1970, was rained out and moved to December 5. Despite that splashy start, weekly grudge and bracket racing were the staple. The bayside location brought biting cold and wind. One old-timer said it got so cold you’d chug an ice-cold Coke hoping the burn in your throat would warm you for a couple of seconds. The site is now an industrial area.