Fontana Raceway

Many sources date this strip’s first races to 1955, but none offer evidence, and there’s no basis for a date that early. In mid-May 1960, Dean Brown, representing six men, proposed to the Fontana Planning Commission what he called an “elaborate drag strip.” They planned to spend $250,000 over time on Fontana Raceway, on 74.6 acres north of Foothill Boulevard and east of East Avenue. Approval came, and construction began on August 29, 1960. With 2,000 bleacher seats and the basics done, the first race was set for October 8, 1960, though no report of it has been found. High winds called off the October 15 race. Wind troubled the track throughout its life, and on windy days racing was sometimes cut to an eighth mile. A Saturday night race or two ran before the every-Sunday winter schedule began on November 13 with a record 147 entries, fourteen of them dragsters. Bruce Johnston had the top speed of 172 mph in his fueler. On November 20, class winners got oven-ready Thanksgiving turkeys in place of trophies, and Tom Koulan set a track record of 180.72 mph in the new Langford-Brown-Koulan fuel dragster.

A big meet on January 1, 1961, started a New Year’s Day tradition. In early March 1961 the Bayer & Freitas AA/D ran 178.18 mph. On April 7, 1961, Fontana began Friday night racing for street-class cars only, the first such Friday programs in Southern California. The track was AHRA-sanctioned in 1961-62 and appears to have been independent the rest of the time, and it became AHRA’s site for a big winter championship. On September 9, ten of the fastest fuelers raced to decide who would face Don Garlits, and on September 16, in his only West Coast appearance of 1961, Garlits won and set the track record at 8.59 seconds and 191.48 mph.

Don Rackemann became strip manager in 1963, when the track record stood at 197 mph. Mickey Thompson bought the strip in June 1964 and renamed it Fontana International Raceway. It had struggled financially, and Thompson said it was no secret the strip lost $100,000 the year before under one owner and $80,000 the year before that under another, so he knew he was jumping in with both feet. In 1965 he called it “Fontana Drag City,” but the old Fontana Raceway name stuck until it closed. One online source said it closed after several serious accidents and deaths. One old-timer remembered the shutdown being poorly lit during night races.