Goleta Airport (Santa Barbara)

Members of the Motor Monarchs, a Ventura car club, and Santa Barbara engine builder Bob Joehnck got permission to hold organized drag races at an old World War II airport eleven miles northwest of Santa Barbara. It holds the distinction of being the site of the first organized, scheduled drag races. Because no admission was charged there, Santa Ana Drag Strip is recognized as the first commercial strip. From early 1949 at the latest, and maybe late 1948, the Santa Barbara Acceleration Association ran races every other Sunday after getting insurance. They raced on a paved airport service road running east-west on the north side of the runway, and spectators stood along the half-mile stretch to watch. Timing was by stopwatch. Trophies were paid for by passing the hat and by a cut of concession stand profits. The finish line was a small, narrow bridge, and spectators could tell the winner by which car bumped over it first. A locked gate just two-tenths of a mile past the finish meant cars had to stop fast. There were only three classes: roadsters, coupes with fenders and coupes without. In April 1949 Fran Hernandez raced his ‘32 Mercury coupe at Goleta, and he is credited as the first driver to use nitro in a race car at a legally sanctioned drag race. The old Goleta Airport is now Santa Barbara Municipal Airport.

Other California strips may have run in or before 1954 in or near Stockton, Palo Alto, Altadena, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Norwalk, Vallejo, North Sacramento, Los Altos, Venice, Redwood City and Hayward, since NHRA national records were set in all those places before October 13, 1954. The records were probably set at old airfields, but that hasn’t been confirmed.