Hammer Airfield/Fresno Air Terminal

The Fresno Motorcycle Club started holding drag races, called acceleration races, on the airfield in 1951. In 1952 it invited the Rodbenders car club of Fresno to join in. Insurance was expensive, so the Fresno Police helped with manpower and costs. Races ran on the last Sunday of each month, and Hot Rod Magazine covered them in June 1952. Beghosian & Webster set an NHRA record here in their ‘27 T A fuel modified roadster that still stood in October 1954. The National Guard restricted racing at the airport in 1954 but allowed one last race on April 24, 1955. The airfield opened in 1942 as a World War II training field and went back to civilian control after the war, except for a section given to the Air National Guard. It was renamed Fresno Air Terminal, though locals still called it Hammer Airfield, and it’s now Fresno Yosemite International Airport. Bill Crossley was clocked at 170.45 mph at Fresno in the Hashim-Hylton-Crossley fuel dragster in August 1958.