Salinas Municipal Airport

Closed

Langdon Evans set the NHRA B fuel modified roadster record here

Raced: 1949-72
State: California
What's left: A good length of the old track surface is still there, in poor to good condition.
Raced on: An airport runway
First race: 1949
Surface: Runway
Location: Main runway at Salinas Municipal Airport
People: Slopokes car club (Santa Cruz), race organizer (1950)
Northern California Timing Association, race organizer (1952)
Elevation: 73 ft (22 m)
Coordinates: 36.66290, -121.61007

Don Jensen, who goes back to the earliest days of drag racing, recalled racing on the main runway at Salinas at least three times in 1949. The Slopokes car club of Santa Cruz ran a race here on September 10, 1950, and the 1951 season opened on January 28 with 100 cars expected. On September 21, 1952, the Northern California Timing Association sponsored and ran a benefit race for the Damon Runyon Cancer Fund. Langdon Evans set the NHRA B fuel modified roadster record here in his ‘29 Ford with a ‘40 Merc engine, and it was still listed as official on October 13, 1954. The Swedish magazine Start & Strip listed Salinas among 325 U.S. drag strips in 1968, and in 1969 it was being considered for a circuit with Santa Maria, Porterville and Inyokern.

Two cars race down the runway at Salinas in 1950

Davis-Ingram "Jewel T" AA/A charges off line against Ron Love's dragster at Salinas

Bill Dunlap's B/D in staging lanes at Salinas

Mark Willis ran his twin-engine dragster at Salinas in 1949

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