THE COURSE OF HISTORY

The West Coast tracks where modern racing was born.

- JOHN PEARLEY HUFFMAN

SANTA BARBARA MUNICIPAL AIRPORT 

SEPTEMBER 6, 1953 After World War II, Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara reverted to a civilian airport-but with racing. On Labor Day weekend 1953, California's sports-car circus arrived to run on a 2.2-mile track across the taxiways and runways. It was a battle of backyard bombs and expensive imports. The 35-lap main competition was between Phil Hill, in a Ferrari 250 MM, and Bill Stroppe, driving a Mercury-powered Kurtis. Stroppe punted his Kurtis into a ditch, and Hill passed him for the win. The 1954 racing movie Johnny Dark includes footage of the event. When commercial jets came to the airport in 1967, racing ended.

LIONS DRAG STRIP

DECEMBER 2, 1972 Lions Drag Strip opened in 1955 on land leased from the Los Angeles Harbor Commission. Its events were promoted by Larry "Supermouth" Huffman's manic "Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!" radio and TV ads. Neighbors hated the noise, and the Harbor Commission wanted the land, so Lions was doomed. The strip had room for 10,000 spectators, and more than 20,000 showed up for the last race. Maybe 400 cars ran that raucous night. The Funny Car final had Don "the Snake" Prudhomme run against Tom "the Mongoose" McEwen on the track where their lucrative partnership and rivalry began. McEwen won, and the crowd left, taking with it everything it could swipe.

BEVERLY HILLS SPEEDWAY