History Fremont Dragstrip Today Oct 2009! Pics!

Regulars at Fremont will remember how the traffic on Durham Road used to back up over the freeway on big event days. I remember the time back around '74 when Harry Burkholder got tired of waiting in traffic, unloaded The Brotherhood funny car from its transporter, fired it up and drove down the wrong side of Durham, turned in the pit gate and flashed his credentials as he entered the pits...everybody was so flabbergasted nobody tried to stop him.

 

In the early 60'S I held the track record for class PX1. It was a motorcycle class. 101 mph with a 13:02 ET. I also received 2 window decals for the 101 club for having a speed of 102 mph and 111 club for having a speed of 113 mph. I put them on my 1954 Olds. I can remember my best competition was a 1949/50 Purple Ford from Goodies Speed Shop in San Jose, Ca. Good memories.

 

I had the honor of being booked in to Fremont For the last race. I ran the Nightmare AA/FA (Dave Rifkin drove) & we match raced Keth Marten's Law & Disorder (Jim Holtz drove) We both did 3 dry hops going in to stage & I think the crowd went crazy as no one was doing them anymore. Ah the memories.
Van

 

Probably 1960-61, there was a big event, my freinds and I took 2 cars, parked 1 in line, at 6AM and got in the other and went into town and had breakfast. came back to a line that was a mile long. but we had our spot close to the front.

 

That's Brad Anderson is his BB/FC Duster. Beautiful car! It's also the first car in the move American Nitro, the car that the show starting up and lowering the body.

 

Very Cool! Thanks

 

Is this still up?

 

I already posted this picture on the SS Mopar thread but it is certainly appropriate for this one too.

 

Fremont, Calif..............early 1966

Dick Landy's early Funny Car caught at half track during a run

 

Fremont, Calif.......................1965

 

Fremont, Calif...................1964

One of the famous EMPI VWs.

 

Fremont, Calif.....................1964

Anyone remember a fellow called "TV" Tommy Ivo?

 

Here's another old shot I came across, that a friend sent me. Not very good, but gives a feel for the tower in the late 70's.

 

Great thread, Keep the pics rollin here guys.

 

Join my Fremont Dragstrip facebook page too!

 

I just found this thread while Googling Fremont Raceway and I bet you guys would like to see this:

http://historicaerials.com/

At this link you can see historic aerial photographs of the track in the '60s, '70s and '80s and also the land before and after the track occupied it. This will sound complicated but it's really not and it's totally worth it. Go to the site and search "Fremont, CA" to get an aerial image of Fremont that you can navigate like Google Maps or Mapquest. Select "All Roads" from the "Overlays" tab so you can see what streets you're looking at. Follow Hwy 880 south east until you get to Auto Mall Pkwy. The track was south of that interchange. You can choose what year you want to see from the list. The "Compare" options are really cool to play around with, too, allowing you to compare whichever two years you choose (like 1966 and 2005). It's like time travel!

Here's a screen shot of Fremont in 1966. The yellow street map is the "Overlay" that can be turned on and off as you're looking at the actual website.



When you're done with that, you'll probably want to look at more tracks. They don't have this many years for every place they have aerial images for, like the only year they have that shows Lions Drag Strip on the land is 1972, so you may be disappointed with some of the searches. It's still fun trying, like a treasure hunt. Enjoy!

 

Thats a bad ass site..thanks Auto Mall Parkway was Durham Rd until the 90's.Its still Durham Rd East of the 880 Freeway.There are tons of business and restaurant off Auto Mall, including the Auto Mall which is down further west.Theres an In N Out Burger,Kohls, etc etc.right off Christy and Auto Mall.Its changed so damn much over there, as has the rest of Freakmont.Finally left there last year.

 

It's happening all over. Here on Long Island we lost our drag strip in 2003. Now we have to drive through NYC congestion and pay bridge tolls as high as $13 to get to Englishtown, a great track but not practical for a spontaneous "Hey, let's go to the strip." Around the country I've seen successful race tracks (not just drag strips) and concert venues get closed and sit vacant just like Fremont or under-used because the noise and traffic bothers the encroaching suburbs but then they don't get replaced. It seems like the business and political leaders who are behind these things have no respect for those types of activities or for those of us who enjoy them. Putting a football stadium on that land would not have been any friendlier to the neighbors but it would have been more "politically correct" than a drag strip that caters to riff raff like us.

Is there a thread here for dead race tracks in general?

 

Yeah they wanted to build the new A's Stadium where the race track was...what a fuckin joke! I dont know of a thread for dead tracks..I think theres a website though if I remember correctly.

 

I just got a shirt from the strip yesterday

 

It's almost entirely shot at Fremont. I own a copy and still gets me nostalgic every time I watch it. My poster from the last race is framed and hanging on the wall next to my TV. Makes me miss the good old days.

 

Wow! Jungle Pam the girlfriend of funny car driver Jungle Jim Lieberman. I think she was more famous than Jim...

And the segments of Steve Evans doing the announcing. That guy had a gift for drag race announcing like nobody's business.

My best memory of the strip as at race in the early 80's when Roland Leongs Hawaiian Punch funny car was running. I was standing with my dad at the chest height fence that ran next to the starting line. No way you can get that close to the action today unless you're crew or the starter!

I'm not sure who was driving that day, but he was doing throttle pops, engaging the clutch just a bit while nailing the throttle. This usually resulted in launching the car about a foot. But this guy had it down to a science and could actually make the car just about leap straight up.

I watched him get air under his rear tires 3 or 4 times before he staged. He must have intimidated the other guy cause he red lighted...

 

You are dead-on about Steve Evans. Nobody that I have heard, before or after him, could ever match him for announcing a drag race.

 

Fremont, Calif...............circa early 1966

Packwood Motors car vs Sutton & Walls car for SS/A trophy.

 

Lots of great memories on this thread! Growing up in the Bay Area we had so many great car events. Drag racing,Oval tracks,Indoor car shows and a variety of Rod Runs. Thanks to the H.A.M.B. we can all see it here. These photos are from my friend Jerry Toler who ran Fremont back in the 60's.​

Jerry Toler​

Toler vs Terry Elby (Elby's Auto Parts Castro Valley)​

Toler vs Panella Trucking​

ROD&CUSTOM RON​

 

Great Pics! Thanks for your contribution!

 

Thank for adding the pic's. Really bitchen model a.

 

Early Fremont Trophies


1959


1959

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undated

 

Heres a Fremont Trophy I have, circa early 60's

 

I already posted these over on the SS mopar thread, but for those of you that don't visit over there.........

Fremont, Calif...............1964

Tommy Grove in the "Melrose Missile VI" waiting in the staging lanes.