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
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MR. CALIFORNIA
MEET THE MAN WHO PUT THE STATE ON THE MAP AS THE LEADER IN THE FIGHT AGAINST VEHICLE EMISSIONS.
RESIDENT ALIEN
THE CZINGER 21C LOOKS LIKE IT ARRIVED FROM A DISTANT PLANET. INSTEAD, IT COMES FROM CALIFORNIA, WHICH IS KIND OF THE SAME THING.
FUNNY FACE
THE CURIOUS CASE OF CALIFORNIA-DIAL WATCHES.
THE PROBLEM WITH ROBERT WILLIAMS
TOWARD THE END of our third interview, Robert Williams gives me some advice about overcoming creative blocks. “Phrase it as a problem,” he says. “
Quiet Riot
In the Ioniq 5 N, Hyundai makes the case that an EV can tamp down racetrack noise without sacrificing capability.
The Sound and the Fury
A legal feud over booming decibels put California's most historic roadracing circuit in jeopardy.
HOLLYWOOD'S GREATEST STUNT DRIVER
CAREY LOFTIN WAS THE KING OF THE SCIENTIFIC WILD-ASS GUESS
OFFLINE
THIS BURBANK BOOKSTORE IS A REPOSITORY FOR THE WORLD OF AUTOMOTIVE INFORMATION NOT ON YOUR PHONE.
THE COURSE OF HISTORY
The West Coast tracks where modern racing was born.
TANK WARFARE
WHAT IF THE WHOLE CAR WERE A GAS TANK?
