Central Valley Motorsports
By Eric & Paul Hinkle 

                                                    57th Annual March Meet 

     One of the worlds largest nostalgia drag races is held each year in Famoso Ca.. Racers and teams from all over the country gather north of Bakersfield to kick off a new year of racing. A handful of local racers made the short drive to the 57th annual March Meet to see how they stand up against hundreds of other teams. The biggest class of the week was HOT ROD with over 100 entries. Most cars in this class are the '60s, '70s and '80s muscle cars that we are all familiar with. James Kirkman of Fresno in his 1973 Nova qualified 8th with a 10.11sec dial in. Mike Ognibene of Clovis drove his 1985 Camaro to a 13th qualifying position with a 10.32sec dial in. Both drivers were eliminated in the fourth round, Mike's reaction time was too fast and he red-lighted,  James was beat by a hole shot. Long time Fresno racer Denver Schutz qualified 3rd quick in TOP FUEL with a 5.18sec pass and Sanger's Jim Teaque qualified his 1963 Nova 2nd in B GAS with a 8.63sec pass on a 8.60sec dial in. Other local drivers Andre Dreier, Danny See, Bill Wood and Mike Lawless all represented the Valley with strong efforts. What makes drag racing appealing is that the pit areas are open to the public so you can get up close to the cars and talk to the team members. Famoso Raceway holds events all summer long and is less then a two hour drive away. I recommend rounding up the family or some friends and making a day trip out of it. 
     Saturday, March 14th the 1st Annual Valley Truck Show kicked off this years show season. It was held in the parking lot of Triangle Drive In at First & Barstow in Fresno. This show is unique as it only for trucks.  The quality of trucks presented at this show were easy to appreciate without getting lost in the mix of hot rods, etc. as with most shows. There were a variety of years, makes and models on hand, each unique. Classes included everything from pick-ups, deliveries, El Caminos, Rancheros and also trucks under construction.