Sears Point Raceway debuted with drags 50 years ago

It was 50 years ago this month that a new sports venue opened in the wine country, as Sears Point Raceway hosted its first event, the San Francisco National Open drag race on the newly-paved quarter-mile drag strip.

The date was the weekend of March 8-9, 1969, and the entry list for the inaugural event included the likes of “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, Jim Davis and Big John Mazmanian. The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) sanctioned the race, as they still do for drag racing action at Sonoma Raceway today.

A promotional brochure from the raceway’s first season in 1969 proclaimed, “The drag strip has been designed for the day when the magic of 300 mph will occur.... The most advanced timing and scoring systems available have been installed to make this the finest drag strip in Northern California.”

The raceway would go on to host its second drag race, a Super Stock Drag Meet in April, as well as multiple SCCA events and its first AMA National Motorcycle Road Race later that year.

Fifty years later, drag racing continues to be a centerpiece of Sonoma Raceway’s on-track activity, including 45 days of drag racing slated for 2019. The 10,000-horsepower dragsters of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series have long eclipsed the 300-mph barrier, including the 339.87-mph Funny Car national record set by Robert Hight at Sonoma Raceway in 2017.

Honoring the raceway’s 50-year history and memorable moments will be at the heart of the Sonoma Raceway’s 2019 race season, including celebrations to mark significant milestones in the raceway’s history, signature celebrations at the raceway’s major events featuring drivers and legends, and plenty of throwback images and memorabilia.

“Sonoma Raceway’s legacy over the last half-century covers the spectrum from iconic professional stars to thousands of amateur enthusiast racers who have turned laps on our road course or accelerated down the quarter-mile,” said Steve Page, Sonoma Raceway president and general manager. “We look forward to celebrating with all of them in the coming year, and honoring our incredible history.”

Race fans are invited to get in on the fun by sharing their personal memories, stories and pictures from events at Sonoma Raceway at www.sonomaraceway.com/50 or on social media using the hashtag #Race50noma.