46th March Meet Draws Record Entries
Bakersfield, CA - Anticipation is at an all time high for The Goodguys 46th March Meet presented by Clay Smith Cams, March 11-13 at Famoso Raceway just north of Bakersfield. As of Friday, March 4th, an event-record 511 race cars in fourteen classes have pre-entered prompting Goodguys/VRA officials to freeze entries in all Sportsman classes.
After months of torrential rainfall, the Western US forecast is calling for a major drying and warming trend heading into the week of the race and a quick glance at Weather.com shows a dry week ahead with temperatures in the low 70s for the Southern San Joaquin Valley.
Professional qualifying gets underway on Friday, March 11th at 3pm. All classes from Top Fuel to Hot Rod Eliminator will receive two qualifying passes prior to final eliminations according to Goodguys/VRA Director Larry Westervelt. Final eliminations in Top Fuel, Nostalgia Eliminator, C/Gas and D/GAS will begin at approximately 3pm on Saturday, March 12th. Top fuel will feature a 16-car field while N/E, C/GAS and D/GAS will be qualified 32-car fields.
“With so many entries, we’ll only have time for two qualifying runs,” said Westervelt. “We want to be fair to everyone and this will insure all entries get the same number of runs prior to eliminations.” Final eliminations for all other classes will be held Sunday, March 13th.
Several exhibition vehicles will be on display throughout the weekend including the 1983 NHRA Top Fuel Championship winning dragster driven by Gary Beck. Former Beck crewman Henry Walther recently restored the dragster which now resides in the Justice Bros. Museum in Duarte, CA. Beck and Fresno hot rodding pioneer Blackie Gejeian will be honored as the event’s “Hot Rod Heroes” and both men will be on hand to sign autographs and meet and greet fans. Dave West’s restoration of the 1969 “Beebee & Mulligan” Top Fuel dragster will be on hand as will the wildly popular “Winged Express” Fuel Altered, owned by Al “Mousie Marcellus” and driven by Mike Boyd. The Beebee & Mulligan dragster and Winged Express are scheduled for exhibition runs Sunday, March 13th.
In addition to the racing action, the 46th March Meet will include a rod & custom show & shine for pre-’73 vehicles, a manufacturer’s midway filled with exhibits and a used auto and racing parts swap meet.
Event gates open at 8am daily. General admission is $25 Friday, $30 Saturday and $30 Sunday. A three day weekend pass is available for $75. Kids 7-12 $10 per day. Spectator Parking is free.
Tickets are available at the event only. For additional event information, please visit www.good-guys.com or call (925) 838-9876. To reach Famoso Raceway, please call (661) 399-2210
