For Southern California drag racers these past couple years have been a doozy. Two major drag strips were closed down. Autoclub Dragway at Autoclub Speedway in Fontana and Irwindale Dragstrip in Irwindale closed up shop. Those affected were the sportsman and junior drag racers. There were only a handful of tracks left open, and the majority of them were only made to run 1/8th of a mile. Many drivers lost their entire racing season due to the shutdowns. Those financially sound were able to travel to Northern California, Arizona, and Nevada to compete in Division 7 and track races. Unfortunately, many Southern California drag racers had to pack it away and hope for a turn around. In 2012, Irwindale drag strip announced that they would reopen and run a limited schedule. News dropped in fall of 2013 that Autoclub Dragway would begin building a sound wall in order to reopen the track in early 2014. The drag strip is set to have an open house night on February 15th. Racing will resume a week later on the 22nd. Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School will make its return to Southern California, and SCEDA will run their series out of Autoclub Dragway as well. For the drag racing community, specifically those in Southern California, this is the best news anyone could ask for. With a full schedule set in place, it should get the blood of the SoCal drag racing community pumping.
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