Cottrell, Wittenberg, Hix, and Bates Come Out Swinging at the 2018 March Meet

There is a drag strip on Famoso Rd., Kern County, California that has been hosting the Good Vibrations March Meet presented by Lucas Oil for sixty years. Originally, the one square mile patch of asphalt surrounded by grape vines and fruit trees, was called the Famosa Drags. Under the auspices of the Smokers Club of Bakersfield, the 1959 U.S. Fuel and Gas Championships set in motion and established a drag race that has endured for decades and remains the destination as the best nostalgia drag race in the country.

The nitro classes are the bedrock of this classic event, and now boast five categories with the addition of 5.90 Funny Car and Rear Engine Top Fuel Dragster. The 16-car open Funny Car attracted 25 entries paced by 2017 CHRR winner Bobby Cottrell driving the Austin-O’Brien ’69 Camaro with a 5.650. To say this team dominated the class would be an understatement. In addition to being #1 qualifier, Cottrell set low ET at 5.588, and in the final round, beat Ryan Hodgson the 2017 Heritage Racing Series champion. Norco, CA’s, Dean Oberg won the 5.90 Funny Car class behind the wheel of the “Holy Toledo” ’67 Jeep.

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