Page 16 - 2019 NM Spring

the track - a move that would the events often include a large
lay the groundwork for Famoso
Raceway’s current management by
the Bowser family. Jack Williams
knew the Bowser family well, since
his sister had previously married
John Bowser’s brother. In addition,
Bowser had become involved in
drag racing in the late 50’s while in
high school. He also worked at the
raceway, helping promoter Ernie
Hashim and others. By the time
Hashim passed away in 2003, the
Bowser family was immersed in the
traditions of the raceway, including
the annual March Meet. Over a
period of time, Jack Williams began
to mentor John Bowser and his
young son Blake. His vision was
to see the family become involved
with the track operations. As
Blake and sister Deborah grew-up
they performed various jobs at the
track, including working at the
gates, ticketing, cleaning the track,
concessions and nearly anywhere
they were needed. Sadly, Jack
Williams passed away in 2006,
but he had included in his Will a
provision that gave sub-lease of the
facility to the Bowsers, stipulating
that they operate the track.
Today, the March Meet continues
with the focus being nostalgia
drag racing. According to Blake
Bowser, “this is the largest single
event in Bakersfield. It helped put
Bakersfield on the map along with
Buck Owens and Merle Haggard”.
The facility has fixed seating for
over 8,500 spectators and often
exceeds that capacity. At the two
major events, they host fans from
around the world. The facility
also has a large area to support
camping for motorhomes. In
addition to good old drag racing,
16
tracks safety vehicles was also
swap meet, vendor areas and a car heavily damaged. In spite of
show. Significant improvements limited water resources for fire
to the track have been made under responders, the newer part of the
the leadership of the Bowsers, but tower where the timing equipment
always in the interest of keeping is kept suffered some minor
the nostalgia character of the damage, but the equipment inside
facility intact. Over the years, was spared.
improvements have included an all- To this day, the hallowed grounds
concrete racing surface, concrete of Famoso continue to host the
walls, new lighting, timing systems famed March Meet, as well as the
and many safety improvements. annual NHRA California Hot Rod
And best of all, it has no sound Reunion in October, the ANRA
restrictions or curfews, meaning Racing Series, a Summit Racing
racing into the middle of the night Bracket Series and other racing
can occur as long as weather and events.
temperatures permit.
In recent years, the track Over sixty-five years ago, little
garnered the sponsorship support did those “outlaws” in the Smokers
of the Auto Club of Southern Club know what this now famous
California, and the official name is drag strip would become as a result
now Auto Club Famoso Raceway. of their efforts!
Says Blake Bowser, “we want
to express our thanks to the
Auto Club for their sponsorship.
We’ve put a lot of money into the
track with their help. We had
improvement plans before, but the
Auto Club sponsorship has helped
those plans go forward”. In order
to maintain the track’s success,
Blake is constantly working on
better crowd management and
making sure that concessions and
vendors are providing what today’s
attendees want to purchase.
In January of 2016, just two
months before the March Meet, the
raceway suffered a catastrophic
fire. The old part of the race
control tower had been turned
into a VIP and hospitality
area. The storage area
below that contained critical
equipment was a complete
loss. The structure collapsed
during the fire, and one of the
Nitro Madness Magazine Spring 2019