The 2020 Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip season started off with the first race of the Renegade series, and we started not just with that, but also a round of Member Track Madness, with the winner claiming a trophy and two free tickets to a NHRA event.

The Renegade Electronics bracket came down to RJ Simrock's dragster and Paul Wagner's 65 Valiant. Paul got off to the faster start with a .062 reaction time, compared to RJ's .079, but RJ had every intent on running this out, getting a near perfect 5.999 E/T on a 5.98 dial. Paul had .036 seconds of wiggle room to win and with a small lead on the way to the finish line, he let off the gas for a quick moment. But with a 6.819 E/T on a 6.82 dial, he was still one thousandth of a second too fast, breaking out and giving RJ the Renegade Electronic win.
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RJ Simrock (Far) against Paul Wagner (Near) in the Renegade Electronics final.

In Renegade Non-E, John McKinney brought his 77 Camaro, matched up with Rick Reynold's 66 Fairlane. Rick would get a decent head start, with a .047 reaction time, over .08 seconds better than John's .133. Thus, when John finished with a very strong 6.746 E/T on a 6.74 dial, Rick was still able to slow down and finish with a 5.941 E/T on a 5.93 dial. John's final total package was .139, while Rick's was .058, giving Rick the Renegade Non-E win.

Rick Reynolds (Near) against John McKinney (Far) in the Renegade Non-E Final

Finally, Member Track Madness had the winners have one last run off to determine the day's champ, and the Member Track Madness winner. RJ's Dragster lined up against Rick Reynold's 66 Fairlane. RJ's was a faster car, so Rick needed the best start he could possibly get. But when the lights dropped, Rick launched a tenth of a second early, getting a red light, fouling out, and giving RJ the Member Track Madness win.

RJ Simrock accepting the Member Track Madness trophy from track owner Rick Reynolds.

Congrats to RJ Simrock, and all of our racers. Next race is on Friday the 7th, where it's an open ticket to the Street Legal Drags! See you there!

The finale of the 3-race Crower Cup series was held at Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip down in Lakeside, California on a sunny Saturday, November 23rd. Defending champion Rick Reynolds was already out of the running, with the top 3 in points going in being Jeff Martin, Todd Ferguson, and Rick's daughter, Remy Reynolds. Todd was eliminated early, while Jeff Martin would drop out in the quarterfinals. That'd leave Remy Reynolds with a path in front of her to take the championship.
The Crower Cup Finals would come down to her, in her 1971 Ford Pinto, going up against Richard Bowen and his 1969 Chevy Nova. Remy would get off to a good head start, her .047 reaction time giving her a good advantage over Richard's .080. She needed that advantage, as her 5.901 E/T on her 5.85 dial would be a little weaker than Richard's 5.977 E/T on a 5.95 dial. Remy's 0.098 total package would just edge out Richard's 0.107, giving her the Crower Cup bracket win, and the overall championship with her two overall Crower Cup win.

Remy's 71 Pinto (Near) up against Richard's 69 Nova (Far) in the Crower FinalsRemy would get her 9th overall Wally, her 4th outside the Junior's, and her second Crower Cup championship.

The last race of the year will be December 8th, for an open Import Outlaws race. Racing starts at 10 AM. See you there!

Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip was host to a new addition to the weekend fun: The Race Legal drags. Last Friday, the 16th of August, the Street Legal drags ran, the quickest way for anyone to hit the track, and have a few runs as quickly as possible. With other 450 spectators and over 100 entries, it was a smashing success. One that we hope to have become a regular event

Mohan GC and his 2017 Dodge Challenger, one of the over 100 cars that showed up to the Street Legals on Friday.

But the weekend was host to other racing under the Lakeside sun, as Summit Races #5 and #6 ran on Saturday and Sunday of the 17th and 18th. With only two more races to go, racers jockeyed for position to be in the right spot for the home stretch.


Saturday, in the Summit Motorcycles bracket, Brian Stirrat's 18 Busa found itself matched against David Collins and his 83 Kawasaki in the finals. Brian got off the line fast, but David got off the line faster. 61 thousandths of a second before the green light faster. Unfortunately, that's illegal, giving him a red light foul and giving the Summit Motorcycle win to Brian.


The Summit Sportsman came down to Gary Harfield and David Stoddard. It was a heads up race, with both of them rocking 7.84 dials. Gary got off the line first, with a .047 reaction just edging out David's .097. That'd be the difference, as Gary's 7.977 E/T was a hair slower than David's 7.964 E/T, but not enough to make up those 5 hundredths of a second lost at the start. Gary Harfield gets the Summit Sportsman win.


Summit Pro's final was between Remy Reynolds and Jeff Martin, with Remy getting the faster jump off the line with a .017 reaction time. Jeff was behind with a .083, but was doing his best to catch up. However, Remy matched her 5.90 dial perfectly with a 5.906 E/T, making any hope of a comeback impossible, sealing the Summit Pro win for herself.

Jeff Martin (Near) against Remy Reynolds (Far) in Saturday's Summit Pro final.Summit Super Pro was where RJ Simrock would meet up with Chandler Meziere, dueling dragsters looking for that top spot. Both of them would be eager to start, with Chandler getting a short head start, his 6.43 dial a bit slower than RJ's 5.99. The starting lights fell, and as they did, RJ would win without doing anything, as Chandler launched 31 thousandths of a second early. And after that, it didn't matter that RJ launched 4 thousandths early; he already took the Summit Super Pro win.

Sunday, the warm evenings gave way to a hot afternoon of racing, as the Summit started once again, with winners looking to double up, and losers trying to cash in their second chance for glory.

Summit Motorcycle had a new pair of racers in it's final, but they were very familiar with each other. Cathy Silva and Joe Silva , a family rivalry, met up for this duel. Cathy was slower off the line, her .210 reaction a healthy deal behind Joe's .192, but Joe was not able to push all the way to the finish, running a 6.996 E/T on a 6.65 dial, giving just enough space for Cathy to take the win with a 10.116 E/T on a 9.91 dial.

Summit Sportsman was a match up between Kyle Phillips and Gary Harfield. Both were nearly even off the starting line, so it would come down to the 1/8th mile. And there, Gary's 7.987 E/T on a 7.92 dial would just edge out Kyle's 7.856 E/T on a 7.78 dial, taking the Summit Sportsman win.

ummit Sportsman's final, with Gary Harfield (Far) against Kyle Phillips (Near)

Sunday's Summit Pro bracket came down to Wayne Charbonneau's 62 Ranchero and Kyle Phillips' 56 Wagon. Kyle would get a head start, with a dial over a second slower than Wayne's, but instead of building a big head start, he'd just hand the win over to Wayne, launching 174 thousandths of a second early, fouling and gifting the Summit Pro win to Wayne

Sunday's Pro final, between Wayne Charbonneau's 62 Ranchero (Near) and Kyle Phillips' 56 Wagon (Far)

Finally, the Summit Super Pro bracket came down to a finale between Chandler Meziere and Richard Sullivan. Chandler's dragster is back after a loss in the finals on Saturday, looking for redemption. And redemption was achieved at the green light. A .003 second reaction time was Chandler's secret weapon. Richard's .040, while otherwise good, would be his death kneel here, as Chandler's 6.476 E/T on a 6.45 dial would make a comeback impossible, as Chandler makes up for his finals loss on Saturday with a Summit Super Pro win on Sunday

The Crower Cup made it's return to Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip on Saturday, August 3rd, and it accompanying it was the SoCal Doorslammers. With the second race of the three race Crower series on the line, racers pushing for that championship will do whatever they can to jockey for position, and get set for a big finale!

The SoCal Doorslammers started with the 6.50 bracket, a final between Ed Walker and his 1970 Roadrunner and Jeff Martin and his 74 Datsun. When the lights dropped, Ed got off the line first with a .077, getting a head start over Jeff's .117. He carried this lead to the finish, but wanting to make sure he didn't go under that 6.50 dial, he let off, letting Jeff finish with a 6.536 E/T, better than Ed's 6.553. But combined with their reaction times, Ed would take the win just barely, only taking the win light be 2 hundredths of a second, getting the 6.50 win.
The 5.50 bracket sped things up a bit, as Joe Bernier and his 72 Vega met up with Gus Hernandez and his 84 Mustang. Joe was a little slower off the line, but he made up for it on the track, finishing with a 5.539 E/T, as Gus lagged behind with a 5.775 E/T, giving Joe the 5.50 win.

Finally, in the Run What U Brung bracket, there were no limits on how fast you could go. And Duncon Patterson's 69 Camaro and Travers Scott's 85 Mustang had no problem with that, with Travers running the 1/8th mile in 4.568 seconds at 153 MPH. But even that wasn't fast enough: Duncon's Camaro set a new open door track record with a 155.85 MPH run, with a 4.491 E/T.

And with the Doorslammers taken care of, there was only the Crower Cup finals left. It was a family matchup, as Remy Reynolds was matched up with her father, Rick Reynolds in the Crower Cup final. Both Reynolds breaking 100MPH on the way to the finish, but Remy's 5.957 E/T on a 5.95 dial just edged out her father's 6.159 E/T on a 6.13 dial, getting her the Crower Cup win.

Remy Reynolds (Near) against Rick Reynolds (Far) in the Crower Cup Final
The win would spring Remy all the way up to 3rd place in the Crower Cup standings, with Jeff Martin having the lead going into the final race in September, with Todd Ferguson in second.
Meanwhile, next Friday is the arrival of the Street Legal Drags on Friday, the 16th, starting at 5PM. Then, on Saturday and Sunday, the NHRA Summit Series heads back to the track, starting at 4PM on Saturday, and 10AM. See you there!

The Import Outlaws hit the track again on Sunday, June 30th at Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip. This group of international racers brought their beasts to the track, lined them up, and worked to settle who was the best that day in a variety of heads-up categories. Motorcycles, Extreme Outlaws, Turbos, All Motor, All Wheel Drive, and Street all matched up to take home the top spot and a nice cash prize.
Starting with Import Motorcycle, Ken Henderson found himself in the final in a race against “Hotrod”, from Moreno Valley. Ken had a decent reaction time, but “Hotrod” fouled out, launching far too early with a -.281, gift-wrapping the win for Ken.

The Import Motorcycle final, where Ken Henderson (Near) from San Diego beat "Hotrod" (Far) from Los Angeles.
In the Import Street class, Chayanne Pantoja brought their 90 Civic to the Street Front Wheel final, where it'd be matched against Fortino Gareia's 92 Honda. This street fight was over before it started, when Fortino launched .130 seconds early, giving Chayanne the Street win.
But when you can use whatever wheels you want, then the Import Street All Wheel is where you go, where Daniel Switzer's 15 Mustang matched up with Ahmad Allmi's 03 Evo. Both cars edged closer to the 100MPH mark, but Daniel's 7.474 E/T just edged out Ahmad's 7.794, giving Daniel the win.

The Import Street All Wheel final, featuring Daniel Switzer (Near) against Ahmad Allmi (Far)


Import All Motor came down to Julian Barbosa's 94 Honda and Sean Tomuscids' 92 Honda. Both got off the line quick, but Sean could not grip the track or get any speed, slogging his way to a 13 second run, while Julian finished with a 6.491 E/T, taking the win.

All Motor final, with Sean Tomuscids (Near) against Julian Barbosa (Far)

The Extreme Outlaw bracket came down to a pair of San Diegans, Jeff Wesser and his 71 Nova and Terry Johnson and his 47 Topolino. Jeff got off the line faster on his way to a 6.363 E/T, with Terry a scant 2 tenths o a second behind with a 6.502 E/T, giving Terry the Extreme Outlaw win.

Extreme Outlaw final, with Jeff Wesser (Far) against Terry Johnson (Near)
Finally, the Import Turbo bracket needed to be settled. Brandon Setterberg and his 04 Honda would line up to test his mettle, while “Chepe”, from El Centro with his 92 Honda, would be his rival. But when the lights went down, Chepe's tires gripped and they launched off, while Brandon was left stalled in his lane. Chepe finished with a 6.490 E/T, while Brandon eventually got his car to get going, but by that point he'd be riding a 117 MPH vehicle to a 26 second E/T, letting Chepe get the Turbo win.
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The Turbo final, with "Chepe" in the far lane, and Brandon Setterberg in the near lane.
Now, check in next week, when The SoCal Doorslammers show up, warming up for the Summit Series races #3 and #4 for a weekend doubleheader! See you there!

Nitro Night visited Lakeside California on the night of Saturday, June 8th at Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip. With it, came the AFK bracket, the So Cal Doorslammers, and the start of the Crower Cup series. After a night of super fast, nitrous filled fire spitters made the stands shake and the parking lot erupt with alarms, we had some brackets to take care of.


In the SoCal Doorslammer 6.50 bracket, Carlos Rivas and his 72 Z28 was matched up against Jeff Martin and his 74 Datsun in the finals. Carlos had a faster reaction time, but the defining factor was Jeff going against the nature of the 6.50 bracket but getting a 6.49 E/T, breaking out and giving Carlos the win.

Carlos Rivas (Near) against Jeff Martin (Far) in the 6.50 Final
The SoCal Doorbuster 5.90 bracket had track regular Rick Reynolds bring his 66 Fairlane against J.A. Vargas' 74 Vega. Rick got off the line faster, with a .137 reaction time over J.A's .394, and with an E/T of 5.948 on a 5.90 dial, there was no way for J.A. to make up those tenths of a second, giving Rick the 5.90 win.


The 5.50 finals was a matchup between Joe Bernier and his 72 Vega and Larry Middlebrook and his 87 Corvette. Larry was hot off the line, launching 11 thousandths of a second early and getting a red light foul, giving Joe the 5.50 win.


And finally with the SoCal Doorslammers, Run What You Brung, the open race with no dials between the fastest cars on the track. Duncon Patternson' 69 Camaro broke 140 MPH on it's way to a 4.750 E/T, beating Andy Ralls and his 68 C-20 and it's 4.867 dial.

Duncon Patterson (Far) against Andy Ralls (Near) in the Run What You Brung Final.
The AFX ran as well, as Ken Moveland and his 67 Chevelle made it's way to the finals against David Franklin and his 61 Ford. David got the faster start off the line, forcing Ken to play catch up. And with a 6.692 on a 6.80 dial, Ken would break out, and give David the AFK win.


And finally, in the first race of the Crower Cup series, Jeff Martin and Todd Ferguson faced off in the final. Todd got off the line faster, with a .033 reaction time compared to Jeff's .102, but he let off at the finish, getting a 6.562 on a 6.46 dial. With a .069 reaction time gap to make up, and a 6.54 dial, Jeff would need to finish under 6.609 to take the win. And with a 6.568 E/T, he did and stole the Crower Cup win.

Jeff Martin (Near) against Todd Ferguson (Far) in the Crower Cup final.
Next week, there's a big weekend planned, as the 1st Annual Barona Summer Bash hits, Friday's track rental leading to a weekend of Junior Drags and Big Money Team Races! Gates open at 9AM! See you there!

The Renegade series came back with a vengeance at Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip on Saturday, May 25th in sunny Lakeside, California, with the third race of the Renegade Series. Racers from all over Southern California came together, for a little test to see who can be the best, and who can get the points needed to make a push for the series championship.


In the Rengade Non-Electronic bracket, the usual competitors were absent, as Dee Dethloff and their 09 Corvette and Alan Brown and his 69 Corvette matched up, neither with any points so far in the series, and both in a good place to make a mid series run. Both had nearly even dials, Dee's 6.84 only a hair faster than Alan's 6.99. But, when the green light dropped on Alan, Dee already won, as Alan launched .012 seconds early, fouling out and giving Dee the Renegade Non Electronics win.

Dee's Corvette, burning out on way to the final.

Renegade Electronics, however, had two racers going not for their first points, but looking to add to their existing pile. John Hildebrand and his 31 Ford A-Coupe trying to improve on his 10th place position, and RJ Simrock's 01 Dragster looking to go up from his humble spot in 7th place. RJ's new dragster was impressive, but it was only a hair faster than John's vintage A-Coupe 70 years it's elder. But when the lights dropped, John would be the one to launch a little early, by a scant 3 thousandths of a second. That foul would give RJ the help in the standings with the Renegade Electronics win.
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RJ Simrock's 01 Dragster, lining up on his way to the Renegade Electronics win.

The Renegade retreats for now, but June is looking to be quite promising, as Nitro Night hits the track on Saturday, June 8th, as well as the So Cal Doorslammers, and the start of the Crower Cup series! Races start at 4PM! See you there!

The 56th Running of the Antique Drags hit Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip down in Lakeside, California on Saturday, April 27th. Vintage muscle cars and dragsters hit the track, bringing a classic set of speed to the dragstrip.


In the Gambler bracket, Paul Wagner and his 75 Valiant matched up against Remy Reynolds. Paul took a risk and was rewarded with it, as he fired off the line with a .006 reaction time, giving him a good advantage over Remy's .070. Paul rode that .06 second advantage to a 6.874 E/T on a 6.85 dial, nailing it close enough to make Remy's victory impossible, taking the Gambler win and Gambler money.

The Gambler final, with Paul Wagner (Near) and Remy Reynolds (Far)

The Y Block Shoot Out was the headliner, the final of which came down to John Hildebrand against Dan Brandt. Dan would get quite a head start, with a 11.65 dial compared to John's 6.47, but John chased him down the track, taking the Y Block Shootout win.

ohn Hildebrand (Near) against Dan Brandt (Far) in the Y Block Shootout final

Saturday's Antique Drags were great, but on Sunday, the Import Outlaws made their way back to the track, bringing more international action to the track for some heads-up racing.


In the Import All Wheel bracket, Eddit Avglos brought his 05 Evo up against Harley Keech and his 91 Corvette. Harley got faster off the line, but Eddie's 7.528 E/T beat Harley's 8.645's handedly, taking the All Wheel win.


The Import Street bracket final came to Jorge Duran and Benny Portillo. Jorge got a good start off the line, and took that to a 8.193 E/T, beating Benny's 8.303 and taking the win.


Import Motorcycles was a race between Busas, as Brian Stirrant's 18 Busa lined up against Vince Hill's 14 Busa. They were nearly even, but the newer one was a hair faster, as Brian rides a 116 MPH run to a 6.149 E/T, beating Vince Hill's 6.362.


Next was the Extreme Outlaw bracket, where Edward Ybaria's 71 Gremlin dueled with Henry Concha's 02 S2000 in the finals. Henry launched fast, but his car could not keep up. Edward's Gremlin broke 130 MPH on the way to a 5.542 E/T, crushing Henry's 9.463 E/T and taking the Extreme Outlaw win.


Import Turbo's final matchup was between Jawad Abunaja and Steven Ganes. It was a close race, but Jawad took the win with a 6.558 E/T over Steven's 6.824.


Finally, in the Import All Motor bracket, Lavelle Sheppard and their 13 Camaro met up against Jerry Carrillo's 88 Honda in the final, where Lavelle's 6.227 E/T would be enough to take the win over Jerry's 6.943.


With the Antiques and Imports wrapped up, we turn our attention to the Renegade series, who's second race hits the track, as well as the first race of the SoCal Doorslammers series this Saturday, May 11th. Racing starts at 10AM! See you there!
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The 2018 Racing season got off to a hot start at Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip down in Lakeside, California when the Renegade series returned for the 2019 season. The Renegade series is ran in it's usual two categories, the Electronics and Non-E, both due for some competitive racing.


The Renegade Electronics went first, with dozens of racers getting whittled down to just two. Gary Harfield would take on Daniel Munoz in his 71 Vega. Gary came looking for the win, getting a short head start over Daniel, but when the lights dropped, Gary left a little too early; a -.012 red light would give Daniel the Renegade Electronics win before he even had to step on the gas.

Gary Harfield (Near) against Daniel Munoz (Far) in the Renegade Electronics final.
But, Gary would not be satisfied with a finals exit via a false start, as he fought his way to redemption in the Renegade Non-E bracket, making his way to the finals against Danny Oro's 72 Pontiac. This time, he'd get off the line just fine, but it was the finish line that was a problem for Gary. Gary would finish the 1/8th of a mile in 7.694 seconds... on a 7.72 second dial. By finishing .026 seconds early, he'd disqualify himself and lose another final... if his rival, Danny Oro, didn't finish with a 7.301 on a 7.33 dial, finishing .029 seconds early, and also breaking out. The scant 3 thousandths of a second difference was what Gary needed to take the Renegade Non-E win.

Gary Harfield (Far) against Danny Oro (Near) in the Renegade Non-E Final
With the Renegades off to a good start, we'll have the Import Outlaws racing down the track next week on Saturday, the 24th. See you there!

Saturday night, on the first of September, 2018, the 2018 Crower Cup series came to a close at Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip in Lakeside, California. Going into the third and final race, Rick Reynolds had a commanding lead, with RJ Simrock, Todd Ferguson, and Paul Wagner having outside shots for the championship if Rick is eliminated early.

And there was good news on that front, as Rick dropped out early, entering the cash prize Gambler and making his way to the finals, matched up against Jeff Martin. Jeff's .085 reaction time wasn't bad, but Rick's .054 was better. And when Rick right on his dial, with a 5.933 E/T on a 5.93 dial, he made it impossible for Jeff to win. Jeff would break out, and Rick would take the Gambler cash prize.

The Gambler Final, with Rick Reynolds (Near) lined up against  Jeff Martin (Far)
That just left the Crower final, where each of the three competitors would make a push to the final, but Pedro Valadez's 81 Camaro and Noel Cuevas' “Mexican Hulk” 71 Camraro were the last men standing. Both racers were nearly even off the starting line. With no clear leader, it was just two drivers trying to get as close to their dial as possible...as both go too fast, breaking out. Pedro's 6.558 E/T was closer to his 6.26 dial, only breaking out by a scant 2 thousandths of a second, beating Noel's 6.448 E/T on a 6.47 dial, giving Pedro the Crower Cup win for the night

In the Crower final, Pedro Valadez (Near) lined up against Noel Cuevas (Far).

But when the points are added up, RJ, Todd, and Paul could not get enough of a push, as Rick Reynolds and his 66 Fairlane take the Crower Cup! Rick takes home a Wally and some Crower merchandise for his troubles.

Now, come back in two weeks on the 15th for the return of the Renegade, as well as Member Track Madness! Races start at 4PM. See you there!