Words by Darr Hawthorne
Photos by Paul Schmitz, Gary Edwards, Darr Hawthorne and James Drew

By any measure, track operator Blake Bowser’s vision of Auto Club Famoso Raceway as a big track with a small-track feel has been realized with the addition of three Saturday Night Nitro events this year. The final event of the series on Sept. 8 attracted the best of West Coast nitro funny car racing and an enthusiastic crowd to watch a much-improved Dan Horan Jr. take home the cash prize put up by Mr. Bowser.

Unfortunately, the Kern Valley weather hampered early testing and the all-run first round with blazing temperatures and humidity. However, after dark the temperatures dropped and the air cooled. For nitro cars a warm track and cooler air delivered the opportunity for all the teams to improve.

Dan Horan Jr’s ’65 Mustang led the charge in the single qualifying session with his 5.820 ET at 235.97 mph run showing he and Crew Chief Ronnie Swearingen had found the combination. (James Drew photo)