March Meet at Bakersfield, Calif.

Wild action, fast times

Words by Brian Losness
Photos by Tim Marshall, Paul Schmitz, and Jamie Shores

After dominating last year, Tony Bartone (far lane) was eliminated in the semifinal by Rick Williamson. (Tim Marshall photo)

In 1972 a singer-song writer named Albert Hammond wrote a hit song called It Never Rains. A portion of the chorus goes like this “It never rains in California, But girl don't they warn ya, It pours, man, it pours.”

That in a nutshell is what transpired over the March 4-6 weekend at the 2016 Good Vibrations March Meet. Rain and a couple of funny car incidents on Friday threw the schedule into a complete turmoil. However, the dedication of the Famoso track crew and the racers meant they were able to right the ship and keep the program going.

There was an interesting vibe in the air this year. It seemed as though there was more seriousness going on. Not in the same vein as the big show, mind you, but the extreme laissez-faire attitude that has been seen at the past March Meets just didn’t seem to be there.

Anyway, that is for another article another time.