Goleta Drag Strip (site)

 historical layer / disappeared object  Add category

A service road that was part of the old airport field, which is today Santa Barbara municipal airport, this is the site of the first legal sanctioned drag race that took place on Sunday, April 10th 1949.

Street racers in Santa Barbara had approached the airport operators and asked that the stretch of road that ran along the edge of the airport property be made available on Sundays so that they could use it for drag racing, and their request was granted. That was how the first legal sanctioned drag race came to be. The second thing that gave the event impact and importance was that the two fastest and quickest cars in Los Angeles, Tom Cobbs roadster and Fran Hernandez three window coupe, were going to race each other at the event. This drew hot rodders and street racers from all over Southern California, but especially from Los Angeles.