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Baylands Raceway Park / NOLF Heath (site) (Fremont, California)

USA / California / Fremont / Fremont, California / Christy Street, 44333
 drag strip, historic ruins, car racing track
44333 Christy Street
Fremont, CA 94538

This is the site of the former Baylands Raceway and NOLF Heath. This property was originally leased from the Heath family by the Army prior to WWII. The Army, which owned Moffett Field at the time, built an auxiliary training airfield here in the late 1930s. When the Navy took over control of Moffett again in 1941, this site became Naval Outlying Landing Field, Heath and a 3,100-foot paved runway was constructed here. After the war, the property was purchased by Southern Pacific Railroad and leased to the owners of Fremont Drag Strip (later Baylands Raceway) in 1958.

Baylands Raceway Park was a complex consisting of a 1/4 mile paved dragstrip and a 3/8 mile dirt oval.

The 1/4 mile paved dragstrip operated from 1959 through 1988.
A 1/4 mile dirt oval operated from 1974 through 1980.
A 1/4 mile dirt oval also operated in 1984 (it is not clear if this is the same oval.)
A 3/8 mile paved oval operated from August of 1981 through November of 1988.

The dragstrip was the site of the first 7 second run (7.962) on May 14th, 1960. It also was the site of the first 6 second run (6.99) on April 29th, 1962 (jet dragster).


www.youtube.com/watch?v=59CTQxNzqkk&feature=player_embe...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBt9Z4OhufI&feature=player_embe...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=61rOe_9WZbI&feature=player_embe...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4BTLj-ef7c&feature=player_embe...

www.boomspeed.com/memlane/baylands.html
members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/CA/Airfields_CA_Sa...
www.museumoflocalhistory.org/pages/AirfieldsWashTwp.pdf
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   37°29'46"N   121°57'34"W

Comments

  • phiz
    The aircraft picture above is a 1942 photo at Heath Field, an auxiliary landing practice field to the nearby Moffett Naval Air Station. Moffett housed both Navy and Air Corps units at the beginning of WWII. These are Army Air Corps Vultee BT-13 trainers flying over Heath.
This article was last modified 6 years ago