Not only did Babe Ruth hit his first career home run in 1915, but the automobile speed was set at 102 mph by Gil Anderson driving a Stutz. People started racing automobiles after Henry Ford started producing affordable vehicles, which led to highly illegal drag racing that was basically straight-line speed races. The first legal drag racing track was set up on an Orange County Airport runway in Santa Ana, CA where top drag racer Art Chrisman (1929-2016) broke the 140 mph in 1953, driving a Model T Sprint.
Today, modern-day Top Fuel Dragsters produce over 11,000 horsepower from a supercharged nitromethane-fueled engine enabling the rail to accelerate to over 340 mph in under 3.7 seconds. The world record is held by Brittany Force’s top speed of 343.5 mph @ 3.69 seconds at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.
Aiming to celebrate “the way things once were in drag racing,” Steve Gibbs and Bernie Partridge came up with the idea of the CA Hot Rod Reunion in 1991, and the first one was held a year later. The object of the Reunion was to put history in motion and allow spectators and participants to experience the smoke and thunder of drag racing history with an unbelievable showing of front-engine nitro-burning Top Fuel Dragsters, Nostalgic Funny Cars, the wild Fuel Altereds, muscle cars, street rods, super stocks and wheel-standing gassers.
This 33rd edition of the “hot rod hootnanny” is called the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion presented by Good Vibrations Motorsports, united with the highly successful and popular Nitro Revival, which was created by former NHRA VP and Competition Director Steve Gibbs and his dedicated daughter, Cindy (known as the spark plug of the Revival).
From October 24-26, 2025, the historic Famoso Dragstrip, North of Bakersfield, CA, was jam-packed with “drag racing geeks” witnessing two of drag racing’s premier nostalgia events ever assembled in the world of ¼ mile drag racing and nitro-cackle exhibitions.
Blake Bowser, general manager of the Kern County Racing Association that operates Famoso Dragstrip, joined forces with Gibbs’ Nitro Revival, which has been “cackling” for five years. First at Barona Dragstrip in California, then Laguna Seca and finally at the now closed Irwindale Speedway. This year at Famoso, one of the highlights of the event was the all-star autograph session that featured legends “TV Tommy” Ivo, Don “the Snake” Prudhomme, Ed “The Ace” McCulloch, Carl Olson, Gary Beck, Greg Sharp and dozens more. “Big Daddy” Don Garlits made a rare return to Bakersfield for this event and said earlier, “Bakersfield will always hold a special place in my heart. Some of my biggest wins were there, and I’m looking forward to coming back and seeing all the fans at the Reunion.”
Eliminations ran all weekend, but the place to be on Saturday evening was at the starting line of Famoso, where over 60 nitro-burning fuelers assembled for a “line of fire” “Cackle Fest” that was coined by Greg Sharp, past curator of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum. Header flames lit up the California sky, while nitro-fumes brought tears of joy to everyone’s eyes. As the sights and sounds of cackling engines thundered through the stands, fans stood up and cheered as a select few of the diggers rumbled by, spewing hot, raw hydrogen flames, while the Garlits Swamp Rat III and Garlits himself mingled with the crowd. Gibbs, nicknamed “the Hook,” had said, “It’s rewarding to do something that seems to satisfy a lot of people. The goal is to gather the old timers to reflect about the early days of hot rodding, renew friendships and inform youngsters about the roots of drag racing.”
The final round of eliminations on Sunday honored Top Fuel winner Pete Kaiser, running a 5.720 ET @ 259.44 mph. In Nostalgic Funny Car, Jon Caps in a ’70 Camaro flopper ran a 5.543 ET @ 263.31 mph, and in Fuel Altered, Greg Leahy blasted a 239.74 mph @ 6.064 ET.
The proceeds from the combined event will go to the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, California.
More info and list of winners visit: www.famosodragstrip.com
