The Fremont Dragstrip was a racing venue for dragster automobiles that was located in

Fremont, California Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth List of cities and towns in the San Fra ...

in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

, operating from 1959 until the end of 1988. In its final years, it was part of Baylands Raceway Park. The site lies in the quadrant just south of the intersection of Interstate 880 and

Auto Mall An auto row or auto mall is a business cluster with multiple car dealerships in a single neighborhood or road. Auto rows are distinct from car supermarkets which are a single, large dealership. Economics Auto rows, like mall food courts, are an ...

Parkway.

History

The track was constructed on land leased from the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

, which had acquired the land from the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The Army had constructed a small airfield on the site just prior to the war, which was subsequently taken over by the Navy during the war (Naval Outlying Landing Field Heath). In 1961, after the Fremont Dragstrip was already in operation, another smaller airfield for gliders, Sky Sailing Airport, was constructed on the southern part of the site directly adjacent to the dragstrip, becoming one of the busiest gliderports in the world prior to its closure. By the end of the 1960s and early 1970s, the Fremont Dragstrip was in its heyday. Its booming radio ads were familiar and ubiquitous on all the pop radio stations in the

. The track was used as a location for movies in the late 1970s. ''

More American Graffiti ''More American Graffiti'' is a 1979 American coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by Bill L. Norton, produced by Howard Kazanjian. It is the sequel to the 1973 film ''American Graffiti''. Whereas the first film followed a group of frien ...

'', a 1979

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written and directed by

Bill L. Norton Bill L. Norton is an American film director, writer and producer. Among many projects, he is the writer-director of '' Cisco Pike'' and ''More American Graffiti''. Career Norton is most notable as a film director, including his first feature fil ...

, had filmed

Paul Le Mat Paul Le Mat (born September 22, 1945) is an American actor. He first came to prominence with his role in ''American Graffiti'' (1973); his performance was met with critical acclaim and earned him the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year ...

's character, John Milner, drag racing here. ''

Hot Rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made ...

'', the 1979

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by

George Armitage George Brendan Armitage (born March 2, 1942) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed the films ''Miami Blues'' (1990) and ''Grosse Pointe Blank'' (1997). He worked frequently with Roger Corman. Life and career Armi ...

and starring

Gregg Henry Gregg Lee Henry (born May 6, 1952) is an American character actor and rock, blues and country musician. He is best known for his performance as serial killer Dennis Rader in the made-for-television film '' The Hunt for the BTK Killer'', and for ...

and

Pernell Roberts Pernell Elven Roberts Jr. (May 18, 1928 – January 24, 2010) was an American stage, film, and television actor, activist, and singer. In addition to guest-starring in over 60 television series, he was best known for his roles as Ben Cartw ...

, filmed races here. The track held the

National Hot Rod Association The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorspo ...

(NHRA) Golden Gate Nationals from 1981 to 1983. In 1983, Gary Beck ran the first Top Fuel time in the 5.3s, a 5.39 seconds, in Larry Minor's dragster. "Because of its dense, near-sea-level air and outstanding traction, Baylands is a fast track that has been the site of most production-bike record attempts." In December 1986, Jay Gleason set the fastest quarter-mile of 9.69 seconds on a street bike,

Yamaha V-Max The Yamaha V-Max, (or VMAX) cruiser motorcycle was produced by Yamaha from 1985. Known for its 70° V4 engine, shaft drive, and distinctive styling, the V-Max was discontinued following the 2020 model year. History The V-Max was designed by At ...

. In 1996 the

Catellus Development Corporation Catellus Development Corporation is an Oakland, California based real estate developer founded in 1984 to be the real estate division of Santa Fe Pacific Corporation, as part of the Santa Fe–Southern Pacific merger. It was spun off into its own ...

converted the land to the Pacific Commons complex development, and the Nueva School. Evil Knievel performed here.

References

External links

Fremont Dragstrip (Baylands Raceway) Facebook Page

History Fremont Dragstrip forum, JalopyJournal.com

Fremont Races on YouTube
Drag racing venues 1959 establishments in California 1988 disestablishments in California Fremont, California Sports in the San Francisco Bay Area Sports venues completed in 1959 {{California-sports-venue-stub