The start of modern gringo Baja racing, started on the streets and deserts of Southern California, as amateur, non-professional street and off-road racing.
Paradise Road is Baja Racing News in-depth report on the racing times of gringos making their way to Baja to race, in the early sixties.
New music, public technology and racing equipment met the needs of our gringo racing visitors to the Baja peninsula.
"During World War II, the Navy and Army Air Force built many emergency airfields throughout Southern California where pilot training went on year-round. These fields offered the newbie pilots a safe place to land an aircraft if they were having problems. One of these emergency airfields in San Diego became one of the first organized dragstrips in the nation."
"Sweetwater Dam NOLF (Navy Outlying Field) was located four miles east of the 32nd Street Naval Base on San Diego Bay. It had a single paved east/west runway with a small parking pad on the southeastern end near Paradise Road. There were no buildings, just an airstrip for emergency landings. The west end featured a sharp drop-off. Following the war, the Navy, much like the Air Force, walked away from these little airstrips. This was also a time when street racing was becoming an issue with the public and moving racing to a confined area was seen as a positive move and found a lot of local support. In the late 1940s, Sweetwater Dam NOLF was used for unauthorized racing and after a couple accidents was quickly closed."2
Steel sign posted onsite at Paradise Road - San Diego area race grounds-
Unveiled for the first time here on BajaRacingNews.com, 71 Years after the racing events!
"Beginning in 1951 (San Diego) at Paradise Mesa, Santa Ana, Pomona, and the other Southern California outlaw tracks were organized under the direction of the NHRA. At first, the rules and regulations allowed plenty of innovation in the still-young sport. Over the next few years, Joaquin says, the club won 63 NHRA events and set 45 NHRA records aords at all the major Southern California tracnd at one time held simultaneous speed recks. He knew their reputation was big when they’d arrive at a meet and hear grumbling from the other drivers. “We’d hear ’em say, ‘Here come those damn Mexicans again,’ and some of the guys wouldn’t even run their cars. They’d just leave ’em on the trailers.”"3
"Throughout the 1950s dragstrips blossomed across Southern California, and in 1959 Paradise Mesa Drag Strip closed. Today, not a trace of the strip remains, as urban expansion has completely covered the area with homes."2
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By: Jose Salas II, Publisher
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