Re: Cal - no fan support continues

John McCoy <igopogo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
news:Xns99A0C2401F1D3pogosupernews@xxxxxxxxxxxx:

bud hufstetler <bud.hufstetler@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in
news:Xns99A0897954B32fdjqewijior901892843@xxxxxxxxxxxx:

I forgot t omention NASCAR's history runs deep in California, as well.
I"m too lazy to look it up at the moment, but I'm 99% certain they've
run 2 or more races per year in California at least as far back as '50
or '51.

Looks like they started at Riverside in 58, and ran 2 per year from
1970 onwards (either Jan & June, or June & Nov, the January races
counted as the last race of the preceeding year if I'm not mistaken).

A mess of short tracks ran 2 or 3 races apiece thruout the 50s,
which is probably what you're remembering.

Yeah, we used to go into Gardena near LA quite a bit and occasionally
make the trek up to Sacramento.

I very much agree with your point that, if they're going to run
a race in southern Cal, it should be in the Nov/Dec/Jan timeframe.

John

While those 3 months would be great anywhere else in SoCal, you don't
want to be in Fontana during November or December. That's the height of
the Santa Ana wind season and November is the height of the fire season
(remember CART's last scheduled race that was cancelled due to the giant
fire). The 1st half od January can be windy as well, but the 2nd half is
generally spectacular.

Fontana's (and the old Kaiser site in particular) unique weather problems
are exactly why Penske was able to buy it at an affordable price. That's
the same reason Henry J Kaiser was able to aquire the land in 1941 or 42.
While the rest of the valley was covered in citrus, grapes or olives,
those crops would be blown off the vine or tree by the winds that blow
across that narrow band of land. That's why it was being used as a giant
hog farm when Henry J bought the land. That wind is also the main reason
the empty land north of the site has just lately been developed for
housing while the rest of Fontana has been booming fro the last 25-30
years. It wasn't developed until most everything else was built out.

That relatively narrow strip of land that more or less follows the path
of Interstate 15 lies in a wind channel and that wind makes life
miserable in comparison to the rest of Fontana and the adjacent city of
Cucamonga. That wind strips the soil, limits visibility, destroys
vegetation, damages buildings and even blows over big rig tractor
trailers a few times every year.

It also makes that strip hotter and drier than the surrounding area.
Remember Rusty or Dr Punch talkiing about the wind being like a blast
furnace? That's because of compressional heating as the wind is forced
over the San Gabriel range or down the Cajon Pass between the San Gabriel
and San Bernardino mountain ranges. The air gets considerably hotter as
it heads downslope.

Take a look a the the graph's generated on raceday at this weather
station located due north of the track:
http://tinyurl.com/27jyf2

Notice the direct correlation increased wind velocity and and
temperature?

Bud



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