Santa Maria Speedway
6.5 Earthquake Shakes Santa Maria Speedway - By Bobby Gerould - HammerDownUSA.com Editor - 12/22/03 ...A large earthquake ripped through California from Los Angeles to San Francisco on Monday, killing at least three people and knocking out power to tens of thousands. The quake struck at 11:16 a.m. The U.S. Geological Survey gave it a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 and said it was centered north of the small coastal town of Cambria. Santa Maria Speedway is believed to be the closest racetrack to the epicenter. Larry Ulam, of Santa Maria Speedway, lives in Paso Robles, a town that was hit particularly hard. Ulam told HammerDown!, "I've never felt anything this strong. We have damage to lamps, pictures and books. It completely knocked over an old cast iron stove we have, but luckily we don't seem to have any structural damage." Ulam added, "The Speedway is okay. It looks like Santa Maria didn't feel it as hard as Paso did." Ulam also said that the track owner, Nettie Fort and her home are doing fine.
"Plant the root, get the fruit."
Cool Santa Maria Welcomes Golden State Challenge Sprint Cars By Bobby Gerould, 07/08/03 - Rocklin, CA. - …Santa Maria Speedway is a track that every race fan should have on it's "must visit" list. Built with meticulous care by the late, Doug Fort, the track is situated in a semi amphitheater of natural terrain. Eucalyptus trees dominate the landscape providing the bleacher area with protection from the winds. The clay oval is a short 1/3 mile with a surface that stays naturally moist due to its close proximity to the Pacific Ocean. Saturday night, Santa Maria Speedway will host round 17 of 21 in the Golden State Challenge winged 410 sprint car series. (read it all)
A longtime, HammerDown! Favorite is the track built by the late, Doug Fort. With clean hill-side seating, coastal air, and family atmosphere, the one-third mile dirt track is a race fans racetrack. The Santa Maria Speedway lies close to the coast of the Pacific Ocean in California. The damp air, and natural underground moisture makes SMS a challenging track to read. Unfortunately, when the track is fast, there is very little passing. ...Maybe the key is to race on the track the night before. Many of the best races we've seen at Santa Maria were on the second day of a weekend show, when the track has a chance to go slick form the previous nights abuse.
...HammerDown! misses the World of Outlaws at Santa Maria. The 'traffic racing' at Santa Maria's small 1/3 mile was consistently a pleasing blend of slide jobs, and ultra-quick, dicing moves. I'll never forget Sammy Swindell during the main event one night in the early 80's. As we watched from the hill in turn one, Swindell, in heavy traffic on the slick track, would jump over the inside berm entering turns one and three, and would hop back over when exiting the turns.
Track Champions:
World of Outlaws Race Winners
All-Time Track Record:
GSC / NARC Record: 11.294 Brad Furr - Sanmina-SCI #2, July 12, 2003
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