Barona
The Last Outpost for Motor Sports

Ramona Home Journal and Julian Journal
By Johnny McDonald
http://www.ramonajournal.com/news/2005/0411/Front_Page/005.html

Barona is now the last outpost for motor sports in San Diego County.
One by one, race tracks have been driven off land, the latest being
Cajon Speedway and Carlsbad Raceway. Even the race-legal drags on
Qualcomm Stadium's parking lot are silent because of financial
struggles.
Cajon's plans call for a limited number of races this year before
closing in August. Carlsbad Raceway, once a drag race stronghold in
Southern California, has been plowed under for development.
So, it's up to the eighth-of-a-mile drag strip and quarter-mile
speedway in Indian country to maintain an outlet for the backyard
mechanics and thrill-seekers. The tracks are 4.8 miles north of the
Barona Casino on Wildcat Canyon Road, between Lakeside and Ramona.
Through the years, some of the nation's outstanding drivers have
seen
action in sports cars, dragsters, sprints, stock cars and midgets
somewhere in the county. Whether it was the oval tracks at Balboa
Stadium and South Bay Speedway, the drag strips at Paradise Mesa and
San Diego Raceway or the sports car roads of Torrey Pines and Del
Mar, drivers found places to go fast.
Fastrack Enterprises, a family operation headed by Todd Salazar,
maintains the Barona speedway with limited seats and parking space.
The season opens April 30, featuring a wide variety, including sprint
cars, dwarfs, modifieds and street stocks every other Saturday night.
A special show on Sept. 2 will include the United States Auto
Club's
Southwest series cars.
Besides Todd, other members of the promotional team are Judith L.
Salazar, Kathleen A. Jordan, Alexis C. Salazar and Melissa Salazar.
The drag race operation, under Tony Kotasek's promotion, began
last
month and might play a vital role in keeping kids away from illegal
street racing. Andy Smith, publicist for the drag strip, said the
entry list reaches 150 on some afternoons. The demand might become
greater now.
It is somewhat reminiscent of many days gone by when San Diego
Raceway, built at the Ramona air field, filled a need in 1963, three
years after the pioneering Paradise Mesa drag strip was closed. The
Ramona facility endured until the completion of Carlsbad Raceway.
Ramona and Carlsbad had major attractions each week with the
nation's
swiftest. It was common to see Don Garlits, Don Prudhomme, Jerry
Baltes and Tommy Ivo perform before big crowds.