Veteran writer/racer Rick Voegelin recently took in the 2015 Eagle Field Drags in rural Firebaugh, California, where the racing remains true to its roots. Here’s his full report.
Return to Eagle Field
By Rick Voegelin
Photos by Rick Voegelin and Rich Welch
Rocky Phillips was understandably anxious. In the midst of one of the worst droughts in California history, it was raining at Eagle Field—raining hard. Rain is bad news for any race organizer, but when the venue is an abandoned World War II airbase constructed on central California’s finest dirt, rain is a disaster.
The only paved surface at the site of the Eagle Field Runway Drags is the time-worn runway. Everything else—the pits, the staging lanes, the parking lots—stands on dirt as fine as talcum powder. Mix this desiccated soil with water and it becomes as tenacious as industrial-strength epoxy.
Despite dire predictions, Phillips and his all-volunteer brigade persevered. Juggling schedules and deploying impromptu plans, Rocky and friends pulled off the Eagle Field Runway Drags in grand style. The staging lanes were packed with more than 300 cars, the runway was lined with pop-up tents, and the swap meet was buzzing like bees in honey. The spirit of Eagle Field soared again.
While nostalgia drag races have become big business in some quarters, Eagle Field remains true to its roots: flag starts, 1/8th mile runs, soda syrup traction compound, and $5 hamburgers cooked by the local Lions club. The racers and fans who make the trek to scenic Firebaugh, Calif. (“Gateway to Nowhere”) are an eclectic bunch who revere and respect the old ways—and probably wouldn’t be caught dead at one of the slick, commercialized Big Shows.
The ghosts of Eagle Field are palpable. Warbirds, ancient assault vehicles, and rusty artillery stand as silent sentinels. Decommissioned in 1944, the former Army Air Corps training base was purchased by Joe Davis, whose goal was to preserve and protect the airfield. He succeeded—the venue now hosts vintage fly-ins. And when Phillips hatched the idea of holding the Eagle Field Runway Drags, Davis went for it.
Race organizer Phillips walks the walk, driving his dual-engined dragster, appropriately named “The Evil Twin (above) while simultaneously herding hundreds of racers. “I am not a promoter,” Phillips declares. “I am a person who volunteers his time for the love of people who enjoy what we do.” (Rich Welch photos)
The diesel dudes from Brown’s Diesel earned MCG’s unofficial Coolest Car of the Meet award for their Cummins B4-powered ’32 Ford three-window coupe. With three stages of nitrous oxide injection, assisted by methanol-water injection, this oil burner produces more than 500 horsepower at the rear wheels . . . while creating its own dense cloud cover.
The most incongruous car at Eagle Field: a spectacular continuation series GT40 propelled by a roaring big-block Ford. Not only did the owner hammer his car on the drag strip, he stirred up rooster tails on the dirt return road. The dust and the glory, indeed!
Don Garlits’ Swamp Rat III conjured images of bygone days as it cackled in front of hundreds of appreciative fans who lined the 1/8th mile track with their tents, camp chairs, and coolers. (Rich Welch photo)
Eagle Field is not renowned for its traction; the coefficient of friction is comparable to a Walmart parking lot. But there was enough bite for General Jerry Lee to launch the front wheels skyward in his vintage wheelstanders during several exhibition passes.
The things you find at Eagle Field defy tidy categories. How about a stylish Art Deco tilt-bed truck powered by a mid-mounted small-block Mopar?
The Estranged Car Club makes the trek from Oregon to put on a fine show of traditional Gassers and Factory Experimentals. Straight axles, altered wheelbases, yards of altitude and altitude—these check all of the boxes.
Rich Heidt’s slick supercharged Willys was featured at Eagle Field, adorning the event’s souvenir T-shirts. Unfortunately, son Sheldon got into a tank slapper, and the Willys ended up on its lid. Fortunately, he walked away, as they say in the crash-and-burn videos.
This racer traveled a road less taken, equipping his Altered with a venerable Chrysler Slant Six outfitted with a Lynx intake manifold from Australia and a trio of SU carburetors pirated from a Jaguar. The resourceful owner remarked, “The Internet is good for one thing—finding parts.”
This engine heeds racing’s time-honored adage that if some is good, more is better. But even ingenuity has its limits.
Big wheels for big boys: Why settle for an off-the-shelf pit bike when you can build a quarter-scale replica of your Corvette Gasser?
Let’s do the time warp again: The juxtaposition of Lockheed Lodestar and C6 Corvette could only happen at the Eagle Field Runway Drags. Be there!
Once again, Rick Voegelin pants a beautiful picture of the coolest drag racing event on the planet! And although Rocky Phillips may claim not to be a promoter, he works his tail off to create and promote an event that every diehard drag racing fan should have on their bucket list.
What a pleasure: reading Rick Voegelin again! His dual role as editor and writer is unequaled in the history of Car Craft, IMHO — if not of any publication covering drag racing. More, MORE, M-O-R-E, please!
Let’s hope the rat rod fad is over and done. If I never see another one it’s ok with me.
Great piece about one of the greatest nostalgia races there is. Thank you Rick Voegelin.
Many, many thanks for the kind comments on my report from Eagle Field. The Runway Drags is really is an amazing event, staged by amazing people. A day at Eagle Field is a surefire antidote to the commercialism and spec racing mentality that has infected most Big Time motorsports events.
Great pics from Welch and wonderful text from the”wordsmith” Voegelin.