7 replies to this topic

[Keith Tanaka]

November's D3 Hardbody Races at Buena Park Raceway had a lite turnout of racers.

 

The GTP race was won by Mike Tipps with Hector Gonzalez 2nd and Keith Tanaka 3rd.

The GTP "Racer Handicap" podium had Mike Tipps 1st, Michael Kale 2nd and Hector Gonzalez 3rd.

 

The Mixed race, Lap Differential podium, Keith Tanaka 1st (Jalopy), Mike Tipps 2nd (Short Track NASCAR), Hector Gonzalez 3rd (Corvette hardtop).

The Mixed race, "Racer Handicap" podium, Keith Tanaka 1st, Mike Tipps 2nd, Craig Williamson 3rd.

 

Thanks to Robert Range for BPRs support of D3 Hardbody Racing.

Thanks to our race director Victor Dubrowsky.

 

Here's the race/photo report: [/font][/font][a href="https://socald3.smug...body-races-2023"]RACE REPORT[/a]

 

D3 Hardbody races at BPR, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023 "CANCELLED (BPR TO CLOSE DEC. 15, 2023)". 

The last race at BPR will be the SCRRA Retro races this Saturday Dec. 2, 2023.

 

Keith 

[Bridgehampton66]

thanks, Keith!

[Tim Neja]

Good to see the "die hard" hard body racers are going at it!!  I wish I lived a little closer to make it easier to travel there.  Happy Thanksgiving guys--enjoy!!

[Keith Tanaka]

Sad news. Buena Park Raceway will close business "forever" Dec. 15, 2023.

 

Many years of outstanding slot car racing at BPR will come to an end.

 

It was a great ride for BPR, special thanks to the original owner Chris Gallegos for providing many top notch racing events over the years he was the owner.  

 

Keith 

[bbr]

Gonna move the racing to the other raceway?

[Jay Guard]

That is really sad news, I had many great memories of racing there in the late nineties and early 2000's, and of course interacting with Chris and Lenore Gallegos.  I guess it's true that all good things must end but at least i have the wonderful memories.

 

BTW...Does anyone know when BPR opened?

[eshorer]

The end of an era, indeed. I placed a call to Buena Park Raceway in 2005 to see if they knew my old Boola teammate Gil Gundersen. It turned out he was racing there every Thursday night, and when I walked through the door and smelled that mix of oil, rubber, and wintergreen, it took me right back to my teenage years from 40 years before. Retro racing was just getting going and I was hooked all over again. Chris and Lenore Gallegos, Jim and Debbie Watterson, and more recently Robert Range put so much into providing a place for us. I'm really grateful, and sorry that it can't continue. We're lucky in SoCal with so many other opportunities to race, but I'll always miss Buena Park Raceway. I'm sure many feel the same. 

Eddie

[Mike K]

BTW...Does anyone know when BPR opened?

 

 

Jay, not sure of the exact date when BPR opened, but they were originally located on Beach Blvd as a raceway/comic book store. They had the original hillclimb track there. This was 1993 or so, at least that was our first time visiting there. My son was 10 years old at the time. Their next stop was on Orangewood Ave when they added the Ogilvie King track and the drag strip. I remember that Chris was very protective of that king track when he got it, only allowing "serious" racers to run it! The final stop was the current location, but not sure when that was. He traded the Ogilvie King for the Gerding King and aquired the Kingleman from a shop in Las Vegas along with another King that he never set up in the store, as I recall. Later traded the Hillclimb for the "Chico" MTT flat track that became so popular.

 

A lot of history there......USRA Nats, Wing Car worlds, Checkpoint Cup Retro series, not to mention all of the drag races, hardbody races and weekly races over the years.