When the gates swing open at Famoso Dragstrip next weekend, the center of the drag racing universe will once again sit just north of Bakersfield, California. The California Hot Rod Reunion — now fused with Nitro Revival — returns October 24–26, bringing with it an unmatched blend of racing, history, and nitro-fueled showmanship that honors the pioneers and preserves the soul of the sport.
This year’s gathering isn’t just another nostalgia meet; it’s a full-throttle celebration of American drag racing’s living heritage. Legends like Don “Big Daddy” Garlits will share the stage — and the starting line — with modern nostalgia racers competing in seventeen classes, from Top Fuel to AA/Fuel Altered and the ever-popular Gassers.
A National Stage for Nostalgia
The event serves as the season finale for the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series, meaning national titles are on the line alongside bragging rights. Racers from across the country will battle for prestige, history, and those coveted NHRA Wally trophies — the same iconic awards earned by professional drivers on the NHRA national stage.
Teams haul west from every corner of the country to chase history down the quarter-mile — not just for hardware, but to run where the roots of the sport were laid.
Famoso is a track steeped in lore: home to the original U.S. Fuel & Gas Championships of 1959, where coast-to-coast rivalries defined drag racing’s golden age. That same spirit lives on here — part museum, part battleground, all nitro.
Cacklefest and the Nitro Revival Vibe
Nothing captures that spirit better than Cacklefest, where dozens of restored front-engine dragsters light off in unison, belching flame and thunder as night falls. Fans don’t just watch history; they feel it in their chest.
That sense of spectacle is what Nitro Revival, founded by Steve and Cindy Gibbs, has brought to modern nostalgia drag racing. Its move to Famoso merges the emotional energy of the revival scene with the competitive prestige of the Reunion — uniting fans, legends, and machinery from every era under one roaring sky.
Legends Return: Don Garlits and the Pioneers
Garlits’ attendance adds a layer of symmetry to the weekend. In 1959, he first towed west from Florida to run at Famoso — a trip that changed the sport forever. His rear-engine innovations would later redefine Top Fuel safety and design. Now, more than six decades later, the man who helped modernize the sport returns to the same strip that first tested him.
Also expected to attend are Tommy Ivo, Don Hampton, and other icons whose names shaped early drag racing’s identity. For fans, it’s a once-in-a-generation chance to see legends from both coasts converge on the same hallowed ground.
More Than Racing
The weekend offers plenty beyond the asphalt: a massive pre-’72 car show, a bustling swap meet, and autograph sessions with some of the sport’s most recognized names. Fans holding full-event tickets can even take in Thursday’s Test & Tune, plus collectible giveaways — this year featuring the tongue-in-cheek “Little Ron” bobblehead honoring NHRA champ Ron Capps.
A Living Time Machine
For all its nostalgia, the California Hot Rod Reunion remains a living time machine — a chance to see, hear, and smell the raw origins of the world’s fastest motorsport. It’s not a reenactment. It’s the real thing, preserved and alive, just as it was when Garlits and Ivo first squared off here nearly seventy years ago.
Next weekend, the past and present of drag racing meet again at Famoso Dragstrip — and the echoes of nitro will remind everyone why this place, and this event, still matter.
This story was originally published on October 17, 2025. 
The post California Hot Rod Reunion, Nitro Revival to Unite at Famoso first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
