Kearny Bowl Hardtops

[speednut]

I enjoyed watching both the hardtops and the midgets race there. The sound of the engines was great and unfortunately, every once in a while somebody would crash into the wall. The big wings on the back were really odd looking. I'm not sure if the track is even there anymore, it just might be full of track homes by now. Anyway, I attached a photo just for old times sake.

[Big J]

The track is gone now. Believe it was demolished in the late 70's/early 80's to make way for some homes, exactly.

[Guest]

Here's a pic of a hardtop with the wing, anybody got a photo of one of the midgets that raced there?

[oldschool]

I remember as we used to haul produce into town and drive up Kearny Blvd. I never got to go. At this time did Al Pombo, Marshall Sargent, and Everett Edlund race there too? And the Vukovich brothers too. That is a great photo.

[sjvalleydave]

Al and Marshall were the heavy hitters back then. Everett Edlund, DeWayne Woodward, Bob Cetti, Jerry Thompson and so many more were the young guns. The track last ran in 1968 or 1969. The government took the property and built "Low Income Housing Projects" there, which are still there to this day.

[flwbdw]

Kearny Bowl was the highlight of the week when I was a kid. My dad, C&W Tire Shop on Kings Canyon and Mitts and George at I&N Garage build a hardtop, circle 7 and it was driven by Clyde Prickett. Great times.

[Big J]

Did they run every week there? And does anyone remember why Kearney Bowl went away? Where was it exactly?

[sjvalleydave]

It was on the corner of Kearney Blvd and Fruit, right across from Chandler Field. You can see the streets in the top photo clearly. They ran almost weekly during race season on Friday nights, then to San Jose on Saturday nights and Clovis on Sundays. Government bought property to make low income projects...

[JOSEGUNN]

Of all the empty land around "The Bowl" to build the projects, they had to pick "The Bowl." What "smart" govt. official think that was a great idea?

[Av8rdan]

Oh man this is GREAT! I was at Kearny Bowl as a kid most nights in the summers when I grew up in Fresno. Even though we lived way out by where Fashion Fair is now, my dad, Louie Pimentel, loved airplanes so we would head over to Chandler Field across the street on a Saturday afternoon, and watch the planes land. As it got dark, we'd go the Bowl and have some hot dogs, and he had beer. Was a very cool way to spend time with a father. I ended up as a auto racing photographer at Madera Speedway, Kings Speedway, Clovis Speedway, Ascot, Laguna Seca, PIR and all points in between. But it all started at Kearny Bowl.