The 2024 VW Drag Race Season Kicked Off!

We had a blast at Hot VWs Drag Day held at Irwindale Dragstrip. Enjoy the sound of music!

The original HotVWs Drag Days, held at Orange County International Raceway, was launched in the 1980s. The same track additionally welcomed the legendary Bug-In since its debut in 1968. After losing OCIR in October 1983, these two events have remained in the participants’ memories forever.

A drag race, a car show, and a huge swap meet during the same event were a perfect combo, which the VW scene in Southern California had been missing since OCIR’s closure. When Rich Kimball of Periscope Enterprises found out that Irwindale Speedway was going to open in 2002, he moved quickly to restart the Hot VWs Drag Day, thus bringing back OCIR’s “good memories” for many. Rich, the promoter of Bug-In and Drag Day to this day with his son Andy, felt the venue was ideal as it offered a 1/8-mile dragstrip.

The top category of the series is the Outlaw Turbo class (Pro tree race with no weight and displacement restrictions). The ETs in this class range from 5.50 to 6.60 in the 1/8 mile, while competitors typically run 6.50 to 7.00 in Super Stock. The rules of the latter go something like this: Pro-tree, air-cooled-only; any full-bodied, rear-engine VWs; maximum engine displacement of 2444cc, no power adders, and no vacuum pumps. Pro Eliminator is the class with the most entries in the series. It’s a Bracket class for vehicles running 8.49 and quicker on a 4 tenths “Pro Tree”. In the Real Street class, cars must be street legal and driven all together before each race. They enter 1/8th-mile heads-up races using the Pro light. Engine displacement is limited to 2332cc, while dual-port head intake studs need to remain in the stock location. Other musts include carburetors only (up to 48mm and throttle plates with 44 mm venturi or smaller), and competitors need to run up to 91-octane gas. Finally, the Powder Puff class is for the girls drag racing with their VWs.

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