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Firebird lake being drained for good…?

brianwhiteboy

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My son just saw a post that they’re draining Wildhorse Pass (Firebird) lake for good. Seems weird as it was just rebranded and kept open. We went to the last dragboat races in Nov. 2023.

Anyone else hearing this? :(
 

530RL

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I bet the bottom of it is littered in a rubber product. 😳
 

mjc

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My friend says he won't even race there anymore the is so bad and hard on parts.
 

Orange Juice

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I drove past there on Thursday, and they seem to be building a huge track of some kind.
 

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77charger

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My friend says he won't even race there anymore the is so bad and hard on parts.
The water is very salty yes it can be hard on parts if you neglect them.When we ran there they had a waterhose where you can rinse down everything after a run.We never had any issues on anodizing or hardware.
 

poncho

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Track has been there for years. Was a Lucas oil short track truck course for many years. Then changed it up to a rally cross track
I saw something on FB but I thought one of the replies was from the track saying the May race is cancelled but the fall race (World Finals) was still on, you hear anything like that?
 

bagged97taco

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I saw something on FB but I thought one of the replies was from the track saying the May race is cancelled but the fall race (World Finals) was still on, you hear anything like that?
I haven’t heard. I don’t do FB. So I don’t get all the updates. If they do drain it, I want to be there and look for goodies!
 

cyclone

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There has been info going around about it getting drained soon but no one seems to know why its being drained. We were also told last year that the SDBA signed a two or three year deal to have races there and that there would be two events in 2024.
 

X Hoser

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Track has been there for years. Was a Lucas oil short track truck course for many years. Then changed it up to a rally cross track
It’s been used for different venues even back before LOORS left. I understand CORR changed it up a bit and is using it now. I believe they just had a race there last weekend.
 

Orange Juice

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It’s been used for different venues even back before LOORS left. I understand CORR changed it up a bit and is using it now. I believe they just had a race there last weekend.

It looked like a somewhat fresh track, considering all the rain we’ve had.
 

Flat freak

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Firebird water definitely had a bad wrap in the mud 90’s . I always had a couple buckets of soapy water & wash mitts ready at the out ramp. I’m a sucker for beautiful Anodizing and would have cried like a baby if mine got etched 🥵 the other Lake that had nasty ass water was that giant dirty diaper bucket called Castaic
 

timstoy

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Firebird water definitely had a bad wrap in the mud 90’s . I always had a couple buckets of soapy water & wash mitts ready at the out ramp. I’m a sucker for beautiful Anodizing and would have cried like a baby if mine got etched 🥵 the other Lake that had nasty ass water was that giant dirty diaper bucket called Castaic
I was holding Glen Gills GN boat in the 90s for a race and several other boat holders including me got stuck knee deep in the Firebird muck! Took several people to help us out of the water. I always joked racing at Firebird like racing in a hot tank! I hate to say it but if they drained the water I doubt it will be coming back. I hope I’m wrong but boat racing venues are disappearing at a alarming rate.
 

Flying_Lavey

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Firebird water definitely had a bad wrap in the mud 90’s . I always had a couple buckets of soapy water & wash mitts ready at the out ramp. I’m a sucker for beautiful Anodizing and would have cried like a baby if mine got etched 🥵 the other Lake that had nasty ass water was that giant dirty diaper bucket called Castaic
That lake left a ring on my boat that didn't go away for years!
 

DarkHorseRacing

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Well at least you know if they do get some or all of it back the water quality will be better initially after they refill it.
 

CLdrinker

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Anyone remember when HTM had an I/O class at firebird?

They had to baby a little out of the hole but still but up good numbers.

They tried to get my Dad to go but with stock Bravo and a NA 540 was probably a wise decision to stay home lol
 

timstoy

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That lake left a ring on my boat that didn't go away for years!
Firebird water definitely had a bad wrap in the mud 90’s . I always had a couple buckets of soapy water & wash mitts ready at the out ramp. I’m a sucker for beautiful Anodizing and would have cried like a baby if mine got etched 🥵 the other Lake that had nasty ass water was that giant dirty diaper bucket called Castaic
My BIL raced his K boat at Firebird one year and got in a disagreement with his wife and loaded the boat in the enclosed trailer without washing the boat and drove home. Several weeks later we unloaded the boat to service it for the next race and everything polished or anodized was ruined. He never made that mistake again!
 

poncho

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There has been info going around about it getting drained soon but no one seems to know why its being drained. We were also told last year that the SDBA signed a two or three year deal to have races there and that there would be two events in 2024.
Don't know how far you are from Virginia but there's an excellent gathering coming up in June.
 

cyclone

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there’s hidden lakes in buckeye where they had races but for some reason sdba ain’t running there anymore 🤔
hidden lakes is too short for really fast boats. and the pits are 100% dirt. aside from that, the one time I went there I did have fun. they have a bar right on the water next to the starting line.
 

rivermobster

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hidden lakes is too short for really fast boats. and the pits are 100% dirt. aside from that, the one time I went there I did have fun. they have a bar right on the water next to the starting line.

I used to shoot trap at a range that had a bar on the premises.

Yeah, always fun on the weekends!

🤣
 

77charger

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hidden lakes is too short for really fast boats. and the pits are 100% dirt. aside from that, the one time I went there I did have fun. they have a bar right on the water next to the starting line.
They ran fast boats there dirt pits what ain’t we went to okc was on dirt we survived. There’s a lot more to it behind the scenes$$$$$$
 
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cyclone

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They ran fast boats there dirt pits what ain’t we went to okc was on dirt we survived. There’s a lot more to it behind the scenes$$$$$$
you aren't running a TAH or TFH in buckeye. way too short.
 

timstoy

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Unfortunately Lake Ming in Bakersfield Ca is also too short for the fuel boats. One of my favorite racing venues.The K boats used to race between the drag boat heats and would draw thousands of spectators over the weekend! You could park on the hill overnight and join the all night party! Unfortunately housing is closing in on Lake Ming and Firebird and most are not fans of race boats. I think it will be years if ever to get boat racing back at Marine Stadium,my personal favorite and my hometown venue. Sadly racing venues for boats, drag racing and other motorsports has been on the decline for years and the future does not look good to me. I hope I'm wrong!
 

kurtis500

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Firebird was originally going to be a lake for a few reasons so its likely the water will be put back in... I hope anyways. The story I heard from someone who bid on the property use at firebird was that in the 60's/ early 70's they were trying to find use for the area. The area was a water basin, runoff or something similar that made it a neccessity to create a lake, or something similar. They put out the use of the lake and surrounding area to bid for anyone to develop the area. Our friend who passed away in 2015 at 86 was a part of a bid that would have turned the lake into restaraunts with docks and etc. Ultimately the lake was chosen for skiing and racing. I have an original poster from the bid to create a race track. Its about 3x4' and sets on an easel. My guess is they will put water back in the lake. If (and only if) the lake is being drained to clean and refresh its worth a year off. I have pics of me swimming at firebird in 1977 and when I was racing from 2000 and on the water was completely different. You had to rinse your boat off as soon as you got out. I carried pressurized water sprayers for the pits to give the underwater gear another rinse.
 

DarkHorseRacing

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Well everyone used to race at the Salton Sea as well. Maybe back in the 60s and 70s it wasn’t as bad as it is now. Now it’s like the Dead Sea on steroids.
 

Orange Juice

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I think the lake is part of the Indian land irrigation system. It will more than likely be refilled.
 

blue wonder

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Unfortunately Lake Ming in Bakersfield Ca is also too short for the fuel boats. One of my favorite racing venues.The K boats used to race between the drag boat heats and would draw thousands of spectators over the weekend! You could park on the hill overnight and join the all night party! Unfortunately housing is closing in on Lake Ming and Firebird and most are not fans of race boats. I think it will be years if ever to get boat racing back at Marine Stadium,my personal favorite and my hometown venue. Sadly racing venues for boats, drag racing and other motorsports has been on the decline for years and the future does not look good to me. I hope I'm wrong!
Not true, many fuel boats have ran at Bako, but yes you better be on the chutes through the lights, Lucas held a national event there a few years back, plenty of alcohol and fuel boats attended
 

530RL

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Firebird was originally going to be a lake for a few reasons so its likely the water will be put back in... I hope anyways. The story I heard from someone who bid on the property use at firebird was that in the 60's/ early 70's they were trying to find use for the area. The area was a water basin, runoff or something similar that made it a neccessity to create a lake, or something similar. They put out the use of the lake and surrounding area to bid for anyone to develop the area. Our friend who passed away in 2015 at 86 was a part of a bid that would have turned the lake into restaraunts with docks and etc. Ultimately the lake was chosen for skiing and racing. I have an original poster from the bid to create a race track. Its about 3x4' and sets on an easel. My guess is they will put water back in the lake. If (and only if) the lake is being drained to clean and refresh its worth a year off. I have pics of me swimming at firebird in 1977 and when I was racing from 2000 and on the water was completely different. You had to rinse your boat off as soon as you got out. I carried pressurized water sprayers for the pits to give the underwater gear another rinse.
Back in the late 70’s early 80’s, when Cornelius Ray still owned Sea Ray, there was talk about moving the Sea Ray plant from Raymond street to Firebird Lake. They could never work out a deal as it would have required preferential employment of tribal members. The Raymond street plant closed in the early 2000’s and that manufacturing was moved to Tennessee.
 

ArizonaKevin

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It’s been used for different venues even back before LOORS left. I understand CORR changed it up a bit and is using it now. I believe they just had a race there last weekend.

Before it was a short course track, it was an MX track. They promised us that we'd have another MX track on a different part of the property when they converted that site to short course, but here we are. Was nice growing up in Chandler it was 15 minutes from my parents house and they had night practice.
 

77charger

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Not true, many fuel boats have ran at Bako, but yes you better be on the chutes through the lights, Lucas held a national event there a few years back, plenty of alcohol and fuel boats attended
Depends on speeds too. Now at 260s vs 230s back in the day. But there’s also the shorter track at 1000ft bs the 1320. So basically another 100 yards to slow down.

It’s been like 10 years since I seen a fueler run there but also 8-9 years since I been to Ming.
 

timstoy

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Not true, many fuel boats have ran at Bako, but yes you better be on the chutes through the lights, Lucas held a national event there a few years back, plenty of alcohol and fuel boats attended
In the 80s top fuel boats were running in the 200-210 quarter mile range at Ming and occasionally one would end up on the shore at the big end. We were at Ming once and a boat had a throttle stick wide open and the driver bailed out but the boat shot across the grass and parking area and through a couple chain link fences and over the hill! Thankfully the area was cleared just for this reason. Thankfully nobody was hurt or killed. Even at 1000 ft. not much room for error especially on a great pass.
 

dread Pirate

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Y'all are gonna talk about putting boats on the beach we're going to need some Red Bluff stories...

Who's boat went over the dam as he stepped onto the rescue boat?
 
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