2009 Coronado Speed Festival, the 12th annual race at the base

2009 Coronado Speed Festival – Click above for high-res image gallery

Ever since we first attended the Coronado Speed Festival, we’ve made sure to mark our calendars and set aside the weekend every year for the annual vintage races in San Diego, CA. The sunny skies, the cool ocean breezes, and dozens of classic sports cars make for a fantastic combination that’s more than worth the two hour drive from Los Angeles.

This year, the responsibility for handling the event was given to the Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA), an organization that encourages the restoration, preservation and use of historic sports and racing cars. For the most part, the event was the same, but the lineup of cars did see a few changes.

Some of our favorites from previous years, the Ferrari 250TR and Aston Martin DBR2 ,were sorely absent, but a Historic NASCAR class brought out some of the most legendary stock cars to battle it out on the road course. On-track entertainment was also provided by the Shelby Mustangs, Corvettes, and a beautiful Bizzarrini 5300 GT Corsa in the 1962-1966 Production Cars over 2000cc, the legendary muscle cars in the 1966-1972 Trans-Am class, as well as racecars in the seven other groups. Browse through the high-res gallery below to find your favorites.

Gallery: 2009 Coronado Speed Festival