The final day of racing at Irwindale Speedway was a bittersweet farewell, marking the end of an era for auto racing in the region. The track, known for its unique events and history, is closing after a quarter-century.
The final day of racing at Irwindale Speedway was both a party and a wake, one that began just after high noon Saturday and ended just before Sunday started. There were funereal speeches — eulogies, if you like — tears and sadness. But there were also beach balls, cheers, flags and fireworks.
In between there was racing — a lot of racing — with more than 140 drivers taking to the track in almost anything that had wheels and an engine before the final car crossed the finish line just before midnight. Irwindale has long been home to the weird, wacky and wonderful, from trailer and figure-8 races to all-female demolition derbies and RV auto soccer. It was where drifting got its start in the U.S., the wide, banked asphalt track perfectly suited for what has become one of the fastest-growing racing series in the country. And it was where a radio-controlled car hit a world-record speed of 111 mph. The track is — was? — historic and iconic so its closing after a quarter-century is another blow in what has been a long, slow decline of auto racing in the region. A generation ago there were nearly a dozen tracks hosting regular events, from the Riverside International Raceway and the hulking Ontario Motor Speedway in the Inland Empire to Ascot Park’s half-mile dirt track near Gardena and Saugus Speedway, a third-mile oval built in a former rodeo arena in Santa Clarita. Just a handful are left with even NASCAR at least temporarily pulling up stakes, selling most of the land Auto Club Speedway stood on in Fontana and leaving Southern California off its racing schedule for just the second time since 1997. That has left racing fans out in the cold while depriving up-and-coming drivers of the time they need behind the wheel to learn the sport. “It’s devastating,” said 26-year-old Evelyn Vega, who has been making the 10-mile drive from San Dimas to Irwindale for more than half her life
AUTO RACING SPEEDWAY CALIFORNIA CLOSING HISTORY
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