Irwindale Speedway |
|---|
|
| Topic Navigation |
|---|
|
Official Site: IrwindaleSpeedway.com
Wikipedia: Irwindale Event Center Page Sections History Article Index |
History
The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Automotive Industries page on 1 May 2020, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
The Irwindale Speedway & Event Center (a.k.a. Irwindale Speedway, Irwindale Dragstrip, or "The House of Drift") is a motorsports facility located in Irwindale, California, United States. It opened on March 27, 1999 under the official name Irwindale Speedway. Toyota purchased the naming rights to the facility in 2008, and from that time until 2011 it was also known as the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.
The speedway features banked, paved 1/2- and 1/3-mile oval tracks and a 1/8-mile drag strip. The property is primarily used for NASCAR races such as ARCA Menards Series West and Whelen All-American Series events. In late 2011, NASCAR announced it was dropping Toyota Speedway from its schedule. The company that manages the track, Irwindale Speedway LLC, filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy on February 13, 2012.
In January 2013, it was announced that the track would be re-opening as the Irwindale Event Center, and would operate as a Whelen All-American Series venue for the 2013 season. For the past decade, the Formula D Championship Series has featured sold out events at the venue.
In 2015, plans were made to demolish Irwindale Speedway and build an outlet mall on the site of the track. As of 2016, the track is still open for business. On August 9, 2017 it was officially announced that Jim Cohan, CEO of Team 211 Entertainment, who operates the track under the name of Irwindale Event Center, would cease operation. On December 29, 2017 it was announced that the track would not close in January 2018 as former Irwindale Late Model driver and track champion Tim Huddleston, along with K&N West owner Bob Bruncatti, bought the speedway to have it remain open for another 5 years.
| Date | Article | Author/Source |
|---|---|---|
| 26 July 2002 | SECURITY DRIVING COMES TO IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY | Safehouse Security Training |