Irwindale Event Center
The Irwindale Speedway & Event Center was a motorsports facility in Irwindale, California, United States. It operated from 1999 to 2024 with banked, paved - and -mile oval tracks and a -mile drag strip.
It opened on March 27, 1999, as Irwindale Speedway. From 2008 until 2011, its official name was Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.
The track was primarily used for NASCAR races such as ARCA Menards Series West and Whelen All-American Series events until 2011, when NASCAR dropped the track from its schedule. The company that managed the track, Irwindale Speedway LLC, filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy on February 13, 2012.
In 2013, the track re-opened as the Irwindale Event Center, and hosted a Whelen All-American Series venue. Starting around 2015, the Formula D Championship Series had 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. On August 9, 2017, Team 211 Entertainment CEO Jim Cohan announced plans to stop operating the track in January 2018. On December 29, 2017, track operations were taken over by Tim Huddleston, a former Irwindale Late Model driver and track champion, and K&N West team owner Bob Bruncatti.
On October 29, 2024, it was announced that the speedway and the drag-strip would close on December 21, 2024.
History
1999–2012
Construction began in March 1998 on Irwindale's 6,500-seat grandstand and - and -mile ovals. Irwindale Speedway hoped to fill the void left in the Los Angeles Basin left by the closures of the famed Riverside International Raceway, Ontario Motor Speedway and Saugus Speedway. The $7-million project was completed March 1999 and held its inaugural races on March 27, 1999. However, during the first practice session for a sprint car race, driver Casey Diemert died of head and neck injuries after hitting the wall and flipping his car from turn 3 to turn 4.From 2003 to 2010, the main -mile oval hosted the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown. In this event, the top 30 drivers in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series and the top 40 drivers in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series come from their respective regional tours to compete in a "best-of-the-best" race. The races were televised live on the Speed Channel. It was also the home of the Turkey Night Grand Prix race, a Thanksgiving midget car racing tradition in southern California since 1934, when the race debuted at Gilmore Stadium. Among the 2005 participants were Tony Stewart, Jason Leffler, and J. J. Yeley. It was also seen in an episode of Malcolm in the Middle, titled "Stock Car Races", also used in the opening scene of the pilot episode of Fastlane and in Episode 25 of Fear Factor Season 3.
In 2012, Irwindale Speedway LLC, the management group that ran the track, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on the same day track management canceled the 2012 racing season.
In the paperwork filed at the United States Bankruptcy Court, Central District, it shows that Irwindale Speedway LLC owed creditors $331,773.11. The largest amount is $150,000 owed on a personal-injury claim.
Irwindale Speedway LLC owed Nu-Way Industries Inc., the company that owns the property where the track and offices are built, $55,000 in rent.
Irwindale Speedway LLC has two more outstanding personal injury claims with unknown values. There is also a debt of $8,093.51 owed to the city of Irwindale Police Department, $16,379.58 owed to the Golden State Water Company and $1,437.50 owed to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune for advertising.