Irwindale Speedway
500 Speedway Dr, Irwindale, CA 91706
Irwindale Speedway will be shutting down operations at the end of 2024, so I wanted to post this right away so people can make a last trip out there.
The OLD Irwindale Raceway
The original Irwindale Raceway existed from 1965 to 1978. The raceway was also known as Irwindale Speedway, San Gabriel Valley Speedway, Speedway 605 (because of its proximity to the 605 Freeway), and Rivergrade Speedway (because of its address of 4900 Rivergrade Road.) It was built next to the 210 Freeway in Irwindale. One of its owners/builders was Harry Snider, the founder of In-N-Out burgers. The old Irwindale was quite well known among locals for having the best track burgers anywhere (they were In-N-Out burgers without the tomato).1 It was the filming location of the Hot Rod Herman episode of The Munsters, with the showdown race at the “Mockingbird Heights drag strip” between the Munster Koach and DRAG-U-LA. In addition to the drag strip, the property also had an 1/4-1/2 mile oval that had NASCAR, sprint cars, and motorcycle speedway racing. In 1977 the city of Irwindale bought the property and the sold it to Miller Brewing Co. in 1980.
The NEW Irwindale Speedway
The current incarnation of the Irwindale Speedway opened in 1999 on reclaimed quarry land on Live Oak Avenue in Irwindale. It has held regional NASCAR races, the always popular “Night of Destruction” events with demolition derbies and Figure-8s, street-legal drag racing, Formula Drift events (at “The House of Drift”) along with numerous car culture festivals such as the Mooneyes Christmas Party. It can seat 6,000 people and is surrounded by the gravel quarries of Irwindale.
Almost closed in 2017 with a change of ownership, but it dodged the bullet of being made into an outlet mall.
The 63 acres of land was purchase by IDS Real Estate in 2022 for the purpose of making an industrial park.
The Future
All the events will be going to Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in Bakersfield beginning in 2025. Initial plans are to make Irwindale Speedway into a commercial and industrial business park. Irwindale’s Planning Commission is expected to have a public hearing on the impact report on January 15, 2025 and the City Council on February 5.2
After 25 years, its last event is on December 21, 2024. I will miss the local short track.
Pat Ganahl, The Lost Dragstrips Of Southern California, Motor Trend, June 14, 2016
Ryan Carter, Irwindale Speedway to close after decades of racing and car culture, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, October 29, 2024