This would be 3 in SoCal in this off-season.
http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_19947581
Another one bites the dust?
This would be 3 in SoCal in this off-season.
http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_19947581
http://www.hoseheads.com/dannyb.html
Wanna know what's wrong with NASCAR? They've gone from Junior Johnson to Jimmie Johnson.
Wanna know what's wrong with IndyCar? It's gone from dirt ovals to street races.
I just saw that article a few minutes ago...crap.
At least I got to see the Turkey Night Grand Prix back in 2003...as an added bonus my wife and I ran into Scrambler, and it was one of the last events I attended with Wally.
Miss, ya, Wally.
I lived in the area when it opened and thought the place was pretty cool. We got to race shifter karts there in a special event put on by Yamaha and in the first practice they allowed us to run the entire 1st and 2nd turns as part of the road course- wide open in 6th gear and the thing starts into a fourwheel drift outta T2!! Certainly wakes you up. They added a chicane in the middle of the turn for the rest of the event.
Wonder how one of the few tracks in car crazy So-Cal could fail? The location is actually a pretty easy drive for most of the population. Hopefully someone buys it and gets it back on track.....
BTW, what are the other 2 CA tracks that are kaput?
Last edited by Stick500; 02-12-2012 at 07:43 PM.
"Charging a man with murder here was like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500."- Capt. Willard, Apocolypse Now
"Ain't nuthin' like a piece of p***y, 'cept maybe the Indy 500."- Bunny, Platoon
"To alcohol! The cause of- and solution to- all of life's problems."- Homer J. Simpson
According to a poster on IOW.com they are Orange Show and Victorville. A bit of good news is that the Kern County track is moving right along.
Correct on all three counts.Originally Posted by DannyB
There is now no 'paved' oval available for racing in So Cal for 2012.
http://www.trackforum.com/forums/sho...light=sun+sets
At the drivers meeting for our vintage event in Havasu City Az this weekend the track promoter and our race director announced changes in our upcoming schedules in this and other tracks surrounding So Cal as racing groups are scrambling to reschedule events and tracks are searching for ways to accomodate them.
btw: The place was packed as usual-with retired (many moved away from So Cal) snow birds from colder climes -old timer race fans from days when racing was a larger part of our So Cal culture).
http://www.racingwest.com/community/...dale+Speedway/
Last edited by carl s; 02-14-2012 at 12:14 AM.
Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati
Good thing there are youngsters like you to keep 'em moving, Carl.
I heard on the radio today that a pit pass for their weekly shows was $55 last season.
I realize things cost more in California but its no wonder their car counts were lagging
Faster than a bullet from a gun
He is faster than everyone
Quicker than the blinking of an eye
Like a flash you could miss him going by
No one knows quite how he does it but it's true they say
He's the master of going faster. -George Harrison
Thank you young fella!
http://mhtjef.smugmug.com/MotorSport...nwTg3&lb=1&s=L
Good thing there are youngsters like you to keep 'em moving, Carl.
I think another problem with the oval was the fact that southern california is more of a dirt area than pavement as far as oval racing is concerned. Bigger car and crowds at the dirt tracks than the paved ones.
MotorSportsGordon-Team1260 Edmonton
This is terrible news. I worked the first Turkey Night race there and my family and I have been to every one since. I don't live in Southern California (thankfully) but it's been a family tradition to have dinner at the grandparents' in Anaheim, then the guys take off for Irwindale while the women plan their Black Friday.
Of course, if Black Friday went away it might reduce some of the pain, but only slightly.
More press...
http://www.sgvtribune.com/rss/ci_199...|cat:0|order:2
I'm seeing a lot of comments on some SoCal message boards about gang problems in the area. Another theme seems to be tech and safety related issues at the drag strip...but when the oval is drawing just a couple of thousand people on weekends it's pretty much a given the track is done for.
On a related note, I watched the Winternationals on ESPN Sunday and the stands weren't even half full. Looks like racing in SoCal is really in trouble.
Oddly enough many if not most successful short tracks thrive with 2500 butts in the stands
Of course many successful short tracks were built for $50K in 1960-something
Kev, the track must have a helluva debt load...it is a beautiful facility and just 13 years old.
Oh yeah. And built in the state where 2 br 1.5 bath ranchers were going for half a mil 13 years ago.
I shudder to think about what this track cost to build.
It was a different world 13 years ago
Irwindale Speedway files chapter 7
Per the article it is the track operators filing chapter 7, not the property owners.
I guess we just have to hope the property owners find some people to replace Bob DeFazio and Lester Boyer who will be more successful?
Guess this means that Turkey Night is going back to it's dirt track roots?.....
I was wondering the same thing. I suppose its doable with Perris nearby, or even Ventura, but can someone closer to the USAC action than I say how likely the Western States midget guys and the midwestern racers are to turn out large car counts for a West Coast dirt track race?
If I had a vote, I'd move the whole show to Calistoga.
My favorite TN GP was 1995 at Oildale (Bakersfield) sitting with the Shuman contingent (along with my M-in-Law and wife all of us plastered with mud) as Ronnie won his 9th!!!!
http://articles.latimes.com/1995-11-...0_1_sprint-car
Move it to Florida !
I wouldn't be surprised if the Agajanians are one/part of those interested parties.
I've been wondering where they're hangin' out during all this. I haven't noticed any of their names in the articles about the closing, yet they, and their name, have been a constant presence around the track, or at least during Turkey Night. I've been lucky enough to have a few dealings with Cary (lucky especially in the sense that we weren't on the opposite sides of anything) and consider him to be the smartest guy I've ever run into in racing. Always very interesting and educational to listen to. I hope they're involved in looking for a solution.
That better be a Kevlar sofa!Move it to Florida !
LOS ANGELES - The first hurdle for racing to return to Irwindale Speedway has been cleared.
Track owner Nu-Way Industries, Inc. has regained control of the track, considered by many the best short track in America, after a decision in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
Jason Rund, the Chapter 7 trustee for Irwindale Speedway, LLC, ended the 33-year lease late last week. That frees Nu-Way to determine what it will do with the property, which includes state-of-the-art half- and third-mile gradually banked ovals and an eighth-mile drag strip. The lease was to expire on July 9, 2029.
L.A. Racing, which operates a racing school on the property and is not affiliated with Irwindale Speedway, LLC, has continued running its classes and programs since track general manager Bob DeFazio filed bankruptcy papers on Feb. 13.
"We're just trying to feel our way through," Nu-Way's Jay Garrett said. "We weren't able to do too much because the property was tied up with the bankruptcy. We can go ahead now."
On Tuesday in bankruptcy court, Rund, Nu-Way attorney Yi Sun Kim and Nu-Way's Jim Mnoian queried DeFazio in regards to bankruptcy issues.
Garrett said Tuesday that he and Mnoian, who have managed the families-owned property at 500 Speedway Drive for more than 4+0 years, have yet to determine what they will do, still citing the ongoing bankruptcy petition, which will be resumed May 3 after Rund evaluates the contents of an Irwindale Speedway, LLC-rented storage locker and two safes.
"We would considered (selling) it, but we're not actively pursing it right now," Garrett said. "We have a lot of different avenues that we're pursing. We're trying to get a few other activities in there that will provide entertainment as well as racing. The phone has been ringing off the hook."
Garrett said that the pair have received hundreds of phone calls from parties interested in buying the property or entering into a new lease.
"(Racing) will take a little longer to get re-geared back up," Garrett said. "But there are a couple of leading candidates. We'll have to see what it has to take to put it together."
L.A. Racing owner Jim Cohen has been overseeing the property since the LLC vacated the premises. He has retained Bob Klein, who was the track's operations manager and supervised drag strip activities.
Garrett and Mnoian said one of the first things they want to accomplish is re-opening the drag strip. After Irwindale closed, drag racing at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana also ended because of a residential lawsuit, leaving Southern California drag racers without a place to race.
"It's locked, loaded and ready," Cohen said of the drag strip. "We know it's very popular."
Cohen said that drag racing may be held on both Thursdays and Saturdays.
In the meantime, Garrett said there are tentative plans for resuming filming - the facility is frequently used for television commercials - and for events such as drifting.
When racing resumes, he said it might not be on a weekly schedule.
"We might reduce racing a little bit so that it will be a little better attended," Garrett said. "Now that the property is released, we are in a spot where we can make some announcements."
But it will all still take some time, he said.
"I'll be glad when this is all over," Mnoian said of the court hearings. "It was unneccesary. They didn't have to do this."
Irwindale Speedway, LLC had filed papers indicating it was more than $331,000 in debt.
Most of Tuesday's 25-minute hearing centered on contents of a rented storage unit and two safes at the offices of LLC president Jim Williams.
DeFazio testified that computer equipment, time and scoring equipment, transponders, which determine a car's speed, pictures, video and newspaper clippings are in the storage lockers. He said that employee information was stored in the safes.
More than 1,200 gallons of racing diesel fuel is still in tanks on the facility, along with a few items, such as pressure washers.
Source: http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news...#ixzz1plulpu8b
Sounds like good news, even if I am having a bit of trouble following the action without a program. I'm still surprised that the Agajanian name doesn't pop up in all this, but I suppose their involvement in the track wasn't as big as I thought it was.
Racing diesel fuel? What the heck is that used for, and why would they have 1200 gallons of the stuff?
I hope the track resumes operation soon.
Without going into the gory details of accusations there has been much (to put it mildly) dissatisfaction with the past promoters amongst many of the racers, ex "25K to get an entry level street stock on the track???"
That's the kind of stuff I was hearing. But not being at all close to the action, maybe you can separate L.A.Racing, Nu-Way, Irwindale LLC, and any other players involved for us so we at least know who to cheer for. Naturally, this being Track Forum, we'll accept your word for anything.
Do you suppose it might be time to call in Davey Hamilton to the rescue? Or Tony Stewart? It seems to me I saw a note somewhere that he might be interested.
Rich - I thought Daytona was going to paint (with lines) a new track on the backstretchof the tri-oval? And I heard a good portion of the Florida tracks are not too happy about that! Can't blame 'em, in a way.Move it to Florida !
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