Irwindale Speedway to close in January 2018

Thursday, 10 August 2017


By RACER Staff / Images by Getty Images for NASCAR/Lesley Ann Miller/LAT

Irwindale Speedway will close in January 2018, its operators have confirmed.
"We were notified this week by the owner's representative that January 31, 2018 will be our final day on the Irwindale property," said Jim Cohan, CEO of the Team 211 Entertainment company that runs the Irwindale Event Center.
"First and foremost, everyone should know that we'll continue to operate Irwindale Event Center right up to our final weeks, as we've been doing for the past five years; providing great family motorsports and related entertainment in the most professional way possible. Our full 2017 schedule of NASCAR, Drag Strip, LA Racing Experience events, and special events will run as published. And, in fact, we're planning on adding a couple of extra events to the calendar to honor all of the competitors who raced and wrenched here at Irwindale since it opened in 1999.
"In all honesty, we were here and in it for the long haul, in fact we were in the process of putting out our complete schedule for the 2018 season. All that made this news very difficult for me to hear, and very hard on our whole team.
Cohan also thanked the motorsports sanctioning bodies that chose Irwindale as the site of numerous events over the years, saying, "Their confidence in our abilities was a high compliment for us, we always tried to make each show better than the last one. That's just the way all of our people are wired. And ...we'd be somewhat amiss if we didn't mention our friends in the City of Irwindale, and working with them to have an event center that everyone involved with could be proud of."
Irwindale Speedway LLC declared bankruptcy in 2011, and the property on which Irwindale Event Center sits was purchased in 2013 by developer Lindom Properties. In 2015 the Irwindale City Council approved Lindom's plans to demolish the speedway's paved oval and build an outlet mall – but racing would be able to continue until construction on the project began.
Formula DRIFT, which holds its Pro Championship Finals at the speedway, released a statement saying it was "extremely saddened" by the news.
"Irwindale Speedway, also known as "The House of Drift," has been an integral part of the history of not only our Series, but the sport of drifting. The venue is the birthplace of American drifting and global drifting, having hosted the first large-scale competition back in 2003.
"It will be difficult to replace such an iconic track and location in the heart of Southern California, but the Series has been anticipating this announcement for quite some time. We will disclose more information during our annual SEMA press conference in November. Until then we look forward to closing out the 2017 season in style at what will become a historic and monumental event."
The current speedway – Irwindale's fifth racing facility – opened in 1999. It closed from 2011-13 due to bankruptcy before reopening in 2013.