Welcome to Irwindale Event Center!

As some of you already may know, or heard about there have been many changes here and there are still many to go.

But the spirit of Irwindale Speedway and Irwindale Dragstrip as well as all the other great events that have taken place here is alive, well and still burning brightly and is being worked on by some of the best people in the business.

We very much appreciate all of your sincere interest, good wishes, great patience, and good will.

The good news is that this facility is on-line and carrying on. The Dragstrip is operating on a regular schedule of Thursday test-n-tune nights and Summit Series events; we've already staged a number of great car shows and public events, a number of "shoots" (including a very popular Super Bowl commercial for KIA) have happened. Adding to that the oval track is in operation for both our on-site driving school (L.A. Racing Experience) and open practice (exclusive team use and group practice/test-n-tune nights) for all divisions of oval track machines.

For direct information on professional facility usage contact facilities manager Bob Klein at 626-353-7163

To schedule a very special L.A. Racing Experience behind the wheel of a 450-horspower STOCKCAR right here on the famous Irwindale Speedway Half-Mile please visit: www.laracingx.com

The exciting automotive competition action at Irwindale Event Center continues unabated in July with events on the Dragstrip and on the Speedway ... Let's clock them all in shall we:

Thursday July 5: "Thursday Night Thunder" the Dragstrip's (almost iconic) regular weekly run-what-you-brung fun night of NHRA Street Legal fun. In fact, there's something of a controversy here over who has the most fun, the racers or the fans. Actually both have equal amounts and for just 10 bucks more than the regular adult admission price (only 10 bucks), anyone can become a real racer: a street legal car, a good driver's license, and 20 bucks puts anyone on the racing side of the spectator fence!

Gates open at 4PM, racing starts at 5PM and we run 'til 10!

Sunday July 8: Round #3 of the 2012 NHRA Summit Series. This is where the drag racing stars of tomorrow get in their licks and learns some of the tricks of the trade. A great Sunday/Funday Show for everyone who loves fast cars and quick times! Daytime Show 10AM - 4PM.

Thursday July 12: Yup ... Thursday Night Thunder the Dragstrip's regular weekly run-what-you-brung fun night of NHRA Street Legal fun. As we said earlier: anyone can become a racer: a street legal car, a good driver's license, and 20 bucks puts anyone on the racing side of the spectator fence!

Gates open at 4PM, racing starts at 5PM and we run 'til 10!

Saturday July 14: NHRA Junior Dragster Twin Races on the Irwindale eighth-mile! These are the young kids who put on an "old pro" kind of show! In fact, you won't see a more serious set of racers if you go to the WinterNationals! Junior Drag Racers are eight to 17 years of age, the list of NHRA Pros who got their start in the Jr. Drag Racing League include Top Fuel racers Shawn Langdon (a two-time Super Comp national champion), Morgan Lucas, Spencer Massey, and J.R. Todd; (...take a breath) Funny Car competitor Blake Alexander; Pro Stock drivers Erica Enders, Danny Gruninger, Grace Howell, Rickie Jones, Vincent Nobile, Buddy Perkinson, and Richie Stevens Jr.; Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Katie Sullivan; 2011 Stock national champion Joe Santangelo; 2010 Super Stock national champion Ryan McClanahan; 11-time national event winner Brad Plourd; and eight-time national event winner Justin Lamb.

Racing: 9AM - 9PM.

Sunday July 15: hotVWs Drag Day ... OK Volkswagen enthusiasts ... here's your day! Every year, model, and variant of the people's car all in one place, all at one time. Add in a very, very cool swamp meet, a manufacturer's row, and incredible VW drag racing and you have a day at Irwindale Event Center that capitalizes the word EVENT in every way. Oh yeah, all your favorite "track food": hot dogs, 'burgers, sno-cones, B-B-Q, the best kettle corn on the planet, and much, much more will be there ... There's nothing like slapping the sunscreen on and scopin' all the sights at a hotVWs Show.

Thursday July 19: DUPLICATE ALERT ! Thursday Night Thunder the Dragstrip's regular weekly run-what-you-brung fun night of NHRA Street Legal fun. As we said earlier: anyone can become a racer: a street legal car, a good driver's license, and 20 bucks puts anyone on the racing side of the spectator fence!

Gates open at 4PM, racing starts at 5PM and we run 'til 10!
WE HAVE THE SAME SORT OF FUN EVERY THURSDAY.

Saturday July 21: SATURDAY NIGHT THUNDER! Test, tune, race your buddy, cheer the racers on! A great Saturday Night show with all the fun of our regular Thursday Night Thunder with a cool cast of characters, plenty of tire smoke, and that great track food. Of course there's that and the same "ten to get in, twenty to run" admission deal as Thursday night.

Gates open early 2PM on Saturday and the racing runs from 4 - 10PM.
Beeeeee Heeeeeeeere!

Thursday July 26: DUPLICATE DUPLICATE ALERT! Thursday Night Thunder the Dragstrip's regular weekly run-what-you-brung fun night of NHRA Street Legal fun. As we said earlier: anyone can become a racer: a street legal car, a good driver's license, and 20 bucks puts anyone on the racing side of the spectator fence!

Gates open at 4PM, racing starts at 5PM and we run 'til 10!
WE HAVE THE SAME SORT OF FUN EVERY THURSDAY.

But wait, there's more: Open practice ("test'n'tune") sessions have been set on an "as needed" basis for four Friday nights during the month: July 6, 13, 20, and 27. These are not regular spectator events, they afford oval track teams much needed time on either the track's third or half-mile oval tracks.

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR: The L.A. Racing Experience at Irwindale Speedway is something that every STOCKCAR fan should experience: 450-horsepower under your right foot in a full-race stock car, which is all but impossible to explain. Climb in through the window, strap in, and suddenly you're in on the secret handshake that all racers know. After 20 laps here you will never look at ANY racetrack in the same way again. If you are reading this, you are most likely in the information business. If you want to experience (some of) the above for yourself and pass it along to others, just call the below PR person.

Irwindale Speedway has announced that stock car Friday Night Test-n-Tune sessions will begin on Friday, June 29 and run through the month of July.

The idea is to give regular stock car competitors some much-requested track time on Irwindale Speedway's challenging "twin ring" half and third-mile ovals. "We won't have tire or fuel services on site as yet," said Mike Atkinson, a veteran racing official who will serve as the track's Event Director for the upcoming sessions. "A lot of our drivers have told us that they need to get out there and get some laps on this track, these sessions will give them that opportunity."

As with the facility's recently re-opened eighth-mile Dragstrip, the stock car sessions will be operated by Team 211 Entertainment. Working directly with the track's ownership at NuWay Industries, their joint effort is aimed at accommodating a number of race teams who need track time and have had to go pretty far afield to get it of late.

"We've heard from a number of stock car teams telling us that they'd like to get back on the track, run some laps and shake some of the cobwebs out," said 211's Jim Cohan. "So far we've been able to get the Dragstrip open, hold some great special events and shows on the Speedway's parking lots. Now we're going to see stock cars circulating at the track again because of the good offices of Jim Mnoian and Jay Garrett, the owners of this facility, we've accepted a lot of compliments (for them!) at every event we're involved in."

All regular oval track division competition vehicles are welcome and will run in the same sort of track use (third or half-mile) groupings and rotation as they did in past open practices sessions.

All vehicles will be required to pass a full competition safety check and all driver safety equipment will need to meet or exceed minimum stock car standards. Practice will be $200 per car.

Gates and credentials open at 2:30PM with practice getting under way at 4:00PM, and cars will run until pit lights out at 9:30PM. All people entering the pit area will be required to sign an event release.

Irwindale has posted a very busy month with seven drag racing events and a very unique "marque gathering" in June.  The action starts on June 3 and keeps revving all the way through to June 28. Starting with:

This Sunday the Forty-Second edition of the classic Antique Nationals Drag Races will roll on the Irwindale 1/8-mile.  This original, often copied, but never duplicated, nostalgia race series and cool car show for pre-1954 machines is a once-a-year step back into the golden years of hot rodding.  THIS SUNDAY JUNE  3  Gates: 8AM.

THURSDAY JUNE 7: Test & Tune ... Irwindale's own patented version of Thursday Night Thunder.  Drag racing's version of a box of chocolates, one never know what kind of race car from bone stock with paper plates to an exhibition jet that'll blow throw the clock a couple of clicks over 200 miles per hour (!)

Gates: 4PM, Racing: 5PM.

SUNDAY JUNE 10: The Annual Eibach Springs Honda/Acura Gathering ... New to the Irwindale facility but already a winner in every Honda and Acura fan's heart.  The great people at Eibach's celebration of those two marques  has been a declared "sell out" every time that it has ever run, and June 10, 2012 marks the first time that this event will be staged off of the Eibach property in Corona.  The eight-year-old gathering is a true enthusiast's get together and all Hondas and Acura (from wild to wild) are always very welcome. 

Much more at: www.eibach.com.

THURSDAY  JUNE 14: Test & Tune ... This always has been the best 5-hour race show in town for a 10-spot, and for 10 more (that's $20 bucks total) anyone with a valid driver's license and a street-leagal autobile can bring their car to the line and watch the NHRA "Christmas Tree" light up to send them on a quick run down Irwindale's 660-foot racecourse.

Gates: 4PM, Racing: 5PM.

SATURDAY JUNE 16: Saturday Test & Tune ... Hey, Why not have some fast fun on a late Saturday afternoon into the evening when your buddies and buddettes can come out an cheer you on down the Dragstrip.  Same deal, same prices as a regular Thursday Night Thunder only an hour earlier for six super hours of side-by side streaking down the strip. Please note the time:

Gates: 3PM, Racing: 4PM

SUNDAY JUNE 17: NHRA SUMMIT SERIES RACE 2 ... Some serious throttle-stomping here.  This one is for the title of 2012 track champion.  On Sunday the 17th ,Summit Series racers are going to be here and going for those all-important series points.  Dial-ins, staging battles, and fully pulling out all the stops, are all in play at a Summit Series spectacular.  Speed secret anyone?  Summit Series racers the ones to watch as drivers young and old(er) snap-shift  their way to fame and glory at Irwindale.

Gates: 8AM, Driver's Meeting 10:00AM

THURSDAY JUNE 21: Test & Tune ... Drag races are short, sweet, right-to-the-point affairs:  warm up, line up, race, and repeat as necessary. You have a winner and the other guy.  Drive back almost due East past the grandstands and roll around back into line for another run against the clock, your best buddy, or that person who you've never liked since high school.

Gates: 3PM, Racing: 4PM

THURSDAY JUNE 28: Test & Tune ... Hey ... we've filled a whole month with some very cool one-on-one drag racing on the Irwindale Drag Strip.  Now it's the fan's turn to have some fun.  Come early, get to a parking space right along the "big end", and get ready for action.

Gates: 4PM, Racing: 5PM.

One more (of many to come) great event is back on line at Irwindale Speedway and Event Center: the famous Irwindale Swap Meet.

Set for this Sunday May 20, the show's the thing, and all fans of authentic Southern California (and beyond!) auto culture will be on hand buying, selling, admiring, discussing, and lusting after all sorts of wonderful wheeled machines and tons of the parts and pieces that go along with them.

The show starts early (6AM) and vanishes (until next time) at 2PM, but while it lasts, this show is about as neat as they come. This one is about great machines, cool people, good eats, good deals, and more fun per minute.

For more information: www.irwindaleswapmeet.com

NuWay Industries, the owners of the Irwindale Speedway facility, today signed a long term lease with Race Training USA, Inc.

"We're very pleased with this new phase of our ongoing association with NuWay, they've been highly supportive of our programs, I know that they really understand our commitment to the Speedway," said Race Training CEO Jim Cohan. "Over the years this facility has become important to so many people, and our entire staff is very proud of what we do to promote as well as protect it."

The newly signed lease gives Race Training USA (which comprises L.A. Racing Experience and Advanced Driving Dynamics) the exclusive rights to all forms of driving training done at the Speedway. "Our plan is to also work closely with other existing driving schools who want to teach at the track," Cohan indicated.

The lease also gives Race Training USA, and their affiliates, the exclusive use of the driving school offices, showroom, classroom, and school workshop areas.

Over the past seven years Race Training USA, under the name L.A. Racing Experience, has operated a stock car driving school that has seen literally thousands of students find out what it is really like out there on the fast, banked half-mile oval at Irwindale Speedway.

"Our students all become instant ambassadors for the Speedway," Cohan explained. "Every one of them goes home to tell their friends about how exciting it is to drive this track in a real race car packing 450 horsepower under its hood. In fact, most of the younger ones don't even wait to get back home, they're Tweeting or Posting about their experience at Irwindale the second they pull off their helmets!"

This lease marks another milestone in NuWay's very welcome re-animation of Irwindale Speedway and Dragstrip, shut down back on February 13 of this year by the previous tenants when they filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. "On a personal note," Cohen concluded. "I need to simply say how refreshing it's been dealing with the two men who own NuWay Industries. Jim Mnoian and Jay Garrett are a pair of honest, fair, and decent guys who have turned a very traumatic experience around and who understand what the Speedway means to the community."

During that time the L.A. Racing Experience never ceased operation. Cohan's company was also instrumental in bringing the facility's Dragstrip back on line April 29 as well as reinstating the track's very popular Thursday night test-n-tune sessions just two weeks later.

Fans are directed to: www.laracingexperience.com

NHRA street-legal drag racing has just been given the green light and is back on schedule in Irwindale "¦ after (way too many) weeks away, the hot eighth-mile drag strip at Irwindale is all set to starting to "lighting up the night" again on Thursday, April 26.

"We're very pleased to be able to bring street-legal drag racing back to the Irwindale facility," said Jim Cohan, CEO of Race Training, USA Inc. the operators of L.A. Racing Experience, the event center's stock car driving school. "We understand how much this place to race means to so many people."

Cohan's group (which has been in operation at the Irwindale facility for some seven years now) will stage regular Thursday night street-legal events, a number Sunday Summit Series races, and, perhaps even a few special Saturday nights under the lights on the Irwindale eighth-mile.

The drag strip at Irwindale opened in 2001 has seen thousands of street-legal runs by thousand of drivers: young, old, and in between.

In fact, all one needs to become a bona fide drag racer is a valid driver's license, your favorite, fastest car, pickup, motorcycle, or SUV it needs to have a working muffler, and needs to be capable of passing the NHRA safety test. Take that machine up to the line, rev it up, watch the famous "Christmas Tree" light up, and count down: yellow, yellow, yellow, GREEN! and put the pedal to the metal.

From track opening time at 4pm, with first runs at 5pm, and all the way until 10pm, racers can line up in the staging lines and take their shots at the clocks. Every driver gets a time slip for every "pass" down the 660-foot strip that they make which shows the numbers for their whole run, including the all-important reaction time, which shows precisely how quickly a driver left the starting line when the lights turned green.

"We want everyone to know how much Jim Mnoian and Jay Garrett, the owners of the Irwindale property, have been very involved with the process of getting the drag strip back on line," said Cohan. These two gentlemen are both team players, they understand what the drag strip means to the community, and we're very proud to be working with them."

There's already a unique Sunday event set for the Irwindale drag strip facility: the 37^th running of the legendary Bug-In on the following Sunday, April 29 at the drag strip. The all-VW racing, car show, fan fest, swap meet, and all-around fun day with "der kafers" has been a regular twice a year Irwindale event for a number of years now.

As many of you already know, there've been a number of events that have happened in the past few weeks which have affected most of the operations at the Speedway.

On the morning of February 13, 2012, the former facilities operators, Irwindale Speedway, LLC (who had been operating under the DBA: "Toyota Speedway") voluntarily filed for corporate bankruptcy under the strict provisions of Chapter 7 (Liquidation) in a document which was signed three days earlier (February 10, 2012) by that organization's Vice President and General Manager.

A public record, the above document listed both the LLC's claimed assets and acknowledged debts and effectively left the rest up to the courts. Their purpose for filing under Chapter 7 was to obtain a discharge of their existing debts.

Presently the owners of the entire property (NuWay Industries) are working diligently to bring the facility back to full operational capacity. They truly understand the importance that their Irwindale property has to a very wide range of individual people, corporations, and many public agencies, and wish to see those functions restored in a timely, but even more importantly, better-organized and operated form.

It will take a while, but the facility can be expected return to full capacity with everyone's good will and understanding. Meanwhile, stay tuned, stand by and please plan to support the track as you have in the past.