Ascot Park (speedway)
USAC events | |
| outer oval track | |
|---|---|
| Surface | dirt |
| Length | 0.5 miles (0.8 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
| inner oval | |
| Surface | dirt |
| Length | 0.2 miles (0.4 km) |
Ascot Park, first named Los Angeles Speedway and later New Ascot Stadium, was a dirt racetrack located near Gardena, California. Ascot Park was open between 1957 and 1990. The track held numerous United States Auto Club (USAC) national tour races and three NASCAR Grand National (now NASCAR Cup Series) races. The Turkey Night Grand Prix was held at the track for several decades.
History
Ascot Park was the fourth of four Ascot sites in Los Angeles after the original one-mile Ascot Speedway at Central & Florence was open between 1907 and 1919.[1] A second site named Legion Ascot Speedway held races between 1924 and 1936.[2] Legion Ascot closed after 24 drivers died while racing at the track.[1] A third site named Southern Ascot held races between 1937 and 1942 in South Gate on a half mile dirt oval.[1]
Los Angeles Speedway opened in 1957,
With seating for only 7,500, Ascot Park was smaller than the other tracks of the area including the Ontario Motor Speedway (closed in 1980), and the Riverside International Raceway (closed in 1989). However, the park was equally well-known, due to its being surrounded by freeways for easy access, its regularly scheduled races, and its heavy radio advertising.
The half-mile course featured tight semi-banked turns, long straight-ways, and a tacky surface that was conducive to dramatic sprint car racing. Other motorsport events, such as Figure 8 racing and motorcycle flat track, TT racing and motocross, were also held at Ascot.
The dirt racetrack hosted races in the
Though he began doing stunt jumps in 1966 at small venues such as fairs and carnivals,
The racetrack was also used in movies and TV shows like the original
The 50th annual Turkey Night Grand Prix for USAC midget cars became the last of more than 5,000 main events held since the track opened. Ascot Park was closed in November 1990.[2] It remained unused after a failed development project occupied the former site for a number of years. The track site was later replaced by Insurance Auto Auctions building and storage yard.
NASCAR race results
Three
See also
- Eddie Gray(notable Ascot Park weekly series alumni)
- Christopher J.C. Agajanian
- Figure 8 racing
References
- ^ a b c CECILIA RASMUSSEN (October 10, 1994). "Life--and Death--in Fast Lane at Ascot". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
- ^ a b c Glick, Shav (November 11, 1990). "End of an Era : Ascot Park to Join Southland Tracks That Have Passed Into History". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
- ^ Stein, John L. (February 20, 2012). "Ascot Park Reunion Set for May". Autoweek. 62 (4): 19.
- ^ Wallace, Paul (October 18, 1958). "Motor Sports". Independent. Retrieved July 28, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Evel's Connection to Ascot". Ascot Motor Sports. June 20, 2015. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
- ^ Ascot Stadium NASCAR results, Retrieved November 27, 2007. Archived 2007-03-02 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Ascot Park race results at Racing-Reference
- Ascot Stadium race results at Racing-Reference
- Garbell.com: Ascot Park track photos & video
- Facebook — Ascot Park Fan Page
- "Impact '66" — vintage Chevrolet sales film; one segment depicts figure 8 racing at Ascot Park.