Riverside International Raceway (sometimes known as
RIR or
Riverside Raceway) was a
race trackA race track is a purpose-built facility for racing of animals , automobiles, motorcycles or athletes. A race track may also feature grandstands or concourses. Some motorsport tracks are called speedways.A racetrack is a permanent facility or building...
or
road courseRoad racing is a general term for most forms of motor racing held on paved, purpose-built race tracks , as opposed to oval tracks and off-road racing...
in
Riverside, CaliforniaRiverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
. The track was in operation from September 22, 1957, to July 2, 1989. The original course design proved to be dangerous, and it was partially reconfigured in 1969.
The track was built to accommodate several different configurations, depending on the type of car and race length. The three options on Riverside Raceway were the long course (3.27 miles (5.3 km)), the short course (2.5 miles (4 km)), and the
NASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
(2.62 miles (4.2 km)) course. The original racetrack had a 1.1 miles (1.8 km) backstretch from 1957 to 1968. When the track was redesigned in 1969, Turn 9 was reconfigured with a wider radius and a dogleg approach added to reduce strain on the cars' brakes.
The six courses of Riverside
Before a racing event at RIR, track crews added
traffic pylonsTraffic cones, also called traffic pylons, road cones, highway cones, safety cones, construction cones or witches' hats or safety wizards, are usually cone-shaped markers that are placed on roads or footpaths to temporarily redirect traffic in a safe manner...
to close off sections of the track. Track courses are shown in the illustrations below (the 1957 course is in black, while the 1969 course above is in blue).
Diagram notes: The long course (shown below before the 1969 version) had the 1.1 miles (1.8 km) backstrech. This version was used primarily for the track's signature fall sports car event, the
Los Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
Grand Prix, although the long course was also used for IndyCar racing in the mid-1980s. When the 1969 version was built, the dogleg was added so as to ease the transition into Turn 9 (the track had seen numerous brake failure-induced accidents approaching Turn 9, and this change was made as a safety measure). The NASCAR course, 1st design on the right (light blue illustration), would not use turn 7. In the short course, the track would use turn
7A rather than 8. The "Turn 7-7A" configuration effectively shortened the back straight to just over one-half mile in length. The NHRA drag strip only used the backstrech from the runoff to the Bosch Bridge. The Oval (early '60s) used Turn 9, ran counterclockwise, uphill for Turn 1&2 and then there was a downhill turn for Turn 3 & 4 (Turn 1 of the road course).
Movies and television
Due to its close proximity to the Southern California entertainment industry, RIR was a frequent filming location for Hollywood movies, television series and commercial advertisements.
Scenes from the television shows
CHiPsCHiPs is an American television drama series produced by MGM Studios that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to July 17, 1983. CHiPs followed the lives of two motorcycle police officers of the California Highway Patrol...
,
Simon and Simon,
The Rockford FilesThe Rockford Files is an American television drama series which aired on the NBC network between September 13, 1974 and January 10, 1980. It has remained in regular syndication to the present day. The show stars James Garner as Los Angeles-based private investigator Jim Rockford and features Noah...
,
Knight Rider, and the HBO program
Super Dave OsborneSuper Dave Osborne is a character created and played by comedian Bob Einstein. He is a naive but optimistic stuntman who is frequently injured when his stunts go wrong.-Appearance history:...
were shot on location at RIR. The failed television pilot
Riding With Death, featured as an experiment on the television show
Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
, also contains footage of racing at RIR.
RIR was extensively featured in the 1961 telefilm "The Quick and the Dead," an episode of the series
Route 66Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America. The show ran weekly on CBS from 1960 to 1964. It starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock. Maharis was ill for much of the third season, during which time Tod...
. The episode stars
Martin MilnerMartin Sam Milner is an American actor best known for his performances in two popular television series, Adam-12 and Route 66....
and
George MaharisGeorge Maharis is an American actor who portrayed Buz Murdock in the first three seasons of the TV series Route 66...
, and guest stars
Harvey KormanHarvey Herschel Korman was an American comedic actor who performed in television and movie productions beginning in 1960...
,
Regis ToomeyJohn Regis Toomey was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was one of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey and attended Peabody High School...
, and
Betsy Jones-MorelandBetsy Jones-Moreland was an American actress.She was born as Mary Elizabeth Jones in Brooklyn, New York, and began her career in small roles in the mid-1950s, appearing in several Roger Corman films, including a lead role in Last Woman on Earth...
. Milner races a 1960 powder-blue
Chevrolet CorvetteThe Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors that has been produced in six generations. The first model, a convertible, was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after...
in the film.
Film shoots at RIR included scenes from:
The BetsyThe Betsy is a 1978 film made by the Harold Robbins International Company and released by Allied Artists. It was directed by Daniel Petrie and produced by Robert R. Weston and Emanuel L. Wolf with Jack Grossberg as associate producer. The screenplay was by William Bast and Walter Bernstein, adapted...
(1978),
Fireball 500Fireball 500 is a stock car racing film, blended with the beach party film genre. A vehicle for stars Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello and Fabian, it was one of a string of similar racing films from the 1960s...
(1966),
Grand Prix (1966),
The KillersThe Killers, sometimes marketed as Ernest Hemingway's The Killers, is a 1964 crime film released by Universal Studios. It is the second Hollywood adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's short story of the same name, following a version made in 1946 starring Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner. It was directed...
(1964),
The Love BugThe Love Bug is the first in a series of comedy films made by Walt Disney Productions that starred an anthropomorphic pearl-white, fabric-sunroofed 1963 Volkswagen racing Beetle named Herbie...
(1968),
On the BeachOn the Beach is a post-apocalyptic drama film based on Nevil Shute's 1957 novel of the same name. The film features Gregory Peck , Ava Gardner , Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins...
(1959),
Roadracers (1959),
SpeedwaySpeedway is a 1968 action film musical film starring Elvis Presley as a racecar driver and Nancy Sinatra as his love interest.Scenes were shot at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina...
(1966),
Stacey (1973),
Thunder Alley (1967),
WinningWinning is a 1969 American motion picture starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. A number of racecar drivers and people associated with racing appear in the film, including Bobby Unser, Tony Hulman, Bobby Grim, Dan Gurney, Roger McCluskey, and Bruce Walkup.-Plot summary:The film centers on...
(1969), and
Viva Las VegasViva Las Vegas is a 1964 American romantic musical movie starring music icon Elvis Presley and actress/dancer Ann-Margret. This movie is regarded by many fans of these actors and by film critics as one of Presley's best movies, and it is noted for the apparent on-screen chemistry between Presley...
(1964).
History
The first weekend of scheduled races in September 1957, a California Sports Car Club event, John Lawrence of Pasadena, California, lost his life. Lawrence, a former Cal Club, under 1500 c.c. Production champion, went off at Turn 5 (later designated Turn 8). With no crash barrier in place, and no rollbar on the car, the MG A he was driving went up the sand embankment, then rolled back onto the track. Though Lawrence survived the incident, and appeared slightly injured; he died later at the hospital of a brain injury.
The second major event at the track, in November 1957, was a sports car race featuring some of the top drivers of the day, including
Carroll ShelbyCarroll Hall Shelby is an American retired automotive designer and racing driver. He is most well known for making Mustangs for Ford Motor Company known as Mustang Cobras which he has done since 1965...
,
Masten GregoryMasten Gregory was a racing driver from the United States. He raced in Formula One between and , participating in 43 World Championship races, and numerous non-Championship races....
and
Ken MilesKen Miles was a sports car racing engineer and driver best known for his career in the USA and with American teams on the international scene.-Background:Miles raced motorcycles before he served as a tank sergeant in the British Army in World War...
. Another driver entered was an inexperienced local youngster named
Dan GurneyDaniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager...
, who had been offered the opportunity to drive a powerful but ill-handling 4.9-liter Ferrari after better known drivers like Shelby and Miles had rejected it. Shelby led early but spun and fell back. Gurney assumed the lead and led for much of the event. Shelby, driving furiously to catch up, finally overtook Gurney late in the race and won. Gurney's performance caught the eye of North American
FerrariFerrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
importer
Luigi ChinettiLuigi Chinetti was an Italian-born racecar driver, who emigrated to the United States during World War II and became an American citizen....
, who arranged for Gurney to drive a factory-supported Ferrari at LeMans in 1958, effectively launching the Californian's European career.
Footage exists of classic races like the 1986
Los Angeles Times Grand PrixThe Los Angeles Times Grand Prix was a sports car race held at the Riverside International Raceway. The race was held throughout the track's existence, from 1957 until 1987. The race was sponsored by the Los Angeles Times to raise money for its charities. The Special Events director was Glenn...
in which the Chevy Corvette of
Doc BundyDoc Bundy is an American former race car driver who competed in the International Motor Sports Association. He drove in the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans in a David Price Racing Panoz Esperante GTR-1...
, attempting a three-wide pass, hit the
Ford ProbeThe Ford Probe was a coupé based on the Mazda GD platform, and powered by a 2.2 L SOHC 4 cylinder Mazda F2 engine.The first generation Probe appeared in 1988 and lasted until 1992 in the United States. In some markets the model years were from 1987 to 1991...
of
Lyn St. JamesLyn St. James is a retired professional IndyCar driver with 8 CART and 5 Indy Racing League starts to her name. She is just one of seven women who successfully qualified for the Indianapolis 500, and became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award...
and the
JaguarJaguar Cars Ltd, known simply as Jaguar , is a British luxury car manufacturer, headquartered in Whitley, Coventry, England. It is part of the Jaguar Land Rover business, a subsidiary of the Indian company Tata Motors....
of
Chip RobinsonChip Robinson is a retired race car driver. He drove in the IMSA Camel GT series and won the 1987 24 Hours of Daytona Chip Robinson (born March 29, 1954 in Philadelphia, PA) is a retired race car driver. He drove in the IMSA Camel GT series and won the 1987 24 Hours of Daytona Chip Robinson (born...
at Turn 1. St. James' car caught fire and Chip Robinson nearly cartwheeled into the crowd. Fortunately, St. James survived the flames and Robinson escaped uninjured within the track bounds.
The track was known as a relatively dangerous course, with its long, downhill back straightaway and brake-destroying, relatively slow 180-degree Turn 9 at the end. During the 1965 Motor Trend 500
NASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
race, Indycar great A.J. Foyt suffered a brake failure at the end of the straight, going end-over-end at high speed. Crash crews assumed Foyt was dead at the scene, until fellow driver
Parnelli JonesRufus Parnell "Parnelli" Jones , is a retired American racing driver and racecar owner. He is most remembered for his 1963 Indianapolis 500 win, and almost winning the 1967 Indy 500 in a turbine car...
noticed a twitch of movement. Ford factory sports car driver Ken Miles was killed there in a testing accident in August 1966 when his Ford GT-prototype (known as the J-car) became aerodynamically unstable and flew out of control at the end of the back straight. In December 1968, American Formula 5000 champion Dr. Lou Sell crashed and overturned in Turn 9 on the first lap of the Rex Mays 300 Indianapolis-style race, suffering near-fatal burns. These accidents and others caused track management to reconfigure Turn 9, giving the turn a dogleg approach and a much wider radius (a water improvement also closed the raceway for a few months).
In January 1964, Riverside also claimed the life of 1962–'63
NASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
champion
Joe WeatherlyJoseph "Joe" Weatherly was a two-time NASCAR championship driver. Weatherly was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009 after winning NASCAR's Grand National championships in 1962 and 1963, three A.M.A...
, who refused to wear a shoulder harness and wore his lap belt loosely. Weatherly died when he lost control entering Turn 6, hitting the steel barrier almost broadside and had his head snapped out the window against the barrier. For a final tribute, the old version of Riverside Raceway (1957–1968) was etched on his headstone as a final joke since Joe was a comedian.
Nevertheless, in 1983 Turn 9 was the site of the only fatality in
IMSAThe International Motor Sports Association is an American sports car auto racing sanctioning body based in Braselton, Georgia. It was started by John Bishop, a former employee of SCCA , and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France, Sr...
GTP history. In the 1983 Times Grand Prix,
Rolf StommelenRolf Johann Stommelen was a racing driver from Siegen, Germany. He participated in 63 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one podium, and scored a total of 14 championship points...
's Joest-constructed
Porsche 935The Porsche 935 was introduced in 1976, as the factory racing version of the Porsche 911 turbo prepared for FIA-Group 5 rules. It was an evolution of the Porsche Carrera RSR 2.1 turbo prototype which had scored 2nd overall in the 1974 24 Hours of Le Mans....
lost its rear wing at the Dogleg and hit two freeway-type barriers sending it into a horrific roll at Turn 9.
When the racetrack was proposed in the mid 1950s, Riverside International Motor Raceway (as it was called at the time) was planned to ultimately be 5 miles (8 km) long, but the club extension was never constructed and the track's final length (after Turn 9 was adjusted in 1969 to a 10 degree banked sweeper) was 3.3 miles (5.3 km).
Of the entire road course races run at RIR, there was at least one that was run in a counter-clockwise direction sometime in the 1960s. In the spring of 1966 Dan Gurney tested his first Eagle racing car on a shortened, counter-clockwise version of the track (to accommodate the car's Indianapolis-specific left-turn oiling system). The test led Gurney to propose to track president Les Richter to hold an Indianapolis-style race there. The Rex Mays 300 served as the season-ending USAC Indianapolis-car race from 1967 to 1969.
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
taped the June 12, 1988, Budweiser 400 race at RIR and caught racer Ruben Garcia crashing hard off turn 9 and his car went through two cement barriers before coming to rest near a
catch fence where fans were sitting. No fans were hurt during the incident.
After 14 years of NASCAR as a driver and later a car owner,
Richard ChildressRichard Childress is a former NASCAR driver and the current team owner of Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series. As a business entrepreneur, Childress became one of the wealthiest men in North Carolina...
won his first NASCAR race in 1983, when
Ricky RuddRicky Rudd is a former American NASCAR driver. He is the uncle of actor Skeet Ulrich and Nationwide Series driver Jason Rudd. Rudd is known as the "Iron Man" of NASCAR; holding the record for most consecutive starts in NASCAR racing. At the conclusion of the 2005 season, Rudd had made 788...
drove his #3
Piedmont AirlinesPiedmont Airlines was a major airline in the United States which operated from 1948 until its operations were merged into USAir in 1989. Its headquarters were located at One Piedmont Plaza in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a building which is now part of Wake Forest University.As of April 1989,...
Chevrolet to victory in the 1983 Budweiser 400k.
From 1981 until 1987, NASCAR's championship race was at Riverside. The
USACThe United States Auto Club is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, the USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapolis 500...
Championship Trail also held their season ending race from 1967 to 1969.
Riverside was home to track announcer
Sandy ReedSandy Reed was a track announcer with Ascot Park in Gardena, California, and the Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California. He was in several movies, including Fireball 500. He narrated an innovative LP record that used audio clips, as well as interviews, to highlight the...
and (along with former LA Rams player Les Richter)
Roy Hord Jr.Ambrose Roy Hord, Jr. was a professional American football offensive lineman that played in the National Football League and the American Football League .-Early years:...
NASCAR Car owner Rick Hendrick drove a select few races at Riverside in his own cars. In the final race in 1988, he got out of the car and let
Elliott Forbes-RobinsonElliott Forbes-Robinson is a road racing racecar driver. He is known for his race wins and championships in many different series, including the American Le Mans Series , Super Vee, Trans-Am Series, CanAm, IMSA GTU, and the World Challenge. He is known in NASCAR circles as a road course ringer...
take over.
Riverside's
Winston Western 500The Winston Western 500 was an annual NASCAR Winston Cup race held at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California, USA, in January, and then in later years, November. From 1963 to 1981, the race was held in January and was the season opening race...
was the opener to the NASCAR Winston Cup season until 1981, when NASCAR moved the start of the season to February and changed the starting race to the
Daytona 500The Daytona 500 is a -long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule....
. That same race was moved to the end of the year and became the season finale for the Cup Series, a distinction it held until 1986.
There are two streets in the neighborhood to the east of the Moreno Mall, Andretti Street and Penske Street, a reference to Mario Andretti, and Roger Penske a driver and team owner who each won multiple races at Riverside.
Use in gaming
The track was used in Sierra's
NASCAR LegendsNASCAR Legends is a NASCAR racing simulator developed by Papyrus Design Group for Windows-based personal computers and released under the Sierra Entertainment marque in late 1999...
NASCAR Heat and later was converted to
NASCAR 4,
NASCAR Season 2002,
2003 and
RFactor
Riverside has also been featured in Indianapolis 500 Legends for the Xbox 360.
Closure and transformation into a shopping mall
After former Los Angeles Rams player
Les RichterLeslie Alan Richter was a Los Angeles Rams National Football League football player, former head of operations for NASCAR and president of the Riverside International Raceway. He played in 8 Pro Bowls as a linebacker. Richter was born in Fresno, California...
sold the property to Fritz Duda in 1983, 1988 would be the final year of racing for Riverside International Raceway. On June 12, 1988, NASCAR held its final race at RIR – a race won by
Rusty WallaceRussell William Wallace, Jr. is a past NASCAR Winston Cup Champion, currently a broadcaster on ESPN, car owner in the Nationwide Series, and a co-host of NASCAR Angels.-Early racing career:...
(a caution flag was out for Ruben Garcia when he came off Turn 9 and lost control of his car and hit a wall, missing the grandstands). In 1989, after the
SCORE InternationalSCORE International is an off-road sanctioning body in the sport of desert racing and is famous for its flagship event, the Baja 1000 as well as the Baja 500 and San Felipe 250. SCORE races are held in United States and Mexico...
held its last race, the track finally closed its gates after 32 years of racing. Fritz Duda turned the "House that
Dan GurneyDaniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager...
built" into a
shopping mallA shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
which opened in 1992. The
Moreno Valley Mall at TowngateThe Moreno Valley Mall at Towngate is a shopping mall located on the former site of the Riverside International Raceway in Moreno Valley, California.In the early years competition for tenants divided prospects between competing developers...
is on the northern end of the former Raceway Property and houses now occupy the southern end of the old racetrack (where
Tim RichmondTim Richmond was an American race car driver from Ashland, Ohio. He competed in IndyCar racing before transferring to NASCAR's Winston Cup Series . Richmond was one of the first drivers to change from open wheel racing to NASCAR stock cars full-time, which has since become an industry trend...
and
Dale EarnhardtRalph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was an American race car driver, best known for his involvement in stock car racing for NASCAR...
raced). In a 1994 topographical map, the remains of Riverside's Turn 9 and a wall were still visible. However, today nothing is left of RIR except for memorabilia from the racetrack. The old Administration Building remained until 2005, when it was torn down to make way for a complex of townhomes.
When Riverside closed in 1988, it followed in the footsteps of
Ontario Motor SpeedwayThe Ontario Motor Speedway, located in Ontario, California, east of Los Angeles, was the first and only automobile racing facility built to accommodate major races sanctioned by all of the four dominant racing sanctioning bodies: IndyCar Series and USAC for open-wheel oval car races; NASCAR for a ...
(in nearby
OntarioOntario is a city located in San Bernardino County, California, United States, 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire region, it lies just east of the Los Angeles county line and is part of the Greater Los Angeles Area...
), which closed in 1980, and followed by Ascot Park in
GardenaGardena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 58,829 at the 2010 census, up from 57,746 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Gardena is located at ....
in 1991. In the 1990s, two new circuits opened: Auto Club Speedway in nearby
FontanaFontana is a city of 196,069 residents in San Bernardino County, California. Founded in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area...
in 1997, and Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in 1999. Both tracks, like Riverside, have been used for filming.
In 2003, the remainder of the old Riverside International Raceway was torn up. The sign that was at California 60 and Day Street was removed to make way for a
Lowe's Home Improvement WarehouseLowe's Companies, Inc. is a U.S.-based chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores. Founded in 1946 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the chain now serves more than 14 million customers a week in its 1,710 stores in the United States and 20 in Canada. Expansion into Canada began in...
and Turn 9 of the old track is now home to houses.
In 2003, plans were announced to build a 3 miles (4.8 km) road course with a similar design to the famed Riverside layout in
Merced, CaliforniaMerced is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California in the San Joaquin Valley of Northern California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 78,958. Incorporated in 1889, Merced is a charter city that operates under a council-manager government...
. The track would have been known as the
Riverside Motorsports ParkRiverside Motorsports Park was a proposed , motorsports-themed family entertainment park to be built in Merced County, California. The name "Riverside Motorsports Park" was derived from the configuration of the park's 3-1/2 mile Road Course, which would have replicated, as closely as possible , the...
, but the project was abandoned in 2009.
Races held at Riverside International Raceway
- The NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
Winston Cup SeriesThe NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing . The series was originally known as the Strictly Stock Series and Grand National Series . While leasing its naming rights to R. J...
and Winston West: Motor Trend 500, NASCAR Winston Western 500The Winston Western 500 was an annual NASCAR Winston Cup race held at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California, USA, in January, and then in later years, November. From 1963 to 1981, the race was held in January and was the season opening race...
, and NAPA/Budweiser 400KThe Budweiser 400 was an annual summer NASCAR Winston Cup race held from 1970 to 1988 at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California, USA. A 400-mile race was also run at the track in November 1963. The race distance was 400 miles until 1976 when it was shortened to 249 miles...
(The Cup and West series raced together in those races.)
- The CART
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
PPG/Indycar World Series (now Champ CarChamp Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
): AirCal 500Air California, later AirCal, was a regional airline using mainline equipment and serving different points in the state of California and some neighboring western U.S. states. It was founded by a partnership of Orange County businessmen as an alternative to other airlines and what was left of the...
/ L.A. Times 500 (1981–1983)
- The 1976 Riverside 400
The 1976 Riverside 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on June 13, 1976 at Riverside International Raceway in the American community of Riverside, California.-Summary:...
- USAC
The United States Auto Club is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, the USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapolis 500...
Championship Trail (IndycarSince 1916 there has been a recognized United States national automobile racing National Championship for drivers of professional-level, single-seat open wheel race cars. The championship has been under the auspices of several different sanctioning bodies since 1909. Since 1911, the Indianapolis...
) Rex Mays 300 (1967–1969)
- The Los Angeles Times Grand Prix
The Los Angeles Times Grand Prix was a sports car race held at the Riverside International Raceway. The race was held throughout the track's existence, from 1957 until 1987. The race was sponsored by the Los Angeles Times to raise money for its charities. The Special Events director was Glenn...
of Endurance
- The 1960 United States Grand Prix
The 1960 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on November 20, 1960 at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.__FORCETOC__-Summary:...
- (Unofficial) 24 hours of Riverside, testing the Chevy Corvair
- IROC
International Race of Champions, better known as IROC, was a North American auto racing competition, promoted as an equivalent of an American All-Star Game or The Masters...
- NHRA drag racing
Drag racing is a competition in which specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles compete two at a time to be the first to cross a set finish line, from a standing start, in a straight line, over a measured distance, most commonly a ¼-mile straight track....
in the mid sixties.
- SCORE International
SCORE International is an off-road sanctioning body in the sport of desert racing and is famous for its flagship event, the Baja 1000 as well as the Baja 500 and San Felipe 250. SCORE races are held in United States and Mexico...
Off Road World Championships, the last one was held in August 1988.
- IMSA
The International Motor Sports Association is an American sports car auto racing sanctioning body based in Braselton, Georgia. It was started by John Bishop, a former employee of SCCA , and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France, Sr...
and SCCAThe Sports Car Club of America is a club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional racers.-History:...
car races
- Rex Mays 300
Rex Mays is a former AAA Championship Car race driver from Riverside, California. He made his Indianapolis 500 debut in 1934 and won the pole in 1935, 1936, and again in 1940 and finished second, he returned the next year and finished second again. Mays won the AAA National Championship in 1940...
- AMA motorcycle racing
Riverside was also host to the original and the revived Can-Am series
Further reading
- Riverside Raceway, Palace Of Speed by Dick Wallen
- Motorsport Memorial entry on Rolf Stommelen (2005), motorsportmemorial.org. Retrieved February 1, 2005.
- Motorsport Memorial entry on Billy Foster (1966), motorsportmemorial.org
External links