Irwindale Speedway, a longtime venue for grassroots racing and community gatherings, has shut down, sparking disappointment and uncertainty among viewers and racers alike.
The closure in December 2024 was a decision that many members of the surrounding communities were upset by. As of now, there’s no real known location for another large event space for car event’s according to local organizers and enthusiasts.
“I was upset about it. I always wanted to drive on the track or dragstrip but never got the chance to,” Anthony Perez said.
Perez, who is a part of automotive classes and the surrounding car community, is a senior at Montclair High School.
The speedway made its name in 1999 with its events like demolition derbies and drag racing. With a new place in the middle of Los Angeles county and the San Gabriel Valley, the speedway gained popularity quickly among the car community due to the events hosted.
It allowed others to come and see cars in action and on occasion allow community members to bring their car in and drive it around. It was seen as a beloved space by many people of different ages, all with one thing in common: a love for cars.
The speedway was one of the last in the area. So, when the news broke about the closure, members of different car groups worried about the future of the car community surrounding it.
Gabriel Anaya, 21, a student at Citrus studying diesel engineering, shared how these changes affected the community.
“The effects that it had left on the car community is pretty bad because now you’re gonna have kids just going out, doing all this bad stuff on the canyons, on the street, getting hurt,” Anaya said.
After the closure, local attendees expressed it felt harder to find car events because there was no longer a specific area where cars can be found.
Jacob Swanson, a student at Rowland High School who attended an automotive career and job fair at Citrus, said it could be hard to find out about events, but being in the automotive classes exposes him to more than more people would be.
While Swanson focused on finding out about events, Perez talked about how the events themselves have become harder to keep going.
“Not just because of the speedway but because how car culture is now, it’s a lot harder to find quality and like good car shows that don’t get shut down within like an hour because people are trying to show off their cars,” Perez said.
With the closure of the speedway, community members in Facebook groups such as Irwindale Dragstrip voiced concerns about losing a central place to connect with others who share an interest in racing.
Anaya Said they meet “Through Instagram, bumping into people in the streets and or job, depending on where you work. School has been a major one, met a lot of people here that drive cool cars.”
Oscar Rivera, a student in Citrus’ automotive program, said he is in a Mustang car group that organizes its own meets. Yet without a designated space like the Irwindale Speedway, even informal gatherings often face quick shutdowns.
“Even when we go, like, it gets burnt out like really fast like.” Rivera Said “I say the cops, even if we’re just chilling there, like, they pull up and they’re like, ‘Get the fuck out of here.’”
After news of the speedway’s closure, some community members under the Facebook group The Drives videos showing the demolition of Irwindale Speedway expressed concern that it could lead to an increase in dangerous behavior at local car meets — and questioned whether such gatherings are now more frequent than before.
“With social media everybody’s trying to impress somebody or show off in some way,” Perez said. “They do a lot more stupid things compared to how it was before it was a lot more hidden, more underground. Especially in my dad’s time he’d tell me it’s a lot more cautious instead of showing off for people.”
Members of the community themselves advocate responsibility and restraint, warning drivers to think twice before seeking attention online or on the streets.
“Don’t do dumb stuff and think because, ‘I know my car can do this, I’m gonna do that,” Anaya said. “Don’t post anything on social media.”
