Irwindale Speedway to re-open April 26
A weekly Thursday night program will resume on April 26. Three days later, on April 29, a special program featuring Volkswagens, called Hot VWs Drag Day, will be held. The drag strip will be operated by L.A. Racing Experience, an oval racing school that has not missed a day of business since Irwindale Speedway, LLC filed bankruptcy papers on Feb. 10.
"We wanted to open it this Thursday, but we wanted to do it and operate it right," L.A. Racing owner Jim Cohen said. "It takes awhile to get it right, It will all be new.
"We're very appreciative that (property owners) Nu-Way Industries will let us get this underway."
The drag strip last operated on Feb. 2. Eight days later, Irwindale Speedway, LLC, which opened the facility on March 27, 1999, filed for bankruptcy. Coupled with a lawsuit that forced the closure of the quarter-mile drag strip at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana just weeks later, it left the greater Southern California area without a place for racers, including hobbyists and those who enjoy racing their street cars, a place to legally make runs.
"We have received a lot of positive feedback," Cohen said. "We're very excited about re-opening."