CALIFORNIA
The Golden state
From the travels and adventures of the “World’s #1 Trackchaser”
All-Time Favorite California Track:
Ascot Park
Current lifetime trackchasing state rank: 1
Best Memories:
We have lived in California for well over 40 years. I’ve seen racing at more tracks in California than any other state. Nevertheless, I don’t think of California as a state with the best racing. Of course, we do have the best weather. I’ve gotten rained out of a lot fewer races in the Golden State, on a per-visit basis, than just about any other location.
After having seen racing at more than 170 racetracks I have a lot of fond memories from my California racechasing and trackchasing. I first went to Riverside International Raceway in 1972. I was living in San Diego and took a weekend leave from the United States Marine Corps (above – that’s me front left, the guy to my left lost his entire music collection to me on this night in the barracks) to see my first ever race in California.
California track #2 was Ascot Park. We lived in California from 1975-1979 and again from 1983 to 1990 when Ascot closed. Ascot Park is one of my top 5 all-time tracks from the nearly 2,600 I’ve seen. This is where my affection for non-winged sprint cars came from. Seeing the likes of Buster Venard, Jimmi Oskie, Rick Goudy and Dean Thompson among many others was the best. It was a sad day in 1990 when Ascot closed.
With California’s expanding population many tracks were lost to development including Ontario Motor Speedway, Speedway 605, Corona Raceway, West Capital Speedway, El Toro Speedway, Cajon Speedway, Mesa Marin Speedway, Saugus Speedway, Speedway 117, Baylands Raceway Park and more. Blame it on the sunshine!

Thanks to Bob Bogan’s photo collection.
I saw outstanding racing at all of these tracks. I particularly liked the El Toro Speedway (above). It was the closest track to anywhere we ever lived in California. They race TQ midgets. I still remember the night in 1977 when after the races at El Toro on the drive back to my house I learned Elvis Presley had died. I remember the NASCAR Cup races in Ontario, Freddy Fryar coming from Texas to Speedway 605 and meeting racechaser Gary Jacob on that day. Lots of late Sunday night drives back home from the Mesa Marin Speedway, a spectator being killed crossing the track at Baylands, Sammy Swindell flipping out of Speedway 117.
There are still more tracks that I saw race in the 70s and 80s. Places like the California Mid-Winter Fairgrounds, Orange Show Speedway, Silver Dollar Speedway, Santa Maria Speedway (above), Placerville Speedway, Kings Speedway, Ventura Raceway, Bakersfield Speedway and Twin Cities Speedway. Many years of camping with the kids at Santa Maria. The time our son flew us in his plane to El Centro for racing and having the ocean view at our backs at Ventura.
In the lates-90s with so many tracks closing a couple new racing plants opened. This included Perris Auto Speedway and Irwindale Speedway. These two tracks were arguably the best or nearly the best short track facilities in the country. Nevertheless, in the past 20+ years, I’ve only been to Irwindale about five times and Perris about a dozen. It is true I don’t like short tracks that charge for parking! However, in reality, by the late 90s, I had begun turning to trackchasing. On most weekends I was traveling the world to see my racing and when I came home from that, the last thing I wanted to do with my free time spent it watching more racing.
Since the year 2000, I’ve seen racing at more than 100 California tracks. Sadly, somewhat, most of those 100 tracks have been what I would call novelty shows or off-road events. For the past twenty years, I haven’t seen much of the traditional oval short track racing that I grew up with and is still my favorite today.
Our visit to the Long Beach Grand Prix in 1987 was special. We were the guests of American Airlines. We ended up winning a special contest, for coming closest to picking the average winning speed. The contest prize? Airfare for two and a week’s hotel in….wait for it…Zurich, Switzerland! I’ve seen racing at such famous sporting venues as the Rose Bowl, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (home to the ’32 and ’84 Olympics), Angels Stadium (home to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and former home of the Los Angeles Rams) and Qualcomm Stadium (former home to the San Diego Padres and San Diego Chargers).
I’ve seen some very unique racing locations, some of which were on active military bases including Tustin Thunder Road Course, Naval Air Station North Island and the Del Mar Arena. I’ve never seen an ice race in California. I haven’t seen very many once a year California county fairs. I have seen a lot on one-off race locations out in the desert. My California “racechasing” hasn’t been much since about the year 2000.
California was the home to the very best “racechaser” I’ve ever known. Gary Jacob lived in Turlock, California. He saw more races, many of them at rural tracks when he was going strong than anybody I had ever seen or heard about. Gary passed away several years ago. For the longest time, he held the #1 trackchasing position in California even though he never gave that title much thought. He was a racechaser! He went to the races to see the racing and then to write about it in local racing papers. He only wanted to give the local racer some much-deserved recognition. R.I.P. Gary.
# | TRACK | CITY | STATE | COUNTRY | DATE | TRACK TYPE |
1 | Riverside International Raceway | Riverside | California | United States | Pre-1980 | PRC |
2 | Ascot Park | Gardena | California | United States | Pre-1980 | OUTER-DO |
3 | Ascot Park | Gardena | California | United States | Pre-1980 | INNER-DO |
4 | Ontario Motor Speedway | Ontario | California | United States | Pre-1980 | PO |
5 | Speedway 605 | Irwindale | California | United States | Pre-1980 | PO |
6 | Corona Raceway | Corona | California | United States | Pre-1980 | DO |
7 | West Capital Raceway | West Sacramento | California | United States | Pre-1980 | DO |
8 | Dixon Fairgrounds Speedway | Dixon | California | United States | Pre-1980 | DO |
9 | El Toro Speedway | El Toro | California | United States | Pre-1980 | DO |
10 | All American Raceway | Roseville | California | United States | Pre-1980 | PO |
11 | Cajon Speedway | El Cajon | California | United States | Pre-1980 | PO |
12 | California Mid-Winter Fairgrounds | Imperial | California | United States | Pre-1980 | DO |
13 | Mesa Marin Raceway | Bakersfield | California | United States | Pre-1980 | PO |
14 | Orange Show Speedway | San Bernardino | California | United States | Pre-1980 | PO |
15 | San Jose Fairgrounds Speedway | San Jose | California | United States | Pre-1980 | DO |
16 | Saugus Speedway | Saugus | California | United States | Pre-1980 | PO |
17 | Speedway 117 | Chula Vista | California | United States | Pre-1980 | DO |
18 | Silver Dollar Speedway | Chico | California | United States | June 6, 1980 | DO |
19 | Baylands Raceway Park | Fremont | California | United States | June 23, 1984 | DO |
20 | Watsonville Fairgrounds Speedway | Watsonville | California | United States | June 29, 1984 | DO |
21 | Santa Maria Speedway | Santa Maria | California | United States | September 14, 1984 | OUTER-DO |
22 | Placerville Speedway | Placerville | California | United States | September 4, 1985 | DO |
23 | Kings Speedway | Hanford | California | United States | September 25, 1985 | DO |
24 | Ventura Raceway | Ventura | California | United States | November 21, 1986 | DO |
25 | Long Beach Grand Prix | Long Beach | California | United States | April 5, 1987 | STREET-RC |
26 | Bakersfield Speedway | Oildale | California | United States | October 8, 1988 | DO |
27 | Colorado River County Fairgrounds | Blythe | California | United States | November 13, 1988 | PO |
28 | Madera Speedway | Madera | California | United States | June 24, 1989 | PO |
29 | Rose Bowl | Pasadena | California | United States | March 13, 1991 | DO |
30 | Delta Speedway | Stockton | California | United States | May 17, 1991 | DO |
31 | Petaluma Speedway | Petaluma | California | United States | June 8, 1991 | DO |
32 | Plaza Park Raceway | Visalia | California | United States | June 14, 1991 | DO |
33 | Calistoga Speedway | Calistoga | California | United States | July 6, 1991 | DO |
34 | Lake Perris Speedway | Perris | California | United States | October 11, 1991 | DO |
35 | Willow Springs Raceway | Rosamond | California | United States | October 27, 1991 | PRC |
36 | Carlsbad Raceway | Carlsbad | California | United States | July 30, 1992 | DO |
37 | Victorville Grandstand Arena | Victorville | California | United States | July 31, 1992 | DO |
38 | Thunderbowl Speedway | Tulare | California | United States | October 17, 1992 | DO |
39 | Antioch Speedway | Antioch | California | United States | April 30, 1993 | DO |
40 | Stockton 99 Speedway | Stockton | California | United States | May 1, 1993 | PO |
41 | Twin Cities Speedway | Marysville | California | United States | July 1, 1993 | DO |
42 | Orange County Fairgrounds | Costa Mesa | California | United States | July 10, 1993 | DO |
43 | I.M.I. Raceway | Pearsonville | California | United States | November 27, 1994 | DO |
44 | Sunrise Valley Raceway | Adelanto | California | United States | April 22, 1995 | DO |
45 | Sacramento Raceway Park | Sacramento | California | United States | June 16, 1995 | DO |
46 | Ernie Purssell Memorial Speedway | Grass Valley | California | United States | June 17, 1995 | DO |
47 | Barona Speedway | Ramona | California | United States | July 1, 1995 | DO |
48 | Rocky Hill Speedway | Porterville | California | United States | July 8, 1995 | DO |
49 | Glen Helen Speedway | San Bernardino | California | United States | July 15, 1995 | DO |
50 | Cal Expo | Sacramento | California | United States | October 7, 1995 | DO |
51 | Kern County Raceway | Rosamond | California | United States | November 26, 1995 | PO |
52 | Altamont Raceway Park | Tracy | California | United States | May 19, 1996 | OUTER-PO |
53 | Perris Auto Speedway | Perris | California | United States | July 4, 1996 | OUTER-DO |
54 | Lemoore Midget Raceway | Lemoore | California | United States | August 17, 1996 | DO |
55 | Ukiah Speedway | Ukiah | California | United States | May 1, 1997 | PO |
56 | Orland Fairgrounds Raceway | Orland | California | United States | May 31, 1997 | DO |
57 | Cycleland Speedway | Nelson | California | United States | June 1, 1997 | DO |
58 | Shasta Motorsports Complex | Anderson | California | United States | June 18, 1997 | PO |
59 | California Speedway | Fontana | California | United States | June 22, 1997 | PO |
60 | Redwood Acres Raceway | Eureka | California | United States | June 26, 1997 | PO |
61 | Merced Fairgrounds Speedway | Merced | California | United States | July 15, 1997 | DO |
62 | Tustin Thunder Road Course | Tustin | California | United States | August 3, 1997 | TEMPORARY-PRC |
63 | Lakeport Speedway | Lakeport | California | United States | June 27, 1998 | DO |
64 | Sears Point Raceway – Short | Sonoma | California | United States | June 28, 1998 | PRC |
65 | Edison International Field | Anaheim | California | United States | January 30, 1999 | TEMPORARY-DRC |
66 | Irwindale Speedway | Irwindale | California | United States | May 15, 1999 | OUTER-PO |
67 | Temecula Speedway | Temecula | California | United States | June 5, 1999 | DO |
68 | Stoddard Valley OHVA | Barstow | California | United States | July 17, 1999 | TEMPORARY-DRC |
69 | Irwindale Speedway | Irwindale | California | United States | August 6, 1999 | INNER-PO |
70 | California Speedway | Fontana | California | United States | February 13, 2000 | PRC |
71 | Chowchilla Speedway | Chowchilla | California | United States | February 25, 2000 | DO |
72 | LA Street Race | Los Angeles | California | United States | July 16, 2000 | STREET-RC |
73 | Pauline Davis Pavilion | Red Bluff | California | United States | February 17, 2001 | INDOOR-DO |
74 | The Pavilion at the Fairgrounds | Chico | California | United States | February 18, 2001 | INDOOR-PO |
75 | Buttonwillow Raceway Park | Buttonwillow | California | United States | May 6, 2001 | PRC |
76 | Anderson Dry Lake | Lucerne Valley | California | United States | June 23, 2001 | TEMPORARY-DRC |
77 | Perris Auto Speedway | Perris | California | United States | June 23, 2001 | DF8 |
78 | Ventura Raceway | Ventura | California | United States | August 1, 2001 | DF8 |
79 | Orange Show Speedway | San Bernadino | California | United States | Retroactive – 2001 | PF8 |
80 | Watsonville Fairgrounds Speedway | Watsonville | California | United States | Retroactive – 2001 | DF8 |
81 | Ascot Park | Gardena | California | United States | Retroactive – 2001 | DF8 |
82 | Irwindale Speedway | Irwindale | California | United States | May 25, 2002 | PF8 |
83 | Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds | Yuba City | California | United States | August 2, 2002 | DO |
84 | Thunderhill Raceway Park | Willows | California | United States | August 4, 2002 | PRC |
85 | Butte County Fairgrounds | Gridley | California | United States | August 23, 2002 | DO |
86 | Altamont Raceway Park | Tracy | California | United States | August 24, 2002 | INNER-PO |
87 | Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca | Monterey | California | United States | August 25, 2002 | PRC |
88 | Floyd Baldwin Pavilion | Lakeport | California | United States | December 21, 2002 | DO |
89 | Lassen Speedway | Susanville | California | United States | August 16, 2003 | DO |
90 | American Valley Speedway | Quincy | California | United States | August 17, 2003 | DO |
91 | Antelope Valley Fairgrounds | Lancaster | California | United States | August 29, 2003 | DF8 |
92 | CORA Speedway | Dixon | California | United States | April 16, 2005 | DO |
93 | Chula Vista International Off-Road Raceway I | Chula Vista | California | United States | October 2, 2005 | DRC |
94 | Naval Air Station North Island | Coronado | California | United States | October 9, 2005 | TEMPORARY-PRC |
95 | Wheel 2 Wheel Raceway | Victorville | California | United States | November 19, 2005 | DO |
96 | Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport | Thermal | California | United States | November 20, 2005 | PRC |
97 | Qualcomm Stadium | Mission Valley | California | United States | January 21, 2006 | DO |
98 | Rialto Airport Speedway | Rialto | California | United States | June 17, 2006 | PO |
99 | Angel Stadium of Anaheim | Anaheim | California | United States | January 13, 2007 | INNER-DO |
100 | Angel Stadium of Anaheim | Anaheim | California | United States | January 13, 2007 | OUTER-DO |
101 | Antelope Valley Fairgrounds | Lancaster | California | United States | April 22, 2007 | DRC |
102 | Fairplex at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds | Pomona | California | United States | May 20, 2007 | TEMPORARY-DRC |
103 | Victorville Auto Raceway | Victorville | California | United States | September 29, 2007 | DF8 |
104 | Chula Vista International Raceway II | Chula Vista | California | United States | September 30, 2007 | DRC |
105 | Perris Auto Speedway | Perris | California | United States | March 14, 2009 | TEMPORARY-DRC |
106 | Siskiyou Motor Speedway | Yreka | California | United States | May 16, 2009 | DO |
107 | Delberts Memorial Raceway | Lakeport | California | United States | May 17, 2009 | DO |
108 | Prairie City Short Course | Rancho Cordova | California | United States | November 1, 2009 | DRC |
109 | Lake Elsinore Motorsports Complex – Main Track | Lake Elsinore | California | United States | December 19, 2009 | DRC |
110 | Glen Helen Raceway Speedway-4.5M | San Bernardino | California | United States | January 9, 2010 | DRC |
111 | Chowchilla-Madera County Fairgrounds – Large barn | Chowchilla | California | United States | March 6, 2010 | DO |
112 | Glen Helen Speedway-1M | San Bernardino | California | United States | March 13, 2010 | DRC |
113 | Perris Auto Speedway | Perris | California | United States | March 13, 2010 | INNER-DO |
114 | Santa Maria Speedway | Santa Maria | California | United States | May 23, 2010 | INNER-DO |
115 | Chuckwalla Valley Raceway | Desert Center | California | United States | November 20, 2011 | PRC |
116 | Antelope Valley Fairgrounds | Lancaster | California | United States | August 23, 2012 | DF8 |
117 | Stockton 99 Dirt Track | Stockton | California | United States | March 22, 2013 | DO |
118 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Los Angeles | California | United States | April 27, 2013 | MIXED-RC |
119 | Qualcomm Stadium | San Diego | California | United States | May 4, 2013 | MIXED-RC |
120 | Qualcomm Stadium | San Diego | California | United States | May 4, 2013 | DRC |
121 | Kern County Raceway Park | Bakersfield | California | United States | May 25, 2013 | MIDDLE-PO |
122 | Kern County Raceway Park | Bakersfield | California | United States | May 25, 2013 | OUTER-PO |
123 | Hayfork Speedway | Hayfork | California | United States | May 26, 2013 | OUTER-DO |
124 | Milestone MX – Main Track | Riverside | California | United States | October 6, 2013 | DRC |
125 | Bakersfield Speedway Kart Track | Oildale | California | United States | January 5, 2014 | INNER-DO |
126 | Honolulu Hills Raceway – 7M | Taft | California | United States | January 18, 2014 | DRC |
127 | Milestone MX – Vet Track | Riverside | California | United States | March 23, 2014 | DRC |
128 | Desert Empire Fairgrounds | Ridgecrest | California | United States | May 10, 2014 | TEMPORARY-DRC |
129 | Tulare County Kart Club | Tulare | California | United States | May 10, 2014 | DO |
130 | Del Mar Arena | Del Mar | California | United States | June 29, 2014 | TEMPORARY-DRC |
131 | Orange County Fair & Event Center (large) | Costa Mesa | California | United States | September 19, 2014 | TEMPORARY-MRC |
132 | Orange County Fair & Event Center (small) | Costa Mesa | California | United States | September 19, 2014 | TEMPORARY-MRC |
133 | Port of Los Angeles | San Pedro | California | United States | September 19, 2014 | TEMPORARY-MRC |
134 | Thunderhill Raceway Park – 5 mile | Willows | California | United States | November 15, 2014 | PRC |
135 | AV Motoplex Motocross Park | Lancaster | California | United States | March 15, 2015 | DRC |
136 | Finger Lake Raceway – Outback track | Red Bluff | California | United States | March 21, 2015 | DRC |
137 | Finger Lake Raceway – MX track | Red Bluff | California | United States | March 22, 2015 | DRC |
138 | Speedway Willow Springs – North Oval | Rosamond | California | United States | June 13, 2015 | INNER-PO |
139 | Speedway Willow Springs – South Oval | Rosamond | California | United States | June 13, 2015 | INNER-PO |
140 | Speedway Willow Springs | Rosamond | California | United States | June 13, 2015 | PRC |
141 | Alameda County Fairgrounds | Pleasonton | California | United States | July 3, 2015 | DF8 |
142 | Speedway Willow Springs | Rosamond | California | United States | September 12, 2015 | MF8 |
143 | Ukiah Speedway Flat Track | Ukiah | California | United States | October 2, 2015 | DO |
144 | California Mid-Winter Fairgrounds | El Centro | California | United States | November 21, 2015 | INNER-DO |
145 | Superstition Mountains OHV Open Area | Edgar | California | United States | December 12, 2015 | TEMPORARY-DRC |
146 | The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park | Bakersfield | California | United States | January 16, 2016 | OUTER-DO |
147 | Plaster City West | Plaster City | California | United States | January 30, 2016 | TEMPORARY-DRC |
148 | Auto Club Speedway | Fontana | California | United States | May 1, 2016 | PRC – 2.8M |
149 | Streets of Willow Springs | Rosamond | California | United States | May 14, 2016 | PRC |
150 | Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park – Vet Track | Lake Elsinore | California | United States | May 15, 2016 | DRC |
151 | Chowchilla Fairgrounds and Event Center | Chowchilla | California | United States | May 20, 2016 | DO |
152 | Cahuilla Creek MX | Anza | California | United States | July 17, 2016 | DRC |
153 | Action Sports Arena | Costa Mesa | California | United States | August 10, 2016 | DF8 |
154 | Chowchilla-Madera County Fairgrounds – Small barn | Chowchilla | California | United States | November 25, 2016 | DO |
155 | Buttonwillow Raceway Park #13CW | Buttonwillow | California | United States | January 29, 2017 | PRC |
156 | Pala Raceway – Amateur Course | Pala | California | United States | March 12, 2017 | DRC |
157 | Barona Speedway | Lakeside | California | United States | April 22, 2017 | DF8 |
158 | Competition Edge – Hillside Track | Hesperia | California | United States | May 14, 2017 | DRC |
159 | Siskiyou Golden Fairgrounds – Go Kart Track | Yreka | California | United States | June 16, 2017 | DO |
160 | Sonoma Raceway – Long | Sonoma | California | United States | June 18, 2017 | PRC – 2.52M |
161 | Ukiah Speedway | Ukiah | California | United States | August 19, 2017 | INNER-DO |
162 | The Dip | Imperial | California | United States | November 11, 2017 | DRC |
163 | Lake Elsinore Grand Prix at Landmark Park | Lake Elsinore | California | United States | November 12, 2017 | MRC |
164 | Lake Elsinore Diamond Stadium | Lake Elsinore | California | United States | December 15, 2017 | DRC |
165 | Imperial Valley Expo | Imperial | California | United States | December 16, 2017 | DRC |
166 | Shorty’s Sports Park | Blythe | California | United States | January 14, 2018 | DRC |
167 | 333 MX Park – Hybrid Course | Victorville | California | United States | April 15, 2018 | DRC |
168 | Kern County Raceway Park | Bakersfield | California | United States | May 19, 2018 | INNER-PO |
169 | Tulare County Kart Club | Hanford | California | United States | June 30, 2018 | DO |
170 | LACR MX | Palmdale | California | United States | May 12, 2019 | DRC |
171 | Kern County Raceway Park | Bakersfield | California | United States | June 7, 2019 | INNER-DO |
172 | All-American Speedway | Roseville | California | United States | October 26, 2019 | MO |
173 | The Thermal Club | Thermal | California | United States | December 15, 2019 | PRC – 2.7M |
174 | The Thermal Club | Thermal | California | United States | January 17, 2021 | PRC – 2.4M |
175 | Barona Oaks Sports Center | Lakeside | California | United States | March 13, 2021 | DRC |
176 | All American Speedway | Roseville | California | United States | April 10, 2021 | DO |
177 | Cal City MX Park | California City | California | United States | May 15, 2021 | DRC |
178 | Glen Helen Raceway | San Bernadino | California | United States | November 20, 2021 | DRC |
179 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Los Angeles | California | United States | February 6, 2022 | PO |
180 | E Street MX Park | Marysville | California | United States | September 17, 2022 | DRC |
181 | Irwindale Speedway | Irwindale | California | United States | April 8, 2023 | PRC |
182 | Camp Locket Event and Equestrian Center | Campo | California | United States | October 29, 2023 | DO |
If you see a track link in the above list simply click on it to be transferred to my Trackchaser Report. Here you will be able to read about my adventure at this particular track. Not only will you learn about my time at the track but you’ll hear about all of the interesting people, places and things I encountered during the entire trip, coming and going, to that speedway. Most of my Trackchaser Reports will also include a photo album and YouTube video. Check it all out. Don’t be afraid to use the “search” box in the upper right corner of my website’s home page. Just type in the track name or whatever and you’ll be directed to the place you want to be.
Below is a key to surface types and track configurations so you can understand the above list just a little bit easier.
Surface types: D-dirt; P-paved; M-mixed
Configuration types: O-oval; RC-road course; F8-figure 8 track