History
Ascot Park began in 1957 as Los Angeles Speedway, built cheaply on a former dump near the junction of three freeways south of Los Angeles. It took the Ascot name a year later, the last of several Southern California tracks to carry it.
The half-mile dirt oval became a busy weekly venue for USAC and CRA sprint cars and midgets, AMA motorcycle nationals, figure-8 racing and stunt shows. Evel Knievel made his first nationally televised jump there in 1967, and ESPN's Thursday Night Thunder broadcast sprint car races from Ascot late in its life.
Promoter J. C. Agajanian leased the track from 1976, and his family carried on after his death in 1984. Rising property values in the 1980s made the land too valuable to keep as a racetrack.
The final motorcycle national ran in September 1990 and the last race, the 50th Turkey Night Grand Prix for midgets, was held that November. A planned development stalled, and the land later became an auto auction storage yard.
Why it matters: The center of Southern California short-track and motorcycle racing for three decades and a training ground for drivers such as Jeff Gordon.
Timeline
- 1957
The track was built on a former garbage dump.
- October 1958
New owners adopted the Ascot name; it became Ascot Park in 1961.
- 1959First AMA National[3]
The track held its first AMA motorcycle national.
- March 25, 1967Knievel's first televised jump[1]
Evel Knievel cleared 15 cars on ABC's Wide World of Sports.
- September 29, 1990Final motorcycle national[3]
Ronnie Jones won the AMA Grand National half-mile, the last motorcycle race at Ascot.
- November 22, 1990
The 50th USAC Turkey Night midget race was the final event before closure.
The site today
| Physical status | Site redeveloped |
|---|---|
| Current use | Insurance Auto Auctions building and storage yard (per Wikipedia)[1] |
| Mapped location | Former venue parcel |
Street View near the former site · Satellite view (external, current imagery)
Venue facts
| Other names | Los Angeles Speedway (1957–1958); New Ascot Stadium (1958–1961); Ascot Park Speedway |
|---|---|
| Location | West 182nd Street and South Vermont Avenue, Gardena, CA 90248, Gardena, California[2] |
| Venue type | Racetrack |
| Sports | Motorsports |
| Level | USAC, AMA Grand National, CRA, NASCAR |
| Opened | 1957[1,2,3] |
| Last used for sports | November 22, 1990[1,2,3] |
| Physical status | Site redeveloped |
| Final capacity | 7,500[1] |
| Capacity notes | 7,500 per Wikipedia infobox. |
| Surface | Dirt half-mile and quarter-mile ovals, plus TT and figure-8 configurations |
| Owner / operator | Owned by Max Ziegler; leased and promoted by J. C. Agajanian from 1976 until his death in 1984, then by his family[1] |
| Closure | Increasing land value in the Los Angeles area made the site more valuable for development. |
Documented details
Connected venues
Sources
- Ascot Park (speedway), Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: capacity, closed, coordinates, current land use, events, opened, owner operator
- Ascot Park Speedway, Gardena, CA, Pacific Coast Architecture Database (University of Washington). Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: address, closed, opened
- Archives: The Last Ascot, Cycle News. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: closed, events, opened
Research confidence
Key facts on this page (opening, closing, status and location) are each supported by sources, with key dates corroborated by at least two independent sources. Last reviewed 2026-10-19.
Where sources disagree (1)
- Wikipedia's infobox gives the exact closing date of November 22, 1990; Cycle News and Wikipedia body text say only November 1990. November 22, 1990 was Thanksgiving, consistent with Turkey Night.
See something wrong or missing? Suggest a correction or submit a source.