The Famous Half Mile at Ascot Park in Gardena

Sep 12, 2010   //   by coara   //   History Of Motocross  //  1 Comment
  • Ascot Park was built on a land acquire in 1957.
  • Ascot Park was a famous movie set throughout the 60′s through the 80′s.
  • Evel Knievel came to national attention jumping 18 cars at Ascot Park on ABC’s Wide World of Sports.

Ascot Park, known as the fastest flat, half mile clay oval in the country, was located in an easily accesable location, in the heart of Los Angeles County, Gardena, California. Built on the site of the aged Los Angeles County Dump in 1957, the track was frequented by hard core race fans and Hollywood celebrities alike. It also doubled as a backdrop for movies and television series throughout the years.

Ascot Park was located in a peaceful neighborhood which led to many issues. There was a strict curfew of 11pm and the track had to be run with strict adherence to the schedule, which actually made it fan friendly. Attending a run at Ascot Park meant the fans would be on the road by 11pm. The curfew would also lead to the occasional controversy but all the drivers knew the rules going in.

JC Agajanian and Ascot Park were one and the same.
Ascot Park cannot be discussed without acknowledging JC Agajanian. Ascot Park became a hot bed of racing through the tireless promotion of Agajanian. Agajanian bought hours of airtime every year on all Los Angeles radio stations. Whenever anyone in the Los Angeles area turned on a radio they would hear the distinguished commercial: “Ascot Park. Where the San Diego, Harbor and Riverside Freeways collide!”

Agajanian was constantly promoting Ascot Park. Agajanian focused on the CRA sprint cars as his bread and butter and created races to accumulate national sprint car series to visit Ascot Park. The start of the season would bring a winter visit from the national lag car series, World of Outlaws and towards the end of the season the Pacific Cruise Nationals, would bring them attend.

Ascot Park hosted world record motorcycle jumps including Evel Knievel.
Evel Knievel was in his early years of jumping his Harley Davidson motorcycle, when he arrived at Ascot Park in 1967. JC Agajanian brokered the deal for Knievel to jump at Ascot Park and the event was showcased on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Knievel set a world record at the time jumping 18 cars and landing just short of turn one. One year later Knievel would suffer his notorious setback at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

The worlds most well-known drivers raced and visited the well-known flat track.
Although the track only had a 7500 seat capacity, it was legendary across the country. Sprint car drivers from the east coast and midwest would make a point of attending races on the famous half mile. Whenever the Long Beach Grand Prix or a NASCAR event was held in Southern California, the pits at Ascot Park were littered with celebrities and world famous drivers.

When NASCAR would be in Southern California it was possible to see NASCAR greats, Rusty Wallace, the late Tim Richmond and Richard Petty. When Formula One was racing in Long Beach, Mario Andretti brought popular Formula One driver Emerson Fittipaldi to the California Racing Association’s Salute to Long Beach Sprint Car race.

Ascot Park also appeared in several movies and TV series.
The close proximity of Ascot Park to Hollywood made it the number one choice for Hollywood directors as a movie location. Many movies in the 60′s and 70′s used the track including, the original Gone in 60 Seconds, several Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello movies along with television series, Chips and the A Team to name a few.

Ascot Park was also a pioneer in the sport of motocross and speedway motorcycle racing. Ascot Park had a large hill that was used as a jump during motorcyle and dune buggy off road races. Primitive by today’s standards but the forerunner to stadium motocross today.

Ascot Park will never be duplicated for many reasons.
It will be tough to ever create another track similar to Ascot Park. The mix of the clay was a perfect blend through the years of use. The marine layer that would settle in over the track gave the track a tackiness that will never be duplicated. Most of all the cushion at Ascot Park was different than any other tracks. If the cushion at Ascot Park took hold of a rear tire, it was instant disaster.

Ascot Park was a dinosaur because of it’s location more than anything. It is a rarity to have a track anywhere near a neighborhood now or in the future. Ascot Park has been replaced by Irwindale Speedway. Far away from any residences, the track is a clean high banked asphalt half mile oval but it can never truly replace the legendary clay, half mile Ascot Park.

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