Ontario Motor Speedway
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| The Big O Indianapolis of the West |
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| Location | Ontario, California | |
| Capacity | 140,000[1] | |
| Opened | September 3, 1970 | |
| Closed | December 17, 1980 | |
| Construction Cost | $25.5 million[1] | |
| Architect | Kite & Overpeck A.I.A. Architects/John Hugenholtz of Zandvoort, Holland and Michael Parker of Portland, Oregon. | |
| Former Names | None | |
| Major Events | USAC Championship Car California 500 (1970–1980) NASCAR Winston Cup |
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| Oval | ||
| Circuit Length | 2.5 mi (4.0 km) | |
| Banking | Turns - 9 degrees° | |
| Infield Road Course | ||
| Circuit Length | 4.19 mi (6.74 km) | |
The Ontario Motor Speedway (located in Ontario, California) was a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) race track built similar to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Designed by California born architect Walter Ted Tyler, the track opened in 1970, and was considered state of the art at the time. The track was demolished in 1981.
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[edit] History
Track management planned to make OMS as a replica of Indianapolis with only a few exceptions. The racing surface was one lane wider and, unlike Indianapolis, the short chutes (the two shorter straightaways, at either end of the track) were banked, which made OMS slightly faster. In addition, OMS was built with an infield road course, making it a multi-purpose facility. At the time, Indianapolis did not have an infield road course, and one was not built there until 2000. OMS also included a special gift from Indy: a circle of bricks unearthed from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway were laid in OMS's victory lane.
The first race, The California 500, (held on September 6, 1970), was a success. The Indianapolis 500 was traditionally held Memorial Day weekend, so track officials figured Labor Day weekend was a perfect choice for the California 500 event. A successful Formula Libre event was held at the track in March 1971 called the Questor Grand Prix. The event featured a head-to-head battle between drivers using Formula One and Formula 5000 racecars. The event was an attempt at attracting Formula One to the track.[1] The Grand Prix was won by Mario Andretti. After the first year, the owners realized that they had a gorgeous facility but lacked the a staff that was wired into the racing world. Monty Roberts a former Ford employee who had introduced Mercury Division into racing very successfully, was tagged to be part of the new team. Monty hired the advertising agency Chiat Day to advertise and promote the races. Evil Knievel jumped 17 cars before the race. The suites were full of movie stars and celebrities, Kirk Douglas was an investor and wsa always in the suites along with Steve McQueen. All five major races in 1971 and 1972 were filled to capacity. The problem was in the structure of the speedways financing. Donaldson Lufkin and Jennerette had put the funding together, partly with bonds secured by the City of Ontario. Ontario Motor Speedway comprised several corporations, one owning the land, one owning the speedway, one owning the concessions, and so on. The problem Ontario had was that filling each race to capacity could not generate the money required to fulfill the loan requirements and the rent on the Speedway alone was $2 mil a year, initially Donaldson Lufkin and Jennerette were subsidizing the operation, but after the second year declined to invest any more money and defaulted on the rent payment. That was the beginning of the demise of Ontario Motor Speedway. The City of Ontario was the first to lose their investment. It was planned to be part of the IndyCar series triple . Attempts were made to provide revenue by holding concerts[[California Jam] in order to promote the track more. The California Jam featured numerous rock music bands, and was profitable for the track. NASCAR was running at OMS for a few years and would hold the last race of the NASCAR Winston (now Sprint) Cup Series, the Los Angeles Times 500, there until the 1980 racing season. The facility also featured a dragstrip which hosted NHRA events. Finally, "Charlie's Angels" episode 48 called "Angel Come Home," which ran on 09/20/78 was filmed at OMS partially in the car garage area and on the track.
Track management went bankrupt and the speedway was deemed a financial failure. 1980 would be its last year of operation and the City of Ontario sold the track for $10 million to Chevron Land Management. The track was demolished in 1981 at a cost of $3 million and left as an empty lot.
[edit] Subsequent development
The property remained vacant for several years until the mid-1980s when a Hilton Hotel was built on turn 4 of the old speedway site. It was the first multiple story building of its kind in the City of Ontario.
As of the mid 2000s, development on the property has increased. Over half of the old speedway property, adjacent to Interstate 10, has been developed commercially. However, a minor tribute to the racing heritage of the property can be seen in the street names of the developed area (ex: Duesenburg Drive, Ferrari Lane, and others), in much the same way that the developed area that was formerly Riverside reflects the same heritage, with roads named after famous drivers.
In 2007, much of the remainder of the property became Piemonte, a mixed-use development with condominiums, business offices, and some retail stores, including the Mathis Brothers furniture store. In the fall of 2008, the centerpiece of Piemonte opened: the Citizens Business Bank Arena, a 11,000-seat sports and entertainment venue. The arena is home to the ECHL Ontario Reign, and is built in the general area of Turn 3 of the old Ontario track.
[edit] Subsequent racing events
After the failure of the California 500, the IndyCar series replaced the race with the Michigan 500 at Michigan International Speedway. Eight years later in 1988, Riverside International Raceway (in nearby Riverside, California) was also sold and demolished in favor of development.
In 1997, the Auto Club Speedway opened in Fontana, less than 2 miles (3.2 km) from the former site of the OMS, and the two names were sometimes confused. (The California track was called the California Speedway before a naming rights deal was signed in February 2008.)
OMS architect Walter Ted Tyler later designed the Olympic Velodrome for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles where many world bicycling records were broken.
[edit] Past winners
[edit] USAC Championship Car history
| Season | Date | Winning Driver | Chassis | Engine | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | September 6 |  Jim McElreath |
Coyote | Ford | A.J. Foyt Enterprises |
| 1971 | September 5 | Joe Leonard |
Colt | Ford | Vel's Parnelli Jones |
| 1972 | September 3 | Roger McCluskey |
McLaren | Offy | Lindsay Hopkins |
| 1973 | September 2 | Wally Dallenbach Sr. |
Eagle | Offy | Patrick Racing |
| 1974 | March 10 | Bobby Unser |
Eagle | Offy | All American Racers |
| 1975 | March 9 | A.J. Foyt |
Coyote | Foyt | A.J. Foyt Enterprises |
| 1976 | September 5 | Bobby Unser |
Eagle | Offy | All American Racers |
| 1977 | September 4 | Al Unser |
Parnelli | Cosworth | Vel's Parnelli Jones |
| 1978 | September 3 | Al Unser |
Chaparral | Cosworth | Chaparral Racing |
| 1979 | September 2 | Bobby Unser |
Penske | Cosworth | Penske Racing |
| 1980 | August 31 | Bobby Unser |
Penske | Cosworth | Penske Racing |
[edit] Formula Libre
| Date | Winning Driver |
|---|---|
| March 1971 | Mario Andretti |
[edit] NASCAR Winston Cup history
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Current view of Ontario Motor Speedway on Google
- Closeup of telltale remnants of Turn 3
- A view of OMS on Wikimapia
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Coordinates: 34°4′20″N 117°34′2″W / 34.07222°N 117.56722°W
