RIVERSIDE INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY - RIVERSIDE CA
In the beginning it was originally called The Riverside International Motor Raceway. It was built in early 1957 by a company called West Coast Automotive Testing Corp. The first weekend of scheduled races in September 1957, a California Sports Car Club event, John Lawrence of Pasadena, California, lost his life. Though Lawrence survived the incident, and appeared only slightly injured, he died later at the hospital of a brain injury. NASCAR came out west to run at the track in 1958. It was a 500 mile race; running 190 laps around the 2.6 mile layout. Race favorite Parnelli Jones led the first 147 laps before being sidelined from a crash. From there Eddie Gray would lead the final 43 laps to take the win. It was the first of four Cup wins for Gray. Lloyd Dane was second with Jack Smith third. The next Cup race here wasn't until 1961. It saw Dane lead 27 of 39 laps to take the checkers first. After that Dan Gurney became the man to beat
when NASCAR would visit the track. Gurney won five of seven races from 1963-1968. The other two races would see him have engine failure in one; and not compete in the other. In January 1964, Riverside also claimed the life of 1962–'63 NASCAR champion Joe Weatherly, who refused to wear a shoulder harness and wore his lap belt loosely. Weatherly died when he lost control entering Turn 6, hitting the steel barrier almost broadside and had his head snapped out the window against the barrier. During the 1965 Motor Trend 500 NASCAR race, Indycar great A. J. Foyt suffered a brake failure at the end of the straight, shot off the road and went end-over-end through the infield at high speed. Crash crews assumed Foyt was dead at the scene, until fellow driver Parnelli Jones noticed a twitch of movement; so his life was saved. The track was known as a relatively dangerous course, with its long, downhill back straightaway and brake-destroying,
relatively slow 180-degree Turn 9 at the end (where Foyt crashed). The Winston Western 500 came to be known as the signature event at the track. Initially (1963-1981) this race was held in January as the season opener, but beginning in 1982 NASCAR elected to start the season with the Daytona 500. From 1981-1987 the Winston Western 500 was held in November as the final race of the season. The reason why Riverside was the season finale for 1981 was because Ontario Motor Speedway closed after their season ended in 1980. Bill Elliott claimed his first career Cup win here in 1983. 1988 was the final year of professional racing for Riverside. The records books show that Bobby Allison collected the most Cup wins at Riverside. He finished second seven times. Darrell Waltrip got five wins, as did Richard Petty and Dan Gurney. Waltrip had nine poles; while Petty got his first win in a Ford after switching from long time manufacturer Plymouth. Gurney only made 16 Cup starts and his five
wins all came here at Riverside and all wheeling a Ford. He was the first driver to win three times in a row. On June 12, 1988, NASCAR held its final Cup race at RIR; the 1988 Budweiser 400 was won by Rusty Wallace. After 31 years of racing, Riverside closed on July 2, 1989, with the final Cal-Club event (which, ironically, ended the way it started with the death of racer Mark Verbofsky on July 1, 1989). Homart Development Company) turned the track into a shopping mall which opened in 1992. The Moreno Valley Mall at Towngate is on the northern end of the former raceway property and homes now occupy what was the southern end of the racetrack. NASCAR's K&N Pro series, Southwest Series raced here, along with the Indy Car series and Formula1 and IROC Series.
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