Los Angeles County Raceway
| Los Angeles County Raceway | |
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| |
| Facility statistics | |
| Track name: | Los Angeles County Raceway |
| Nicknames: | LACR, the "Ice Rink", Palmdale Dragstrip |
| Location: | 6850 East Avenue T, Palmdale, California 93550 |
| Opened: | October 1964. Formerly King’s Antelope Valley Raceway and Palmdale International Raceway. Became Los Angeles County Raceway (LACR) in 1980. |
| Closed: | Reputation |
| Owned by: | Privately owned since 1964. |
| Sanctioning body: | NHRA |
| Radio station: | 91.9 FM |
| Main sponsors: | Coors Light, NAPA Auto Parts |
| Dimensions | |
| Track type: | Dragstrip moto cross, Hollywood stunt school |
| Track elevation: | 2,710 ft (830 m). |
| Track length: | 1/4 mile (1320 ft), and a 1/2-mile shutoff area |
| Track width: | 60 ft (18 m). |
| Pavement type: | Asphalt and concrete |
| Seating capacity: | Over 6,500 |
| Timing system: | Chrondek |
| Total land area: | Over 60 acres |
| Parking lot area: | 250,000 sq ft (23,000 m2). |
| Pit area and staging area: | 600,000 sq ft (56,000 m2). |
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Los Angeles County Raceway (or "LACR") was a motorsport facility in Southern California. LACR's main feature was its 1/4-mile dragstrip, which was first opened in 1964. LACR held its final event on July 29, 2007. The land under the track is owned by Granite Construction, Inc.
General information
Los Angeles County Raceway (LACR) was an NHRA-sanctioned quarter-mile drag strip located near East Avenue T and 70th Street east in Palmdale, California. LACR was home to many racing organizations such as SCEDA, NMRA, DHRA, ANRA, and practically every NHRA racing category. LACR was home to the annual Hangover Nationals, Fox Hunt, Rat Fink Party, and Toys for Tots. LACR was open every Wednesday and Friday night to any racer ranging from dragsters to street cars. LACR held its final race on the last weekend of July 2007, due to Granite Construction's ability to overtake the land they had leased to the raceway to use for mining.
Closing of LACR
LACR ceased operations on July 29, 2007. This was the end of an era in drag racing history. After 43 years, the mining company next door "Granite Construction", who leased the mineral rights to the property that was leased to LACR, shut down LACR in order for mining. Within 3 months of LACR closing its doors, every building on the property had been demolished, more than half the parking lot was mined, and no pavement remained.
In popular culture
- Los Angeles County Raceway has been seen in numerous movies and television shows. Hollywood movies featuring LACR include The Fast and the Furious and Ocean's Eleven.
- The Mariah Carey music video "Loverboy" was filmed at LACR.
- Mass media corporation Primedia has many of its automotive magazines based in their Los Angeles branch. Because of LACR's closeness to Los Angeles, many of these publications use Los Angeles County Raceway to perform comparison tests and to record performance data. Some of the magazines that frequent LACR are: Hot Rod Magazine; Four Wheeler, Sport Truck, Turbo, Car Craft Magazine; Chevy High Performance; 5.0 Mustang Magazine; Mustang Monthly Magazine; and Motorcyclist Magazine (all of their 1/4-mile data are recorded at LACR). Although separate from Primedia, Car and Driver magazine also stages many of its comparison tests at Los Angeles County Raceway (acceleration data) as well as neighboring Willow Springs Raceway (handling data).
- LACR's list of films, videos, television shows, and magazines that use Los Angeles County Raceway.[1]
See also
References
External links
- LACR.net- Los Angeles County Raceway's Official Website
- SaveLACR.org-LACR's past, present, and future.