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Irwindale Drag Strip Given The Green Light, Will Re-Open April 26th

[1]If you live in Southern California and you’re one of the countless racers and race fans impatiently waiting for a local place to race again, then mark your calendars for April 26th.

“We’re very pleased to be able to bring street-legal drag racing back to the Irwindale facility,” said Jim Cohan, CEO of Race Training USA Inc. that operates the LA Experience driving school on the Irwindale Speedway. “We understand how much this place to race means to so many people.”

Just under two months ago, the entire 2012 drag racing schedule was cancelled after Irwindale Speedway LLC, which operated the drag strip, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Now back in the hands of property owner and lessee Nu-Way Industries, Cohan and his group will stage regular Thursday night street-legal events, a number of Summit Series races and hopefully a few special Saturday night races under the lights on the eighth-mile strip. In addition, Periscope Enterprises recently announced they will be holding the Flat-4 Bug-In 37, which dates back to the days of the old Orange County International Raceway, on April 29th at the Irwindale facility. The one day event includes the largest Volkswagen swap meet on the West Coast as well as a car show and VW drag racing.

On Thursday night, April 26th, simply show up with your valid drivers’ license, ensure your vehicle has a muffler and can pass the NHRA safety check and you can pull up to the line and see what you can do on the track! The track will open at 4 p.m. with open competition running from 5- to 10 p.m.

Irwindale  Speedway opened the drag strip in September of 2001 and shortly after that, in cooperation with local law enforcement, started hosting street legal races for anybody with a car, truck or motorcycle.

“We want everyone to know how much Jim Mnoian and Jay Garrett, the owners of the Irwindale property have been very involved with the process of getting the drag strip back on line. These two gentleman are both team players and understand what the drag strip means to the community,” said Cohan.