The million-dollar Orange County International Raceway opened in Irvine in 1967 as the first quarter-mile "supertrack" in drag racing. It closed in Oct. 1983.
.
.
There are at least a couple good histories of the OCIR available online, including on on the NHRA website, and another at a website called Competition Plus.
Chris Epting visited the site of the old OCIR and took the photos below. He writes, "I was doing a Forgotten O.C. segment today [for KOCE-TV] at the site of the O.C. International Raceway. It was hard to find a trace of ANYTHING - but the Sand Canyon Ave. gate is still there. ...It's on Sand Canyon right by the entrance to the 133, between Laguna Canyon Road and Burt Road" 
"In this shot, [below,] I lay out about where the track sat," writes Chris. "The red dotted line shows the location of Technology Drive."
11 comments:
Cool post!
I'll keep this former 'top-fuel' location in mind the next time I'm cruising south on 5.
Visited there many times. Great historic drag race info. Good to see it again.
I forgot all about the place, I there quite bit during the mid to late 70's Found a great little website that tell the history of OCIR with alot good photos too from the grand opening to tearing it down. I luckly walk into this on googles. Type in OCIR-CALIFORNIA DREAMIN, there is one photo at starting line advertising KEZY-1190AM (LOL) Ever done anything on that. I grew up 2 blocks away from KEZY.
Thanks again
Craig McCracken
If you look at the sat view in Google Maps, there appears to be what might be a remnant of the old strip in the dirt area just off the cul-de-sac of Technology Drive.
What a priviledge to have gotten my first whiff of nitromethane at OCIR! The nights we spent at that great little track left me with a love of horsepower, muscle cars and drag racing that I still can't shake at 51. I seem to remember entering the facility from a one-lane bridge or overpass - everybody better be coming or going at the same time or somebody was outta luck. I lived close to Dyer and the 55 and if I wasn't at the track I could hears the cars running at home. I nearly cried when I heard OCIR was gone.
I remember fondly the Bug-In (VW events) that I attended there from 79 through the last days. I also remember watching OCIR slowly fade away through the years that I lived in the area: 133 went in, Technology drive actually had development - right where we used to show off our VWs.
Awesome memories, but I guess in the big pucture, it's still progress (to shut the place down)
D. Gillespie (Dgillespie at veachracing dot com) just sent me an email, reading (in part):
"...Have been seriously considering doing an in-depth video documentary on OCIR, but am in the process of seeing how much good photography exists (which I'm allowed to use). Interestingly, I have some aerial photos of the 1st commercial drag strip in the history of the sport, Santa Ana airport.
"...My core question is whether the photo of OCIR on your website hints of the existence of more such photos of the track?"
I've got little to nothing. Can anyone out there help this guy?
This story is impossible to prove, but the weekend before they tore up the track at OCIR, I was driving by, and noticed the back gate was open. I drove in and had a look around, and then made a few passes down the 1/4 mile in my 1982 AMC Eagle SX/4. I remember there was a lot of rubber in the traps from the burnouts they did in the last big party, and they had already started ripping up the stands. My times weren't good, but I had a lot of fun for a few minutes. As I was coming down the return lane, a woman security guard suddenly zoomed up behind me and pulled me over. She was pretty peeved, and wanted to know how I had gotten into the track. She lectured me about how there was no insurance, and I had to get out. She escorted me to the open gate, and locked it behind me as I left. I always wondered if my Eagle was the last car to run the 1/4 mile at OCIR, as they started tearing up the strip during the following week. I also wondered if I should have asked the woman security guard to lunch.
I have a photo of my dad; John Miller; in his car "The Motion Machine". It was a gold colored Blue Oval/Ford Anglia with lettering exactly like on the coupe on this page. Kenny Youngblood did most of the lettering in those days.
In the background of the photo you can see part of the wall painted with "Orange County Speedway".
Wow!!! I bearly remember going to this track with my dad back in the "Good Old Days" when he and my Mom were still together. Latley I have been remembering the good things he and I did and reading some of the post that you all left brought a lot of memories back and a few tears to my eyes. I loved going there with my dad and watching the cars race and DONT forget the Jet cars I seem to remembere alot of jet cars at this track. I remember one time a pair of Rocket cars were staged to go down the track and my dad a big shutter bug was back behind the staging lanes and of course I was at his side. All of a sudden this lady started to talk to me and told me to stand behind a truck with her so that I would be sheilded. The cars took off and sprayed rocks and dirt all over the truck her and I were standing behind. Next thing I know Don Galits it yelling at her and telling her to get in the truck so that she could pull him into the stagging lanes. I WAS STANDING THERE WITH GARLITS WIFE AND SHE WAS LOOKING OUT FOR ME and I didnt even know. Well Thanks guys for bringing back alot of memories!
I worked OCIR in HS as a parking attendant around '81 or '82. Didn't pay much but all inclusive pit passes made it all worth it.
PS. Wow, KEZY. That was so long ago. Didn't Rita Wilde work there before going to KLOS?
Post a Comment