Race Tracks Near Los Angeles
Los Angeles sits inside one of the densest motorsport clusters in North America. The high desert an hour or so northeast holds Willow Springs, the region's oldest permanent road course, plus Buttonwillow and Chuckwalla Valley further out toward Bakersfield and the Coachella Valley. Auto Club Speedway in Fontana anchors NASCAR weekends at a shortened oval, while Pomona's dragstrip has hosted the NHRA Winternationals and Finals for decades. Closer in, Long Beach turns its downtown streets into an IndyCar circuit every April, one of the sport's signature events. Dirt racing runs weekly at Perris and Ventura, motocross riders head to Glen Helen and Fox Raceway at Pala, and karters have a well-regarded club circuit at Adams Motorsports Park in Riverside. Several historic Southern California venues — Riverside International Raceway, Ontario Motor Speedway, the original Irwindale Speedway configuration — are gone, but their legacy still shapes the region's calendar and its car culture.
18 venues listed across 8 categories. Venues with a full RaceTrackWorld guide are linked.
Road courses in Los Angeles
| Venue | Town | Drive | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willow Springs International Raceway | Rosamond | 1 h 30 min | 2.5 mi | America's oldest continuously operating road course, open since 1953; the complex includes the fast Big Willow circuit, the tight Streets of Willow, and the Horse Thief Mile. |
| Buttonwillow Raceway Park | Buttonwillow | 2 h | — | Owned by the Cal Club region of the SCCA; a flat, technical circuit with more than 20 configurable layouts used heavily for club racing and HPDE track days. |
| Chuckwalla Valley Raceway | Desert Center | 2 h 15 min | 2.68 mi | Purpose-built 2010 road course in the Colorado Desert used for club racing, HPDE, and testing; the facility was listed for sale in 2026 but remained open and scheduling events. |
Ovals and speedways in Los Angeles
| Venue | Town | Drive | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto Club SpeedwayDormant | Fontana | 55 min | — | The 2-mile NASCAR oval closed in February 2023 and was demolished for a planned half-mile short track; as of 2026 NASCAR still says it intends to rebuild but has given no construction timeline. |
| Orange Show Speedway | San Bernardino | 1 h 5 min | 0.25 mi | Quarter-mile asphalt oval on the National Orange Show fairgrounds, billed as the longest continually running track on the West Coast (opened 1947). |
| Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway (Kern County Raceway Park & Bakersfield Speedway) | Bakersfield | 1 h 55 min | — | Paved short track and adjoining Bakersfield Speedway dirt oval under one ownership group; inherited several events from the closed Irwindale Speedway starting in 2025. |
Drag strips in Los Angeles
| Venue | Town | Drive | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip | Pomona | 35 min | 0.25 mi | NHRA-owned quarter-mile strip that has hosted the season-opening Winternationals since 1961 and the season-closing NHRA Finals since 2021. |
| Famoso Dragstrip | McFarland | 1 h 55 min | 0.25 mi | Historic strip north of Bakersfield that hosted the first March Meet in 1959; now runs the March Meet as a nostalgia/vintage drag racing event. |
Dirt tracks in Los Angeles
| Venue | Town | Drive | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura Raceway | Ventura | 1 h 10 min | 0.2 mi | High-banked 1/5-mile clay oval at the Ventura County Fairgrounds; hosts wingless sprints, midgets, and periodic World of Outlaws sprint car shows. |
| Perris Auto Speedway | Perris | 1 h 20 min | 0.5 mi | Half-mile clay oval on the Lake Perris fairgrounds; a regular USAC/CRA sprint car stop with a full stock car and modified program. |
Motocross and off-road in Los Angeles
| Venue | Town | Drive | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glen Helen Raceway | San Bernardino | 1 h 5 min | — | 256-acre hillside facility famous for the Talladega first turn and Mt. Saint Helen climb; long-time AMA Pro Motocross opener and former host of the Motocross of Nations. |
| Fox Raceway at Pala | Pala | 1 h 40 min | — | San Diego County motocross track hosting a round of AMA Pro Motocross (Fox Raceway National) every summer. |
Karting in Los Angeles
| Venue | Town | Drive | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams Motorsports Park | Riverside | 1 h 5 min | — | Operating since 1959, the world's longest continuously running kart racing facility; also hosts drifting and time-attack events. Became the region's main club kart track after CalSpeed closed. |
Street circuits and temporary in Los Angeles
| Venue | Town | Drive | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Prix of Long BeachSeasonal | Long Beach | 35 min | 1.968 mi | Downtown street circuit and the longest continuously running street race in North America; headlines with the NTT IndyCar Series every April. |
Closed and historic in Los Angeles
| Venue | Town | Drive | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irwindale SpeedwayClosed | Irwindale | 45 min | 0.5 mi | Half-mile paved oval that closed for good in December 2024 after the property was sold for industrial redevelopment; its NASCAR-affiliated events moved to Kern Raceway in 2025. |
| Riverside International RacewayClosed | Riverside | 1 h | — | NASCAR, IndyCar, and IMSA venue from 1957 to 1989; the site is now the Moreno Valley Mall. |
| Ontario Motor SpeedwayClosed | Ontario | 50 min | — | "Indianapolis of the West" superspeedway that ran 1970 to 1980 before foreclosure closed it; the site is now Ontario Mills and surrounding development. |
| CalSpeed Karting CenterClosed | Fontana | 55 min | — | Southern California's premier club karting track, run on part of the Auto Club Speedway infield; closed in December 2022 when the speedway land was sold for redevelopment. |
Major race weekends in Los Angeles
| Event | Venue | When | Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach | Streets of Long Beach | April | IndyCar / IMSA |
| NHRA Winternationals | In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip | February | NHRA |
| NHRA Finals | In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip | November | NHRA |
| NASCAR Clash / Cup weekend | Auto Club Speedway | February | NASCAR |
| Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion (day-trip distance) | WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca | August | Vintage |
Track days and driving experiences in Los Angeles
Willow Springs (about 90 minutes from downtown LA) is the default track-day venue for SoCal drivers, with multiple configurations including the Streets of Willow and regular HPDE, time attack, and club-racing days run by groups like Hooked on Driving, Speed SF and NASA SoCal. Buttonwillow, roughly two hours out, hosts full-day open-lapping events with 13 configurations. Karters use Adams Motorsports Park in Riverside for sprint racing and rentals. Expect $250-$500 for a full HPDE day depending on track and run-group size, more for instructed or time-attack formats.
Frequently asked questions
What is the closest race track to Los Angeles?+
Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, roughly 90 minutes northeast of downtown LA, is the closest full road course. Irwindale, closer still, is currently closed.
Is Auto Club Speedway still racing?+
Auto Club Speedway in Fontana is dormant — NASCAR left after 2023 while the track is reconfigured into a short oval; a return date has not been confirmed.
Where can I do a track day near Los Angeles?+
Willow Springs and Buttonwillow Raceway Park are the two main open-lapping venues, both roughly 90 minutes to 2 hours from the city, with regular HPDE and club-racing calendars.
Does Santa Anita Park count as a race track?+
No — Santa Anita Park and Los Alamitos are horse (thoroughbred and quarter horse) racing venues, not motorsport tracks, so they aren't included in this guide.
What happened to Irwindale Speedway?+
The short paved oval that hosted NASCAR-sanctioned short-track racing for two decades closed; some of its events have shifted to Kern County Raceway Park near Bakersfield.
Where does the Long Beach Grand Prix run?+
On a temporary street circuit through downtown Long Beach, about 25-30 minutes from downtown LA, held every April.
Venue list checked against 5 sources. Last reviewed 2026-09-11.
Track guides within 120 miles of Los Angeles
Long Beach Grand Prix
Address: W Shoreline Dr, Long Beach CA 90802 USA Website: https://gplb.com/ Email: [email protected] Phone Number: (888) 827-7333 Hotels Near Long ...
Auto Club Speedway
Address: 9300 Cherry Avenue, Fontana CA 92335 USA Website: http://www.autoclubspeedway.com Email: [email protected] Phone Number: (+1) 909 429-5000 ...
Willow Springs International Raceway
Address: 3500 75th Street West Rosamond, CA 93560 USA Website: http://www.willowspringsraceway.com Email: [email protected] Phone Number: (+)1 661 2...
Fox Raceway at Pala
Address: 12799 CA-76 Pala, CA 92059 USA Website: http://raceway.palatribe.com/ Email: [email protected] Phone Number: (760) 891-3570 Hotels Near Fo...