Ontario Motor Speedway

The Ontario Motor Speedway, located in Ontario, California, 40 miles (64 km) east of Los Angeles, was the first and only automobile racing facility built to accommodate major races sanctioned by all of the four dominant racing sanctioning bodies: IndyCar Series and USAC for open-wheel oval car races; NASCAR for a 500-mile (800 km) oval stock car races; NHRA for drag races; and FIA for a Formula One road course races. The track opened in August 1970 and was considered state of the art at that time. The first full year of racing included the Indy-style open wheel Inaugural California 500 on September 6, 1970; the Miller High Life 500 stock car race on February 28, 1971, the Super Nationals drag race on November 21, 1970 and the Questor Grand Prix on March 28, 1971. Each of these inaugural races drew attendance second only to their established counterparts, the USAC Indianapolis 500, the NASCAR Daytona 500, the NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, and the U.S. Formula One race at Watkins Glen. The track was purchased for a real estate development by Chevron Land Company and was demolished in 1980 at a cost of $3 million. It is estimated that the 800-acre (3.2 km2) facility, with 155,000 permanent seats and an air-conditioned private stadium club would have a replacement cost in 2009 of over $350 million.