Ascot Park

Tucked into the urban sprawl of Gardena, California, Ascot Park was a half-mile asphalt oval that brought NASCAR racing to the heart of Los Angeles during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Three Cup Series races were held at this tight, banked bullring between 1957 and 1961, where ten-degree banking in the turns generated speeds that seemed impossible for such a compact footprint. The track sat alongside a neighborhood, and on race nights the roar of engines could be heard for blocks in every direction. Ascot was primarily known as a sprint car and midget racing venue, but those Cup Series visits brought stock car racing to Southern California in an era when the sport was still finding its footing west of the Mississippi. The close quarters and aggressive banking produced wheel-to-wheel action that thrilled the West Coast fans who filled the grandstands. Ascot Park eventually closed in 1990, but for those brief years when Cup cars rumbled through its turns, it was a vital outpost of a sport expanding its national footprint.

Written by Richard R. Glover, NASCAR Reference