Ventura Raceway

Ventura Raceway is located at the Ventura County Fairgrounds in Ventura, California. The 1/5 mile, high banked clay oval is owned and operated by Jim Naylor, who is also the track announcer. Ventura Raceway is also home to Cory Kruseman's Sprint Car Driving School and the VRA sprint cars. Since 2016, it has served as the home of the Turkey Night Grand Prix.[1]

Ventura Raceway
The Best Little Dirt Track in America

Location10 West Harbor Blvd. Ventura, Ca. 93001 34°16′32″N 119°18′16″W
Time zoneGMT−8
Former namesSeaside Park Speedway
Major eventsTurkey Night Grand Prix
Oval Track
SurfaceClay
Length0.321 km (0.200 mi)
Turns2
BankingHigh

A 1/2 mile dirt oval operated at the fairgrounds from July 28, 1924 through around 1927 (this track had run motorcycles from 1910 through 1923). A 1/5 mile dirt oval was used for midgets on November 11, 1934. A 1/10 mile dirt oval operated from July 4, 1978 through 1984 (this was originally used for speedway motorcycles beginning in 1969.) The 1/5 mile oval opened in 1985. A 1/5 mile dirt figure 8 was added in 2000. The track has also operated as Seaside Park Speedway.[2]

Notes

In the 1990s and into the 2000s motocross racing was held at Ventura Raceway on motocross tracks built on the infield of the oval track by designer Jim Naylor. These races were attend by many local racers as well as professionals such as off-road champion Jim Holley, Kyle Lewis, Randy Moody, and World Champion Bobby Moore. Ventura Raceway hosts monthly flat track and speedway motorcycle events that attract many nationally ranked pro racers as well as past World Champions such as Greg Hancock. Frequent ranked riders include National Champion Brad Baker. Recent Grand Marshalls have included Sonny Nutter, Kenny Roberts, Bruce Penhall, Gene Romero and Reg Pridemore.

The current speedway and flat track races are announced by "Crazy Chris" Ackerman and longtime SoCal racer and announcer Joe Zipay.

Ventura Raceway is also the home track for "Fast Eddy" Castro,who lives in nearby Ojai,California. Castro has been racing professional speedway at Ventura since the 1980s and still takes to the track for every local race.

References
  1. Brewster, Louis (November 17, 2016). "Turkey Night Grand Prix tradition returns to Ventura Raceway". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  2. Motorsports.com
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