Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

Okay, I am greatly familiar with the history tha ASCOT Speedway had in its lifetime. But I get courious when I see ASCoT written, I know what it stands for. Was ASCOT Speedway the actual name or was it an abbreviation and mean something else?

And yes, this thread will probably be high-jacked and you people will post your memories and thoughts on what I have read and was told the perfect, REAL sprint car track (non-winged). For that, it is perfectly fine and I look forward to reading all thoughts. After the question is answered of course.

David Smith Jr.
www.oklahomatidbits.com

I too will be interested in ppl's input to your question.  You say you know what it stands for.  Xactly what does it stand for? Agreed, it was a great (your word "real") sprint car track.  However, I was involved with many USAC Midget (non-wing) shows at the grand old track.  Turkey Night came to mind first.   Or....... How about the TT Motorcycle races held there?  Another xciting venue.  Ah, yes, back in the day.... 

Larry

Getting outta hand with just too damn many acronyms in an alphabet soup representing our sport.

Between USAC and ASCS they have like 296 different point regions? (Before anyone gets all in a twist, I was being facetious). They do have the bulk of them though....

Ascot and Sprint Car Racing received some movie time in 'Gone in 60 Seconds'-which was way cool!

I have no idea if it is correct or not, but I always assumed it was named after the royal horse track in England.

I figured that back in the day, everyone wore those fancy wide ties to the races. :-)

I went to the Hall of Fame for the first time in years on WoO weekend and noticed that there is a whole wall of what appears to be fence panels or billboards from Ascot with track records/lap speeds on them. There were also pieces of paper that said "This panel should read . . . " and had corrections. Does anyone know the story behind that? I intended to ask before I left, but I was in a hurry.

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David:

The track was called "Ascot Park". Speedbump is correct in that there is a horse track in England by the same name. The word "Ascot" is NOT a group of letters that stand for anything. I cant say how Emmett and Lonnie came up with using the "AscoT" deal but they knew it would ring a bell with race fans who knew of Ascot Park. Pretty damn smart marketing if you ask me.

Sorry you never got to see the place. I was a regular there for over 10 years. To this very day, it was THE best track I've ever been too. I saw Shuman, McSpadden, Sills, Gurney, Jones, Thompson and numerous other heavy hitters on a weekly basis. You just cant get those type of drivers at one track week after week anymore. AND FOR ONLY $10-$12 TOO!!!!

Beth:

I believe the "boards" you are referring to are what was called the: "18 second board". In the late 70's, drivers were turning laps in the 18 second range for the first time ever. Ascot started putting these drivers Names, date, and lap times on the back of one of the "backboards" that lined the top row of the grandstands. You would see it immediately as you came through the main gate. After some period of time in the 80's, 18 second laps were so common, the board was just there for the history of the first group of drivers that accomplished the feat.

NOTE: November of 1990 was Ascot Park's last sprint car race. Billy Boat turned the first (and thus ONLY) 17 second lap in the history of the track. I sat in the heart of turn one that night. I have NEVER seen a car so perfectly placed in a turn as I did that night. Ron Shuman was the main event winner that night capping off a great historic run for the track.

KOP-

I, too, was fortunate enough to live in Southern California in the "80's and personally experience the "Dean and Bubby show" at Ascot. It was a very special place, and your explanation of name, and its history, is spot on. I had moved to Northern Ca. by the time Ascot closed, so I missed the last show - but like you, I'll never forget the place.

Chuck.....

i believe the track started out being called  "legion ascot" in the very early days and then it evolved into ascot park. don't ask me why they called it "legion ascot" but i seem to remember that it was named that in the beginning. i'm sure a google search would bring up track history.

My first of many times at ASCOT was in 1963 and it was way out in the country then. Employement took me in and out of the area for the next 27 years until it closed in 1990. Each time back the area development was closing in. I atte nded the last Sprint car race held there but was unable to make it for the final, as I recall was the Turkey Night Midget race. ASCOT and the way it was managed and promoted should be the baseline for all track promoters today. I sure miss ASCOT!

WaDo

that panel was unavailable to the HoF, thus the paper signs.

The local HoF artist will be duplicating the original missing panel at some future time.

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Since I was born, raised, and still live in Fresno, and the beginnings of Ascot Park was a little before my time, I’m not sure about this. But if memory serves me correctly, I don’t think the Ascot we are talking about, and Legion Ascot were one and the same. I think Legion Ascot fell victim to the same thing Ascot fell victim to, PROGRESS. I do not know any of the dates, but I think Legion Ascot was closed and Ascot took it’s place. Now Ascot is closed and nothing takes it’s place. I did not get to attend many races there, but I was at the last sprint car race there.

Yes, Legion Ascot and Ascot were two different tracks. Seems to me there was a twenty year split between Legion closing and Ascot opening. I do consider Perris Island the next in the lineage yet I don't know why there is no mention of the name Ascot.

David,

I was led to believe that J.C. Agajanian wanted to keep the ASCOT name (following Legion Ascot) when the track opened in Gardena, CA. I think it was an acronym for Aggie's Southern California Oval Track.

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The first time I attened ASCOT 1972 for the Pacific Coast Nationals.Jimmy Oskie could back it to the very edge!!!!I moved to San Diego in 1976 would make alot of CRA shows at ASCOT.Leland tried a Kline big block couple times.Also was a Keith Black HEMI that no one could tame.Was lucky enough to see Dean an Bubby Show.Aggie had the 98jr house car that he would bring in eastern stars to test the locals.My wife still cherishes the nite she got to meet Doug Wolfgang.I go back to the days of Supers at Manzy .Got see lot of stars at ElCentro in early 60s as I was a parachute rigger for recovery chutes on Gemni an Apollo spacecraft.Damn it was hot there!!!After service got see alot of early racing of Leland ,Mclung.Brown and both Shumans at Manzy.David you missed a great race track!!

There have been five different tracks in Southern California known as Ascot. The first was the one-mile oiled dirt oval at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Florence. The second was Legion Ascot in Alhambra. The track was known as "Legion" Ascot because the local American Legion Post ran the facility. Third was "New Ascot", which was a 1.25 mile boardtrack in Culver City. Fourth was the 1/2 mile dirt Southern Ascot Speedway in South Gate. Last was Ascot Park in Gardena.

ASCOT SPEEDWAY
1924-1936
Los Angeles, California
Technically not in Lincoln Heights but should be noted for its proximity and historical importance.

It opened in 1924, and met its demise after the main grandstand burned in 1936.

Aerial pictures from lapl.org

The five-eighths mile Ascot Speedway began life as the New Ascot Speedway on January 20, 1924. The banked oval that was originally dirt but constant applications of road oil soon produced a surface that was similar to pavement. The cars that raced at Ascot throughout the years were the ancestors of what we today call "sprint cars". From 1924 to 1927 the track was only moderately successful under the promotion of several groups. In 1928 the Glendale American Legion Post took over the promotion and brought in the cars and drivers of the American Automobile Association (AAA). The AAA was the leading racing organization in the country and controlled all the major speedways including Indianapolis. The soon to be legendary Legion Ascot Speedway was born! The hard working Legionnaires did an excellent job of race promotion and soon crowds of 10,000 and more were flocking to races held on Sundays in the winter and under the lights on Wednesday nights. The big crowds brought big purses and torrid competition. The races attracted the best drivers in the country and Legion Ascot was creating its own stars. Men like Bill Cummings, Al Gordon, Ernie Triplett, Kelly Petillo, Wilbur Shaw and Rex Mays tangled in hard fought and crowd pleasing races. Winning a feature race at Legion Ascot could pay up to $800---a figure that would come close to buying a house in Los Angeles in the 1920s and '30s. Legion Ascot, at a time when top movie celebrities had their pictures taken with their racing heroes. Movie stars rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous and served in honorary capacities.....they sought the honor. The speed and competition came with a price. From 1924 to 1936 some two dozen drivers lost their lives in spectacular crashes. The death toll was one reason the Glendale American Legion bowed out of race promotion in early 1935---the other reason was that the emergence of midget auto racing that was cutting into the crowds at Ascot. The track became Ascot Motor Speedway and racing continued. On January 25, 1936 the final tragedy struck during a race for two man Indianapolis cars as Al Gordon and riding mechanic Spider Matlock were both killed in a crash. This ended racing at Ascot. Eight months later the grandstands of the abandoned speedway burned down. Ascot was gone. Description and blue-bordered photos above by Don Radbruch a former racer, noted racing historian, and author. Legion Ascot was definitely big and unique to Lincoln Heights and the surrounding areas during the racing era. And known worldwide! Today this defunct racetrack is in the community of El Sereno. More action photos below! action1 action2 action3 action4 action5 More new photos! 1927 Maurice Holladay writes in about Ascot! 7/28/2005 Al Gordon was our postman when I was about 18-19 living at home with my parents. I was at the track on the day Al Gordon and Spider Matlock died. I had a girl friend with me that I had met on a blind date the previous New Year's Eve. I remember that the announcer never reported the condition of the two, although I'm sure it was known before we left that they had died. While on our way home to Long Beach we were in a drive-in for refreshments when my parents came by, saw our car, stopped to tell us the sad news they heard on the car radio. A day or two later I was along with my parents when they called upon Helen Gordon and her two boys to express our condolences. My Mother and I drove to the funeral home in LA to view Gordon before the services. Many years later, I met Helen Gordon, remarried, who was in the clothing business with her husband. When I told her who I was she grabbed and hugged me, then introduced one of her sons, now an adult, who was also working in the business. I passed several Ascot Programs on to my son that I had saved. I have told him to save them in good condition as they are likely to now be collectors items of some value. I wish I could find the pictures I had of Al Gordon, but haven't located them so far. No doubt you have guessed that I must be pretty well along in years. I turned 90 last December. Keep up the good work on preserving Old Ascot records.

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