It was announced on Thursday evening that Irwindale Event Center, the home of Irwindale Speedway and Irwindale Drag Strip, will remain open and in full operation under a new multi-year agreement with a group of motorsports enthusiasts led by Tim Huddleston and Justice Brothers and the property owners.
In July of 2017, Team 211 Entertainment, the operators of the 63-acre motorsports and entertainment facility, were informed that their lease would not be renewed and, that January 31, 2018 would be 211’s last day of operation at Irwindale.
Three months after the announcement was made public a change in the owner’s plans for the property led them to contact 211’s President/CEO Jim Cohan to indicate that a contract extension would be offered.
However, by that time a number of new business plans were already in place at 211. “Being presented with the right of first refusal, we quickly reached out to Huddleston’s group helping to negotiate a deal that would assure both a smooth transition and the continued operation of the track … It was just the right thing to do, Cohan explained.”
Cohan’s company is credited with putting the Irwindale facility back into business when the first operators of the track closed it under a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing in February of 2012.
“These are the right people to operate this facility, they have the background, the acumen, and the energy,” Cohan concluded, “They know racing and they know marketing. This is really a win for everyone, especially the fans.”
The track seemed to be on the right path this year. Attendance was the best since 2006. The average attendance for 20 events in 2017 was 4,228. It was the best average since 4,470 for 35 events in ’06. There were four sellouts this year, equaling the most in the track’s 18-year history.
