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Irwindale Speedway to close on Jan. 31, 2018

NASCAR K&N Pro-Series West Twins

IRWINDALE, CA - MARCH 25: Todd Gilliland, driver of the #16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota and Chris Eggleston, driver of the #99 NAPA Filters Toyota lead at the start of race 2 of the K&N West Series Napa Twins 100 at Irwindale Speedway on March 25, 2017 in Irwindale, California. (Photo by Jonathan Moore/Getty Images)

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After 17 years of racing since its 1999 opening, Irwindale Speedway, now called the Irwindale Event Center, will cease operations on Jan. 31, 2018

The half-mile track in Irwindale, California, announced Wednesday that it had been informed by a “representative” of the track’s property owner that it would be closing.

The news came as a surprise to Team 211 Entertainment CEO Jim Cohan, who said in a statement that the track had been preparing to announce its schedule for next season. Cohan said the track will hold all of its scheduled races this season.

“First and foremost, everyone should know that we’ll continue to operate Irwindale Event Center right up to our final weeks, as we’ve been doing for the past five years; providing great family motorsports and related entertainment in the most professional way possible,” Cohan said. “Our full 2017 schedule of NASCAR, Drag Strip, LA Racing Experience events, and special events will run as published. And, in fact, we’re planning on adding a couple of extra events to the calendar to honor all of the competitors who raced and wrenched here at Irwindale since it opened in 1999.”

“In all honesty, we were here and in it for the long haul, in fact we were in the process of putting out our complete schedule for the 2018 season. All that made this news very difficult for me to hear, and very hard on our whole team.”

Irwindale has been the host of 26 K&N Pro Series West races since it opened. Todd Gilliland won the last two races there in a March 25 doubleheader.

The track survived being shutdown in 2015 after developers of an outlet mall allowed it to remain open until construction began.

That year Nate Ryan lamented the impending doom of the track, which has been the site of wins by NASCAR’s Joey Logano and David Gilliland. Brendan Gaughan won three straight K&N West races there in 2001.

The track was shut down in 2011 after its owners declared bankruptcy, but reopened in 2013.

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