Ontario Motor Speedway
Circuit Overview
Ontario Motor Speedway (OMS) was one of the boldest racing projects ever attempted in the United States—a multimillion-dollar facility dubbed the “Indianapolis of the West”.
Built at vast expense and to a groundbreaking specification, the speedway hosted a series of headline events between 1970 and 1980, including the California 500, the Questor Grand Prix and major NASCAR and drag racing meets.
Despite early fanfare and innovative design, the circuit ultimately succumbed to financial pressures and was dismantled, with very little visible today to mark its passing.
Circuit History
The concept of a major racing facility in Southern California wasn’t new when Ontario Motor Speedway was first proposed in the 1960s. Two earlier attempts—led by National General Corporation and then by Santa Anita Consolidated and Filmways—had failed. But their groundwork identified a promising site: the former Cucamonga Winery land, adjacent to the expanding Ontario International Airport and Interstate 10.
Into this opportunity stepped William Loorz of Stolte Construction and David Lockton of Sports Headliners, a powerful racing management agency. Lockton used his network—including a position on the USAC board and personal ties with Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman—to secure sanctioning, influence, and credibility. Over nine months, he acquired 800 acres from more than 150 separate owners, many of them Hollywood investors.
The breakthrough came with a first-of-its-kind IRS ruling, allowing tax deductibility of $25.5 million in municipal bonds, underwritten by John Nuveen & Co. Additional equity came from Pioneer Lands Corp., Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, and Stolte, who with Lockton would become co-owners of the facility.
Design for the future
OMS would not just copy Indianapolis—it would improve on it. California architect Robert W. Kite of Kite & Overpeck Architects designed the facility, with circuit layout by Dutch track designer John Hugenholtz, famous for Suzuka, Zolder and Jarama. The 2.5-mile (4.023 km) oval included banked short chutes for higher speed and an integrated 3.2-mile (5.150 km) infield road course. A drag strip completed the complex.
Unlike the Indianapolis Motor Speedway of the time, OMS featured modern garage facilities, real-time timing and scoring displays for spectators, crash-absorbent barriers, and corporate hospitality boxes—features later adopted globally. To cement symbolic ties with Indy, bricks from the Brickyard were embedded into Ontario’s Victory Circle.
Star power and spectacle
Construction spanned just 22 months. OMS launched with the help of a full-throttle marketing campaign from the Campbell-Ewald agency, targeting both hardcore fans and sceptical Californians with messages of safety, cleanliness and celebrity glamour. Hollywood PR guru Warren Cowan mobilised stars like Paul Newman, James Garner and Kirk Douglas, while astronauts like Pete Conrad added to the prestige. The result: the 1970 California 500 sold out six weeks early, with 178,000 in attendance and a $3.3 million gross—the second-largest single-day sporting event in America behind the Indy 500.
That same year, OMS hosted a pro-celebrity race aired on NBC and a Hot Wheels-sponsored drag meet that broke multiple speed records. 1971 brought further success with NASCAR’s Miller High Life 500 and the Questor Grand Prix—a rare showdown between Formula 1 and Formula 5000 machinery, won by Mario Andretti.
Financial turmoil and missed chances
Despite on-track success, OMS’s operating company struggled. Revenue shortfalls from the under-attended Questor GP, and lower sales for the 1972 California 500 (down 30,000 due to reduced promotion), meant the bond payments became unmanageable. By 1973, new operators attempted a desperate double-California 500 strategy to increase revenue by moving the race to March—despite original research proving that Labour Day weekend was the peak draw. The gambit failed. Lockton had already resigned by 1971, and OMS began to unravel.
By 1980, Chevron Land Company recognised the real value lay in the land. They acquired the now heavily discounted bonds—trading at $0.30 on the dollar—and effectively foreclosed on the site, valued at over $120 million for development.
From supertrack to suburbia
OMS’s infrastructure was gradually dismantled. Grandstands went to the California Midstate Fair; ticket booths found new homes. Turn 4 became the site of a Hilton Hotel by the mid-1980s. In 2008, the Citizens Business Bank Arena (now Toyota Arena) was opened in the infield. Nearby roads like Duesenberg Drive and Ferrari Lane quietly commemorate the racing heritage, as does a public park on the former site.
While OMS’s operational life was brief, its innovations and ambition triggered a wider boom in speedway development through the 1980s and beyond. Few tracks have burned so brightly, however briefly.
Circuit info
This is a historic circuit which is no longer in operation.
Rate This Circuit
Votes: 99
Location Information
The Ontario Motor Speedway site is now a developed commercial district, with the Toyota Arena occupying the infield. Visitors can trace some of the old oval’s outline on satellite maps, particularly Turn 3 near the intersection of Concours Street and Ontario Center. Commemorative features include a public park and racing-themed road names.
The site is easily accessed from Ontario International Airport and Interstate 10. While the roar of engines is long gone, Ontario’s legacy lingers in the layout of the land.
Get your race tickets!
Brought to you with:
We've teamed up with Motorsports Tickets to bring you the best deals for Formula One, MotoGP, Le Mans and more.