[jjones752]

My first sprint car race was at Ascot; I don't remember what year but it had to be between 1958 and 1960 because it was called "New Ascot Stadium" in those years and I distinctly remember seeing that name on a sign on the side of the ticket booth in front of the main grandstands. It was originally called "Los Angeles Speedway" when it was built in 1957, then "New Ascot Stadium" from 58-60 and finally Ascot Park from 62-90. The race was a memorial for 2 drivers, Jim Gilchrist and unfortunately I forget the name of the other. Back then Ascot (usually under Aggie promotion) referred to the CRA Sprint Cars as "Big Cars" and advertised "Indy Cars and Indy Drivers!" on the posters that hung on telephone poles everywhere. I would have been between 6 and 8 years old and I don't recall who won but I do remember there being a purple offset roadster (maybe Don Thomas?) and one car there was running a supercharger that made the car whistle as it went down the front straight. There was no quarter mile track back then and there was an inner wall along the front straight that was painted with advertising for local companies. The lighting was pretty primitive too, except along the main stretch; the cars would almost disappear into the gloom in turn one and seem to float along the backstretch before coming back into the floodlights out of four. It was all a magical, captivating experience for my young eyes and ears.
My first race of any kind in person was Jalopies at the Carpinteria Thunderbowl; I was probably around 2 or 3 years old.

UPDATE: I just found Jim Gilchrist on MotorsportMemorial.org and it says that he was a CRA racer from Gardena that lost his life in an IMCA race at the Minnesota State Fair on August 30, 1960 and that a memorial race was held 2 weeks later at Ascot, with the proceeds going to his survivors. That aligns with my thinking that it was in late Summer or early Fall as it was a cool, damp night in the South Bay. I still believe it was a dual memorial but I haven't found any evidence yet to support my theory.