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53-568: The company was founded in 1964 by Roger Curtis and Lee Yurada, technicians at the Douglas Aerophysics Laboratory in nearby El Segundo, California . Slot cars were at the height of their popularity in Southern California at the time, so Curtis and Yurada decided to open a slot car track as a side business. Their experience in fabricating aircraft parts soon led them into producing slot car parts and accessories. So successful

106-569: A globe. This logo was later adopted by McDonnell Douglas in 1967, and became the basis of Boeing 's current logo after their merger in 1997. Douglas Aircraft designed and built a wide variety of aircraft for the U.S. military, including the Navy, Army Air Forces, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard. The company initially built torpedo bombers for the U.S. Navy, but it developed a number of different versions of these aircraft, including reconnaissance planes and airmail aircraft. Within five years,

159-618: A government-owned factory in Marietta, Georgia . World War II was a major boost for Douglas. Douglas ranked fifth among United States corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. The company produced almost 30,000 aircraft from 1942 to 1945, and its workforce swelled to 160,000. The company produced a number of aircraft including the C-47 Skytrain, the DB-7 (known as the A-20, Havoc or Boston),

212-568: A non championship event in December and has also hosted a round of the domestic series, Formula D . The venue has been expanded to accommodate 15,000 spectators. The circuit is regarded as one of the most popular courses for crowds and drivers despite the unforgiving concrete wall which drivers usually brush through with their rear bumpers. Because of its popularity, the circuit is nicknamed the House of Drift . The 2003 Guinness Book of World Records lists

265-403: A sport. As electric racing continued to grow, 1980 would see one of Associated's most important partnerships come to fruition when electrical engineer and avid R/C racer Mike Reedy joined Associated. Reedy's development of Yokomo-based motors and carefully matched battery packs led Associated's dominance of electric racing. Reedy-powered cars are credited with 28 IFMAR World Championships to date,

318-529: A wholly owned subsidiary of McDonnell Douglas, with Douglas' son, Donald Wills Douglas Jr. , as president. Later, former McDonnell president David S. Lewis became chairman of Douglas Aircraft. His successful turnaround of the division allowed him to become president of McDonnell Douglas in 1969. Meanwhile, Douglas' space and missiles division became part of a new subsidiary called McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company. McDonnell Douglas later merged with its rival Boeing in 1997. Boeing merged Douglas Aircraft into

371-677: Is also a debt of $ 8,093.51 owed to the city of Irwindale Police Department, $ 16,379.58 owed to the Golden State Water Company and $ 1,437.50 owed to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune for advertising. In late 2012, Jim Cohan, who ran the LA Driving Experience at the track was able to secure funding to re-open the speedway under his management. In September 2013, the property housing the Irwindale Event Center

424-484: Is the world's "winningest" RC car manufacturer. Reedy motors, a division of Associated, has powered 28 IFMAR World Champions. R&D manager and world-class driver Cliff Lett broke the RC land speed record of more than 111 mph (179 km/h) with a heavily modified Associated RC10L3 touring car at Irwindale Speedway on January 13, 2001. A modified RC10 with an off-the-shelf Parma International 1963 Chevrolet Corvette body

477-803: The Boeing Commercial Airplanes division, and retired the Douglas Aircraft name after 76 years. The last Long Beach -built commercial aircraft, the Boeing 717 (third generation version of the Douglas DC-9), ceased production in May 2006. By 2011, the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III was the last aircraft being assembled at the Long Beach facility; the final C-17 was assembled in late 2015. However,

530-455: The COVID-19 pandemic founding its own streaming service IrwindaleSpeedway.tv operated by Low Budget TV. In June 2021 fans returned to the track. At the 2024 West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame 150 , post race drama happened when Sean Hingorani was caught on the hot mic swearing at owner Tim Huddleston. On October 29, 2024, Huddleston officially announced that the both speedway and

583-472: The Douglas DC-2 , followed by the famous DC-3 in 1936. The wide range of aircraft produced by Douglas included airliners , light and medium bombers , fighter aircraft , transports, reconnaissance aircraft, and experimental aircraft. The company is most famous for the "DC" (Douglas Commercial) series of commercial aircraft, including what is often regarded as the most significant transport aircraft ever made:

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636-742: The Douglas DC-3 , which was also produced as a military transport known as the C-47 Skytrain or "Dakota" in British service. Many Douglas aircraft have long service lives. During World War II , Douglas joined the BVD ( Boeing - Vega -Douglas) consortium to produce the B-17 Flying Fortress . After the war, Douglas built another Boeing design under license, the B-47 Stratojet turbojet -powered bomber, using

689-597: The SBD Dauntless dive bomber , and the A-26 Invader . Douglas Aircraft suffered cutbacks at the end of the war, with an end to government aircraft orders and a surplus of aircraft. It was necessary to cut heavily into its workforce, letting go of nearly 100,000 workers. The United States Army Air Forces established 'Project RAND' (Research ANd Development) with the objective of looking into long-range planning of future weapons. In March 1946, Douglas Aircraft Company

742-605: The U.S. Navy . The DTs were taken from the assembly lines at the company's manufacturing plants in Rock Island, Illinois , and Dayton, Ohio , to be modified. The modified aircraft known as the Douglas World Cruiser (DWC), also was the first major project for Jack Northrop who designed the fuel system for the series. After the prototype was delivered in November 1923, upon the successful completion of tests on 19 November,

795-482: The naming rights to the facility in 2008, and from that time until 2011 it was also known as the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale . The speedway features banked, paved 1 ⁄ 2 - and 1 ⁄ 3 -mile oval tracks and a 1 ⁄ 8 -mile drag strip. The property is primarily used for NASCAR races such as ARCA Menards Series West and Whelen All-American Series events. In late 2011, NASCAR announced it

848-602: The 1950s. Douglas moved from producing air-to-air rockets and missiles to entire missile systems under the 1956 Nike missile program and became the main contractor for the Skybolt air-launched ballistic missile program and the Thor ballistic missile program. Douglas also earned contracts from NASA, most notably for designing the S-IVB stage of the Saturn IB and Saturn V rockets. In 1967,

901-528: The 2005 participants were Tony Stewart , Jason Leffler , and J. J. Yeley . It was also seen in an episode of Malcolm in the Middle , titled "Stock Car Races", also used in the opening scene of the pilot episode of Fastlane and in Episode 25 of Fear Factor Season 3. In 2012, Irwindale Speedway LLC, the management group that ran the track, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on the same day track management canceled

954-552: The 2012 racing season. In the paperwork filed at the United States Bankruptcy Court, Central District, it shows that Irwindale Speedway LLC owed creditors $ 331,773.11. The largest amount is $ 150,000 owed on a personal-injury claim. Irwindale Speedway LLC owed Nu-Way Industries Inc., the company that owns the property where the track and offices are built, $ 55,000 in rent. Irwindale Speedway LLC has two more outstanding personal injury claims with unknown values. There

1007-648: The Army commissioned Douglas to build four production series aircraft. Due to the demanding expedition ahead, spare parts, including 15 extra Liberty L-12 engines, 14 extra sets of pontoons, and enough replacement airframe parts for two more aircraft were chosen. These were sent to airports along the route. The last of these aircraft was delivered to the U.S. Army on March 11, 1924. The four aircraft left Seattle , Washington, on April 6, 1924, flying west, and two of these returned there on 28 September to great acclaim, while one plane had been lost under fog conditions, and another

1060-578: The BJ4 to the Worlds-winning 'Worlds' edition. In Summer 2006, JConcepts "turned the drawings over to Team Associated, which took over and fine-tuned the design for fit and finish" (RC Driver magazine, Dec. 2007). The Associated B44 debuted at the 2007 EP Off-Road World Championships, where it not only qualified on top, but took all three podium positions. X-Factory, creators of the X-5 4WD Team Losi conversion, released

1113-634: The Davis-Douglas Company. An early claim to fame was the first circumnavigation of the world by air in Douglas airplanes in 1924. In 1923, the U.S. Army Air Service was interested in carrying out a mission to circumnavigate the Earth for the first time by aircraft , a program called "World Flight". Donald Douglas proposed a modified Douglas DT to meet the Army's needs. The two-place, open cockpit DT biplane torpedo bomber had previously been produced for

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1166-464: The Douglas' former logo is preserved on the facility though no longer used by Boeing. Irwindale Speedway The Irwindale Speedway & Event Center (a.k.a. Irwindale Speedway , Irwindale Dragstrip , or "The House of Drift") is a motorsports facility located in Irwindale, California , United States . It opened on March 27, 1999, under the official name Irwindale Speedway. Toyota purchased

1219-709: The Husting-designed Associated RC100, a 1:8-scale nitro vehicle. In 1977, the first IFMAR race at Pomona's Thorp Raceway (later to become the Ranch Pit Stop, temporary home of Team Losi ) saw the first five places swept by the RC100 . RC100 was the second remote control vehicle released by Associated Electrics. It rose to quick dominance in the industry, sweeping the first 5 places at the IFMAR World Championships in 1977.[1] The RC100 went on to win

1272-675: The NASCAR K&;N Pro Series and the top 40 drivers in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series come from their respective regional tours to compete in a "best-of-the-best" race. The races were televised live on the Speed Channel . It was also the home of the Turkey Night Grand Prix race, a Thanksgiving midget car racing tradition in southern California since 1934, when the race debuted at Gilmore Stadium . Among

1325-522: The ROAR Nationals in 1976 and the first IFMAR World Championships in 1977, driven by Associated drivers Butch Kroells 1st, Bill Jianis 2nd and Gene Husting took 3rd place.[2] Associated would double in size thanks to Roger's next design, the 1:12-scale RC12 electric onroad racer, debuted in 1978. Simpler and far less expensive than the gas powered RC100 , the RC12 is credited for much of the hobby's growth as

1378-535: The TC3 chassis, most notably the TC3 'o', the Durango range, and recently (and most successfully) JConcepts with their BJ4 and Worlds-winning BJ4 'Worlds'. All these cars are based around the TC3's drivetrain, which uses two bevel-geared differentials (or "diffs"), with a prop shaft connecting them. On the BJ4, JConcepts used AE diff cases and diffs, and modified the shaft to include a slipper unit. Since then, JConcepts has updated

1431-703: The X-6 conversion kit which converts the B4 Buggy into a mid-motor 4x2 cell configuration chassis. In the onroad scene, the Associated RC12 series of cars have long been a base for other manufacturers. The unique front suspension from the RC12L3 (and updated on the RC12L4) has become industry standard and is now featured on the majority of competitive 1:12-scale racing chassis. Douglas Aircraft Company The Douglas Aircraft Company

1484-480: The company was building about 100 aircraft annually. Among the early employees at Douglas were Ed Heinemann , "Dutch" Kindelberger , Carl Cover , and Jack Northrop , who later founded the Northrop Corporation . The company retained its military market and expanded into amphibian airplanes in the late 1920s, also moving its facilities to Clover Field at Santa Monica, California . The Santa Monica complex

1537-557: The company was struggling to expand production to meet demand for DC-8 and DC-9 airliners and the A-4 Skyhawk military attack aircraft. The company was also struggling with quality and cash flow problems and DC-10 development costs, as well as shortages due to the Vietnam War . Under the circumstances, Douglas was very receptive to an offer from McDonnell Aircraft Corporation . On April 28, 1967, after almost four years of merger talks,

1590-532: The decision to retire and sold his share to Roger Curtis. In 2005, Curtis took semi-retirement and sold Associated Electrics to Thunder Tiger , a Taiwanese RC model manufacturer. Thunder Tiger expressed hope that the buyout of Associated would make it the fourth largest RC model merchant in the world, following the three leaders at that time (in order) Tamiya , Kyosho , and Futaba / O.S. Engines . Team Associated cars have inspired various conversion from small companies. Several offroad buggies have been developed from

1643-491: The drag-strip track will be permanently close on December 21, 2024. The 1/8-mile drag racing strip opened on September 29, 2001. In 2003, in cooperation with local law enforcement, Irwindale Speedway opened its own dragstrip and hosts legal drag races for street-legal cars, trucks, and motorcycles. The dragstrip is proud to extinguish the "nowhere else to go" excuse used by illegal street racers, and local police often hand out flyers to offenders for free entry into drag races at

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1696-482: The dragstrip to promote safe racing and has re-opened. The drag strip is set to close on December 21, 2024. The venue is also known for drifting events; when it hosted D1 Grand Prix's first overseas event in 2003 , with a sell-out crowd attendance of 10,000, it had surpassed all other events Irwindale hosted in the past, the previous being 8,700. Since then, it has become the series regular opening round in February and

1749-518: The first IFMAR 1:10 Electric Off-Road World Championship . The RC10, possibly more than any R/C vehicle before or since, is credited with making the single biggest impact on radio control racing. The success of the RC10 forced Associated to move to a larger facility, which they found in Costa Mesa in 1987. That same year, former Yamaha technician and professional R/C racer Cliff Lett joined Associated to head

1802-466: The more "jet age" style F4D Skyray in 1951. Douglas also made commercial jets, producing the Douglas DC-8 in 1958 to compete with the new Boeing 707 . Douglas was a pioneer in related fields, such as ejection seats , air-to-air missiles , surface-to-air missiles , and air-to-surface missiles , launch rockets, bombs, and bomb racks. The company was ready to enter the new missile business during

1855-456: The most of any R/C motor manufacturer. Roger Curtis's 1984 design of a serious 1:10-scale electric offroad car not only led to explosive growth within the company, but within the world of R/C racing as well. This new vehicle was the now-famous Associated RC10 buggy. Built on a 6061 aircraft alloy chassis, the new car was, unlike its Japanese counterparts of the time, a serious offroad racing machine. Another 1-2-3 IFMAR sweep would follow in 1985 at

1908-607: The motto "First Around the World – First the World Around". Douglas initially used a logo that combined two letter Ds with two wings extended outwards, and two Ds placed back to back to form a heart as a reference to the Clan Douglas . After the success of the DWC, the company adopted a logo that showed three airplanes circling a globe. The logo eventually evolved into an aircraft, a missile, and

1961-495: The necessity of extending their building in Costa Mesa. Gene Husting helped develop cars for Associated until 2000, when he retired. He is responsible for the lineup up to the RC10B3, RC10T3, TC3 and GT RTRs. Five years after his retirement, the company introduced an entirely new line of offroad racers with the introduction the 1:18 scale electric RC18T and RC18MT miniature trucks. In 2006, with 27 IFMAR victories in all, Team Associated

2014-647: The research and development department. This department, consisting of Lett, Roger Curtis and Husting's son, Curtis, were responsible for the RC10 cars that won the IFMAR World Championships in 1989 in Australia, and in 1991 in Detroit. The success of the RC10 coupled with other cars of the time, namely the RC12LW, the RC10L, RC10LSS and the RC10T kept production going for five years and prompted

2067-594: The speedway to have it remain open. On October 29, 2024, it was announced that the speedway and the drag-strip will close by the end of December. Construction began in March 1998 on Irwindale's 6,500-seat grandstand and 1 ⁄ 2 - and 1 ⁄ 3 -mile ovals. Irwindale Speedway hoped to fill the void left in the Los Angeles Basin left by the closures of the famed Riverside International Raceway , Ontario Motor Speedway and Saugus Speedway . The $ 7-million project

2120-482: The track was closing down officially in January 2018. On December 29, 2017, it was announced that the track would not close in January 2018 as former Irwindale Late Model racer and track champion Tim Huddleston took over management of the speedway to have it remain open. In February 2020 Irwindale's famous All-Star Showdown returned to the track following a ten-year hiatus. The track remained open without spectators during

2173-403: The two companies merged as McDonnell Douglas Corporation . The two companies seemed to be a good match for each other. McDonnell was a major defense contractor, but had almost no civilian business. Douglas' commercial contracts would allow McDonnell to withstand any downturns in procurement. Conversely, McDonnell had enough revenue to help solve Douglas' financial problems; soon after the merger

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2226-538: The venue. In 2015, plans were made to demolish Irwindale Speedway and build an outlet mall on the site of the track. On August 9, 2017, it was officially announced that Jim Cohan, CEO of Team 211 Entertainment, who operated the track under the name of Irwindale Event Center, would cease operation. On December 29, 2017, it was announced that the track would not close in January 2018 as former Irwindale Late Model driver and track champion Tim Huddleston, along with K&N West team owner Bob Bruncatti, took over management of

2279-608: Was an American aerospace and defense company based in Southern California . Founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. , it merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas , where it operated as a division. McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing in 1997. The company was founded as the Douglas Company by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. on July 22, 1921, in Santa Monica, California , following dissolution of

2332-457: Was announced, McDonnell bought 1.5 million shares of Douglas stock to help Douglas meet "immediate financial requirements". The merged company was based at McDonnell's facility in St. Louis, Missouri . It adopted a modified version of Douglas' logo. Donald Wills Douglas Sr. became honorary chairman of the merged company, a post he would hold until his death in 1981. Douglas Aircraft Company continued as

2385-474: Was completed March 1999 and held its inaugural races on March 27, 1999. However, during the first practice session for a sprint car race , driver Casey Diemert died of head and neck injuries after hitting the wall and flipping his car from turn 3 to turn 4. From 2003 to 2010, the main 1 ⁄ 2 -mile oval hosted the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown . In this event, the top 30 drivers in

2438-479: Was dropping Toyota Speedway from its schedule. The company that managed the track, Irwindale Speedway LLC, filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy on February 13, 2012. In January 2013, it was announced that the track would be re-opening as the Irwindale Event Center, and would operate as a Whelen All-American Series venue for the 2013 season. For the past decade, the Formula D Championship Series had featured sold out events at

2491-640: Was forced down over the Atlantic and sank (the DWC prototype was then rechristened, and joined the other two in completing the North American leg of the flight). After the success of this flight, the Army Air Service ordered six similar aircraft as observation aircraft. The success of the DWC established the Douglas Aircraft Company among the major aircraft companies of the world and led it to adopt

2544-547: Was granted the contract to research on intercontinental warfare. Project RAND later become the RAND Corporation . Douglas continued to develop new aircraft, including the successful four-engined Douglas DC-6 (1946) and its last propeller-driven commercial aircraft, the Douglas DC-7 (1953). The company had moved into jet propulsion, producing its first for the U.S. Navy — the straight-winged F3D Skyknight in 1948 and then

2597-579: Was on the wane, but Husting was certain that radio control would flourish as the technology grew. Almost as if in anticipation of the fact, Associated had just introduced a 1:8-scale gas-powered racer, the RC1. Designed by Mike Morrisey, it soon became the most successful car on the circuit. Husting agreed to the buyout in 1970. Still a small business, Associated had only six employees: Husting, Curtis, Husting's wife Midge, and three others. In 1971, Associated moved to Santa Ana, California where they began production of

2650-431: Was purchased by Irwindale Outlet Partners, LLC for $ 22 million. The lease for the Irwindale Event Center continued on a year-by-year basis. In March 2015, plans were made to demolish Irwindale Speedway and replace it with Irwindale Outlet Center, an outlet mall , but the closure has been delayed. The track is currently running the 2017 season. On August 9, 2017, Cohan made an announcement in an e-mailed statement saying that

2703-430: Was so large, the mail girls used roller skates to deliver the intracompany mail. By the end of World War II, Douglas had facilities at Santa Monica, El Segundo , Long Beach , and Torrance, California , Tulsa and Midwest City , Oklahoma, and Chicago, Illinois . On November 30, 1928, the company was reorganized as the Douglas Aircraft Company. In 1934, Douglas produced a commercial twin-engined transport plane ,

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2756-482: Was the venture that it turned into a full-time business which they named Associated Electrics. The new company specialized in the manufacturing of a full line of slot car parts, chassis and accessories. The business had grown by 1969 and was located in a small building in Paramount . Personal issues arose between Curtis and Yurada, leading Curtis to approach early RC racer Gene Husting in hopes that Husting would buy Yurada's share of Associated. The popularity of slot cars

2809-444: Was used in the famous chase scene in the 1988 motion picture, The Dead Pool . In it, Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry is being pursued through the streets of San Francisco, California by a highly explosive bomb disguised as an RC car. The "bomb" was actually driven by IFMAR world-champion race driver Jay Halsey. The car was in fact an electric; the sounds of a nitro-powered engine were added in post-production. In 2000, Gene Husting took

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