Riverside International Raceway was a race track or road course in Riverside, California. The track was in operation from September 22, 1957, to July 2, 1989. The original course design proved to be dangerous, and it was partially reconfigured in 1969.The track was built to accommodate several different configurations, depending on the type of car and race length. The three options on Riverside Raceway were the long course, the short course, and the NASCAR course. The original racetrack had a 1.1mi backstretch from 1957 to 1968. When the track was redesigned in 1969, Turn 9 was reconfigured with a wider radius and a dogleg approach added to reduce strain on the cars' brakes.The seven courses of RiversideBefore a racing event at RIR, track crews added traffic pylons to close off sections of the track. Track courses are shown in the illustrations below (the 1957 course is in black, while the 1969 course above is in blue).Diagram notes: The long course (shown below before the 1969 version) had the 1.1mi backstretch. This version was used primarily for the track's signature fall sports car event, the Los Angeles Times Grand Prix, although the long course was also used for IndyCar racing in the mid-1980s. When the 1969 version was built, the dogleg was added so as to ease the transition into Turn 9 (the track had seen numerous brake failure-induced accidents approaching Turn 9, and this change was made as a safety measure). The NASCAR course, 1st design on the right (light blue illustration), would not use turn 7. In the short course, the track would use turn 7A rather than 8. The "Turn 7-7A" configuration effectively shortened the back straight to just over one-half mile in length. The NHRA drag strip only used the backstretch from the runoff to the Bosch Bridge. The Oval marked in gold (early '60s) used Turn 9, ran counterclockwise, uphill for Turn 1 & 2 and then there was a downhill turn for Turn 3 & 4 (Between the backstretch and Turn 1 of the road course).
