[4] After the construction of a 5⁄8-mile dirt oval near Lincoln Park had been announced in early December 1923,[5] the new Ascot speedway, which was built by promoter George R. Bentel and his publicist Bill Pickens,[3] opened on January 20, 1924, when 35,000 spectators attended the inaugural event, which featured both auto and motorcycle racing.
[9][12] In the meantime, Ascot had been taken over by the creditors' committee of the association, the new management being headed by its trustee John S. White, who scheduled the next racing event for late January 1925.
[3] Major drivers raced at the track such as Bill Cummings, Al Gordon, Ernie Triplett, Kelly Petillo, Wilbur Shaw and Rex Mays.
[18] It also attracted celebrity spectators such as Bing Crosby, Andy Devine, Loretta Young, Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Clara Bow and Carole Lombard.
[20] It was built inside the old track,[21] the banked five-eighths-mile oval, which at some point had been paved with asphalt[20][22] and was reopened in November of the same year after its south curve had been refurbished for safety purposes.
[22] With the bulk of its tenure a profitable effort, the Glendale American Legion post had been facing a host of problems since 1934: anti-racing sentiment in the public, upcoming competition from midget car racing luring away popular drivers and waning interest among the fans as a consequence, as well as disagreements with the lessors on rent and other issues.
[25] The last race was to be held on January 26, 1936, when both Al Gordon and his riding mechanic, Spider Matlock, suffered fatal injuries as a result of a crash.