National Orange Show Speedway Kickoff Revives One of SoCal’s Last Short-Track Thrills, Documentary Premieres April 1

The National Orange Show Speedway opened its 79th season March 14 with the roar of engines, a refreshed facility and a renewed reminder that one of the Inland Empire’s most historic racing venues is still alive.

For promoter Robert Snyder, opening night was not simply the first race of the year. It was a declaration that the San Bernardino track, which dates back to 1947, remains a rare surviving piece of Southern California motorsports history at a time when local short-track racing continues to shrink.

“We have circle track racing on Saturday nights once a month here,” Snyder said. “This is the start of our 79th season, and we have the longest-running short track in the nation and the only asphalt short track left in Southern California.”

That distinction gives Orange Show Speedway an importance that stretches beyond its schedule. As regional tracks have disappeared, the venue has become one of the last places in Southern California still carrying the tradition of grassroots asphalt racing — the kind of racing that has long depended on local families, working-class crews and generations of fans.

“So keeping a track open is very special to a lot of people,” Snyder said. “There’s a lot of history here that started back in 1947 and continues to now, and we’re trying to keep it growing.”

The speedway’s next major moment will come April 18, when racing returns during the five-day National Orange Show Fair. That Saturday card will feature late model, street stock, pony stock, Crown Vic’s and more, giving fairgoers a chance to experience the track as part of one of San Bernardino’s signature annual events.

“People who’ve never been should come out to the fair,” Snyder said. “Enjoy the fair, pay to get in, and you’re going to have one hell of a show to watch.”

Snyder said the speedway has also undergone recent visible improvements, including repaving on the north and south sides of the track and new walls that help modernize the venue’s appearance.

“They repaved a lot of the outside of the track on the north and south side,” Snyder said. “So the dirt’s gone from years ago, and now it’s nice and beautiful. There are new walls, and it looks more modern. It’s a very beautiful job. I love it. It’s only going to get better as we go.”

That reopening momentum now leads directly into another effort to reintroduce the speedway to the Inland Empire — this time on a movie screen.

Short Track: The Battle for Grassroots will premiere in a one-night-only screening April 1 at Regal Edwards Ontario Palace. The documentary, made by Inland Empire filmmakers Nicholas Van Luven and Danny Rich, follows National Orange Show Speedway and the broader struggle to preserve grassroots racing culture in a changing Southern California.

Van Luven said the project began in April 2023 as a smaller production before the filmmakers realized the story extended far beyond one venue.

“We thought we were going to make a mini documentary,” Van Luven said. “Then, after a couple race sessions out there, we realized there was a bigger story. So we decided to cover the entirety of the 2024 season.”

The work stretched over more than a year and a half, with Van Luven estimating roughly 300 total hours between filming and editing. The final documentary runs about 1 hour and 14 minutes after credits.

“In that meantime, all these tracks were closing down or had already closed down,” Van Luven said. “That’s really where that story came from. We were able to make the documentary into more than just racing.” Most recently, Irwindale speedway closed in December 2024 and Fontana’s Auto Club Speedway stopped operating in February 2023. 

Rich said one of the most revealing parts of the production was seeing what racers sacrifice just to compete.

“It’s not really a money-generating sport,” Rich said. “It’s more of an expensive hobby.”

“The sacrifices they make personally just to get on the track every month were very eye-opening to me,” he added.

Van Luven said one of the documentary’s central themes is what communities lose when short tracks disappear.

“One major focus of the documentary is that if we don’t have tracks like the one at the National Orange Show, kids today won’t have an opportunity to get to NASCAR,” he said.

The filmmakers also said the project is meant to challenge a misconception that the speedway is gone or no longer active — something they believe many Inland Empire residents still assume.

“This is a movie that takes place in the Inland Empire, made by filmmakers from the Inland Empire,” Van Luven said. “So it’s not an outsider’s project.”

He said places like the Speedway matter because they expand what people can experience locally.

“I think the Orange Show Speedway fits right alongside that by giving us more entertainment options right here in the Inland Empire,” Van Luven said.

For Snyder, the film and the next race night both serve the same purpose: keeping a historic Inland Empire amenity visible, relevant and moving forward.

“It’s a passion that I have,” Snyder said. “We still love it. That’s why we’re doing it.”

Short Track: The Battle for Grassroots credits: 

Director: Nicholas Van Luven

Produced by: Marlene Clara, Nicholas Van Luven, Danny Rich

Executive Producer: Lucas Cuny

Director of Photography: Danny Rich

Edited by: Ian Champana, Darius Saberzadeh

Associate Producer: Juan Ortiz

Post-Production Supervisor: Danny Rich

Colorist: Danny Rich

Sound by: Juan Brambila

Additional Sound Mixers: Noah Hollander, Eduardo Sanchez, Carlos Valencia, Darius Saberzadeh

A Camera Operator: Danny Rich

B Camera Operator: Juan Brambila

Camera Operators: Ian Champana, Nabor Cabanillas, Briana Navarro

Additional Camera Operators: Paul Black, Marlene Clara, Aidan Kostich, Mariana Lapizco, Eduardo Lopez, Carson Bain, Stephen Prater, Darius Saberzadeh, Monet Sprague, Mandie Zamora

Drone Operator: Ian Champana

Gaffer: Anuar Flores

Film Loader: Monet Sprague

Film Scanning: Kevin Lyons