The Budweiser 500K was an automobile race sanctioned by

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

, it was held at

Riverside International Raceway Riverside International Raceway (sometimes known as Riverside, RIR, or Riverside Raceway) was a motorsports race track and road course established in the Edgemont area of Riverside County, California, just east of the city limits of Riversid ...

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

. The event was held from 1967 to 1969 and again from 1981 to 1983.

Racing History

1967–1969

From 1967 to 1969 Riverside served as the season-ending USAC championship race, the 1967 race was the last for

Jim Clark James Clark (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British racing driver from Scotland, who competed in Formula One from to . Clark won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles with Lotus, and—at the time of his death—held the ...

in USAC before his death in April 1968. The race was replaced by the California 500 at

Ontario Motor Speedway Ontario Motor Speedway was a motorsport venue located in Ontario, California. It was the first and only automobile racing facility built to accommodate major races sanctioned by all of the four dominant racing sanctioning bodies: United States Au ...

for 1970.

1981–1983

After

closed in 1980, Riverside returned in 1981 as a CART event. The series dropped Riverside in 1984. Riverside County would not host another major race for Indy cars until 2024, when The Thermal Club in

Thermal, California Thermal is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community within the Coachella Valley in Riverside County, California, United States, located approximately southeast of Palm Springs, California, Palm Springs and about north of ...

, in

Riverside County, California Riverside County is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most ...

, was announced as the host of the INDYCAR Thermal $1,000,000 Challenge.

Past winners

*1983: Race postponed from Sunday to Monday due to rain.

References

{{Champ Car Races Champ Car races Recurring sporting events established in 1967 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1969 Recurring sporting events established in 1981 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1983