FLAT FANS AND OTHER MOVIE MAGIC AT IS

Irwindale, Calif. - - Hey!  just who are all those dummies anyway?  Why the heck are all those fans sitting all scrunched together in one section of the Irwindale Speedway stands when it looks like there's plenty of room up there … And, why do they all look so “wooden” … Almost unreal. 

Ok, you sharp-eye readers have already guessed it. Those “fans” are fake.  Yup, flat MDF cutouts of photos of real fans carefully posed and positioned in the Irwindale grandstands to be the background for an upcoming Allstate Insurance TV commercial shot a few weeks back at the Speedway.

Of course, when you see this one on TV you'll only see the part of the stands that's “populated” and you'll swear on your season ticket that those fans are real, cheering, yelling, foot-stomping, avid race-watchers … Computer animation?  Camera tricks?  

Nope.  A close look at the scene reveals that there are quite a few empty seats in this crowd shot.  Again, you're ahead of the story … Yup, those are the seats for the real live extras who move, cheer, wave flags, jump up and down, and generally do all of the above to give life to the shot.  Movie magic … And a regular part of Irwindale Speedway's non-racing days.

As fake as all those fans were, the “snow” in the Havoline “Winter Olympics Pit Stop” spot was real, cold, white, fluffy snow … 40 tons of it  … And on a day in late February when the noon temperature was a nice round 80 degrees!  The #28 car never looked better (even though that wasn't really Ricky Rudd at the wheel), and that advert played every day at least twice during the whole 20-day run of the heavily-watched 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics.

Then again, Terry Labonte really was here at Irwindale to shoot the famous,  “BLUE … It needs to be more Blue.” and “Hey … This Monte Carlo has a cupholder.” Kellogg's commercials.  The two-time Winston Cup Champion took a couple of leisurely laps around the track in a street sedan and told us that he was quite impressed with the facility in general.  

Explaining the reason for so much TV and motion picture activity at Irwindale Speedway is easy.  This half-mile track can be shot like a “Super Speedway” with the right selection of lenses and camera angle and track personnel work closely (read: bend over backwards) with the show producers' to see that everything that they need is readily available.  

And the staff is (very) flexible.  "Shoot out a window in one of the Suites for a new show called “FastLane” about a guy who drives a Ford GT40 as his personal car … NO PROBLEM.”  “Roll a car for an Orlando-7Up spot … WHY NOT.”  “Put up a new billboard on the fence outside of turn one and then 'burn' it off for a NASCAR race coverage opening shot … OK.”  “Build a CART pitlane down the middle of the infield for Michael Andretti and Christian Fittipaldi to do pit stops on for the Disney Channel's 'The Jersey' … WHERE DO YOU WANT IT?”  “Tools, tires, cars, motorhomes, flags, signs, trailers, EzUps, and all sorts of other racetrack props? … RIGHT OVER HERE!”  

Flexible, accommodating, friendly, helpful, accessible and more, this Speedway facility already has a sterling “rep” in the industry for treating movie, still shoot, and TV crews (very) well.  

Since its opening in 1999, Irwindale Speedway has become THE place to shoot your race-based commercial in the LA area.  One more (insider) reason that they like us, they really like us, is that the Speedway is located inside “the zone”.  

No, not the twilight zone, but an imaginary circle that radiates 30 miles out  from the corner of Beverly and La Cienega, and determines whether a shoot needs to pay a ton of extra expenses or not, based simply on the location's distance from those magic cross-streets.  The words, “By the way, we're located within the ZONE.” are usually the next sentence out of any IS staffer's mouth after, “Hello, nice hearing from you.” when talking to producers and location managers.

You have to look real fast, but you might even see some of your favorite Irwindale drivers playing parts in some of these adverts.  For example Super Late Model shoe Brandon Loverock and Late Model master Todd Burns played over-the-wall crew member in the Texaco ad.  Recognizing the drivers is difficult, but look for flashes of regulars behind the wheel in these 30-second feature films.  Many local cars, transporters, and team members are recruited for shoots at Irwindale.  You'll have to look close (some hard core fans have gone so far as taping the spots to watch them in super-slow motion to pick out familiar faces and machines) because oftimes the actual racing sponsor name and logos are obscured or changed to fit the production.

Among the many other companies and products that have used Irwindale Speedway as an integral part of their print and TV commercial productions are:  AAMCO Transmissions, Mercury Marauder, GM Goodwrench, Toyota (featuring Mario Andretti), Fox Sports/NASCAR, Amgen, BFGoodrich Tires, Food 4 Less, Roush Racing, 7Up, Associated Electronics, Charles David Shoes, Toyota Motor Corporation (“starring” Mario Andretti), and Advantage Ford Lincoln-Mercury.

Producers and directors of shows like “Malcolm in the Middle”, Disney Channel's “The Jersey”, “Motor Trend TV”, “Guinness World Records”, Fox Network's “The X-Show”, “Ripley's Believe It Or Not”, a number of music videos (including Mark Anthony and hot pop group “98 Degrees”), “Steel Dreams”, “Rock and Roll Road Rally”, have all found Irwindale Speedway a great place to get good footage.


ESPN, SpeedVision, KABC7, KCAL9, KCOP13, KCBS2, MTV, FOX and others have shot (and continue to shoot) numerous video news productions at Irwindale.

The trick is to watch for the something that seems somehow familiar and then look VERY closely.  Even in “Road Test 3”, a computer-animated game cartridge, the sweep of the IS turns is unmistakably Irwindale (of course those signature palm trees in the background help too).  Hey … Keep Watching!


THANKS!