Riverside International Raceway

Following a failed proposal to build a complex in San Bernardino County the year prior, the West Coast Automotive Testing Corporation, led by Rudy Cleye and John Campbell Edgar, built and completed Riverside International Raceway in 1957. Cleye wanted to have “no elaborate press conferences, no expensive public relations treatments, no fancy words, or exaggerated promises.” The project was projected to cost approximately between $750,000 to $1,000,000. Work began in December 1956, with grading completed by the end of January 1957 and paving starting three months later. By June, master plans included a capacity of 200,000, five road course layouts, three oval layouts, a restaurant, and a hotel at an expected cost of $3,500,000. The construction cost is listed as $800,000 by sources at the time, though MotoRacing's Gus Vignolle estimated $625,000. The five-mile circuit was never constructed due to financial issues.

Riverside International Motor Raceway opened on September 21, 1957. The sixth turn was redesigned in November after a fatal accident on September 22nd. The first drag racing event was held on October 5–6, and the first stock car racing event on December 1. In 1958, the first NASCAR-sanctioned race was held, and the first Riverside-hosted event billed as the United States Grand Prix took place four months later. In 1959, approximately $30,000 worth of renovations were made to the facility. A year later, the first and only Formula One race hosted at Riverside was held on November 20, with Stirling Moss winning the event.

The facility quickly experienced financial issues. An advertised event consisting of three 500-mile races over three days on Memorial Day weekend in 1958 lost promoters $50,000 and had a reported combined three-day attendance of 12,000. Although the Los Angeles Times Grand Prix, first run in 1958, was considered a major success, most of RIR's races were unprofitable. Despite Edgar's funding of "between $200,000 and $250,000" by 1960, the track remained in financial trouble.

In January 1960, the facility was sold to Dean Mears. By June 10, Roy G. Lewis was listed as the new owner. On June 25, the first oval race was held on a 0.5 mi (0.80 km) layout. In September 1960, Fred Levy and Edwin Pauley bought considerable amounts of stock, investing "about $1 million." Despite this investment, the facility was reported to still be in financial trouble. The Formula One race was considered a financial failure and was moved after one iteration to Watkins Glen International for 1961. In February 1961, Les Richter was appointed as the assistant general manager of the track, hired to address the track’s continued financial troubles.

In 1962, Lewis transferred ownership to stockholders Edwin Pauley and Fred Levy, who brought entertainer Bob Hope into the ownership group. Richter was promoted to executive director. In June of that year, a second, shorter layout was created. Four months later, a $25,000 pedestrian bridge was constructed, and grandstand capacity was increased to 16,000. In January 1963, the track’s pit areas were relocated to the infield, with grandstands built in the old pit area. In May, a $24,000 retaining steel wall was installed at the ninth turn.

In August 1963, Richter retained his position as executive director and general manager. In January 1964, a $9 million master plan for RIR was revealed, including plans for a capacity of up to 150,000, an automotive museum, a hotel, a golf course, and a gun club. Within the year, the track's dragstrip was revamped. In 1966, a $200,000 renovation project was completed, including the construction of two permanent garage buildings. Several additions were made in 1967, including widening the first turn and installing a concrete wall. In 1968, Richter announced plans to construct a 1.5 mi (2.4 km) tri-oval with a budget of $3,600,000, but the plans were suspended by May 1969.

RIR experienced numerous fatalities in its early years. The track's first fatality occurred on September 22, 1957. On April 3, 1960, racer Pedro Von Dory died. Three months later, Leslie Howard Brokin died. On August 27, 1961, drag racer Bruce Johnson died. Two deaths occurred in 1962, and three deaths occurred in 1964. On January 19, 1964, stock car racing driver Joe Weatherly died after crashing at the track's sixth turn during the 1964 Motor Trend 500; Weatherly was not wearing a harness belt nor did his car have a window net when the accident occurred. Ten months later, George Koehne Jr. crashed in a fiery accident and died from his burn injuries. A month after Koehne's crash, Jim Ladd Jr. died.

On January 17, 1965, spectator Ronald Pickle was killed in an accident. On August 17, 1966, sports car driver Ken Miles died in a crash at the track's ninth turn. Four months after Miles' death, motorcycle racer Viktor Scheiermann died. On January 20, 1967, Billy Foster died in a crash at the track's ninth turn. On April 27, 1968, amateur racing driver Vic Tandy died.

In February 1969, Lawrence LoPatin bought a 47% interest in RIR. With LoPatin's investment, track officials announced plans for numerous renovations. LoPatin's reign was brief due to financial and organizational troubles with his company American Raceways, Inc., leading to the track's purchase by the Fritz Duda-led Sunnymead Land Investors in 1971. In April, plans were announced to reconfigure RIR's ninth turn. Several facility improvements were announced soon after, including the construction of permanent grandstands and the moving of the track's control tower. The renovation project was done by September, changing the length of the Grand Prix layout of the track from 3.275 mi (5.271 km) to 3.300 mi (5.311 km).

In January 1971, a group of investors known as Sunnymead Land Investors, headed by Fritz Duda, purchased 80% controlling interest of RIR for approximately $400,000, with Richter retaining his role as president. In 1977, new concrete washboard curbs were installed in seven of the track's turns, and approximately 300 ft (91 m) of concrete barrier was added at the exit of the ninth turn.

Rumors of Richter's potential departure as president of RIR were confirmed on June 15, 1983, due to "philosophical differences" with the handling of the track. At around this time, rumors of the track's potential closure were published. In February 1984, plans were announced to build a new track within three years to replace RIR. By July 1985, it was suggested that the Riverside people did not intend to build a race track anywhere. In August 1986, Duda stated that he had "no prospects" of building a replacement track "in the near future."

By January 1988, signs pointed to the track's impending shutdown in 1988 due to its traditional NASCAR Cup Series race in November being moved to Phoenix Raceway. For its final season, the track scheduled three major events. The IROC and NASCAR races were won by Scott Pruett and Rusty Wallace on June 11 and 12, respectively. The final SCORE International event was ran on August 14, with Robby Gordon winning. By the time of the event weekend, demolition of the track started.

Construction of the mall was delayed due to a financial recession and a subsequent lack of tenants. As a result, both the Skip Barber Racing School and the California Sports Car Club became tenants of RIR. The California Sports Car Club ran several events at the track, leading to their final event on the weekend of July 1–2, which was the last event ran at RIR.

Initial grading on the mall started in September 1989. Two months later, a housing development built on the track's backstretch opened. In August 1990, the Goodyear Tower, RIR's observation tower, was toppled. By March 1992, the project expanded to include housing developments, parks, schools, and offices. The Moreno Valley Mall formally opened on October 14, 1992. As of 2020, the former RIR complex consists of the Moreno Valley Mall, a Lowe's store, a Costco store, hotels, restaurants, and housing developments.

NASCAR From 1963 until 1988, RIR held at least one annual NASCAR race. From 1963 until 1969, RIR ran one annual NASCAR race in January. In 1970, a second annual NASCAR Cup Series race was added to RIR's schedule, taking place in June. In 1981, RIR held a one-off Cup Series race in November, running three Cup Series races in one year. After 1981, RIR's January race was moved to November, remaining on the schedule until 1987 when the race was moved to Phoenix Raceway. RIR also held one-off NASCAR Cup Series races in 1958 and 1961.

Open-wheel racing In 1960, RIR hosted the United States Grand Prix, which was part of that year's Formula One World Championship. An annual open-wheel race was ran under the sanction of USAC from 1967 until 1969. In 1981, Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) moved their annual race in Ontario to RIR. CART ran annual races at the track until 1983.

Sports car racing Throughout most of the track's history, RIR hosted the Los Angeles Times Grand Prix, a professional sports car event. The race ran its first iteration in 1958, and ran annually until 1973. From 1966 until 1973, the race ran under the sanction of Can–Am. The event came back in 1979 under the sanction of IMSA GT Championship, running until 1987.

Off-road racing SCORE International held its first event at RIR in 1973, racing on an off-road circuit of the track. The sanctioning body continued hosting at the facility annually until the track's closure in 1988.

Other racing events RIR hosted numerous racing series throughout its existence, including the American Motorcyclist Association, Formula Atlantic, the International Race of Champions (IROC), the Trans-Am Series, and the World Sportscar Championship.

Riverside International Raceway was used as a location for numerous films and television series. Films include On the Beach (1959), Viva Las Vegas (1964), The Killers (1964), Red Line 7000 (1965), Fireball 500 (1966), Grand Prix (1966), The Love Bug (1968), Winning (1969), Stacey (1973), and The Betsy (1978). Television series include Route 66, Where the Action Is, The F.B.I., CHiPs, The Rockford Files, Knight Rider, and Simon & Simon.

On April 22, 1978, RIR held the Giant Country Spring Festival, a one-day country music festival that had an estimated crowd of 5,000.