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  *Comments on Auto Club Speedway:*
  View the most recent comment <#124> | Post a comment <#post>


  1.   Eric posted:
  02.20.2010 - 2:30 pm
   Rate this comment:      (1)      (0)

Roger Penske built this track and the design of the track was based off
Michigan International speedway. Auto Club Speedway was built as a track
that couple hand open wheel and stock car races. It is now only used for
Nascar races. The track is currently owned by the ISC.

Track hasn't sold out a cup race since Nascar gave the track 2 race
dates in a season. It is one of the tracks considered for taking a race
date a way from.

Auto Club Speedway took Darlington's Labor Day weekend Date in 2004
before Atlanta took over that date in 2009. Many Nascar fans hated
Darlington getting its Southern 500 date to California. It is possible
that it is one of the reasons why the track has a difficult to sell out
their cup races.

The race track is better open wheel track for racing than for stock car
racing.


  2.   RaceFanX posted:
  02.21.2010 - 4:24 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

The track was built on the site of the former Kaiser Steel Mill. After
it had closed that mill was used for filming of the climax of the movie
Terminator 2: Judgement Day. When the mill was demolished to built the
track it's water tower was kept as one of the speedway's landmarks.


  3.   TeamPlayersBlue posted:
  02.27.2010 - 10:12 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

What happens when you put stock cars on a track that was designed for
240mph CART Turbocharged open wheel cars? Nothing, thats the problem
with this track


  4.   Eric posted:
  03.01.2010 - 10:50 pm
   Rate this comment:      (1)      (0)

Racing Deaths at this tracks: Greg Moore -Cart


  5.   DieselDan posted:
  03.12.2010 - 4:33 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

While it looks like a copy of Michigan Speedway, the banking isn't as
steep here and the back straight is elevated over the front straight.


  6.   Cooper posted:
  03.14.2010 - 3:26 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

The Auto Club Speedway of Southern California (formerly California
Speedway)is a two-mile (3 km), low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway
in Fontana, California, similar to its "sister track" Michigan
International Speedway. The Auto Club Speedway is the only track owned
by International Speedway Corporation to have naming rights sold.


  7.   RACER101 posted:
  04.24.2010 - 3:18 pm
   Rate this comment:      (1)      (0)

I hope this track loses a date to Kansas


  8.   AutoRockinRacing94 posted:
  06.28.2010 - 10:21 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

Sorry, but Loudon is the target of losing one and Kentucky may take over


  9.   Anonymous posted:
  07.25.2010 - 7:34 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

Auto Club Speedway is the site of the fastest auto race in history. The
2003 IRL race was run with an average speed of over 207 mph.


  10.   Benny posted:
  08.06.2010 - 10:48 pm
   Rate this comment:      (2)      (2)

It looks like this track will lose 1 race next year. I'd like to see
this track demolished and have a shopping mall built over it.


  11.   Neal posted:
  09.01.2010 - 2:16 am
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

Decent open-wheel venue, terrible stock car venue. 20 million people
within 3 hours of the track and they can't even get 100,000 of them to
attend a race here.


  12.   ii posted:
  10.08.2010 - 6:45 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

Burton has major consistency, completing all but 25 laps, all without a
win. :(
''
-- 


  13.   Eric posted:
  10.10.2010 - 8:08 pm
   Rate this comment:      (3)      (0)

Today is hopefully the last time in a long time that this track 2 race
dates.


  14.   iceman39261 posted:
  03.22.2011 - 4:55 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

I live about 4 hrs from the track and never been,but will fly to Daytona
to watch a race. I wish the track would close all together. I don't
think the racing is that good at the track. Have they ever sold out a
race their?


  15.   Anonymous posted:
  03.25.2011 - 7:23 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

iceman39261,

They actually sold out races at Auto Club Speedway before Nascar gave
the track 2 race dates.


  16.   zuel660 posted:
  03.08.2013 - 3:14 pm
   Rate this comment:      (3)      (0)

I really wish that Nascar would ditch this boring track, and return a
race to Rockingham, as well as putting the Darlington Southern 500 back
on Labor Day weekend!!


  17.   Anonymous posted:
  04.04.2014 - 8:41 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

This track needs to be repaved


  18.   Austin24fan posted:
  06.28.2014 - 6:22 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

It will suck when it gets repaved.


  19.   Anonymous posted:
  09.27.2014 - 11:55 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

Why did they run west series here?


  20.   Cornys posted:
  08.14.2015 - 2:10 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (1)

IndyCar will not visit Auto Club Speedway in 2016.

This after 5,000 people watched the most exciting auto race ever when
the series came to town this year (IMO). In the brutal heat, on a
Saturday, in the summer time at IndyCar's urging. (great scheduling)

The track president was quoted as saying that they'd have a race there
if they could have their old date and time in September back, but
apparently IndyCar said no.

Inept management at IndyCar.

Phoenix will likely replace it, but that deal has not been closed yet.


  21.   Cornys posted:
  08.14.2015 - 2:24 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

Here is the announcement.

http://www.indycar.com/News/2015/08/8-14-Auto-Club-Speedway-not-on-2016-schedule


  22.   02Justin10 posted:
  08.14.2015 - 3:51 pm
   Rate this comment:      (2)      (0)

I just saw this news Cornys and I'm gutted. They had a thrilling race on
a date/time that was not conducive to gain a lot of fans. Plus, NASCAR
was just 2-3 hours away in Sonoma the same weekend so that did not help
either. I thought the track requesting a night race in September to be
the season finale was a decent proposal. You know...just try it once
after this year's remarkable race and see what happens.

But I guess its over. *sigh.*


  23.   joey2448 posted:
  08.14.2015 - 3:52 pm
   Rate this comment:      (3)      (0)

Completely bogus by IndyCar not to accept the track's request and return
to Fontana in 2016. This year's event was one of the best races I've
ever seen, and there will unfortunately be no return date....


  24.   Cornys posted:
  08.14.2015 - 4:11 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

Sadly, I think it may have been a good decision for the track, and IndyCar.

IndyCar already has three other events in California alone. On top of
this, Fontana drew poorly even on the old date and time.

Obviously the previous race would have spiked ticket sales, but I doubt
IndyCar would allow a repeat of that style of racing. Then there might
be some disappointed race fans.

Hopefully IndyCar returns in 2017.

I'm still crossing my fingers that 2016 happens for Pocono. We have a
vacation planned around that race next year. Nothing booked yet, but we
will as soon as that event is announced. (if it is)


  25.   02Justin10 posted:
  08.14.2015 - 4:47 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

I think Pocono's place in the calendar is going to be highly dependent
on what this year's race draws. Its just sad when good venues like Auto
Club, Pocono and Milwaukee can't hold races (or is really just hanging
onto them.)

So...with Auto Club not happening, I'm guessing Sonoma will be IndyCar's
thrilling finale again next year...just...yay.


  26.   Alex posted:
  08.14.2015 - 4:48 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

But Boston is happening after Sonoma, so..


  27.   BMan0213 posted:
  08.14.2015 - 5:36 pm
   Rate this comment:      (1)      (0)

I'm surprised Indy Car still has feet to shoot itself in SMH.... They
really do have everything in place to make a run back to prominence but
they just can't seem to get out their own way. Hopefully they can close
the deal for Phoenix and keep Pocono on the schedule. At this point Indy
Car really needs those two dates in the worst of ways.


  28.   Anonymous posted:
  08.14.2015 - 5:51 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

Sponsors weren't going to like the huge drop in TV rating that would
result from switching back to a night race. Besides, I never thought the
racing at Fontana was that interesting... I'd rather see Phoenix.


  29.   joey2448 posted:
  08.15.2015 - 1:58 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

"Besides, I never thought the racing at Fontana was that interesting"

Surely you are referring to other races than the one IndyCar put on this
year?


  30.   We need more Onion posted:
  08.15.2015 - 2:01 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

""Besides, I never thought the racing at Fontana was that interesting""

"Surely you are referring to other races than the one IndyCar put on
this year? "

Or like... Ever? The 2002 race? The 2000 and 2001 CART races? One of the
best IndyCar tracks, while Phoenix is not exactly exciting.


  31.   Ernest T. posted:
  08.15.2015 - 2:03 pm
   Rate this comment:      (1)      (0)

The Indy race here in 2015 was spectacular. I understand that that fact
was quite a surprise and the crowd could practically be counted on one
hand, but I also wonder if all the crybaby-ing after the race was also
taken into account when the decision to abandon this track in the future
was concerned.

The "big boys" i.e. the Penske-Ganassi crowd didn't like the outcome --
GOOD! -- and I recall Will Power and Tony Kanaan (who I used to respect)
crying like little girls about the so-called hard racing which occurred
because there was actual pack racing and not just a boring parade of
cars in single file.


  32.   02Justin10 posted:
  08.15.2015 - 9:47 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

#26/Alex

Actually we don't know for sure yet. We know Boston's date, but we don't
know Sonoma's. Recently, word was that Miles would expand the schedule
at least to September for a possible Sonoma and Fontana swing with
Fontana getting the finale. And even though Fontana may not be happening
now, its believed that the schedule would still run later with Sonoma
ending in September. (IndyCar likes the idea of having their
banquet/awards in San Francisco which is why I'm thinking they'll just
slide that back.

But actually I would definitely prefer seeing the season end on the
streets of Boston instead of that hilly, dirty single lane parade course
in wine valley.


  33.   Where are the Qualifying stats for 2017 posted:
  03.26.2017 - 7:42 am
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (1)

I cannot find the Qualifying Stats for the Monster Cup Fontana Race?

Thanks

Gramps


  34.   Gabriel posted:
  04.30.2018 - 6:54 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

The track's old worn out pavement since 2011 has produced fantastic
racing. And now a decade after fans outside the west coast HATED this
track for getting two race dates and replacing Darlington, many fans
call it one of the best of the season.

But seriously, why does my home track get one race per year, while Las
Vegas gets two now? There is no way Las Vegas has a bigger crowd than
Auto Club Speedway.


  35.   oldschoolracing519 posted:
  04.30.2018 - 10:28 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@34 its simple $$$ speaks, California has trouble selling tickets to the
race


  36.   JSPorts posted:
  04.30.2018 - 11:37 pm
   Rate this comment:      (2)      (1)

I'd rather see Auto Club with 2 dates than Las Vegas, though I don't
think any track should have 2 dates. Instead, spread the rest of the
races around the country to diverse, unique tracks.


  37.   Gabriel posted:
  05.02.2018 - 6:58 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

But it doesn't matter to me that California can't sell out. Because NONE
of the races last year or this year sold out. There is no way Las Vegas
draws a bigger crowd than Auto Club Speedway. I think an Auto Club
Speedway Chase race would be much more entertaining than a Las Vegas
chase race...


  38.   Gabriel posted:
  05.05.2018 - 9:57 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (1)

Dodger Stadium isn't filling up every game. Angel Stadium isn't either.
Should we take those off the schedule since they aren't filling up? No!
So why can't California have a 2nd race when it has produced superior
racing to Las Vegas?


  39.   RaceFanX posted:
  11.16.2019 - 7:13 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

The scenes representing the '1966 24 Hours of Daytona' in the 2019 movie
"Ford v. Ferrari" were actually shot here at Fontana.


  40.   Corey posted:
  11.25.2019 - 12:31 pm
   Rate this comment:      (2)      (0)

@40 Watched the movie yesterday, and thoroughly enjoyed it. My only beef
is with the 1966 24 hours of Daytona racing scenes. Being a racing fan,
it's hard to bring suspension of disbelief when the track just screams
Auto Club Speedway. I'm curious as to why they didn't use Daytona.
Granted the Speedway has been modernized since then, but the scene would
have felt a bit more realistic.


  41.   RaceFanX posted:
  11.25.2019 - 2:34 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@41
It was probably a scheduling or a cost issue. I don't think any scenes
for "Ford v. Ferrari" were shot in Florida while much of the film was
shot in California and Georgia so it was probably just easier to use
Fontana since they were shooting in So Cal anyway and figured only folks
like us would notice. The entirety of the Daytona racing scene in the
movie is pure fiction, in the movie Ken Miles wins on a dramatic stock
car-style last lap slingshot. In real life his GT40 car won easily by
eight laps over its Shelby American twin with the Holman & Moody car
another lap further back of them. The wreck were the "bad guy rival"
GT40 takes out a Mustang was a similar cinematic addition. However
movies like this, while they appeal to the racing fan, can't only be
made for the racing fan so I'd chalk it up to some Hollywood dramatic
license.


  42.   Sector posted:
  11.25.2019 - 3:41 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

#41 Agreed. Atlanta, Georgia and Los Angeles, California (along with New
York City) are massive cities for filming so it makes sense.

Atlanta is over a 6 hour drive to Daytona, while Fontana is only about
an hour away from LA.


  43.   Canadianfan posted:
  11.25.2019 - 5:17 pm
   Rate this comment:      (1)      (0)

I will say they did a pretty good job CGing over the top of the tower
made it look exactly like the old blue Daytona tower from that era.


  44.   GGDC posted:
  11.26.2019 - 2:56 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

" I'm curious as to why they didn't use Daytona. Granted the Speedway
has been modernized since then, but the scene would have felt a bit more
realistic. "

I learned recently if your within a certain distance of a certan
intersection of Hollywood streets your labor laws are different. That
being said I think Auto Club might be an exception. So it was probably
due to its location near Holywood.


  45.   Canadianfan posted:
  11.26.2019 - 3:44 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@44

You are referring to TMZ or the 30 mile zone. Also known as the studio
zone.


  46.   RaceFanX posted:
  11.26.2019 - 4:08 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

Fontana's status as LA's local track means a lot of movies and TV shows
have been filmed here over its two decades of existence whenever the
plot called for big time auto racing, just like Riverside used to be.
The speedway and a NASCAR Cup race here are a big part of the plot of
the Lindsey Lohan film "Herbie: Fully Loaded" where the titular Love Bug
VW Beetle wins the race. There's a big scene here in the 2000 film
version of "Charlie's Angels" which leads into a brief but fun car chase
with one of the Angels and a villain zooming around the track and then
out onto surface streets in 1990s era IndyCars. The dying main
characters in "The Bucket List" come here to horse around in some period
muscle cars.

The American version of "Top Gear" came here to test some modern muscle
cars with NASCARs zooming around the track as they did. An episode of
"Lucifer" filmed here saw the titular devil in human form, helping
investigate murders, come here after a tool from a NASCAR team was
supposedly used in the episode's killing. "Jay Leno's Garage" has filmed
here several with the weight loss reality show "The Biggest Loser" also
coming to the track.

This track even sort of appeared in animated film. The climax of the
Pixar film "Cars" takes place at 'Los Angeles International Speedway'
which is basically Auto Club Speedway with an exterior like the LA
Coliseum around it.


  47.   Corey posted:
  11.26.2019 - 4:40 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@46 You missed a movie. Terminator 2's final scenes were filmed on this
site when it was still a steel mill.

"Ford vs. Ferrari" was a good movie and they did an exceptional job
recreating the feel of the Le Mans circuit (which was the main focus of
the film). The Daytona race just felt a bit disappointing.


  48.   Sector posted:
  02.10.2020 - 7:41 pm
   Rate this comment:      (1)      (0)

To add on to the recent posts about the "Ford v Ferrari" film; It has
won 2 Oscars yesterday shortly after the 2020 NASCAR Busch Clash event.


  49.   Andrew posted:
  04.05.2020 - 8:16 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (1)

Anyone know if NASCAR will come back next year? I go every year and
ticket sales have really declined, and I have a feeling that the major
schedule changes for next year include Fontana losing its only race.


  50.   Canadianfan posted:
  04.05.2020 - 8:38 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@49

You have to wait Andrew NASCAR has not released the schedule yet, the
plan is this month to release at least some of it but with the whole
COVID-19 situation who knows.


  51.   RaceFanX posted:
  04.05.2020 - 9:20 pm
   Rate this comment:      (1)      (0)

@49
I suspect that NASCAR will continue racing at Fontana as long as there
is a track there. LA and Southern California are too big of a media
market to skip and NASCAR wants to be a part of it.


  52.   JSPorts posted:
  04.20.2020 - 12:48 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

Top 10 drivers since 2017:

1st: Kyle Busch
2nd: Brad Keselowski
3rd: Martin Truex, Jr.
4th: Joey Logano
5th: Kyle Larson
6th: Denny Hamlin
7th: Ryan Blaney
8th: Chase Elliott
9th: Erik Jones
10th: Jimmie Johnson


  53.   Andrew posted:
  05.04.2020 - 8:03 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

Thanks for the responses CanadianFan and RaceFanX! I really hope they
keep racing here, it's a great facility and the track just needs a
decent aero package. Anyways, is it worth repaving the track, and if how
how soon do you estimate? I know that repaves are inevitable, but it'll
really hurt the quality of racing here and seems like a bad investment
to repave a 2 mile track that only hosts one cup race a year (that can't
sell out nonetheless).


  54.   Canadianfan posted:
  05.10.2020 - 12:33 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

In addition to what was said on Chicagoland's page, Adam Stern mentioned
the possibility of Auto Club Speedway as being another track to
redeveloped by Hillwood.


  55.   Yeet posted:
  05.10.2020 - 1:24 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@54 What exactly do you mean by re-develop?


  56.   Canadianfan posted:
  05.10.2020 - 2:01 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@55

At least for Auto Club it seems to means the surplus land around the
track ie parking lots. However for Chicagoland there was another tweet
before Stern's tweet that included A notice for a public hearing for
Chicagoland. On the last page of the notice it shows that not only land
around the speedway but the speedway itself could be up for redevelopment.


  57.   Yeet posted:
  05.10.2020 - 2:06 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

Okay thank you. Auto Club is the closest Cup track to where I live so I
wanted to make sure I understood that properly.


  58.   TeamDCRfan posted:
  05.10.2020 - 2:29 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

Re develop sounds kinda like track go bye bye


  59.   TeamDCRfan posted:
  05.10.2020 - 2:29 pm
   Rate this comment:      (1)      (0)

Scratch what I said, at least for now. Apparently, according to articles
announcing the merger, its to develop land around the tracks, like when
Kansas had the casino built in turn one


  60.   possum posted:
  05.10.2020 - 5:50 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@54 - I wonder what they'd redevelop it to. The land it's on is a
"brownfield" with various enviromental problems (in a past life it had
been a steel mill, I can remember being out there years ago when the
Oregon folk had it, and that end of the property was just a wasteland of
collapsed buildings and slagheaps and stuff).

It's funny how that area is death on racetracks. Ontario speedway was
barely more than a mile away, and Riverside not a whole lot further.


  61.   Andrew posted:
  05.11.2020 - 6:58 am
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

If I remember correctly, Auto Club signed a 10 year naming rights deal
back in 2008. I'm assuming there was extension, but how come I can't
find any press release on it?


  62.   RaceFanX posted:
  06.22.2020 - 3:06 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

"Rusty, it's a woodchuck and he's hurt!"...
Rusty Wallace's hilarious 1998 "Adventures of Rusty and his Miller Time
Machine" commerical was filmed here at Fontana.


  63.   Canadianfan posted:
  09.08.2020 - 12:48 pm
   Rate this comment:      (1)      (0)

From Jeff Gluck:

BREAKING NEWS: NASCAR is planning to transform Auto Club Speedway into a
half-mile short track, @TheAthletic has learned.


  64.   JSPorts posted:
  09.08.2020 - 12:54 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

What!? I'd have thought that was fake news, but it's 2020...


  65.   TheDewCrew posted:
  09.08.2020 - 1:04 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

Pigs are flying high today. This is out of left field


  66.   TheDewCrew posted:
  09.08.2020 - 1:15 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

I mean, we want more short tracks, this is one way to achieve it, albeit
a bizarre way. If this is the end for the 2 Mile layout rip, but I
wouldn't mind a short track race for my birthday


  67.   RaceFanX posted:
  09.08.2020 - 1:18 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

That's kind of weird but a little sad in a way, there are so few big
tracks in the world like this and they want to get rid of one? Is the
land getting too valuable in Fontana to keep the big track?


  68.   RacingDude00 posted:
  09.08.2020 - 1:19 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

the news about this joint from today is stunning

I wish they would turn it into something more rare like a 3 mile oval


  69.   Jimmie4life posted:
  09.08.2020 - 1:19 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

Wait, what? This can't be real. This has to be a joke. That is insane!


  70.   RacingDude00 posted:
  09.08.2020 - 1:19 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

It appears that the half mile wouldn't happen till 2022 so not next year
https://www.twitter.com/bobpockrass/status/1303378527677566977


  71.   Anonymous posted:
  09.08.2020 - 1:19 pm
   Rate this comment:      (1)      (0)

They went from two 500 mile races to one struggling 400 mile race so
they have to try something.

Knowing NASCAR I'm surprised that they're trying something that might
actually work instead of adding more stages or making Auto Club worth
double Playoff Points.


  72.   TTaylor944 posted:
  09.08.2020 - 1:30 pm
   Rate this comment:      (1)      (0)

Personally I'd rather keep the superspeedway. If they really feel the
need to build a short track they could easily build one inside or
adjacent to the big track. I get the sense this has more to do with the
land becoming too valuable and wanting to cash in on it.


  73.   Canadianfan posted:
  09.08.2020 - 1:31 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@72

Somebody on twitter looked at the land value and property around the
track is going for $250,000 per acre.


  74.   Gopher88 posted:
  09.08.2020 - 1:32 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

I'm guessing the season finale is going to end up here in a number of
years then.


  75.   JFM01 posted:
  09.08.2020 - 1:47 pm
   Rate this comment:      (1)      (0)

Damn, I really liked this track. They should rather convert some of the
1.5ers.


  76.   1995-Subaru-WRX-Sti posted:
  09.08.2020 - 1:47 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

"Knowing NASCAR I'm surprised that they're trying something that might
actually work instead of adding more stages or making Auto Club worth
double Playoff Points."

I'm (not) surprised that some of the fandum aren't giving this a chance.
Y'all wanted more short tracks and you are getting it. Put your money
where your mouth is.

Rumor mill says that will have flat straights and banked corners. So
like a Martinsville/BMS hybird.


  77.   DI9_ForLife posted:
  09.08.2020 - 1:47 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

I'm getting to know ?Left field? really well this year...
This was the last bit of news I was planning on hearing today or at any
point in time.


  78.   A.J. posted:
  09.08.2020 - 1:51 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

Did Fontana ever get away from having to literally hand out free tickets
in order to get anything resembling a decent crowd at NASCAR events?
This change will at least temporarily rekindle some fan interest, the
seating capacity will obviously be much reduced which will make crowds
look bigger, and I can't imagine anyone complaining about adding another
short track to NASCAR.


  79.   JSPorts posted:
  09.08.2020 - 1:54 pm
   Rate this comment:      (1)      (0)

I'm glad they're trying to add short tracks, but I really wish the track
to get converted would've been a 1.5-miler like Texas, Vegas or Kentucky.


  80.   TTaylor944 posted:
  09.08.2020 - 1:54 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@76 I live in the southern part of Riverside County. Within a reasonable
drive I can go to Perris Auto Speedway (1/2 mile dirt track), Barona
Speedway (1/4 mile dirt track), Orange Show Speedway (1/4 mile paved
track), Irwindale Speedway (1/2 mile paved track), and Auto Club
Speedway. If they convert ACS to a short track, one or more of those
other tracks is losing out in the process. I'm not too fond of the idea
of losing any of them so that NASCAR can sell off acreage.


  81.   Derrick posted:
  09.08.2020 - 2:01 pm
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We've already lost 1.5-mile Chicago, right? Sure some of those so called
cookie cutters host boring events more often that not, but not every
short track hits a home run every time.

When was the last time that a night race at Richmond wasn't a snoozer?
People said the rare day race here was much better but I don't recall
that it was so great either. The days of lots of beatin'-and-bangin' and
tempers flaring short track races are gone and the outcome is usually as
predictable as any cookie cutter. It didn't used to be that way, and
even if the winner was sometimes predictable there was a ton of action.


  82.   danny posted:
  09.08.2020 - 2:01 pm
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this is a surprise not many tracks other then phoenix have gotten
reconfigured, texas i know in 1-2 only but not many in recent years,
kentucky did as well but again not many lately. but auto club well the
races have not been all great.


  83.   Canadianfan posted:
  09.08.2020 - 2:02 pm
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@79

NASCAR (ISC) doesn't own those tracks SMI does.


  84.   Mile501 posted:
  09.08.2020 - 2:35 pm
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If you look at the image posted on Jayski, there appears to be a very
slight arc on the frontstretch, so that's an interesting twist compared
to Martinsville.

I think NASCAR/SMI should do more of this type of thing, especially with
the 1.5-mile tracks. Create some unique tracks like, perhaps, a 3/4 mile
with different banking on each end, or a triangle-shaped short track.
The old Nazareth Speedway would also be a great unique example to follow.


  85.   Jason24 posted:
  09.08.2020 - 2:38 pm
   Rate this comment:      (1)      (1)

I don't like it. Short track racing today is fairly boring.


  86.   Corey posted:
  09.08.2020 - 2:56 pm
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@81 I don't think there's been any official announcement that Chicago is
gone. We'll have to wait and see what the 2021 schedule brings.


  87.   OangeWaffle43 posted:
  09.08.2020 - 2:56 pm
   Rate this comment:      (1)      (0)

@84 one of these days I wanna see a track that has one turn like Daytona
and one like Martinsville lol


  88.   Tarheel posted:
  09.08.2020 - 3:00 pm
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They already race on flat and banked half mile tracks; Martinsville and
Bristol, flat and banked one mile tracks; Phoenix, Loudon, and Dover,
and a flat three quarter mile track at Richmond. I was hoping if someone
opened another short track it would fill in the missing spot, a banked
three quarter mile track.


  89.   Mile501 posted:
  09.08.2020 - 3:02 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@85 - Short track racing was rather boring in 2019, but it doesn't have
to be if NASCAR gets the tires and aero package right.


  90.   DI9_ForLife posted:
  09.08.2020 - 3:33 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

Is the track going to be sort of a Bristol-Martinsville hybrid like flat
straightaways and steeply banked corners?


  91.   Burl posted:
  09.08.2020 - 6:05 pm
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Why not just put the money from the sale of the entirety of the Fontana
track into fixing up Irwindale for Cup standards? Closer to L.A.


  92.   possum posted:
  09.08.2020 - 6:56 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@73 - bearing in mind that the speedway property is a brownfield, so
you're limited in what you can do with it; it probably wouldn't bring
quite those numbers.

@84 - well, Phoenix is pretty triangular, if you consider a mile a short
track (and really, anything shorter than that isn't going to work with
more than two turns). But the plan shown at Jayski is interesting - it
looks like they took the existing front stretch stands as the
determining factor in how long the straight was, and added the minimum
amount of extra track to make an oval (also, looking at it I think it'd
be better if they made it a 5/8ths, with a bit more radius to the corners).

@88 - I agree, I strongly support the idea of more short tracks, but I'd
like to see more ideas in between 1/2 and 1 mile. Richmond, at 3/4, was
a great track for many years, altho the last few years the aero hasn't
suited it.

@91 - I'm pretty sure the property that actually belongs to the track is
far too small to add 30,000 seats, a garage area, parking for haulers,
parking for 30,000 fans, etc, etc. It's a lot easier to start with a
property that's much larger than what you need than one that's much too
small.


  93.   Noah posted:
  09.08.2020 - 7:26 pm
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Don't be surprised if this starts happening more.

Racetracks,especially large speedways,sit on HUGE plots of land in great
areas for warehouses and development. As that value increases and the
demand for redevelopment increases,don't be surprised if more and more
speedways are shrunk.

That being said,rumors are Chicagoland is also going to go under a
transformation like this.


  94.   BradR posted:
  09.08.2020 - 8:32 pm
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I would like to see it become a half mile dirt track. (something LONG
overdue to be on the xfinity & cup schedules.)


  95.   zuel660 posted:
  09.09.2020 - 8:23 am
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I actually feel Richmond got neutered as a racetrack when they
reconfigured it into a 3/4 mile. Sure, the facility is nice, but you
don't have the action you did on the old 1/2 mile, especially in recent
years. Hard to say what will happen here with Fontana, guess we'll all
just have to wait and see.


  96.   Canadianfan posted:
  09.09.2020 - 12:01 pm
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From Bob Pockrass:

The reconfigured Auto Club Speedway half-mile project is still very much
under design so banking could change ... but preliminary plans likely
18-20 degree banking in corners. Existing frontstretch of 11 degrees
will likely remain unchanged.

(I seen the new track superimposed over at the old one and they are
going to be able to sell quite a bit of land. Pretty much both turns,
the backstretch, and at least half the infield plus whatever land
boarders the road.)


  97.   possum posted:
  09.09.2020 - 6:52 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@96 - I wonder if they're going to do "normal" banking, with the outside
of the turn higher than the straights, or "Dover" style, with the inside
of the turn below the straights. Or maybe they could work in a bit of N
Wilks by doing one at one end, and the other at the other.


  98.   possum posted:
  09.10.2020 - 7:20 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

Apparently a big factor in NASCAR's thinking is the cost of repaving the
2-mile track, which they see as being needed in the fairly near future.
Tearing it up and making a short track isn't that much more expensive,
and selling off the now-unused land is almost lagniappe.


  99.   German500 posted:
  09.13.2020 - 4:01 pm
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Next track to be repaved after AutoClub and Chicagoland is Atlanta. But
this track is owned by SMI, so reconfiguration is unlikely. Las Vegas,
Kentucky and Texas are also owned by SMI.

Realisticly only Kansas, Homestead or Michigan could reconfigurate by
NASCAR like this. But all of these tracks have recent pavement.

So in my opinion, there will be no 2020s short track construction boom.


  100.   possum posted:
  09.13.2020 - 8:42 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@99 - SMI is headed by Bruton Smith, who designed Charlotte and none too
surprisingly thinks it's the ideal design for a speedway (which is why
Atlanta, Texas, Las Vegas, and Kentucky are more-or-less exact copies).
OTOH, Bruton also owns Bristol, and he's well aware that for many years
it easily outsold his other tracks. If there was money to be made, I
could easily see him converting Texas, Kentucky, Las Vegas, or Atlanta
into another Bristol. However, none of those four is located where
demand for real estate would be especially high (unlike Fontana or
Joliet), so there's little likelyhood a change would be profitable.


  101.   Jeff posted:
  09.15.2020 - 10:34 am
   Rate this comment:      (1)      (0)

Rockingham was left to rot after Auto Club took a second race in 2004.
Now it's ironically becoming a high banked short track just as
Rockingham was. Just goes to show the extremely poor decision of leaving
there going full circle. Why Nascar left Rockingham beats me. Auto Club
never had to be redone. The short track was there all along.


  102.   Pacer posted:
  09.15.2020 - 10:59 am
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@101
Rockingham is out in the middle of nowhere, hence why the track was
never demolished despite its on and off abandonment, and in the
mid-2000s NASCAR was hitting its peak where it seemed like it was going
to become the next big thing in sports alongside the stick and ball
leagues. The thought at the time was that NASCAR needed to hold its
races in the big urban markets as its expansion left the rural southern
tracks behind. The big leagues all saw similar trends when they grew
(see the NBA's Moline, Illinois-based Tri-City Blackhawks moving
eventually becoming the Atlanta Hawks or how all the NFL's early smaller
town teams folded or moved except the Green Bay Packers). It's just that
the NASCAR's bubble burst in the mid-2000s not long after that move and
its big urban plans never worked out.


  103.   Jimmysjohnson posted:
  09.15.2020 - 11:27 am
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

Rockingham s problem wasn't the racing , that's for sure. I personally
watched some good ones there. What I hated about it was the races were
always in February and November. It's freaking cold as hell in North
Carolina during those months. I went to the last Cup race there in 2004
and it was brutal. It was like 42 degrees and the wind would cut you in
half. Call me wimpy but I like warm weather.


  104.   Sector posted:
  09.17.2020 - 2:37 pm
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42 degrees is cold to you? Lol


  105.   Corey posted:
  09.17.2020 - 3:24 pm
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@103 I suppose temperature is relative to where you live, but for me 42
isn't anywhere close to ?cold as hell?. I would put that in the single
digits and even the Alaskans would be laughing at me.


  106.   zuel660 posted:
  09.17.2020 - 4:41 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

On that note, I've been to dirt track races in PA in late February/March
when there's still snow on the ground, & left night races in the fall
and had to wait for the frost to melt off the windshield lol. And then
there was the crazy early Feb SnoCross race I went to when it was a
balmy 4 degrees out.... ;)


  107.   Sector posted:
  09.17.2020 - 5:41 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

#105 also, jokingly my brother-in-law used to live in South Carolina and
he said he would drive around cars on highways like they are the orange
cones when it snows lol... I think he said they were going 30mph max on
a 70 and he was going 75. Lol


  108.   Sector posted:
  09.17.2020 - 5:42 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

#105 it gets below 0 freezing in Ohio but lately with global warming
it's not as bad the past couple of winters; I would kill to have 40-50
degree weather during winter with no snow and icy roads (I even had a
Floridian talk trash about northern drivers a while back because they
couldn't stand our driving, all because they're not as trashy drivers as
Floridians... They run from hurricanes, we endure blizzards lol).


  109.   possum posted:
  09.17.2020 - 6:15 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@105 - I think it got to 42 here, once. Maybe. I can remember going to
races at HIALEAH SPEEDWAY in December back in the 90's when everyone'd
be huddled under the grandstand between races, to get out of the
wind...surprising how cold a 68 or 70 degree breeze can feel. Also
surprising how much warmer it was when the cars were running, you don't
usually realize how much heat comes from the tires and exhaust all the
way to the stands.


  110.   German500 posted:
  09.18.2020 - 10:01 pm
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Fontana instead of Rockingham or Fort Worth instead of North
Wilkesboro.. the same reason.

I think the basic problem is less short track vs. intermediate but
rather new territory vs. ancestral soil.

Every phase of expansion in NASCAR has always been at the expense of
traditional racetracks.

What might help would be more and shorter races on more different race
tracks.


  111.   Canadianfan posted:
  12.07.2020 - 3:44 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

From AutoRacing1:

Rumor: NASCAR Moving Fontana Race to Daytona Road Course.

(I saw this on Reddit a few days ago forgot to post it. Considering this
race is more than a month before Long Beach and that race is already
under threat it would make sense Fontana would be in trouble.)


  112.   Corey posted:
  12.07.2020 - 4:04 pm
   Rate this comment:      (1)      (0)

@111 that brings the total number of road courses to 7. Although if
Fontana moves than there is a possibility for Sonoma to move despite
being later in the year.


  113.   JSPorts posted:
  12.07.2020 - 5:16 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

Crazy how the schedule could potentially go from 2 road courses in 2017
to 7 in 2021. I really hope Auto Club keeps its race next year,
especially since it's supposed to be the last one before they
reconfigure it.


  114.   wisconsinracefan posted:
  12.07.2020 - 6:34 pm
   Rate this comment:      (1)      (0)

I am not a bit surprise. I am under the impression that NASCAR wants
fans in stands and I am well aware of how California's local and state
government have been since Covid-19 became well known in the states.

I am person who has gone on theme park websites and I am aware of how
California has been handling covid-19 as a result. I have bad feeling
live sporting events in California with people will not happen before
the later half of 2021 at the earliest due due to how strict California is.

Theme parks are only allowed to open at an extremely low amount of
people having covid-19 in California and I am guessing the same is true
for events with a lot of people.


  115.   Canadianfan posted:
  12.08.2020 - 1:08 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

From Adam Stern:

@NASCAR today is expected to announce that it will move the 2021 Fontana
race to the Daytona road course for what will now be the second event of
the year, pushing back Homestead to the third race weekend.


  116.   Canadianfan posted:
  12.08.2020 - 1:09 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

From Adam Stern:

@NASCAR is currently planning to hold one more Cup race at Auto Club
Speedway with the current intermediate layout, in 2022, before
transitioning to building the new short track circuit to likely debut in
2023.


  117.   Mile501 posted:
  12.08.2020 - 1:18 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@115 - Does anyone know when we last had 3 consecutive races at 3
different tracks in the same state? I imagine it happened in the sport's
earlier days, though not anytime in the modern era that I can think of.


  118.   GoRC42 posted:
  12.08.2020 - 2:10 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@117
Just off the top off my head, the schedule used to go North Wilkesboro,
Charlotte, Rockingham. That would have been 1996 at the latest.


  119.   Canadianfan posted:
  12.08.2020 - 2:11 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@117

1996 North Wilkesboro, Charlotte, and Rockingham all in North Carolina.
Race 27, 28, and 29.


  120.   Bodyblower posted:
  12.08.2020 - 2:49 pm
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Now the Busch Clash serves no purpose.


  121.   Corey posted:
  12.08.2020 - 2:54 pm
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@120 well if this race doesn't get practice sessions, then the Clash
could be considered as one. Besides, it would be no different then when
the clash ran the oval.


  122.   Anon posted:
  12.08.2020 - 3:43 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@121 This is a good point, quite a significant advantage will go to the
teams in the clash that could basically use the Clash as a test/practice
session. If there is going to be no practice/qualifying for this actual
race weekend, this will put the non-Clash teams at a huge disadvantage.


  123.   PucciMan posted:
  12.08.2020 - 3:44 pm
   Rate this comment:      (0)      (0)

@115 & @116 Good. One less boring race on the schedule and one more year
with the current layout before the track gets good.


  124.   DI9_ForLife posted:
  12.08.2020 - 4:03 pm
   Rate this comment:      (1)      (0)

123, Fontana was consistently good for awhile (2013-2017), but the track
has the same issue that Atlanta does, it's the track surface has become
too old and bumpy, something that ramps up tire wear to the point that
after 5 laps drivers are asking for 4 stickers. The last 3 races there
have been average at best, 2020's race being the best since 2017 even
with the uneventful finish.

I can't wait for the track to become a short track, but I do wish for
one thing before it becomes a Bristol/Martinsville hybrid. I want one
last IndyCar race at the track with the same package that they used in
2015. That race was absolutely incredible and I want something like just
like that race to happen again.


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