As long time fans of Auto Club Speedway we are so disappointed in the possible change to yet another short track. There won't be any big tracks like this ever built again and we can't believe the shortsightedness of NASCAR to get rid of this one. Having experience in dealing with the State and local governments in the LA region, it is safe to say that Auto Club will never reopen. Remember, this is a State that will prohibit the sale of gas powered vehicles by 2030.
Yea but you realize that doesn't mean gas powered cars stop existing in 2031 right? They're doing that because they understand most of those cars will be in use until 2050 at least.
@@joshuapowers4623 The State has already prohibited the sales of a variety of lawn and garden equipment as well prohibiting the sale of certain size ATV/UTV engines. They also are not approving new fuel stations. I'm pretty sure any car sold today will not make it to 2050😁
@@DeeB1345 good races at auto club were rare. You’re entitled to your own opinion but short tracks are way better than the first 15 years after a repave would be.
People have really bad recency bias. Auto club sucked forever, it had a couple recently great races everyone wants to save it. I remember it being on the same level of distaste as New Hampshire and Texas motor, the only reason I think New Hampshire doesn’t get more hate so because nobody even watches that race and average view count for that part of the season is always at it slowest
@@danielchai6145 Yes, there are enthusiasts and fans. And fans like excitement. They may change one day. Even casual fans will start feeling empty after a close, manufactured overtime finish every other week.
I honestly like what NASCAR is doing for once. Since the repave would come sooner rather than later, which would ruin the racing, NASCAR is thinking ahead and trying to not repeat past mistakes. After all, CS is basically the same as MIS, which sucked after its own repave.
I think they want short tracks outside of the area they are at currently. They are all located pretty close together and with money being short for the average person those 6 races are starting to suffer in attendance. I'd love to see short tracks in other locations
May i ask something? only one thing has been consistent over the last 20 years and thats fans wanting more short tracks... why do yall think this is stupid? Because a decent track is being converted to one? im excited for the new layout looks interesting if it comes to fruition. Yall also hate Bristol Dirt randomly?... maybe a top 10 race this past year? yall confuse me.
As I have said other places..ironic that Auto Clubs final race, in it's current configuration, will also be Harvick's final race at his home track in his final season. Fitting.
@@SilentDanDisney I was just thinking the same thing. Darlington got its second date (400 miler) back. Wilksboro got its date back from Texas. Atlanta got its second date back. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Kentucky take Atlanta's second date in 2011? We all know how Kentucky's doing right now.
That's because of all the braindead restrictor plate fans still calling it "boring." And these days NASCAR only listens to those casual goons. Sadly casuals spend more money when they go to the races than the diehards do. Most of the diehards go with a "make this as cheap as possible" mindset..... this all concluded via numerous fan votes via the fan counsel. Another interesting stat is that 71% of NASCAR fans outside of California live in poor states with high welfare percentages... such as Mississippi and Alabama... so they've essentially be priced out by the middle and upper class fans from better states.
@@Momentum_Racing i wasnt one of those fans, i love autoclub and it was the last intermediate standing with an old surface they could run all over, its sad whats happening to all the good tracks like autoclub atlanta and texas
@@larryscott885 I went to Fontana the first 5 years it opened and the Nascar races were boring. Never any side by side racing, the cars were spread out by 10 car lengths or more the whole time. I finally stopped going and it wasn't until the track got old with the bumps that it finally presented great racing.
The question is what's going to prevent the people who move into the real estate that will be built when they turn Auto Club into a short track to eventually want the short track gone
That's what happened at Pomona drag strip. They built homes across the street from the end of the track and now there's a curfew for the races because people complained of noise coming from a track that stood 25 years before the homes were even built.
Land value is the name of the game in California. Ontario Motor Speedway was demolished for commercial development, Riverside was demolished for commercial development and some of the property at Fontana is currently being eyed for development of residential housing/commercial businesses. The new development craze in Southern California is construction along the Metrolink rail. They can build cheaper in Fontana and the residents can ride the train into LA for work.
@@shaynejenkins446 yea, I just left the track and had a long conversation with some people. It’s going to be industrial buildings. Talks of off site parking if the new track even happens. My opinion, I don’t see this happening. It either stays like it is or they end moving to a new location. To many moving parts in this mess. The buying group north and east of track is owned by Ross Perot?
@@TM_Rags Nascar and the ISC have already sold off the property it wont be developing. Its already scheduled for demo and reconfiguration next year in time for the 2025 season.
Irwindale would be a dream come true as a local track fan, that track is all my memories of races with my dad and where I met Joey Logano there and chase elliott. I'd love to see a test run of Irwindale for the 3 top series
People forget it would take 10 years for the pavement to get to a good point where racing is close to how it is now and any bumps or imperfections would be smoothed and paved out. It just doesn’t make long term sense from financial/racing standpoint to simply repave and if you need proof look at what happened to Michigan if you’re old enough to remember how it changed after it’s repave.
NASCAR should ditch Fontana completely and try to build the proposed short track somewhere else in Southern California. Preferably, within 20 minutes of Los Angeles.
The short track config is definitely going to befall the same fate as literally every other short track that’s in a populated area. People will build houses next to it then complain about the noise until the city shuts it down.
There is too many pollutants in the ground around the speedway for that. That’s why they were able to acquire the land and build the track for cheap in the 90s
I don't want to think about Autoclub disappearing At all Autoclub speedway is my home track. I'm only 30 minutes away and I've been there a lot last year, hell, i got to race on it and it was so much fun. With what we saw last year, a short track does not seem like a good idea with this next gen, that made tracks like Autoclub thrive. I don't mind trying to make it maybe like a 1 1/2 high speed track almost like Charlotte or Atlanta, but making it a short track feels like a suicide run Also note: my hate towards real estate from wanting to destroy tracks for their land is now personal
Worked for SHR 7 years at Fontucky and lobbied NASCAR for the Seattle track back in the day. Fontucky has enough hotel rooms, it’s has an airport super close. Ultimately it’s close enough for NASCAR and team owners to enjoy LA after the race. I am all in for another short track and if they can get the new configuration write we might have ourselves a new favorite racetrack
This is an outside the box theory for replacing Auto Club in 2024: what if the cup series went to Portland? They got a footing with Xfinity with a large turnout. If Xfinity can get a big turnout, surely the cup series can do the same if not more.
They need to simplify the west end of Portland's track for nascar(the east section is ideal though). Cars are way too bulky and cumbersome for 145° turns. There's a reason Watkins Glen is the golden standard, everything is relatively fast and sweeping, and it's ideal for glorified physical speed tanks to roar around I do like the more road courses idea but they need to be more custom to nascar sensibilities not the ones they are going to. Portland was not built with nascar in mind whatsoever
The California property is too expensive and just worth too much to dedicate it to a couple of races a year. It makes sense is smaller cities where the real estate is not so expensive.
It's funny how north Wilkesboro was dropped a season before the first ever run on California race .. and the tables are turned to cally is getting shut down for the new layout but the Wilks being brought back the same year for the all star.. ironic
Other than Bakersfield, most residents in California live a cosmopolitan lifestyle. NASCAR doesn't even factor in as a sport to these people. Wonder why you see the usual same actresses and actors that attend a race? NASCAR might as well build a track in Hawaii or Alaska, because there isn't much of a fanbase there either.
I gotta say, it hurts to hear this track is going and might not be replaced because of an hour long drive….I have a three hour drive just to get to my nearest short track (now that Western Speedway is gone) and a 4 hour ish flight to get to my nearest nascar track (vegas). I know it is what it is, and this is a me problem, just saying I’d kill to be able to drive an hour to see a local shirt track race, let alone a nascar race. Keep up the great work
The problem with the location is la just isnt into racing like it used to. NHRA races at pamona and it used to be packed now it's less then half full when they go there. Theres just to much going on besides racing to do.
At this point it without a date to expect it to be open it seems most likely it is just going to be demo'd and nothing is going to be built. If the short track does get built unless they change a lot with the short track package it is going to bust and be closed anyway
Third annual "Last Race" for Fontana. BTW, "an hour" out of LA, can be 3 blocks 'cause traffic there sucks. Elon needs to build a tunnel from LA to Fontana.
The left coast could care less about NASCAR. They should think twice about dropping another penny out there. Don't care for the clash either, cars are too big for a small track like that. They can always fly in their jets to Vegas.
As a fan that resides in Oregon and loves the racing Autoclub puts on I would want to keep Autoclub the same and invest in a new track in the pacific northwest. Ideally I would love an old nonprogressive banking Bristol style track. My whole family went to the Xfinity race in Portland last year and it was a sell out even with the infield camping and RV parking around the track. Fans from all over the northwest and Canada were packing the seats in an action packed rain race. The northwest wants NASCAR.
Yeah. That was a fun race to attend, us northwest fans are tired of barely anything. I heard they are building a big road course near Bremerton in WA, maybe that might attract attention when it’s done ina couple of years
The northwest had a chance for a track out near the Columbia gorge. But Oregon and Washington fought against it real hard. And then Nascar and the ISC basically told them go kick rocks you will never get another chance.
As a long time fan, I wish they would keep the old layout. Being a 2 mile oval makes the track unique in itself. I live in a big market( chicago) and Chicagoland is similar to fontana. A hour away from the big city, hasn't always had the most entertaining races, but has had its good moments and good finishes. Auto club kinda put its foot in its mouth, a few years by saying they was going to convert the track. That was probably just a thought the owners could've kept to themselves until the actually had a game plan. Plus a few years ago was when alot of fans was complaining about they wanted more short tracks on the schedule.
Eh, as a viewer I'd rather have the chance to have something great than be guaranteed another twenty years of mediocre to bad 2 miler racing to maybe get another 2-3 years of actually good racing.
I grew up less than 10 miles away from the track. First of all, “Fontucky” has been a nickname for the entire city for years. Irwindale has been the center of racing in the region for decades and as much as I love the track, it would be tough to have a NASCAR cup series event there. I went to the first race there in the 90s and as nostalgic as it is, I live out in AZ now and Phoenix is an immensely more entertaining race to attend. The short track is the way to go.
I heard somewhere that Angel Stadium was vacant. Maybe completely knock down ACS and build a new track in Anaheim? I feel that in the middle on the configuration someone like Amazon is going to buy the rest of that land and there will be no more ACS
The Clash should be the thing that will now fill that SoCal slot and that's it. It should be changed to the top 10 finishers from the top three series the previous season in one race on the same track at the same time. The podium could include the Top 3 overall, the top driver from each "class", or a top 3 from each series. The best of the sport (and future of the sport) should have a reward for accomplishing that feat, like how the Top 10 get to speak at the awards banquet.
To be fair, they haven't been there in years, aren't doing much to add any more large ovals, and already have Long Beach which is a more popular, classic event with an IMSA crossover.
Agree or disagree with Indycar's reasoning, but after the backlash from the teams and drivers in 2015 they weren't going to go back to the 2 miler, especially after a repave which Auto Club is really going to need in the short term future.
8:43 Long Beach would at least be a better idea for a street race than Chicago (especially when Chicago is replacing what could've become a great new tradition with Road America).
25 years ago, Fontana used to have four or five events per year (Truck series, Busch/Xfinity, Cup, IRL, sometimes other events like ARCA). Now it's pretty much just one weekend per year. At one event per year, a sold out event doesn't make enough money to cover the value of the land all around the track. That's why we're seeing it torn down, 80% sold off, and a short track taking its place.
There used to be a world-class, remote control car track there as well, and as of six weeks ago they had to pull up all the boards tear down the driver stand and remove everything from the facility
I would love to see the Fontana track reconfigured to a two/thirds or three/quarters mile track. A bit under a mile and a bit over half a mile.. Think: Right between Bristol and Phoenix.
That is sort of the design, but I think they will build it similar shape to Richmond Fairgrounds and give it hybrid Bristol/Martinsville banking maybe.
Fontucky is in a good location, just under an hour from My house in the inland empire. It's like in the middle of the inland empire so we all gotta drive a little bit. When I lived in Monrovia CA, I could hear the cars on the track from my house. Irwindale speedway is definitely an awesome track
Hi Eric. I live right down the street from auto club speedway ,all my friends and I think a 1mile track would be more better . If they would recycle the materials at the track it would more affordable. Plus they could reconfigure what's there more easily. Irwindale Raceway is a half miler,they've been plenty of NASCAR events staged there. But that land is leased to the track not owned by the track. Plus its situated next to a rock quarry making expansion almost next to impossible. Lets hope they (Fontana) makes the right decision for the best possible way to make a viable track , for the area and for the fans. Great show ,keep it coming.
Their problem is there isn't enough roundy round fans in the area they only have a couple short tracks in the area and when you have to give a lot of the tickets away as promotion just to get a lot of people in the stands and there is way more stuff to do than go sit in the sun and watch cars go in circles sell the property and build somewhere else
I liken it to trying to shoehorn something in an area where it just won't work. it would probably make more sense for them to go race at willow springs.
Plenty of nascar fans in the west. There isn't a single nascar short track west of the Mississippi and the clash doesn't count. Nobody was getting into races for free, Nascar isn't a charity.
I like autoclub. It was never a track that was any good on TV. But in person it was a great race. Not to mention, the infield road course. I attended a lot of other smaller road course races there. California has a massive motorsports culture and autoclub was a motorsports playground. SCCA were regular visitors there. There was a good drag strip, go-cart tracks, and autocrosses. There was always some type of racing going on there every weekend.
While I will miss this track, it is very true it will suck once paved. I am all for more short tracks so ultimately in the long term I believe this will be great event on the calendar
My only gripe is that unless we fix the short track package all these swings won’t last. The product needs to be good to warrant the change. So fine add more short tracks but the package for the cars needs to be fixed.
I like the 2/3rds mile idea way more than a half mile. 5/8ths or 3/4ths track would be my choice if I was in charge. Big enough for a fast NASCAR race and small enough to have local races every Saturday night too.
I wonder what it would be like if they built houses over the northeast section of the track where Greg Moore was killed. Will they put a plaque in the kids bedroom where it happened? I was there that day.
This was the same predicament with Chicagoland in Joliet. I have a feeling if the Chicago Street course is a success it might be the end for Fontana and bring about an LA street race or would they do an Indy double in Long Beach... time will tell.
they won't do a double at long beach. I don't think those cars (or the fish) would like the aquarium section much. if they cut that part out and connected the front straight up to cedar avenue and turned right then right at seaside (ostensibly the old pre aquarium layout) that might work.
It's a Tradition in California. Closing great tracks. Ontario Riverside and now Fontana I miss Riverside the most but at least I get to see the last race at Fontana I went there 1st in 98.
Build a 3/4 mile oval similar to Richmond and the fact California environmental enforcement doesn't want any internal combustion engines in the state in the near future is playing a significant role in whether they race in the state going forward.
We went to the races this past weekend. I know it's anecdotal, but as we were leaving the gate personnel were saying to people, "See you in 2025!" I think the 2/3 or 3/4 high banked configuration could be a good one. Iriwindale is a pretty good idea, tho.
As someone who goes too Irwindale Speedway a lot, I agree. That track is freaken awesome. It's a multi-groove short track. The racing is always awesome there. I hope ACS does NOT get changed at all. I have been going there for years. I like it the way it is right now.
Repave would be the end of the track. Nobody would put up with a giant track that gets used once a year and doesn’t even provide good racing. Especially on the west coast. It’s already struggling to stay alive. A short track save auto club and probably brings more racing to it throughout the year. Not every race will be as good as last year but on average it will be better than what auto club has been for 20 years. For NASCAR they can show the west coast what NASCAR is really about and what it’s built on. The short track racing at the end of last was a ton better than the beginning and it will only get better. NASCAR knows short tracks better than anyone.
Just throwing it out there, but NWS is getting safer barriers and a rehab. I get the lack of seating, but could this pave the way to bringing the Cup Series back there for a points paying race?? Don't forget about Rockingham as well.
I don't think a SINGLE FAN saw the rumors of the reconfiguration and jumped for joy. This decision baffled me when it was first rumored, and it still bafdles me now.
They could build a Bristol like track just north of the existing track. Run tunnels connecting the infields. Use the big track for garage and rig parking.
@John Haas I heard Eric incorrectly. I thought Nascar bought more land! It was the opposite! Sorry California, could be a while before Nascar returns. You guys in Callie are always welcome here in Phoenix!
I'm going to be honest. Auto Club should've never been built. Ever. The location was an absolute ignorant place to build it. I'm all for removing it entirely from the schedule and replacing it with a race such as North Wilkesboro, or Rockingham, or Nashville Fairgrounds.
Hey Eric I was wanting to ask sense Im thinking about taking my parents to a race this summer is Kansas a good track to go to? it’s the closest track to us
2:00 Eric, I have a rule with Monster Energy cars, and I think it will come in handy for you in the future. *Expect NOTHING*. Monster Energy does not like having any designs on their cars and will fight to make sure their cars are matte black and they will not deviate from it. And no, the eye does not save the car. it sucks and Monster needs to let the designers cut loose with what they can do.
My favorite track is Michigan. The high speeds and unrestricted races are cool. Yes they get spread out, but that’s racing. Now auto club seems to me like a “b” type Michigan track. Here is the biggest problem----how can a short track survive with the configuration of this current car? They need to up the horsepower and narrow the tires if they want to go short track
Now maybe it's just me, I'm no architect or construction worker, but I feel like with it being a 2 mile track couldn't they just make the short track inside of the old layout. Kinda like how they got the road courses at Daytona and Charlotte, but still use the front stretch. Surely if they can convert the coliseum into a track, it's gotta be possible, right?
This is the best quote about LA "Los Angeles is not a sports town. Los Angeles is an Entertainment town." Phily, St. Louis, Cleveland, those are sports towns.
It's hard to look at a map of the Fontana area and say that it's in the middle of nowhere. It is literally surrounded by Fontana, close to Ontario and Riverside and all the other small towns that are bunched together there. As opposed to MIS (that the Fontana developers copied) that truly is in a rural area 1 hour from Detroit & Toledo and 1/2 hr from Lansing and yet drew over 100K to two races per year for many years. It's about the demographics, the changing culture in SoCal and the changing tastes of the NASCAR fanbase. Riverside and Ontario Speedways were both located in this same vicinity and both were sold and demolished before Fontana was built. It doesn't seem that the area really supports auto racing in general and NASCAR in particular.
LA local here. at least in my opinion, auto club should definitely be kept as a 2-mile oval. yeah, it would require a repave soon after, but indycar and/or IMSA and other leagues might be able to put on good shows there. (ACS does have an inner road course). then nascar can race at Irwindale Speedway and pull off an event similar to what they’re doing with North Wilkesboro. i cant see them messing too much with that track tho since it’s a staple of Formula Drift competitions.
I'd love to have 3 types of tracks in California that NASCAR visit. A short track, a road course and a superspeedway would be a cool tour and a nice west coast swing with phoenix and Vegas
This might be something totally different and I'm not sure how it would race. But if they asked me to come up with a design for California, I would design a three quarter mile Darlington design short track. Having one end of the track egg shaped with the same banking Darlington has. It might be something totally different, but hey; Darlington is great. Why not try it on a shorter version?
Keep up the good work Eric...enjoyed your Daytona coverage. I still say to the unenlightened that Saurez is more likely to win a championship then going nowhere in good equipment Bowman😅😅 Qualifying good is one thing...racing is another!
Do you think the Auto Club Short Track conversion will still happen?
Uhhhhh ... somehow, uh. Don't think so!!
Really hope not. Bring those plans down to Texas Motor Speedway!
The new investment wouldn't be worth it for that extremely watered down sports market just like you pointed out. Plus, the racing is great!
I fear it goes the way of Ontario and Riverside
No. I think Fontana is destined for the dumpster unfortunately. Thanks for the promo code for the magazine! Ordered mine today!
As long time fans of Auto Club Speedway we are so disappointed in the possible change to yet another short track. There won't be any big tracks like this ever built again and we can't believe the shortsightedness of NASCAR to get rid of this one. Having experience in dealing with the State and local governments in the LA region, it is safe to say that Auto Club will never reopen. Remember, this is a State that will prohibit the sale of gas powered vehicles by 2030.
Yea but you realize that doesn't mean gas powered cars stop existing in 2031 right? They're doing that because they understand most of those cars will be in use until 2050 at least.
@@joshuapowers4623 The State has already prohibited the sales of a variety of lawn and garden equipment as well prohibiting the sale of certain size ATV/UTV engines. They also are not approving new fuel stations. I'm pretty sure any car sold today will not make it to 2050😁
@@derekbrummett9239 Punch Gayvin Newsome in the dick for me.
not to mention if it will need to be repaved in a few years anyways, why don’t we at least wait until then to do this
@Blake Andrews the repave was needed last year... We're at an ATL style crossroads with Auto Club right now. The track is coming apart.
7:38 NOTE: I forgot that Irwindale Speedway was sold not that long ago, but from what I could it still may be a year or longer until the track closes.
Irwindale has been sold like 8 million times. I’ll believe it when I see it 😅😂
The current owner has no plans to close the facility.
At least Irwindale is surrounded with open sand and gravel pits which makes it not very desirable for developers
I’m gonna miss this og track😢
You wouldn’t rather side by side racing at 90 instead of 190? Haha. Short tracks are a joke now.
@@DeeB1345 good races at auto club were rare. You’re entitled to your own opinion but short tracks are way better than the first 15 years after a repave would be.
People have really bad recency bias. Auto club sucked forever, it had a couple recently great races everyone wants to save it. I remember it being on the same level of distaste as New Hampshire and Texas motor, the only reason I think New Hampshire doesn’t get more hate so because nobody even watches that race and average view count for that part of the season is always at it slowest
@@danielchai6145 Yes, there are enthusiasts and fans. And fans like excitement. They may change one day. Even casual fans will start feeling empty after a close, manufactured overtime finish every other week.
I honestly like what NASCAR is doing for once. Since the repave would come sooner rather than later, which would ruin the racing, NASCAR is thinking ahead and trying to not repeat past mistakes. After all, CS is basically the same as MIS, which sucked after its own repave.
I live 80 minutes away from Auto Club and turning it into a short track is a stupid idea
I think they want short tracks outside of the area they are at currently. They are all located pretty close together and with money being short for the average person those 6 races are starting to suffer in attendance. I'd love to see short tracks in other locations
May i ask something? only one thing has been consistent over the last 20 years and thats fans wanting more short tracks... why do yall think this is stupid? Because a decent track is being converted to one? im excited for the new layout looks interesting if it comes to fruition. Yall also hate Bristol Dirt randomly?... maybe a top 10 race this past year? yall confuse me.
@@namlat2886Well some of us hated bristol dirt from the start, I am one of them.
Its time for a short track to be in the west. Auto club hasn't had good racing in years. Its just a cookie cutter
Lol yeah 3 years ago, if it hasn't happened by now it won't, I bet this track will be gone completely
As I have said other places..ironic that Auto Clubs final race, in it's current configuration, will also be Harvick's final race at his home track in his final season. Fitting.
I remember when Darlington was close to getting axed from the schedule, but a great finish saved it in 2003. Maybe the same could happen..?
We'll find out this Sunday...
History rhymes I hope.
Irony considering Darlington lost a date to here and Texas lost All Star Race to Wilkesboro.
History might rhyme.
@@SilentDanDisney I was just thinking the same thing. Darlington got its second date (400 miler) back. Wilksboro got its date back from Texas. Atlanta got its second date back. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Kentucky take Atlanta's second date in 2011? We all know how Kentucky's doing right now.
@@railsandracing
Yep.
We need a great race and a 6-wide finish at end for the win
After last years Race and probably this year I can’t believe they’re still going through with this
That's because of all the braindead restrictor plate fans still calling it "boring." And these days NASCAR only listens to those casual goons. Sadly casuals spend more money when they go to the races than the diehards do. Most of the diehards go with a "make this as cheap as possible" mindset..... this all concluded via numerous fan votes via the fan counsel. Another interesting stat is that 71% of NASCAR fans outside of California live in poor states with high welfare percentages... such as Mississippi and Alabama... so they've essentially be priced out by the middle and upper class fans from better states.
@@captainnebulous2918 sounds like F1
Well they just sold the land for 100 million so probably a no brainer for nascar
@@Momentum_Racing i wasnt one of those fans, i love autoclub and it was the last intermediate standing with an old surface they could run all over, its sad whats happening to all the good tracks like autoclub atlanta and texas
@@larryscott885 I went to Fontana the first 5 years it opened and the Nascar races were boring. Never any side by side racing, the cars were spread out by 10 car lengths or more the whole time. I finally stopped going and it wasn't until the track got old with the bumps that it finally presented great racing.
NASCAR should go to Irwindale!! It's way closer to LA and is an already proven short track that would easily sell out with additional grand stands
The question is what's going to prevent the people who move into the real estate that will be built when they turn Auto Club into a short track to eventually want the short track gone
That's what happened at Pomona drag strip. They built homes across the street from the end of the track and now there's a curfew for the races because people complained of noise coming from a track that stood 25 years before the homes were even built.
The building plan has industrial buildings going up not houses thankfully.
Its already in an industrial area. No homes are goin in around it
@@michealmjhThat would be good. Think it should be turned into a tourist areas with casino and shopping center like they did with Kansas City.
Land value is the name of the game in California. Ontario Motor Speedway was demolished for commercial development, Riverside was demolished for commercial development and some of the property at Fontana is currently being eyed for development of residential housing/commercial businesses. The new development craze in Southern California is construction along the Metrolink rail. They can build cheaper in Fontana and the residents can ride the train into LA for work.
Its only industrial zoned. there will be no homes.
@@shaynejenkins446 yea, I just left the track and had a long conversation with some people. It’s going to be industrial buildings. Talks of off site parking if the new track even happens. My opinion, I don’t see this happening. It either stays like it is or they end moving to a new location. To many moving parts in this mess. The buying group north and east of track is owned by Ross Perot?
@@TM_Rags Nascar and the ISC have already sold off the property it wont be developing. Its already scheduled for demo and reconfiguration next year in time for the 2025 season.
Irwindale would be a dream come true as a local track fan, that track is all my memories of races with my dad and where I met Joey Logano there and chase elliott. I'd love to see a test run of Irwindale for the 3 top series
I get the feeling that this is going to be the last race at all and their going to sell/close completely
Given the recent history of losing Riverside and Ontario to developers, you are probably right.
One could hope.
People forget it would take 10 years for the pavement to get to a good point where racing is close to how it is now and any bumps or imperfections would be smoothed and paved out. It just doesn’t make long term sense from financial/racing standpoint to simply repave and if you need proof look at what happened to Michigan if you’re old enough to remember how it changed after it’s repave.
NASCAR should ditch Fontana completely and try to build the proposed short track somewhere else in Southern California. Preferably, within 20 minutes of Los Angeles.
The short track config is definitely going to befall the same fate as literally every other short track that’s in a populated area.
People will build houses next to it then complain about the noise until the city shuts it down.
There is too many pollutants in the ground around the speedway for that. That’s why they were able to acquire the land and build the track for cheap in the 90s
@@kylecolletti6994 Then whatever company will complain about this noise or the vibrations until the track is shut down.
@@kylecolletti6994it is on the site of an old steel mill, right?
Auto club has been my favourite track since I watched Kasey kahne win in the fall of 2006. Hopefully they just keep the track as is.
I don't want to think about Autoclub disappearing
At all
Autoclub speedway is my home track. I'm only 30 minutes away and I've been there a lot last year, hell, i got to race on it and it was so much fun. With what we saw last year, a short track does not seem like a good idea with this next gen, that made tracks like Autoclub thrive. I don't mind trying to make it maybe like a 1 1/2 high speed track almost like Charlotte or Atlanta, but making it a short track feels like a suicide run
Also note: my hate towards real estate from wanting to destroy tracks for their land is now personal
As slapshoes said: it's a "booming real estate market"
@@patrickracer43 thats the unfortunate truth especially in Gayifornia
Well, tracks sort of can be a waste of good real estate too.
Worked for SHR 7 years at Fontucky and lobbied NASCAR for the Seattle track back in the day. Fontucky has enough hotel rooms, it’s has an airport super close. Ultimately it’s close enough for NASCAR and team owners to enjoy LA after the race. I am all in for another short track and if they can get the new configuration write we might have ourselves a new favorite racetrack
This is an outside the box theory for replacing Auto Club in 2024: what if the cup series went to Portland? They got a footing with Xfinity with a large turnout. If Xfinity can get a big turnout, surely the cup series can do the same if not more.
No room, you have to do something with the drug infested, homeless clowns that live everywhere
If they replace it with a road course I'd like Willow Springs more, especially since it's closer to the LA area.
They need to simplify the west end of Portland's track for nascar(the east section is ideal though). Cars are way too bulky and cumbersome for 145° turns. There's a reason Watkins Glen is the golden standard, everything is relatively fast and sweeping, and it's ideal for glorified physical speed tanks to roar around
I do like the more road courses idea but they need to be more custom to nascar sensibilities not the ones they are going to. Portland was not built with nascar in mind whatsoever
The California property is too expensive and just worth too much to dedicate it to a couple of races a year. It makes sense is smaller cities where the real estate is not so expensive.
This will be last race period it's hard to believe but California wants to get rid of gas power autos including race cars
It's funny how north Wilkesboro was dropped a season before the first ever run on California race .. and the tables are turned to cally is getting shut down for the new layout but the Wilks being brought back the same year for the all star.. ironic
man… gonna miss Auto Club as a 2 miler… 🥺
I'll kinda miss it but we can't hold on to the racetrack forever. We must accept change and let the Earth keep on rotating.
Lol, what will they gonna do with the leftover turns 2 and 3 and the backstretch? That's kinda waste
Same
@@Waddle_Dee_With_InternetI think the backstretch might be parking. Or sold for development and some of the original infield for parking.
Other than Bakersfield, most residents in California live a cosmopolitan lifestyle. NASCAR doesn't even factor in as a sport to these people. Wonder why you see the usual same actresses and actors that attend a race? NASCAR might as well build a track in Hawaii or Alaska, because there isn't much of a fanbase there either.
I gotta say, it hurts to hear this track is going and might not be replaced because of an hour long drive….I have a three hour drive just to get to my nearest short track (now that Western Speedway is gone) and a 4 hour ish flight to get to my nearest nascar track (vegas). I know it is what it is, and this is a me problem, just saying I’d kill to be able to drive an hour to see a local shirt track race, let alone a nascar race.
Keep up the great work
The problem with the location is la just isnt into racing like it used to. NHRA races at pamona and it used to be packed now it's less then half full when they go there. Theres just to much going on besides racing to do.
At this point it without a date to expect it to be open it seems most likely it is just going to be demo'd and nothing is going to be built. If the short track does get built unless they change a lot with the short track package it is going to bust and be closed anyway
Yep, I think that the writing is on the wall
They have already said it will be ready for the 2025 season. Its scheduled for demo after this race.
@@shaynejenkins446 they only said it won't be ready for 2024 that doesn't mean it will be ready for 2025
Third annual "Last Race" for Fontana. BTW, "an hour" out of LA, can be 3 blocks 'cause traffic there sucks. Elon needs to build a tunnel from LA to Fontana.
The left coast could care less about NASCAR. They should think twice about dropping another penny out there. Don't care for the clash either, cars are too big for a small track like that. They can always fly in their jets to Vegas.
As a fan that resides in Oregon and loves the racing Autoclub puts on I would want to keep Autoclub the same and invest in a new track in the pacific northwest. Ideally I would love an old nonprogressive banking Bristol style track. My whole family went to the Xfinity race in Portland last year and it was a sell out even with the infield camping and RV parking around the track. Fans from all over the northwest and Canada were packing the seats in an action packed rain race. The northwest wants NASCAR.
Yeah. That was a fun race to attend, us northwest fans are tired of barely anything. I heard they are building a big road course near Bremerton in WA, maybe that might attract attention when it’s done ina couple of years
The northwest had a chance for a track out near the Columbia gorge. But Oregon and Washington fought against it real hard. And then Nascar and the ISC basically told them go kick rocks you will never get another chance.
As a long time fan, I wish they would keep the old layout. Being a 2 mile oval makes the track unique in itself. I live in a big market( chicago) and Chicagoland is similar to fontana. A hour away from the big city, hasn't always had the most entertaining races, but has had its good moments and good finishes. Auto club kinda put its foot in its mouth, a few years by saying they was going to convert the track. That was probably just a thought the owners could've kept to themselves until the actually had a game plan. Plus a few years ago was when alot of fans was complaining about they wanted more short tracks on the schedule.
Auto Club might be the biggest “be careful what you wish for” scenario in NASCAR right now
Eh, as a viewer I'd rather have the chance to have something great than be guaranteed another twenty years of mediocre to bad 2 miler racing to maybe get another 2-3 years of actually good racing.
The Playoffs exist. Fans wanted to see wins matter more than consistency, and we got the terrible points system we have today.
ruclips.net/video/pwaBHkeC9YI/видео.html
@@JayDee185
Not wrong even though I am insane I like the Win and Your In format.
Yeah I’m insane.
@@JayDee185 exactly and those same fans still complain
I grew up less than 10 miles away from the track. First of all, “Fontucky” has been a nickname for the entire city for years. Irwindale has been the center of racing in the region for decades and as much as I love the track, it would be tough to have a NASCAR cup series event there. I went to the first race there in the 90s and as nostalgic as it is, I live out in AZ now and Phoenix is an immensely more entertaining race to attend. The short track is the way to go.
There may not be any race Sunday if the weather doesn't stabilize a bit.
I heard somewhere that Angel Stadium was vacant. Maybe completely knock down ACS and build a new track in Anaheim? I feel that in the middle on the configuration someone like Amazon is going to buy the rest of that land and there will be no more ACS
Most underrated comment right here!! Eric pin this
The Clash should be the thing that will now fill that SoCal slot and that's it. It should be changed to the top 10 finishers from the top three series the previous season in one race on the same track at the same time.
The podium could include the Top 3 overall, the top driver from each "class", or a top 3 from each series.
The best of the sport (and future of the sport) should have a reward for accomplishing that feat, like how the Top 10 get to speak at the awards banquet.
Irwindale is already sold and will be demolished in the next couple of year too...
I’m gonna miss seeing IndyCar race at the OG 2-mile track because there’s no way they’ll race on the short track :(
The short track won’t ever happen.
To be fair, they haven't been there in years, aren't doing much to add any more large ovals, and already have Long Beach which is a more popular, classic event with an IMSA crossover.
@@cco53587 and Laguna Seca
Agree or disagree with Indycar's reasoning, but after the backlash from the teams and drivers in 2015 they weren't going to go back to the 2 miler, especially after a repave which Auto Club is really going to need in the short term future.
@@GamersHolyArmy it was the Aero Kits fault
Wonder how many years it's going to take to build that new track ?
An eternity perhaps.
They have already said it will be ready in 2025
8:43 Long Beach would at least be a better idea for a street race than Chicago (especially when Chicago is replacing what could've become a great new tradition with Road America).
25 years ago, Fontana used to have four or five events per year (Truck series, Busch/Xfinity, Cup, IRL, sometimes other events like ARCA). Now it's pretty much just one weekend per year. At one event per year, a sold out event doesn't make enough money to cover the value of the land all around the track. That's why we're seeing it torn down, 80% sold off, and a short track taking its place.
There used to be a world-class, remote control car track there as well, and as of six weeks ago they had to pull up all the boards tear down the driver stand and remove everything from the facility
I would love to see the Fontana track reconfigured to a two/thirds or three/quarters mile track. A bit under a mile and a bit over half a mile.. Think: Right between Bristol and Phoenix.
That is sort of the design, but I think they will build it similar shape to Richmond Fairgrounds and give it hybrid Bristol/Martinsville banking maybe.
No matter what you think about Auto Club, it's a thousand times better than that joke at the Collesuem
Fontucky is in a good location, just under an hour from My house in the inland empire. It's like in the middle of the inland empire so we all gotta drive a little bit. When I lived in Monrovia CA, I could hear the cars on the track from my house. Irwindale speedway is definitely an awesome track
Hi Eric. I live right down the street from auto club speedway ,all my friends and I think a 1mile track would be more better . If they would recycle the materials at the track it would more affordable. Plus they could reconfigure what's there more easily. Irwindale Raceway is a half miler,they've been plenty of NASCAR events staged there. But that land is leased to the track not owned by the track. Plus its situated next to a rock quarry making expansion almost next to impossible. Lets hope they (Fontana) makes the right decision for the best possible way to make a viable track , for the area and for the fans. Great show ,keep it coming.
I seen in a interview that calf. Is their biggest market now
Their problem is there isn't enough roundy round fans in the area they only have a couple short tracks in the area and when you have to give a lot of the tickets away as promotion just to get a lot of people in the stands and there is way more stuff to do than go sit in the sun and watch cars go in circles sell the property and build somewhere else
I liken it to trying to shoehorn something in an area where it just won't work.
it would probably make more sense for them to go race at willow springs.
Plenty of nascar fans in the west. There isn't a single nascar short track west of the Mississippi and the clash doesn't count. Nobody was getting into races for free, Nascar isn't a charity.
Pretty crazy both races might get rained out this weekend in CA
I like autoclub. It was never a track that was any good on TV. But in person it was a great race. Not to mention, the infield road course. I attended a lot of other smaller road course races there. California has a massive motorsports culture and autoclub was a motorsports playground. SCCA were regular visitors there. There was a good drag strip, go-cart tracks, and autocrosses. There was always some type of racing going on there every weekend.
I am already bummed I missed the last Speedventures track day there...I am hoping there is another chance with delay in plans for the track.
We’re is the Matt Kenseth picture you got in the last video lol
Having driven on the Long Beach course, there’s a few spots where stock cars couldn’t handle it. 90 degree turns would be a mess
While I will miss this track, it is very true it will suck once paved. I am all for more short tracks so ultimately in the long term I believe this will be great event on the calendar
it wasn't a dirt track to begin with.
My only gripe is that unless we fix the short track package all these swings won’t last. The product needs to be good to warrant the change. So fine add more short tracks but the package for the cars needs to be fixed.
@Eric Estepp the Long Beach street circuit has very tight last turn (turn 11) and in a gen 7 NASCAR stock car you be going like 10mph.
What do you think Eric Estepp?
I like the 2/3rds mile idea way more than a half mile. 5/8ths or 3/4ths track would be my choice if I was in charge. Big enough for a fast NASCAR race and small enough to have local races every Saturday night too.
Late model races over a half mile are probably not going to be as good.
Street Race in San Diego have the race around Gaslamp Quarter/Petco Park/embarcadero area or Mission Bay.
It amazes me that for almost 20 years now NASCAR has continued to take one step forward and then shoot themselves in the foot five times.
544 million reasons why this is the last race ever in Fontana
Just checked out the 75-year book. I'm stunned that there's not a hard cover available.
There's a big hardback 75th anniversary book that is coming out in April. It doesn't appear to be the same people doing both, but I don't know.
I wonder what it would be like if they built houses over the northeast section of the track where Greg Moore was killed. Will they put a plaque in the kids bedroom where it happened?
I was there that day.
Fun note…The Terminator movie ending was filmed at that location!
This was the same predicament with Chicagoland in Joliet. I have a feeling if the Chicago Street course is a success it might be the end for Fontana and bring about an LA street race or would they do an Indy double in Long Beach... time will tell.
they won't do a double at long beach. I don't think those cars (or the fish) would like the aquarium section much. if they cut that part out and connected the front straight up to cedar avenue and turned right then right at seaside (ostensibly the old pre aquarium layout) that might work.
Its going to be terrible. There isn't a single passing lane. Its an indy course at best
It's a Tradition in California. Closing great tracks. Ontario Riverside and now Fontana I miss Riverside the most but at least I get to see the last race at Fontana I went there 1st in 98.
I would say wait for the Re pave at least. I don't know why that hasn't been the plan from day one
Build a 3/4 mile oval similar to Richmond and the fact California environmental enforcement doesn't want any internal combustion engines in the state in the near future is playing a significant role in whether they race in the state going forward.
Wish we could have kept it didn’t the tracks says they could scan the surface and when they lay down the new surface make it like the old?
We went to the races this past weekend. I know it's anecdotal, but as we were leaving the gate personnel were saying to people, "See you in 2025!"
I think the 2/3 or 3/4 high banked configuration could be a good one. Iriwindale is a pretty good idea, tho.
As someone who goes too Irwindale Speedway a lot, I agree. That track is freaken awesome. It's a multi-groove short track. The racing is always awesome there. I hope ACS does NOT get changed at all. I have been going there for years. I like it the way it is right now.
They sold a bunch of the land to developers. But there will be enough to construct a smaller track.
Please come to my home town track of Irwindale in 2024!!!! I think the cup cars would do well. Only problem is we’re to park the fan cars.
Repave would be the end of the track. Nobody would put up with a giant track that gets used once a year and doesn’t even provide good racing. Especially on the west coast. It’s already struggling to stay alive.
A short track save auto club and probably brings more racing to it throughout the year. Not every race will be as good as last year but on average it will be better than what auto club has been for 20 years.
For NASCAR they can show the west coast what NASCAR is really about and what it’s built on. The short track racing at the end of last was a ton better than the beginning and it will only get better. NASCAR knows short tracks better than anyone.
Just throwing it out there, but NWS is getting safer barriers and a rehab. I get the lack of seating, but could this pave the way to bringing the Cup Series back there for a points paying race?? Don't forget about Rockingham as well.
The drive really isn't that bad. I live in la and considering your driving out there on a Sunday morning, it's not really that bad.
Gonna miss this track. I know it’s not the popular opinion but why not have them race at the Long Beach street course with indycar for 2024?
I don't think a SINGLE FAN saw the rumors of the reconfiguration and jumped for joy. This decision baffled me when it was first rumored, and it still bafdles me now.
They could build a Bristol like track just north of the existing track. Run tunnels connecting the infields. Use the big track for garage and rig parking.
@John Haas I heard Eric incorrectly. I thought Nascar bought more land! It was the opposite! Sorry California, could be a while before Nascar returns. You guys in Callie are always welcome here in Phoenix!
I had hoped this track to remain as is. I remember when they were building this track as I was in Riverside for schooling
I'm going to be honest. Auto Club should've never been built. Ever. The location was an absolute ignorant place to build it. I'm all for removing it entirely from the schedule and replacing it with a race such as North Wilkesboro, or Rockingham, or Nashville Fairgrounds.
Last years racing was awesome with the constant slingshots I can't believe they are changing it
Last years. It’s been there for 25 years and it hasn’t always been like that and won’t again for years with a repave.
@@TracksideViews I get that but I'd like to enjoy if a few more years. Who knows maybe the short track will be great.
Hey Eric I was wanting to ask sense Im thinking about taking my parents to a race this summer is Kansas a good track to go to? it’s the closest track to us
Not a bad track it's got some good racing and a casino next door for your evening pleasure
I've never been there, but it puts on great racing every year it seems like.
The racing has definitely gotten better the last few years, I look forward to them now.
2:00 Eric, I have a rule with Monster Energy cars, and I think it will come in handy for you in the future. *Expect NOTHING*. Monster Energy does not like having any designs on their cars and will fight to make sure their cars are matte black and they will not deviate from it.
And no, the eye does not save the car. it sucks and Monster needs to let the designers cut loose with what they can do.
At least maybe we'll be able to tell his car from Ty Gibbs'.
On a Friday, Fontana is two hours outside of LA, plus there’s not much else out there.
I think nascar is doing well without a sponsor.
My favorite track is Michigan. The high speeds and unrestricted races are cool. Yes they get spread out, but that’s racing. Now auto club seems to me like a “b” type Michigan track. Here is the biggest problem----how can a short track survive with the configuration of this current car? They need to up the horsepower and narrow the tires if they want to go short track
If the cars would work on the LBC street course a double header combined Indy /NASCARweekend would be pretty cool.
Just tried to order the NASCAR 75 Magazine using the coupon. It’s expired and we’re not even out of February yet. 😢
Now maybe it's just me, I'm no architect or construction worker, but I feel like with it being a 2 mile track couldn't they just make the short track inside of the old layout. Kinda like how they got the road courses at Daytona and Charlotte, but still use the front stretch. Surely if they can convert the coliseum into a track, it's gotta be possible, right?
You could renovate Irwindale. It’s already a short track.
This is the best quote about LA "Los Angeles is not a sports town. Los Angeles is an Entertainment town." Phily, St. Louis, Cleveland, those are sports towns.
Fontana is forecasted for almost non stop rain through Wednesday. What are the chance this race happens this weekend?
Got mine ordered! Thank you!
It's hard to look at a map of the Fontana area and say that it's in the middle of nowhere. It is literally surrounded by Fontana, close to Ontario and Riverside and all the other small towns that are bunched together there. As opposed to MIS (that the Fontana developers copied) that truly is in a rural area 1 hour from Detroit & Toledo and 1/2 hr from Lansing and yet drew over 100K to two races per year for many years. It's about the demographics, the changing culture in SoCal and the changing tastes of the NASCAR fanbase. Riverside and Ontario Speedways were both located in this same vicinity and both were sold and demolished before Fontana was built. It doesn't seem that the area really supports auto racing in general and NASCAR in particular.
That’s true. NASCAR has never been extremely successful in SoCal
LA local here. at least in my opinion, auto club should definitely be kept as a 2-mile oval. yeah, it would require a repave soon after, but indycar and/or IMSA and other leagues might be able to put on good shows there. (ACS does have an inner road course).
then nascar can race at Irwindale Speedway and pull off an event similar to what they’re doing with North Wilkesboro. i cant see them messing too much with that track tho since it’s a staple of Formula Drift competitions.
Thanks Aric. First time at auto club for me Sunday - I’m glad I can get one race in before they change it.
@@johnhaas2523 thanks Jon
I'd love to have 3 types of tracks in California that NASCAR visit.
A short track, a road course and a superspeedway would be a cool tour and a nice west coast swing with phoenix and Vegas
Well, Sonoma is boring, compared to Auto Club. I think they need a race in LA market.
They are gonna tear down AutoClub and move that race to the Coliseum.
@@johnhaas2523 You laugh, but it would be EXACTLY the kind of idiocy NASCAR would cook up.
This might be something totally different and I'm not sure how it would race. But if they asked me to come up with a design for California, I would design a three quarter mile Darlington design short track. Having one end of the track egg shaped with the same banking Darlington has. It might be something totally different, but hey; Darlington is great. Why not try it on a shorter version?
I say get rid of Auto club and cut losses. There are several tracks that are not being used right now that will bring a bigger crowd.
Keep up the good work Eric...enjoyed your Daytona coverage. I still say to the unenlightened that Saurez is more likely to win a championship then going nowhere in good equipment Bowman😅😅 Qualifying good is one thing...racing is another!