Auto Club Speedway WAS one of the best tracks in America | Door Bumper Clear 

Years ago, Ray Kroc said McDonalds wasn't in the hamburger business. It's in the real estate business.

I like to see a 3/4 mile that combines a bit of Bristol, Dover, and Martinsville.

I lived in LA for 25 years ( my family is still there) and attended several NASCAR races at Fontana. I really hope the short track becomes a reality...

Brett Griffin incorrectly said Roger Penske built Michigan International Speedway. However, it was Mark LoPatin a Detroit-area land developer who built the speedway at an estimated cost of 4-6 million. Penske later purchased the track in 1972, five years after the inaugural race.

Im from Nascar family local to the track, grew up going to Fontana and hearing stories from my pops and grandpa about Riverside... pops says this is exactly how riverside died, first they made it smaller and sold some of the land, and then poof it was gone

Sad my kids will never get to experience it. I hope we get something back.

Michigan will be the last surviving 2-mile oval. RIP Texas World Speedway and Fontana.

Living in Southern California, very small NASCAR community, Fontana is only track I've been to following Dale Jr. Since he retired, we haven't been back there but my daughter growing up in those days we have some good memories. Maybe I'll check it out when new track gets done 😁👍

Wikipedia Says Penske paid $100 million to Build Autoclub Speedway

Glad someone said something positive, all the talking heads last week were pushing the narrative that Nascar was happy to see it go and the racing wasn't great, shame to see it go, glad the last race was memorable

It’s not unheard of. Back in the 90s the former Aerojet Corporation stayed afloat by selling 12,000 acres of prime real estate just miles away from downtown Sacramento.

Grew up 10 miles from the track. The Inland Empire loves racing and as much as I will miss that track, races could get kinda boring. I live in AZ now and Phoenix is a much more entertaining track from a fan standpoint, so I am personally ok if they make it into a short track. Still, I’ll always have fond memories of “Fontucky.”

Auto Club didn’t deserve the hate it got! My hot take

The local race scene is heart broken. The infield track is being demolished. No more motorcycle track days for me.

A damn shame that this track will probably end up like Riverside.. I seriously doubt the short track will ever see the light of day.

I thought Roger paid around $100M for the track and facility. He modeled it after the Michigan Speedway. It was a great place to watch racing such as nascar and IMSA.

i work 1 block away from the track in fontana and never knew there was a racetrack there LMFAO. the city used 0 effort trying to tell people about it

I run the NASA Roval there and have done that for years. Love it, one of my favorite tracks, so fun to hit that oval and run 3/4 of the way around it, pushing 140 (laugh all you want, that is pretty fast for a production street car) and then slow for basically a 90 degree left and immediate 90 degree right, or ess turn if you want to call it tha, coming off the big track. I am really sad I won't be able to do that again, particularly since I broke my race car and am building another one.

Penske sold it to Nascar for 600 million ,he built it for 100 mil.Good show boys . I live Two blocks from the track. Hate to wait for another 4 or 5 years for it to be rebuilt. Why not make a 1 mile track ,that's my opinion anyway.

Penske didnt build michigan. He just bought it in 72 and upgraded the track and facilities over the course of his ownership.

It's sad to see it go, it was a unique layout with good racing lately. But I'd rather it see this end, where NASCAR makes some money, instead of seeing it go the way of Texas World or Nazareth where it just rots.

There's a reason we use to call Fontana Fontucky it was back woods for us urbanites from LA.

You have another track just like Fontana. Michigan! One of the best tracks on the schedule. Need to put BOTH races back there…June and August.

25 years ago, Fontana hosted four or five events per year (NASCAR twice a year, trucks, IRL, ARCA). It only hosted one event per year for the last ten years. The land around the track is worth more than one sold out annual event. What I don’t understand is why they say fans want more short track and less 2 mile? I don’t know a single fan that wants to see another 1-2 mile. Not one. EVERY fan here in Cali that I’ve talked wants to see increased banking and narrow the track to take away the extra grooves. Make it a baby-super.

I noticed Joey took off later in the restart zone which is his decision when to take off. I Think the next few rows after assumed he was going sooner and stacked them up. Can't go until the leader goes. So the first couple cars behind Joey caused the wreck.

The only reason it was a sell out this past week was bc it was advertised as the last race on the 2-mile configuration. Years prior attendance and ratings dwindled.

Auto Club has always been one of my favourite racetracks.

Stop falling for NASCARs lies. This track is DONE. Construction will be in “limbo” for a couple years. Then it will be removed from the schedule all together. Then the rest sold and demolished. Chicagoland 2.0

Got videos of me racing at Cali Speedway. I loved that track.

the biggest problem with this is parking is not a consideration for the race tracks. I went to Daytona two years ago and had to walk two miles to the track. never again. being handicapped is too much.

You look a most race tracks, they were all built in the middle of nowhere. Back in the early years langhorne, Trenton , bridgehampton and list goes on. The price of land can't justify a venue that's only used a few times a year

Can this possibly be a result of 2 years of drop-off in revenue because of covid, just one more casualtie

My suggestion? Find land that isn’t at risk of redevelopment, and build a new speedway. Doesn’t have to be in the LA San Bernadino area. Why not Bakersfield or something?

SoCal got rid of the "Big O" and add Riverside Raceway, so losing another track is just par for this part of the country. Worse than Las Vegas!

Oh yeah? It was one of the best? All I remember hearing about it before they announced it was being reconfigured was how the races are always shitty fuel mileage races. Pick a side and stay on it Flip floppers.

They probably needed the space to put the homeless to get them out of downtown

I get it...I hate that we're losing it...but I think they're basing this decision on the fact that when the way tracks have been after re-paves the past 5-7 years...they know Fontana was about to have to be re-paved and it wouldn't be good anymore...we'd have a Texas Motor Speedway problem. I think they sold it knowing that with a re-pave having to happen soon...it's days of good races was numbered.

They were going to have to re pave it sooner or later, so the character that it had was going to be gone so it would be more similar to Texas. I think this might have been the best option they had

let's just say amazon wants property that tracks sit on and the one that is being built next to the track so it won't last long.

Amazing how a person can envision a diamond in the ruff. Like he said Penske probably made 5 to 1 on the deal.

Texas should strive to be the new Auto Club.

$$$ is what NASCAR wants. There loyalty is to the fans in the southeast. I don’t believe that a short track will survive in the long run. Unless they can lease property on Camp Pendleton, NASCAR is out of SoCal.

Group deal with several tracks from Penske.

Wtf.... the steel mill is up and running..

It's a crime what nascar is doing. This track has had great racing for decades, many of the drivers say its one of their favorite tracks. I couldn't care less about the money, if nascar needs 500 million dollars then things have gone terribly wrong anyways. The truth is, the next gen garbage car is good on intermediate tracks and bad on short tracks, and they are tearing down to build a short track...

Having been going there since they initially opened in nineteen ninety seven and taking parade lapse on the oval before the truck races It's something I'll never forget.. Having used to live 6 miles from that track when it was built the area was a dump it has become one of the Premier destinations in California. Nascar is a greedy organization. I don't watch many races due to the new format as it stinks honestly. I don't think they'll put a track back there. I think they're lying to everyone Nascar has become nothing but money and greed

They paid $600,000,000 and got 4 tracks.

And thus, comes another gentrified neighborhood courtesy of real estate

They sold 3/4 of it to pay the tax probably. I also wanted to say; Keep up the highly cerebral comments about marketing and the racing Kasey.

What I heard was quit repaving any track and sooner or later when it wears out there will be good racing.

I just moved out of commiefornia, I lived about 30 miles from the speedway. The only thing I miss are my friends, glad I got out of that state.

And in the beginning > only Roger Penske could have made it happen

In the end, does it matter? NASCAR has been ruining race tracks with almost every repave that comes to mind. They killed Texas when it was decent. They killed Kentucky when it had character. Michigan has been terrible. Atlanta is some idiotic combination of the stupidest kind of superspeedway "racing".

Like it or not, the $ Bill influences history. As with Fontana, it usually isn't for the best.

I think with phelps calling the shots it wont be long and nascar will be on mav t.v because he is destroying nascar! He sucks!

The old Texas World Speedway and Michigan are dulplicates to the foot and it was build in the middle of nowwhere.

Best tracks? All I saw was lackluster racing and half filled grandstands. We already had Michigan and this style track wasn't necessary. A short track, or heck an oddball layout (pocono/nazareth) is going to provide better racing.

...and now the retailers will hate not having race crowds > love/hate = love their $$ & hate the traffic

Why Michigan can't have races like fontana since both are indetical in theory?

fontana is the best 1.5-2 miler. the intermediate tracks have lost their lure because they are all brand new or repaved and race boring as hell

if you build it. they will come.

I mean was there ever an exciting race at this track? I'm trying my hardest to remember and the only highlights come to mind is Micheal McDowell flipping down the backstretch. Seems like ever win was a fuel mileage pit strategy win. The races were boring af let's be real.

Riverside Road Course was the Best Track in SoCal. AutoClub was avg... Michigan is the Same Track. So We fill out more Short Tracks then big tracks... i like the racing in the past... Riding the rails no real action.. Seen it on TV. the stands where about empty. The track will get smaller then Shut Down then they will have to move it Near Hemet or go over to the Desert and have covered Stands. or just Nascar leaves SoCal all together, that's what will happen down the line. Racetrack Near Fresno CA with the New Highspeed train?

Fontana was a great track, but races were too long and for a while there it was a mileage track. Whenever they got the balance of tire wear and mileage right you got a great race because drivers could find a spot to run without really being single fille. Drafting worked but wasn't essential. I hope if they do build a short track it's not a Bristol clone; make it weird so it's interesting and hard to master. Like a mini Pocono or something. That and lights so it can host night races.

Money talks the racing comes 2nd

Yeah right!!🤣🤣🤣🤣

On tv the grandstands looked 1/4 - 1/3 empty. If they really sold out I’d guess NASCAR bought the empty seats or just claimed that they sold. But I guess there could have been a half mile of lines for the bathroom and concessions during the whole race?

You can’t afford 13% tax?

It's a shame

The track will be used for electric and hybrid vehicles, because that's what California wants, wait and see.

WHY do you have to cuss? Can't we as a nation hold on to at least one of our standards?

Track was boring. I'm glad it's gone. Other than a few last laps battles what was good about it

Get ready because there are a bunch of tracks that should be dropped. And Daytona has been a joke for a while boring azz pack racing a couple big crashes then finally on the last turn they start racing hard. Any team can win Daytona. Jmo

All I do is listen to podcasts and conspiracies haha one thing adding up everyone’s selling right now like somethings about to happen…. It’s getting crazy.. they say California is gonna be divided like North Carolina and South Carolina.. nascar knows something

Such a stupid move by NASCAR

California regulations and taxes probably have a major part of nascar leaving.

Losing Fontana proves one day we'll lose ALL tracks including Daytona. Then motorsports as we know it is gone. All anyone will have is strest racing

Another track for Nascar to screw up 🙄

No, it wasn't one of the best tracks. Boring ass races. It would be good for 10 laps after a restart, but mostly just riding around the top doing nothing. Maybe, maybe it would be good for a 50 lap race. Good riddance.

Ben watching since 2001....terrible... strungout...boring racing!👎

Boring racetrack get rid of it.

who cares..no one watches anyway

The track has been a snooze fest for years now ! Im glad it will be gone now they just need to get ride of Vegas and Kansas!

I like how now thats its closed everyone loves this place. Terrible, boring track. Bore a fornia speedway.