"They can't get it done": Dale Earnhardt Jr. downplays hopes of NASCAR reviving Auto Club Speedway 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently spoke about NASCAR's future in the state of California. One senior executive of NASCAR recently commented on their current standing on the West Coast market with Auto Club Speedway demolished with potential of turning into a short track in future.

It's worth mentioning that Auto Club Speedway hosted it's final Cup race in the 2023 season. And 433 of it's 522 acres of space were sold off, with hopes of turning the remaining property NASCAR owned into a short track.

However, Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn't think NASCAR would be able to do anything new with Auto Club or any new speedway. He said on the Dale Jr. Download:

"I don't think that NASCAR can get it done. I think that even if NASCAR wants to do it, they can't get it done. This is something that I don't think a lot of people consider, think about the permits and the challenges to build anything in the state of California, particularly around a sporting event or a speedway. Not only the timeline and the hoops to jump through to get those permits and get that building code all sorted, but the expense and the cost. It's going to cost more money to build the facility than it will be worth to have." [51:20]

Junior added that in his opinion, NASCAR trying to build on top of Auto Club, wouldn't turn out to be 'a financial success story.'

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants NASCAR to take Bristol to California, but foresees another Chicago

Speaking further on this subject, Dale Earnhardt Jr. revealed how he's always been a big believer in short-track racing being the right product for the West Coast market. He mentioned that with Auto Club Speedway and Sonoma, NASCAR has done a lot of things in that market which were fun.

But the one thing they're yet to do, as Dale Jr. mentioned, is to take the short-track product from Bristol or Martinsville to California. He said:

"I've walked out of those racetracks many times wishing we could bottle that up and take it all across the country because we'd be so successful if we could. So as bad as NASCAR may want to build, I think NASCAR does want to build that short track right there on that Fontana property. I just don't think that they can do it. I don't think it's realistic." [53:00]

Dale Earnhardt Jr. further added that he can't blame NASCAR for lack of action on Auto Club Speedway's future. In his opinion, that isn't 'a feasible path' forward.

The NASCAR Hall of Famer believed that in a more likely scenario, there could be a street course race or a race on an already existing facility. Having said that, Dale Earnhardt Jr. remarked that he doesn't see a lot of ovals in California.

And with building a new racetrack being another unlikely scenario, that as per Dale Jr. only strengthens the case for a street course race in the West Coast.