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Nothing is definite, as NASCAR has demonstrated in recent years, especially when it comes to their national touring series schedules. NASCAR has added new sites, shifted race dates, and will even be racing on the streets of Chicago later this year.
Yet, one thing is clear. Auto Club Speedway in southern California will not be mentioned when the schedules for 2024 are released later this year. In fact, there may not even be a race there next season.
The final race on the two-mile speedway, which was inaugurated in 1997, will take place in just a few weeks. Following the race weekend, the course will be redesigned and the work will not be completed in time for the start of next season.
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“Unfortunately, even with the most aggressive timeline, we will not race in 2024 on the new track,” Auto Club Speedway president Dave Allen said Saturday.
The track will be overhauled; it will be reduced from its present length of two miles, however, the length and configuration have yet to be established. While those aspects are still being worked out, racing in 2024 is out of the question. What about the future?
“The timeline beyond that still has yet to be determined, there are just milestones we need to get through, not the least of which is the design of the racetrack. We’re still working on that. There are a lot of iterations we’re still designing, both on track and off track.” Allen said.
NASCAR has worked relentlessly to establish and maintain NASCAR racing in Southern California. The presence has been through Auto Club Speedway, formerly known as California Speedway, since 1997.
With its position around 50 miles west of Los Angeles, the country's second-largest media market, it felt like the ideal place to introduce the sport to the general public.
Why NASCAR fans don't like Auto Club Speedway
The large 2-mile track in California will undergo extensive renovations to decrease the track distance. Racing fans and their favorite drivers don't always agree on which speedways they prefer, and the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway is no exception.
Fans have recently advocated for more short tracks and fewer 1.5-mile and 2-mile speedways. Drivers, on the other hand, like racing on circuits such as the Southern California Speedway in Fontana.
Corey LaJoie, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 said:
"I think that what the drivers like a lot of times isn’t what the fans show up in droves to see. Fontana is a really fun race track. It has a lot of character with the ability to run five lanes, the ability to run on the fence, to use some tire conservation."
“But, then again, it also plays into a stretched-out race with not a ton of passes, not a lot of cars close together which for the viewers on TV, they don’t necessarily love that.”
LaJoie remarked that while drivers appreciate the track, spectators watching from the 20th row of the grandstands definitely don't since "you see a football field between the top 30 cars."
