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Auto Club Speedway (known as California Speedway before and after the 2008–2023 corporate sponsorship by the
Automobile Club of Southern California The Automobile Club of Southern California is the Southern California affiliate of the American Automobile Association (AAA) federation of motor clubs. The Auto Club was founded on December 13, 1900, in Los Angeles as one of the nation's first mo ...
) was a , D-shaped oval
superspeedway Oval track racing is a form of motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of traffic is almost uni ...
in unincorporated
San Bernardino County, California San Bernardino County ( ), officially the County of San Bernardino and sometimes abbreviated as S.B. County, is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is locat ...
, near
Fontana Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone * Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi ...
. It hosted
National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
(NASCAR) racing annually from 1997 until 2023. It was also previously used for
open wheel racing An open-wheel car is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, Sports car racing, sports cars, Stock car racing, stock cars, and Touring car racing, touring car ...
events. The racetrack was located east of
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
and was near the former locations of
Ontario Motor Speedway Ontario Motor Speedway was a motorsport venue located in Ontario, California. It was the first and only automobile racing facility built to accommodate major races sanctioned by all of the four dominant racing sanctioning bodies: United States Au ...
and
Riverside International Raceway Riverside International Raceway (sometimes known as Riverside, RIR, or Riverside Raceway) was a motorsports race track and road course established in the Edgemont area of Riverside County, California, just east of the city limits of Riversid ...
. The track was last owned and operated by NASCAR. The speedway was served by the nearby Interstates 10 and 15 as well as a Metrolink station located behind the backstretch. Construction of the track, on the site of the former
Kaiser Steel Kaiser Steel was a steel company and integrated steel mill near Fontana, California. Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser founded the company on December 1, 1941, and workers fired up the plant's first blast furnace, named "Big Bess" after Kaiser's ...
Mill, began in 1995 and was completed in late 1996. The speedway's main grandstand had a capacity of 68,000. Additionally it featured 28 skyboxes and had a total capacity of 122,000. In 2006, a fanzone was added behind the main grandstand. Lights were added to the speedway in 2004 with the addition of a second annual NASCAR weekend. From 2011 to 2023, the track hosted only one NASCAR weekend each year. A 500-mile American open-wheel car race was held under
Championship Auto Racing Teams Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) was a Governing body, sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 1979 until dissolving after the 2003 CART season, 2003 season. CART was founded in 1979 by team owners formerly ...
sanctioning from 1997 to 2002. The current
IndyCar IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis ...
sanctioning body ran a 400-mile race from 2002 to 2005 and a 500-mile race from 2012 to 2015, which was usually the season finale. Its last IndyCar race was the
2015 MAVTV 500 The 2015 MAVTV 500 IndyCar race was an open-wheel motorsport event held on June 27, 2015, at the oval course at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It marked the 11th round of the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season and unlike the pr ...
. In 2023, the track was closed for reconstruction as part of the Next Gen California project and demolition started in October 2023. In late November of 2024 however, NASCAR president Steve Phelps would say in an interview on SiriusXM NASCAR radio that doubts of rebuilding Auto Club Speedway into a short track were at an all-time high due to high construction costs as well as NASCAR having other priorities higher on their list with Fontana being at the bottom of that priority list.


Track history


Early history and construction

On April 20, 1994,
Roger Penske Roger Searle Penske (born February 20, 1937), also known as "the Captain", is an American auto racing team owner, businessman, and former professional driver. Penske is the owner of Team Penske, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar, and ...
and
Kaiser Steel Kaiser Steel was a steel company and integrated steel mill near Fontana, California. Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser founded the company on December 1, 1941, and workers fired up the plant's first blast furnace, named "Big Bess" after Kaiser's ...
announced the construction of a racetrack on the site of the abandoned Kaiser Steel Mill in
Fontana, California Fontana is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Founded by Azariel Blanchard Miller in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area. It ...
. A day after the announcement,
Championship Auto Racing Teams Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) was a Governing body, sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 1979 until dissolving after the 2003 CART season, 2003 season. CART was founded in 1979 by team owners formerly ...
(CART) announced it would hold an annual race at the speedway. Three months later NASCAR president
Bill France Jr. William Clifton France (April 4, 1933 – June 4, 2007), better known as Bill France Jr. or Little Billy, was an American motorsports executive who served from 1972 to 2000 as the chief executive officer (CEO) of NASCAR, the sanctioning body of ...
agreed to sanction
NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...
races at the speedway upon completion, marking the first time NASCAR made a commitment to run a race at a track that had yet to be built. Community meetings were held to discuss issues related to the construction of the track and the local effects of events held. The local community largely supported construction of the speedway citing potentially increased land values and rejuvenation of the community. In April 1995, after having toured the sister track Michigan International Speedway, the
San Bernardino County San Bernardino County ( ), officially the County of San Bernardino and sometimes abbreviated as S.B. County, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of th ...
Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the project. The
California Environmental Protection Agency The California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) is a state cabinet-level agency within the government of California. The mission of CalEPA is to restore, protect and enhance the environment, to ensure public health, environmental quali ...
gave Penske permission to begin construction after Kaiser agreed to pay US$6 million to remove hazardous waste from the site. Construction on the site began on November 22, 1995, with the demolition of the Kaiser Steel Mill. The
water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...
, a landmark of the Kaiser property, was preserved in the center of the track to be used as a scoreboard. of contaminated dirt was removed and transported to a toxic waste landfill. To prevent remaining impurities from rising to the surface, a cap of non-porous
polyethylene Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging (plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bott ...
was put down and covered with of clean soil. Construction of the track was completed in late 1996. On January 10, 1997, Marlboro Team Penske's driver
Paul Tracy Paul Anthony Tracy (born December 17, 1968) is a Canadian professional auto racing driver who participated in Champ Car World Series, the IndyCar Series, and the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). He started kart racing at age five and quick ...
became the first driver to test on the new speedway. NASCAR held its first open test session on at the track from May 5–7. The official opening and ribbon cutting ceremony was held on June 20, 1997, with the first race, a
NASCAR West Series The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series, NASCAR Winston Transcontinental Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series ow ...
race, being held the next day.


Auto Club Speedway

The track was named the California Speedway from the time it was built through February 21, 2008, when the
Automobile Club of Southern California The Automobile Club of Southern California is the Southern California affiliate of the American Automobile Association (AAA) federation of motor clubs. The Auto Club was founded on December 13, 1900, in Los Angeles as one of the nation's first mo ...
purchased the naming rights in a 10-year deal; thus the track became Auto Club Speedway and has remained as of 2023, as the deal was renewed. The sponsorship was discontinued after March 2023.


Expansion and additions

With early success following the opening of the track, the speedway began to expand reserved grandstand seating along the front stretch with an additional 15,777 seats. In May 1999, an additional 28 skyboxes were added to the top of the main grandstand. In 2001 the Auto Club Dragway, a dragstrip, was built outside of the backstretch of the main speedway. That same year, the infield of the speedway was reconfigured to hold a multipurpose road course. On April 24, 2003, The San Bernardino County Planning Commission approved the changing of the speedway's conditional use permit to allow the installation of lights around the track. Later that year NASCAR announced a second annual NASCAR Cup Series race at the track for the 2004 season, with the second race being run "under the lights". NASCAR ran two weekends of racing annually until the 2011 season, when the track returned to a single annual race weekend. In 2006, the speedway's midway, located behind the main grandstand, was overhauled. The new midway, called the "Discover IE FanZone", included the addition of Apex (a
Wolfgang Puck Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born July 8, 1949) is an Austrian chef and restaurateur. Early life Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname of his stepfather, Jos ...
restaurant), additional shade and lounge areas, a retail store and an entertainment stage. In March 2014, the Las Vegas-based company Exotics Racing expanded to California by opening a new 1.2 mile road course at the Auto Club Speedway.


Configurations

Image:Auto Club Speedway (formerly California Speedway) - Speedway.svg, Speedway oval Image:Auto Club Speedway (formerly California Speedway) - Sports Car.svg, Sports car course Image:Auto Club Speedway (formerly California Speedway) - Motorcycles.svg, Motorcycle course Image:Auto Club Speedway (formerly California Speedway) - Interior Circuit.svg, Interior test circuit Image:FONTANA2021.jpg, Overview of facility looking south


Attendance problems

Upon the addition of a second NASCAR weekend at the track in 2004, attendance at the races dropped off dramatically, by as much as 20,000. With such a large attendance swing, drivers and media began to doubt if the track deserved two dates, even if the track was near Los Angeles, the nation's second-largest media market. Weather also became a concern with either extremely hot days or with rain threatening the races. All of this factored into NASCAR's decision to remove a second race from the track with the realignment of the 2011 NASCAR schedule. Former track owner
Roger Penske Roger Searle Penske (born February 20, 1937), also known as "the Captain", is an American auto racing team owner, businessman, and former professional driver. Penske is the owner of Team Penske, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar, and ...
said the track may be located in a one-race market. Track president Gillian Zucker cited bad weather windows and fans having other entertainment options as reasons for the attendance decline. Effective in the 2014 racing season, the grandstand capacity was reduced from 92,000 to 68,000. This was accomplished by removing approximately 12,000 seats near turn 1 and installing a hospitality area and a digital display showing speeds along the straightaway. In addition, seats were further reduced as a result of modifying average seat width from 18 inches to 23 inches. The capacity quoted does not include luxury boxes and infield seating, which when added reaches a capacity of approximately 100,000.


Name change

On February 21, 2008, the Automobile Club of Southern California (ACSC) became the title sponsor of the raceway, making Auto Club Speedway the track's official name. The
naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...
deal was for ten years and is worth an estimated $50 to $75 million. In addition to naming rights, the ACSC was to have use of the facility for road tests for ''
Westways The Automobile Club of Southern California is the Southern California affiliate of the American Automobile Association (AAA) federation of motor clubs. The Auto Club was founded on December 13, 1900, in Los Angeles as one of the nation's first mo ...
'' magazine and other consumer tests. The money was used for capital improvements to the track.


In popular culture

The track was often used for filming television shows, commercials and films. In 2000, portions of ''
Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts for ABC. It originally aired from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, airing for five seasons consisting of 115 episodes. It was produ ...
'' were filmed at the speedway, and in 2005, portions of '' Herbie: Fully Loaded'' were filmed there. In 2007, ''
The Bucket List ''The Bucket List'' is a 2007 American buddy comedy-drama film directed and produced by Rob Reiner, written by Justin Zackham, and starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. The main plot follows two terminally ill men on their road tri ...
'' saw
Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...
and
Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, producer, and narrator. In a career spanning six decades, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as a nomination for a Tony ...
drive a vintage Shelby Mustang and Dodge Challenger around the speedway. The track was used as
Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about north of Orlando, Florida, Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race ...
in the 2019 film ''
Ford v Ferrari ''Ford v Ferrari'' (titled ''Le Mans '66'' in some European countries) is a 2019 American biographical sports drama film directed by James Mangold and written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller. It stars Matt Da ...
''. A parody of the track was used in the 2006
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
/
Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...
animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...
film ''
Cars A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...
'' in the end of the film. It is the venue for the Piston Cup tiebreaker race between the movie's main character
Lightning McQueen Lightning McQueen is a fictional anthropomorphic stock car and the protagonist of the Disney/Pixar ''Cars'' franchise. He was developed by John Lasseter and co-director Joe Ranft from a story concept by Jorgen Klubien. Lightning's appearances ...
(voiced by
Owen Wilson Owen Cunningham Wilson (born November 18, 1968) is an American actor. He has frequently worked with filmmaker Wes Anderson, with whom he has shared writing and acting credits on the films '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), and ''T ...
), retiring veteran Strip "The King" Weathers (voiced by
Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "the King", is an American former stock car racing driver who competed from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most nota ...
) and perennial runner-up
Chick Hicks '' Cars'' is a media franchise including the 2006 film '' Cars'', the 2011 film '' Cars 2'', the 2017 film '' Cars 3'', the 2022 series '' Cars on the Road'', the 2013 film '' Planes'', and the 2014 film '' Planes: Fire & Rescue''. This page is a ...
(voiced by
Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He has received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for an Aca ...
). The race is held at the Los Angeles International Speedway, which is a conglomeration of the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the Los Angeles Coliseum or L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park, Los Angeles, Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Conceived as a hal ...
, the Arroyo Seco in
Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...
where the
Rose Bowl Rose Bowl or Rosebowl may refer to: * Rose Bowl Game, an annual American college football game * Rose Bowl (stadium), Pasadena, California, site of the football game, and the home stadium of the UCLA Football team * Rose Bowl (cricket ground), West ...
is located, as well as the Auto Club Speedway.


Fatalities

During the
1999 Marlboro 500 The 1999 Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota was held on October 31, 1999, at Auto Club Speedway (then known as California Speedway) in Fontana, California as the final showdown of the 1999 CART World Series season. The race was marred by an accid ...
CART race, Canadian driver Greg Moore died in a crash along the backstretch of the track. It was determined that after sliding along the infield grass, Moore's car hit the edge of oncoming pavement, which caused the car to flip into a concrete retaining wall. The incident prompted the track owners,
ISC ISC may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Imperial Space Command, a fictional organization in the books by Catherine Asaro * Indian Society of Cinematographers, a non-profit cultural and educational organisation * International Sculpture Center, ...
, to pave the backstretch of both Auto Club Speedway and its sister track
Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway (formerly named as the Michigan Speedway from 1997 to 2000) is a D-shaped oval superspeedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. It has hosted various major auto racing series throughout its existence, including NASCAR, Cham ...
in an attempt to prevent a similar accident. Shortly after the crash, CART mandated the use of a head-and-neck restraint system on all ovals. The rule eventually became mandatory on all tracks. On April 5, 2002, Ricky Lundgren was killed in a qualifying session for a motorcycle race. On August 7, 2004, a police officer from San Diego, John Barr, died during an open track event after coming off his motorcycle. On June 2, 2005, two men died while participating in an event sponsored by the San Diego Chapter of the
Ferrari Club of America Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and began to produce its current ...
. On October 15, 2010, a 24-year-old woman died while participating in a driving school at the track. The woman was driving a replica
Indycar IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis ...
as part of the Mario Andretti Racing Experience when she lost control and hit the inside wall of the track.


Planned reconstruction

On September 8, 2020, it was revealed that documents for the reconstruction of the facility as a half-mile high banked oval had been filed with San Bernardino County. As first reported by ''The Insider'', the new short track layout would feature long straightaways like
Martinsville Speedway Martinsville Speedway is a oval Oval track racing#Short track, short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, United States, a community of Martinsville, Virginia. The track has held a variety of events since its opening in 1947, primarily events sanctione ...
and high banked turns like those featured at
Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol Motor Speedway (formerly known as the Bristol International Raceway from 1978 to 1996 and as the Bristol International Speedway from 1961 to 1978) is a oval Oval track racing#Short track, short track in Bristol, Tennessee. The track ha ...
. According to the published preliminary site plan, the new layout would fit inside the footprint of the current layout's trioval, and utilize much of the existing infrastructure such as the garages (which would be outside the new track), main grandstand and pit road suites (which would overlook the relocated backstretch). The work was scheduled to start after the 2021 Auto Club 400, and to be completed in time for the 2022 season. In December 2020, it was announced that the 2021 race weekend had been cancelled due to complications surrounding the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. On February 27, 2022, Auto Club Speedway president Dave Allen announced on
Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...
NASCAR Radio that plans to convert the speedway had been put on hold. With the
Busch Light Clash The Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium is an annual non-championship pre-season NASCAR Cup Series exhibition event held in February before the season-opening Daytona 500. The event was held each year at Daytona International Speedway from the ...
now being held at the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the Los Angeles Coliseum or L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park, Los Angeles, Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Conceived as a hal ...
beginning in 2022, there was now no official commitment from NASCAR to follow through with plans to convert the speedway. In early 2023, following the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum, NASCAR
chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...
Steve O'Donnell made mention that NASCAR was, "evaluating the market as a whole and what's the best place for us to race within the totality of 2024 and beyond." In 2023, the track was closed for reconstruction as part of the Next Gen California racing project. Demolition began in October 2023.


Transportation

The Auto Club speedway was served by a special Metrolink station, opened only on race days.


Racing events


Former races

*
All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) is a grand touring car racing series that began in 1993. Originally titled as the , the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It was the top level of sports car racing in Japan. The series was s ...
(2004, exhibition race) *
Champ Car Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., a Governing body, sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing T ...
** '' Marlboro 500'' (1997–2002) *
IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...
** ''
MAVTV 500 American open-wheel car races had been hosted at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California since its inauguration in 1997 until 2015 (except from 2006 to 2011), under both CART/Champ Car and modern-day IndyCar Series sanctioning, representing a ...
'' (2002–2005, 2012–2015) *
IROC International Race of Champions (IROC) was a North American auto racing competition, created by Les Richter, Roger Penske and Mike Phelps, promoted as an American-motorsports equivalent of an all-star game. Despite its name, IROC was primarily ...
(1997–1998, 2002) *
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock cars. The series i ...
** ''
San Bernardino County 200 The San Bernardino County 200 is a discontinued NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race held at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It was first held in 1997, the year Auto Club Speedway opened, and last held in 2009. The race had been he ...
'' (1997–2009) *
NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...
** ''
Pala Casino 400 The Pala Casino 400 was a 400-mile (643.737 km) NASCAR Cup Series stock car racing, stock car race held at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It was the second race of the Cup Series season (after the Daytona 500) during its final ...
'' (1997–2020, 2022–2023) ** ''
Pepsi Max 400 The Pepsi Max 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car racing, stock car race held annually at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It was the second of two Sprint Cup Series races held at the Auto Club Speedway (the other being the ...
'' (2004–2010) *
NASCAR West Series The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series, NASCAR Winston Transcontinental Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series ow ...
(1997–2006) *
NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level NASCAR Cup Series, Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a Undercard, support ...
** '' Production Alliance Group 300'' (1997–2020, 2022–2023) *
Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...
** ''Grand American 400'' (2002–2005)


Other events

* Red, White and Cruise  — A
July 4 Events Pre-1600 * 362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans. * 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and procla ...
festival consisting of a car show, various family-friendly entertainment and a fireworks show. * Epicenter 2010 at the speedway's midway * Cardenas Festival — The annual Cardenas Festival is held in the parking lot. This is a festival where all the companies that sell food at the Cardenas supermarket chain give out free samples of new or upcoming food. There are also performances from many artists. *
Hard (music festival) Hard is an American music festival, music cruise and concert brand founded in 2007. The event line-ups consist of alternative and electronic acts and emerging talents. The first Hard Music Festival was held on December 31, 2007 in Downtown Los An ...
was held in 2016, 2018, and 2019 in the midway and parking lot of the speedway.


Track length of paved oval

The original track length was disputed by CART and NASCAR that ran at Auto Club Speedway. The NASCAR timing and scoring previously used a length of exactly . The IRL timing and scoring also used a length of exactly . CART measured the track as and used this length for timing and scoring between 1997 and 2002.


Track records

The closed-course practice and qualifying lap records
Arie Luyendyk Arie Luijendijk (anglicized as Arie Luyendyk; born 21 September 1953), nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman," is a Dutch former auto racing driver, and winner of the 1990 and 1997 Indianapolis 500 races. He was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor S ...
had set in the run-up to the
1996 Indy 500 The 80th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 26, 1996. This was the first Indy 500 contested as part of the new Indy Racing League, under the overall sanctioning umbrella of USAC. It ...
at and respectively were improved by
Maurício Gugelmin Maurício Gugelmin (born 20 April 1963) is a Brazilian former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from to , and CART from 1993 to 2001. Born and raised in Joinville, Gugelmin began competitive kart racing aged seven, win ...
at the 1997 Marlboro 500. He was clocked at and respectively, based on a CART-recognized track length of . After
Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born 20 September 1975) is a Colombian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to , IndyCar between 1999 and 2022, and the NASCAR Cup Series between 2006 and 2024. Montoya won seven Formula One Grand ...
had narrowly missed Gugelmin's practice record,
Gil de Ferran Gil de Ferran (11 November 1967 – 29 December 2023) was a Brazilian professional racing driver and team owner. De Ferran was the 2000 and 2001 Champ Car champion driving for Team Penske and the winner of the 2003 Indianapolis 500. He also ...
set a new one-lap qualifying record of at the 2000 Marlboro 500, a CART event. As of August 2023, this is the fastest qualifying lap speed ever recorded at an official race meeting. The 2003 Toyota Indy 400 was the fastest circuit race ever in motorsport history, with an average speed of over , based on an IndyCar-recognized track length of , topping the previous record average of over the 2002 CART race had produced.


Race lap records

The fastest official race lap records at Auto Club Speedway (formerly California Speedway) are listed as:


NASCAR Cup Series stats

(As of 3/1/20) * from minimum 5 starts


NASCAR Cup Series race winners

* – Race extended due to green-white-checker finish ** – Race shortened due to rain


Open wheel race winners


References


External links


Official Auto Club Speedway website
*



o
NASCAR.com


— ''current and past California Speedway News''.
Trackpedia guide to driving this track


o
Ballparks by Munsey & Suppes
{{Authority control Auto Club Auto Club Auto Club Auto Club Auto Club Auto Club Auto Club Auto Club Auto Club Sports venues completed in 1997 1997 establishments in California 2023 disestablishments in California