Auto Club Speedway’s Future Still Unclear

What’s Happening?

Though little remains of what was once Auto Club Speedway, NASCAR has yet to make plans regarding the site’s future. Now, a new report claims that NASCAR officials still do not know what the future of racing in the SoCal market is.

• A new report from Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times claims that NASCAR has yet to have a “firm timeline” for returning to Southern California. However, NASCAR’s West Region President and former Auto Club Speedway President, Dave Allen, re-asserted the sport’s commitment to racing in the region.
• Most interestingly, while Allen claims that the half-mile oval plan to replace Auto Club Speedway is the “ideal” option, there is still no confirmation that NASCAR will return to the former site. Rather, NASCAR seems to be keeping an open mind beyond building this “new” track when addressing the sport’s future in the market.
• Auto Club Speedway, once known as California Speedway, represented NASCAR’s foothold in the southern portion of California for over 20 years. The two-mile oval hosted races from 1997 to 2023 (minus the 2021 season), and despite being a fan favorite, NASCAR sold a large portion of the track to developers after the 2023 race.
• Although the track could return, Auto Club, in its original form, is not the first NASCAR Cup Series track to meet an unfortunate end in the region. Tracks in neighboring Ontario and Riverside, once staples of the NASCAR Cup Series golden era, met their ends in 1980 and 1988, respectively.

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