NASCAR President Explains Talks With Dodgers Stadium

What’s Happening?

With Auto Club Speedway in the middle of demolition and the Clash at the Coliseum’s contract running out, there was a lot of talk going around about NASCAR’s future in the southern California market. While plans to turn the old Auto Club Speedway are still reportedly in the works, it’s still unclear what the timetable will be for that project leaving NASCAR’s annual SoCal race in question.

Earlier this week, rumors started to surface that NASCAR was in talks with the L. A. Dodgers about potentially holding a NASCAR race at the famed baseball stadium. This morning, the fact that talks between the two sporting entities as well as Formula E was confirmed by NASCAR President Steve Phelps as reported by Dustin Long on X.

You Need To Know:

• Southern California has been a big market for NASCAR ever since the construction of the Auto Club (formally California) Speedway. After the decision was made to sell off much of the land of the 2-mile oval to real estate developers, NASCAR reassured fans and industry insiders alike that NASCAR would continue to be present in the southern California market. Initially, it was announced that they were going to turn the Auto Club track into a half-mile paperclip-shaped oval however plans for that seemed to have stalled out.
• To prolong NASCAR presence in SoCal, NASCAR announced that the season-opening Clash would move from Daytona to the Coliseum in the heart of Los Angeles. This bold move opened the door for NASCAR to potentially take the race “on the road” to different sporting venues around the country, including Dodger’s Stadium.
• This news has been perplexing to many NASCAR fans as many have voiced their concerns over NASCAR possibly overreaching. Many fans beg for NASCAR to keep the action on purpose-built racetracks and stop the tomfoolery of trying to attract people who aren’t particularly fans of NASCAR.

The Main Characters

NASCAR has been attempting to “jazz up” the NASCAR schedule for some time. For years, particularly under the leadership of Brian France, NASCAR’s 36-race schedule has been stagnant. Meanwhile, viewership became stagnant as well and, eventually, started to drop off. The change in NASCAR’s scheduling, which, by and large, has been seen as a positive move in the eyes of many fans, is due to the leadership of Steve Phelps and driver-turned NASCAR executive, Ben Kenedy.

While the inclusion of more road courses and turning Atlanta into a superspeedway-style track was met with criticism early on, fans grew to love the changes. What never got that much love was the Clash being run inside the L. A. Coliseum. However, with that deal coming to an end in 2024, it’s clear that NASCAR is looking for sports crossovers in other arenas, which apparently includes Dodger’s Stadium. Is NASCAR overreaching here? Clearly, Steve Phelps and Kenedy do not think so.

In The Stands

SkrewJakk suggests dropping the “gimmicks” and adding Long Beach to the schedule.

Meanwhile, David was one of the only fans who had something positive to say about this potential move. A native of southern California, he has been attending races at Auto Club for over a decade. This move would ensure that NASCAR would be back in his neck of the woods, even if only for a year.

70’s Marine is feeling nostalgic, saying that NASCAR has “lost its way”.

Turn Leftman, too, suggests going to Long Beach and doing their annual street course there rather than entertaining the Dodgers Stadium plan.

Conclusion

What do you think, Daily Downforce readers? Is this a good move for NASCAR to take or, like so many other fans, are you skeptical? Let us know what you think on all of our social media platforms. Keep it right here at DailyDownforce.com for all the latest news buzz in the NASCAR world.