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…
During an episode of NASCAR’s Hauler Talk podcast this week, NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps was asked about the abandoned Auto Club Speedway. The new Commissioner’s response only adds to the mystery of what will happen to the fragmented speedway.
During this episode, Nate Ryan of NBC Sports asked Phelps about the future of Auto Club Speedway. Phelps responded with what has been the typical response from NASCAR: ambiguity and uncertainty. “What the future of that particular facility is, I’m still unsure,” Phelps said. Would I like to build a new facility at Fontana? I would.”
Since the former two-mile speedway’s final race in March 2023, NASCAR has sold off several portions of the property, leaving the infield, grandstands, and front stretch swarmed by lifeless warehouses. Initially, NASCAR planned to convert the track into a half-mile short track. However, drone footage showing the proximity of the new warehouses has raised questions about the facility’s future.
NASCAR brass has not had any direct answers to these questions, yet Phelps is now asking if the price of these renovations would be a responsible use of NASCAR’s money. “It’s $300 million to build that facility,” Phelps said. “Is that the best use of that money? That is the big question.”
In Feb 2024, Phelps told the Los Angeles Times the timeline for building the track is “12-18 months.” Since then, NASCAR has not publicly made any moves towards advancing the short track project, all while Southern California loses more races, such as the NASCAR Clash at the Coliseum and the closure of Irwindale Speedway.
Despite mostly radio silence from NASCAR, the latest news about the track’s future came on Mar. 10, when former Auto Club Speedway President Dave Allen told Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times that racing at Auto Club is the “ideal” option. Allen said in the interview that NASCAR is going to do something in Southern California: “I just don’t know what and when yet.”
Phelps ended his comments on the podcast by throwing out another imprecise statement, saying:
“The cost of capital right now is still really high, so for us to just press pause, right now, is essentially what we’re doing… trying to be as transparent about that as possible. But, yeah, I’d love to build a facility out there. When that is going to happen or if that is going to happen, I don’t have a timeline.”
What’s Happening? Though little remains of what was once Auto Club Speedway, NASCAR has yet to make plans regarding the site’s…
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