Auto Club Speedway
Auto Club Speedway (known as California Speedway before and after 2008–2023 corporate sponsorship from Auto Club) was a 2.000 mi (3.219 km), D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It hosted NASCAR racing annually from 1997 until 2023. It was also previously used for open wheel racing events. The racetrack is located 47 mi (76 km) east of Los Angeles and is near the former locations of Ontario Motor Speedway and Riverside International Raceway. The track is owned and operated by NASCAR. The speedway is served by the nearby Interstates 10 and 15 freeways as well as a Metrolink station located behind the backstretch.
D-shaped oval (1997–2023) | |
| Location | 9300 Cherry Avenue Fontana, California |
|---|---|
| Time zone | UTC-8 (UTC-7 DST) |
| Capacity | 122,000 (total) |
| Owner | NASCAR (2019–2023) International Speedway Corporation (1999–2019) |
| Operator | NASCAR (1999–2023) |
| Broke ground | November 22, 1995 |
| Opened | June 20, 1997 |
| Closed | February 27, 2023 |
| Construction cost | US$100 million (US$145 million in 2022 dollars) |
| Architect | Paxton Waters Architecture Penske Motorsports, Inc. |
| Former names | California Speedway (November 1995–February 2008) Auto Club Speedway (February 2008–March 2023) |
| Major events | Former: NASCAR Cup Series Pala Casino 400 (1997–2020, 2022–2023) Pepsi Max 400 (2004–2010) NASCAR Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300 (1997–2020, 2022–2023) NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series San Bernardino County 200 (1997–2009) IndyCar Series MAVTV 500 (1997–2005, 2012–2015) AMA Superbike Championship (2002–2010) Rolex Sports Car Series (2002–2005) |
| Website | autoclubspeedway |
| D-shaped oval (1997–2023) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 2.000 miles (3.219 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
| Banking | Turns: 14° Frontstretch: 11° Backstretch: 3° |
| Race lap record | 0:30.900 (380.431 km/h (236.389 mph)) ( Greg Moore, Reynard 97I, 1997, CART) |
| Interior Road Course (2001–2023) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 1.550 miles (2.494 km) |
| Turns | 17 |
| Race lap record | 0:53.784 ( André Lotterer, Honda NSX-GT, 2004, Super GT (GT500)) |
| Sports Car Course (2001–2023) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 2.800 miles (4.635 km) |
| Turns | 18 |
| Race lap record | 1:29.322 ( Didier Theys, Dallara SP1, 2002, LMP900) |
| Motorcycle Course (2001–2023) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 2.360 miles (3.798 km) |
| Turns | 20 |
| Race lap record | 1:24.287 ( Benoît Tréluyer, Nissan Fairlady Z (Z33), 2004, Super GT (GT500)) |
Construction of the track, on the site of the former Kaiser Steel Mill, began in 1995 and was completed in late 1996. The speedway's main grandstand has a capacity of 68,000, additionally it features 28 skyboxes and has a grand 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. Since 2011, the track has hosted only one NASCAR weekend each year.
A 500-mile American open-wheel car race was held under Championship Auto Racing Teams sanctioning from 1997 to 2002. The current IndyCar 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.
In 2023, the track was closed for reconstruction as part of the Next Gen California project. Demolition began in October of that year.