Latest news with #AutoClubSpeedway
The Drive
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
A Warehouse Complex Is Erasing NASCAR's Auto Club Speedway Turn by Turn
We have an update on the ongoing saga of the now-defunct Auto Club Speedway near Fontana, California. While there has been no outward progress on the site's potential redevelopment as a new motorsports venue, activity at the property has nonetheless continued in the interim. The good news is that the demolition appears to have paused since we last checked in; the bad news is that the damage is done. While the teardown may have halted, activity at the site certainly hasn't. Turns 1 and 2 (and the parking lots nearest them) have been replaced by two massive warehouses—one of which sits mere feet from the remains of the speedway's front stretch, looking eerily out of place next to the paddock garages and grandstands, which remain untouched to this day. That's deliberate, or at least it was. When Auto Club Speedway first shut down, NASCAR had grand plans to revive the venue for short-track racing, lessening the maintenance burden and reducing the facility's reliance on big-ticket races to pay the bills. Those plans have since stalled, as NASCAR says it has to prioritize other sites that need more immediate attention. NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps says he still wants to build a short track on the property because, as he put it, there's simply no room left for anything bigger. Plans for the Auto Club Speedway site. Building 1 and Building 2 now stand in place of Turns 1 and 2. CBRE In the meantime, the site has in some ways simply regressed to a previous form. California Speedway was itself built on an old industrial site—the former home of Kaiser Steel, which survives in a roundabout way as California Steel Industries. CSI still has operations on the site; its offices are in the southeast corner of the property, visible to the right of the two warehouses in the post below. What will be Auto Club Speedway's fate? At this point, it's really anybody's guess. LA motorsports fans would no doubt love to have access to another nearby venue (especially given the likelihood of price hikes at Willow Springs, which was itself recently sold), but given the limited space and dubious state of the project, we'd advise them not to hold their collective breath. Got tips? Send 'em to tips@ Byron is one of those weird car people who has never owned an automatic transmission. Born in the DMV but Midwestern at heart, he lives outside of Detroit with his wife, two cats, a Miata, a Wrangler, and a Blackwing.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
NASCAR figuring out if building new track in Fontana is the 'right thing to do'
NASCAR remains committed to bringing stock car racing back to Southern California. But it admitted this weekend it is still not sure where and when that will happen. 'The market is extremely important to NASCAR,' said Dave Allen, NASCAR's West Region president. 'So we're not abandoning the market. What we don't have is a firm timeline yet. There's some things within the sport that need to get sorted before we can make some strategic decisions as it relates to what we're what we're going to build. 'We're going to do something. I just don't know what and when yet.' Allen spoke before Sunday's Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway, where Christopher Bell notched his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series win by holding off a hard-charging Denny Hamlin on the final restart with two laps to go. With the exception of 2021, when the schedule was hampered by the coronavirus pandemic, NASCAR has run at least one race in Southern California every year since 1997, when Auto Club Speedway opened on the site of the old Kaiser steel mill in Fontana. That streak will end this year. Read more: NASCAR wants to race again in Southern California, but when will it happen? Auto Club Speedway, which has been torn down, played host to its final race in 2023 while the Clash at the Coliseum, run on a temporary half-mile track installed atop the Coliseum's football field, did not return this winter after three years. NASCAR had hoped to race on a half-mile oval being built on the site of the former Fontana speedway, but that project has stalled. 'That's option No. 1,' said Allen, the former president of Auto Club Speedway. 'Obviously, we've been there for a long time. We still retain enough land to build a half-mile oval if we chose to do that. 'But we still need some time to sort some things out and figure out if that's the right thing to do.' In the meantime, NASCAR is embracing concepts outside traditional race tracks. The series debuted a street race in Chicago in 2023 and has reportedly considered racing on the streets of San Diego as well. 'We're always looking for new opportunities,' Allen said. 'We're always looking for either new markets or things that we can do different in a market that we're already [in]. 'We're trying to leave all options open.' Ten days after the final race in Fontana, NASCAR reportedly sold 433 of the 522 acres that comprise the venue's footprint to Ross Perot Jr.'s Dallas-based Hillwood Development company and CBRE Investment Management for approximately $569 million. The site is being converted into a logistics facility and industrial park with 6.6 million square feet of warehousing spacing. A generation ago there were more than a dozen race tracks holding regular events across Southern California, but with the closing of Irwindale Raceway last year, just a handful remain. Many, such as Irwindale and the Auto Club Speedway, sat on land that had become too valuable, part of a nationwide trend that has seen the ground sold out from beneath iconic short tracks in places such as Greenville, S.C., and Midland, N.C., the heart of stock-car country. 'The land and the cost of doing business, when you have a facility like we had in Fontana, it's very, very challenging,' Allen said. 'At the end of the day we're a for-profit company and we have to make decisions that are good for the business so we can keep it going.' Read more: Irwindale Speedway closure the latest blow to racing in Southern California The ideal solution, Allen said, is the original one. NASCAR retained approximately 90 acres of Auto Club Speedway's massive footprint, including the main grandstands, front straight, pit road and pit road suites. Those were all to be incorporated into the new short-track venue. 'The plan is to be there. But if opportunities come up, we're open to anything,' Allen said. 'If you had 300 acres and wanted to build a racetrack and be a partner with us, then we would listen. So I think it's keeping the property warm and being able to do different things with it. And you adjust depending on the market and needs of the market. 'We're kind of just in a holding pattern.' Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
10-03-2025
- Automotive
- Los Angeles Times
NASCAR figuring out if building new track in Fontana is the ‘right thing to do'
AVONDALE, Ariz. — NASCAR remains committed to bringing stock car racing back to Southern California. But it admitted this weekend it is still not sure where and when that will happen. 'The market is extremely important to NASCAR,' said Dave Allen, NASCAR's West Region president. 'So we're not abandoning the market. What we don't have is a firm timeline yet. There's some things within the sport that need to get sorted before we can make some strategic decisions as it relates to what we're what we're going to build. 'We're going to do something. I just don't know what and when yet.' Allen spoke before Sunday's Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway, where Christopher Bell notched his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series win by holding off a hard-charging Denny Hamlin on the final restart with two laps to go. With the exception of 2021, when the schedule was hampered by the coronavirus pandemic, NASCAR has run at least one race in Southern California every year since 1997, when Auto Club Speedway opened on the site of the old Kaiser steel mill in Fontana. That streak will end this year. Auto Club Speedway, which has been torn down, played host to its final race in 2023 while the Clash at the Coliseum, run on a temporary half-mile track installed atop the Coliseum's football field, did not return this winter after three years. NASCAR had hoped to race on a half-mile oval being built on the site of the former Fontana speedway, but that project has stalled. 'That's option No. 1,' said Allen, the former president of Auto Club Speedway. 'Obviously, we've been there for a long time. We still retain enough land to build a half-mile oval if we chose to do that. 'But we still need some time to sort some things out and figure out if that's the right thing to do.' In the meantime, NASCAR is embracing concepts outside traditional race tracks. The series debuted a street race in Chicago in 2023 and has reportedly considered racing on the streets of San Diego as well. 'We're always looking for new opportunities,' Allen said. 'We're always looking for either new markets or things that we can do different in a market that we're already [in]. 'We're trying to leave all options open.' Ten days after the final race in Fontana, NASCAR reportedly sold 433 of the 522 acres that comprise the venue's footprint to Ross Perot Jr.'s Dallas-based Hillwood Development company and CBRE Investment Management for approximately $569 million. The site is being converted into a logistics facility and industrial park with 6.6 million square feet of warehousing spacing. A generation ago there were more than a dozen race tracks holding regular events across Southern California, but with the closing of Irwindale Raceway last year, just a handful remain. Many, such as Irwindale and the Auto Club Speedway, sat on land that had become too valuable, part of a nationwide trend that has seen the ground sold out from beneath iconic short tracks in places such as Greenville, S.C., and Midland, N.C., the heart of stock-car country. 'The land and the cost of doing business, when you have a facility like we had in Fontana, it's very, very challenging,' Allen said. 'At the end of the day we're a for-profit company and we have to make decisions that are good for the business so we can keep it going.' The ideal solution, Allen said, is the original one. NASCAR retained approximately 90 acres of Auto Club Speedway's massive footprint, including the main grandstands, front straight, pit road and pit road suites. Those were all to be incorporated into the new short-track venue. 'The plan is to be there. But if opportunities come up, we're open to anything,' Allen said. 'If you had 300 acres and wanted to build a racetrack and be a partner with us, then we would listen. So I think it's keeping the property warm and being able to do different things with it. And you adjust depending on the market and needs of the market. 'We're kind of just in a holding pattern.'
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
5 Affordable Places to Live In California With Easy Access to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California, is home to beautiful year-round weather, pristine beaches and mountain views, not to mention Hollywood entertainment and attractions. However, the City of Angels is also the second most expensive city in the U.S. to live, according to U.S. News and World Report. Read Next: Find Out: The steep cost has led Southern Californians to seek cheaper housing outside the city limits. Here are some affordable Southern California communities with easy access to Los Angeles. Median home listing price: $449K Median home selling price: $375K Average price per square foot: $263 Desert Hot Springs is located in the Coachella Valley in Riverside County and is approximately two hours from Los Angeles by car. Popular neighborhoods include Desert Hot Springs Highlands, Wardman Heights and Desert Springs Estates. The area is popular for its hot springs, hence the name. Home prices range from $9.5K to $25M. Median home listing price: $485K Median home selling price: $464K Average price per square foot: $273 Lancaster is about an hour away from Los Angeles by car and offers public transportation to LA by bus or train. The supply is greater than the demand, according to so you might get a great deal. Homes in Lancaster range from $3K to $34M. For You: Median home listing price: $550K Median home selling price: $512.5 K Average price per square foot: $280 Situated in the Antelope Valley, Palmdale is about 1.5 hours away from Los Angeles. Popular neighborhoods to consider include Rancho Vista, Joshua Hill and Anaverde. Home prices range from $6K to $442M. Median home listing price: $525K Median home selling price: $509K Average price per square foot: $394 Nestled among the San Jacinto Mountains in Riverside County, California. Idyllwild is a two-hour car drive from Los Angeles. Desirable neighborhoods in this unincorporated community include West Ridge, Idyllwild Mountain Park and Forest Lake Estate. Home prices range from $3K to $2million. Median home listing price: $670K Median home selling price: $653K Average price per square foot: $359 A 59-minute drive to Los Angeles, Fontana is located in the Inland Empire. Rumor has it that Al Capone had a secret hideaway there. You can take a day trip to Santa Monica for $92 per person, according to Trip Advisor. Popular attractions in Fontana include the Auto Club Speedway and Fontana Park. The area features a rich cultural heritage. Home prices range from $3.9K to $17.5M, according to data.e Auto Club Speedway and Fontana Park. The area features a rich cultural heritage. Home prices range from $3.9K to $17.5M. Financial data is from More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on 5 Affordable Places to Live In California With Easy Access to Los Angeles
