“How Are You Gonna…” – NASCAR Insider Admits Skepticism Around $500 Million-Worth Revamp Project of Fan-Favorite Track

In a recent episode of Door Bumper Clear (DBC), NASCAR spotters Brett Griffin and TJ Majors discussed last week’s rain-delayed race at the Fontana Auto Club Speedway. With the 2-mile track scheduled to be redesigned soon, Sunday’s Pala Casino 400 was the last Cup Series race at the historic speedway.

However, during their conversation at DBC, Brett Griffin revealed his reservations about the $500-million-worth revamp project. He said,

“I mean the thing is, like pin it on who you talk to out there, what article you’re reading in the newspaper, you don’t even know if there’s gonna be a race track built back out there. Man you hear the rumors and you see the papers and it’s like …”

Furthermore, Griffin shared that he isn’t sure about the seating capacity of the redesigned raceway model at Fontana. Explaining how even though the governing body has planned on keeping a part of the land for commercial development, Griffin said that he doesn’t feel that shortening the 2-mile track is going to work.

“But here’s the thing, when you look at Irwindale, I was told Irwindale is like 60-plus acres. Well, only seats 10,000 people, like it ain’t a Cup race. I mean what’s our smallest facility? So, it probably will be North Wilkesboro this year. North Wilkesboro is gonna see like 25000.

“But typically, I mean our places are 60,000 plus. So, how are you gonna have a facility that’s 90 acres, that’s gonna have a race track on it with the infrastructure that’s required, i.e., bathrooms, places to buy food, and then also have enough places to park? That’s the question. So, I don’t know. Obviously, they’ve been talking about doing this for a while, see what happens.”

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The reasoning behind the expert’s argument seems valid. If too much of the land is sold out to commercial facilities, it might not be possible to have even a functional half-mile track at Fontana.

How was the last NASCAR Cup Series race at Fontana

The last Pala Casino 400 at the historical 2-mile Auto Club Raceway was absolutely delightful. Since hosting its inaugural race in 1997, the Fontana raceway has witnessed several memorable events, including Jeff Gordon picking his first Cup Series trophy and Kyle Busch registering his first-ever Cup win.

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And continuing the legacy, the raceway witnessed Kyle Busch breaking two NASCAR records with his 61st win. First, Busch broke Richard Petty’s record by registering a win in 19th straight Cup season. Moreover, he and Kurt Busch have now become the winningest sibling duo in the history of NASCAR.