“NASCAR Lied,” Fresh Images of Revered Racetrack Has Racing Community Second Guessing Hollow Promises

Ever since the demolition of the Auto Club Speedway kicked off last year, each leaked construction site image or drone shot has resonated similarly. From the get-go, NASCAR was upfront about their plan to offload most of the property, raking in over half a billion dollars in the process. Yet, watching Fontana’s slow fade from afar has been a tough pill to swallow. Fans seem less than thrilled about how the previously sold land has been used. Now, there’s a decent chance that NASCAR might offload the remaining property too.

Watching a warehouse rise where the Auto Club Speedway racetrack once stood has been tough on the fans

About a year ago, it was announced that the 30-year-old Auto Club Speedway would be transformed into a multi-million dollar logistics hub after Ross Perot Jr’s Hillwood Development demolished the property. The new facility, sprawling across 6.6 million square feet, has been dubbed the Speedway Commerce Center, as per the real estate firm CBRE, which facilitated the sale. Back in 2021, Auto Club Speedway got the green light from San Bernardino County to downsize the original two-mile track to a smaller half-mile “Next Gen” short track, making space for the logistics center.

And well, the only good part about that whole deal was that NASCAR had initially promised to revamp the track into a short track, aiming to blend the racing styles of Martinsville and Bristol. Auto Club Speedway President Lane Allen had previously indicated that the new track wouldn’t be race-ready until 2024.

However, updating on the situation, NASCAR President Steve Phelps recently mentioned to the Times, “I would say that we are still planning on building a short track in Fontana. What the timing of that is, I don’t know. This isn’t the best time to be building based on inflation, the cost of capital, etc. But our intention is to continue to be in the Southern California market.”

The possibility of a new track emerging might not be realized until at least 2026, as per The Athletic. However, with the logistics center already reshaping the landscape, fans are growing doubtful that a track will materialize as NASCAR had promised. Additionally, considering the current state of short-track racing with next-gen cars, even fans are questioning whether NASCAR will follow through with the investment. Yet, the hopeful ones still wish for the Auto Club Speedway track’s return. But with no recent updates, many fans are feeling let down.

NASCAR fans are feeling deeply let down due to the lack of progress 

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Recent photos shared by fans have sparked criticism, with one fan bluntly stating, “NASCAR lied” about the plans for a short track. Others echoed this sentiment, saying,  “Yeah that short track isn’t getting built. We as fans were sold a bill of goods” and ““The short track ain’t gonna be built” leaves literally every piece of land used on the blueprints 💀 we got some real investigators around here.”

One fan took a deep dive into the situation at the Auto Club Speedway, questioning, “Don’t you think we would have some sort of timeline on what’s happening to the track? Even NASCAR doesn’t have a clue on what they’re going to do with the track. Yes part of the track still standing but in all honesty that land is too valuable for NASCAR to hang on to it when they already sold most of it already.”

Another fan noted, “NASCAR’s been saying for 4 yrs+ they’ve yet to finalize any plans for remaining property. 4 YEARS!!! NASCAR’s & ISC’s finances are not great currently. Rebuilding is really not an option right now. What’s happening here is what happened to Ontario & Riverside. Sad, but true.”

Some have resigned themselves to the likelihood that there won’t be a short track at Auto Club Speedway, stating, “I think everyone knew that once the first section of track was torn down, racing would never be seen on that property again.”

Other disappointed NASCAR fans commented, “They might as well not do anything to the damn property since there’s literally been no progress ever since it got demolished. Not worth all the trouble and complications” and “It’s like they stopped the demolition & the reconfiguration because they have no idea what’s happening to the track.”

Well, what about you? Do you think there’s still a chance that NASCAR will fulfill its promise?