A thread of random thoughts sparked by Tuesday's bombshell from The Athletic that @ACSUpdates, once hailed as the vanguard of racetrack construction during the auto racing boom times of the go-go ‘90s, soon will be transformed by #nascar into Martinsville with a dash of Bristol.
Maybe it’s because I watched it rise from a literal slag heap of toxic waste, but I still struggle to wrap my head around the arc of history in Fontana.
It started as the most Penske Perfect of palatial speedways and gradually became the most maligned track in NASCAR.
It started as the most Penske Perfect of palatial speedways and gradually became the most maligned track in NASCAR.
Some of Fontana's rep was inadvertent -- it always would be cast a villain in the theft of Darlington's Southern 500 Labor Day date -- but much was deserved for lackluster races.
Drivers loved the track because it was wide and smooth. Many fans detested it for the same reasons.
Drivers loved the track because it was wide and smooth. Many fans detested it for the same reasons.
Yet the asphalt aged, and a renaissance came. Four last-lap winning passes in five years (!) from 2011-15 (and late lead changes in 2016-17).
The past three years were less memorable, but if felt the track at least earned a stay of execution from NASCAR’s nine-figure bulldozers.
The past three years were less memorable, but if felt the track at least earned a stay of execution from NASCAR’s nine-figure bulldozers.
Though Fontana will remain in some form, its fate also echoes the demise of Riverside Int’l Raceway, whose land became more valuable than the facility.
Cal Speedway is on a large parcel near an airport and several interstates. Selling excess acreage for warehouse space is easy.
Cal Speedway is on a large parcel near an airport and several interstates. Selling excess acreage for warehouse space is easy.
The makeover apparently will require municipal approval.
Probably less glad-handling than 26 years ago when Roger Penske took a delegation of San Bernardino County politicos to a Michigan Cup race weekend to ensure they’d be good with turning a Superfund site into a 2-mile oval.
Probably less glad-handling than 26 years ago when Roger Penske took a delegation of San Bernardino County politicos to a Michigan Cup race weekend to ensure they’d be good with turning a Superfund site into a 2-mile oval.
Penske, whose flagship automotive showroom is in nearby El Monte, once had big plans for Fontana.
In a news conference just before its opening, he talked of ringing the track with 200,000 seats, an optimism fueled by a season ticket waiting list once in the tens of thousands.
In a news conference just before its opening, he talked of ringing the track with 200,000 seats, an optimism fueled by a season ticket waiting list once in the tens of thousands.
On the weekend the track opened, Penske was directing motorhome traffic in the infield and insisting staff refer to fans as “guests.”
He applied the same attention to detail and special touches that we’ve been hearing about for the past eight months since he overhauled @IMS.
He applied the same attention to detail and special touches that we’ve been hearing about for the past eight months since he overhauled @IMS.
Even for someone attending their first #nascar race (hi), Fontana was a breed apart from any speedway in the world.
It was a signature accomplishment for Penske, but that largely became forgotten after he sold the track in 1999 (I’m curious of RP's thoughts on the latest news).
It was a signature accomplishment for Penske, but that largely became forgotten after he sold the track in 1999 (I’m curious of RP's thoughts on the latest news).
Everything about First Era Fontana was charmed, down to @JeffGordonWeb christening its Cup coming-out party with a home-state superstar win.
From 1997-2003, every race was a sellout. But after adding a second race in '04, the track never sold as many tickets again for a Sunday.
From 1997-2003, every race was a sellout. But after adding a second race in '04, the track never sold as many tickets again for a Sunday.
Aside from some fantastic finishes, Fontana was a career marker.
Site of @KyleBusch's first Cup win and his 200th in #nascar. @JimmieJohnson found his first Cup win in '02 and a golden horseshoe in '10 (credit @KevinHarvick for the phrase after a fortuitous yellow in a 48 win).
Site of @KyleBusch's first Cup win and his 200th in #nascar. @JimmieJohnson found his first Cup win in '02 and a golden horseshoe in '10 (credit @KevinHarvick for the phrase after a fortuitous yellow in a 48 win).
There also have been darker moments. Crash injuries put Ricky Rudd and @DennyHamlin on the sidelines. A ghastly wreck cost Greg Moore his life.
IndyCar’s last race in Fontana will be remembered as a highly watchable yet also death-defying thrill ride no one would want to repeat.
IndyCar’s last race in Fontana will be remembered as a highly watchable yet also death-defying thrill ride no one would want to repeat.
And now Fontana will be reborn as … a short track. In the grand scheme of where #nascar is headed, it’s a move that makes a lot of sense.
But in the context of the track’s 23-year roots, and of NASCAR’s historic footprint in Southern California, there’s still a lot to process.
But in the context of the track’s 23-year roots, and of NASCAR’s historic footprint in Southern California, there’s still a lot to process.
Tuesday’s news came nearly 50 years to the day after ill-fated Ontario Motor Speedway’s Sept. 6, 1970 grand opening with the California 500 (same name as Fontana’s inaugural).
When Cal Speedway sprouted 5 miles away, some openly wondered if history would repeat. Most scoffed.
When Cal Speedway sprouted 5 miles away, some openly wondered if history would repeat. Most scoffed.
But between Ontario, Riverside and Fontana, three permanent racetracks playing host to #nascar Cup races in the second-largest market in America all will have wound up shuttered or overhauled in a span of four decades.
(Ontario closed in 1980; Riverside almost a decade later.)
(Ontario closed in 1980; Riverside almost a decade later.)
My point to all this? OK, I don't really have one. Aside from: California Speedway already has been on quite the odyssey. Which is maybe why I'm wistful about seeing it go.
The new track will be in the same place -- and quite possibly a major improvement for consistent action.
The new track will be in the same place -- and quite possibly a major improvement for consistent action.
But when its sweeping turns get ripped out, it'll sever more than just the physical connections to a massive back straightaway.
It also will close the book on many chapters of racing history richly deserving of being remembered for myriad reasons and lessons, both good and bad.
It also will close the book on many chapters of racing history richly deserving of being remembered for myriad reasons and lessons, both good and bad.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
