2025 turned into a reminder that old NASCAR tracks never really die. They are just in a long phase of hibernation. North Wilkesboro came roaring back. Rockingham followed. Suddenly, abandoned concrete didn’t feel so abandoned anymore. That’s why a handful of new images shared this week instantly grabbed fans’ attention. When Ryan Vargas posted fresh photos of a popular bygone NASCAR track from Fontana, it reopened a familiar question: Is the track really gone for good, or is NASCAR quietly keeping the door cracked open for another revival?

A snapshot fans weren’t ready for

Having a good Sunday? Cool, anyways Here’s Auto Club Speedway as of this morning, Dec 21, 2025.

That’s how Ryan Vargas captioned the photos, and honestly, it didn’t take much more than that. The images tell the rest of the story. Grandstands stripped down to their bones. Garages sit empty and exposed. The infield was littered with debris under clear California skies. What once felt like a wide-open, sun-baked NASCAR staple now looks more like a paused construction site frozen in time.

Auto Club Speedway officially closed in 2023 as part of NASCAR’s ambitious “Next Gen California” project. The plan was bold: tear down the massive two-mile oval and replace it with a smaller, more fan-friendly short track (0.5 mile). Demolition began that October, and for a while, it felt like progress was moving fast.

Then reality hit.

By 2025, 433 of the original 522 acres had been sold off for warehouses and an industrial park. What remains is the piece NASCAR still controls – the land originally intended for the new track. But in April 2025, NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps acknowledged what many already suspected: the project was officially on hold. Rising construction costs, economic pressures, and more immediate priorities pushed Fontana’s rebuild down the list.

And yet, those Vargas photos sparked something familiar. Hope.

Fans immediately began speculating again. The pavement isn’t completely gone. The footprint still exists. And after watching North Wilkesboro and Rockingham rise from the dead, NASCAR supporters have learned not to assume the final lap has been run just because the lights are off.

For now, Auto Club Speedway, like many NASCAR tracks, sits in limbo. It’s half demolished, half remembered. But in a sport that’s suddenly rediscovered its love for revival stories, Fontana’s silence doesn’t feel permanent.

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But hope is a dangerous thing

If there’s one thing Ryan Vargas’ photos proved, it’s that Auto Club Speedway, one of the most iconic NASCAR tracks, still lives rent-free in NASCAR fans’ heads. And once those images hit timelines, the reactions came fast and emotionally.

“Hopefully the short track transformation will indeed happen, and we’ll be racing in Fontana once again,” one fan wrote. They (like many others) were clinging to the original promise NASCAR made after the 2023 Pala Casino 400. That race, won by Kyle Busch for his first RCR victory, was supposed to be the final event on the two-mile oval. And not the end of racing at Fontana altogether. For many, that detail still matters.

Another fan pointed out something curious. “They actually paved two parking lots from the original short track plan recently, which I thought was quite curious. I’ll take any forms of copium regarding my beloved home track.”

It’s a small detail, but in NASCAR fandom, small details become lifelines. With the short-track project officially “on hold,” even minor construction activity is enough to keep hope alive. Especially as other grassroots revivals of NASCAR tracks like Nashville Fairgrounds continue to hang in the balance.

There’s also a broader context fueling optimism. “NASCAR also needs some good PR after getting dragged through the lawsuit with 23XI and FRM. A nice olive branch to the fans would be them finally going through with the Auto Club short track plan.”

After months of negative headlines, thanks to leaked messages, true intentions being revealed amidst the antitrust lawsuit courtroom drama, fans see Fontana’s return as a symbolic reset. It will be proof that the sport still listens and hopefully get the fans’ trust back.

Others took a more cynical-but-hopeful angle. “Not sure if it’s for the track or for the facilities… maybe even data centers or warehouses, but a man must dream. I’ll take the HOPIUM in this case. Auto Club must return in its full glory.” That comment perfectly captures the mood. Fans know the odds, but they’re choosing belief anyway.

And then there’s the harsh reality check: “Track is never coming back.”

Maybe that’s true. Or maybe, like North Wilkesboro, or the dozen abandoned NASCAR tracks once were, Auto Club Speedway is just waiting for the right moment to come back from the dead.