Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, opened on June 20, 1997, and hosted its first NASCAR Cup Series event, the California 500, on June 22, 1997, where Jeff Gordon claimed victory, and it was a special one for him, being a California native.. The two-mile, D-shaped oval held two Cup dates annually from 2004 through 2010 but was reduced to a single annual event from 2011 onward due to declining attendance, summer heat challenges, and regional market competition. During its tenure, Fontana produced milestone wins, including Jimmie Johnson’s first Cup victory in 2002 and Kyle Busch’s breakthrough in 2005, highlighting the track’s role in driver development and high-speed racing potential.

NASCAR’s schedule strategy shifted toward greater inclusion of short tracks, such as Martinsville, Bristol, and Richmond, citing closer competition and stronger local fan engagement, with roughly one-third of Cup events on short ovals in recent years. Meanwhile, the Next Gen car program was delayed. Originally slated to debut at the 2021 Daytona 500, its introduction was postponed until 2022 due to COVID-19 pandemic disruptions in testing and supply chains. This delay meant Fontana never saw Next Gen Cup racing before scheduling decisions were finalized. Had the Next Gen car arrived on schedule in 2021 and produced compelling races at Fontana, could its fate have been different?

What if Fontana had remained on the schedule? We saw how good racing was at Michigan just last Sunday. Although it was a fuel mileage race, teams had to make the strategy call, and by the end of the race, no one knew who could win due to the fuel situation. Next Gen cars are built for intermediate tracks, and racing on tracks like Kansas, Homestead, and Las Vegas has been good, but unfortunately, Auto Club Speedway never had that opportunity. And Insiders, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi, were pondering that thought after Sunday’s blockbuster race.

Gluck shared his thoughts on the Tear Down podcast, “what if” haunting many in the garage. “If Fontana had the kind of racing that we saw today, would they? I mean, now it was down to one date, but at one point it had two dates. I mean, would they have sold it? Would they? Oh, no, I mean, you can’t sell one of our best tracks.”

These eight words, “You can’t sell one of our best tracks,” are the explosive heart of the claim. Gluck isn’t just expressing nostalgia; he’s delivering a damning verdict on a colossal strategic misjudgment. NASCAR doubled down on short-ovals, two dates of Richmond, Bristol, Martinsville, not to forget, the road courses became a mainstay. At least four events on the schedule allowed only one spot for a track like Michigan. But NASCAR could’ve been in a better spot with the Gen 7 car clocking 200 mph on Fontana, only if they didn’t sell it off with a loose promise of converting it into a short-oval.

The tragedy lies in the timing. The decision to sell Fontana wasn’t made in 2023; the closure was announced in late 2020. This was the absolute lowest point for intermediates. The old Gen-6 car often produced strung-out, single-file racing on these tracks. Simultaneously, NASCAR leadership, responding to vocal fan demand and seeking new markets, aggressively pursued street circuits (Chicago), followed by International events.

Fontana, perceived as underperforming and sitting on a goldmine of land, seemed a logical sacrifice. As Jordan Bianchi noted in the same discussion, the schedule dominoes fell hard. It be much fewer road courses. You wouldn’t naturally have the demand for the short tracks. It’d be like we are more intermediates. Where do we want more intermediates? Michigan still may have two races. It’s just crazy how this all has fallen and changed because of the car.”

There was a time when the Southern California market was huge for NASCAR. But without the Clash and Fontana, the road course in Sonoma is the only place where the Cup Series visits now. And updates about the revamp on the 2-mile track are worrisome. “There’s some things within the sport that need to get sorted before we can make some strategic decisions as it related to what we’re going to build. We’re going to do something. I just don’t know what and when yet.” NASCAR’s West Region President, Dave Allen, stated.

But, if not the Auto Club, there’s one racetrack that NASCAR won’t have to break a sweat to get back on the schedule. And it is located in one of the big markets.

Potential revival of Chicagoland Speedway

Completely rebuilding Fontana into a new configuration would demand substantial investment. In contrast, Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, offers a lower-cost candidate for reinstatement. From 2001 to 2019, Chicagoland hosted a Cup weekend annually before being dropped due to attendance declines and shifting market priorities. The facility remains largely intact, owned by NASCAR through ISC, meaning they will need to pull in the resources to get the facility back on track.

Insiders have noted that the Next Gen car could deliver strong racing on Chicagoland’s 1.5-mile tri-oval. The Chicago media market remains significant for sponsorship and fan reach. Ryan Blaney shared his take on NASCAR’s expansion to street races and the international market, citing that they should look back at Chicagoland. “You can make a street course, you can go do different road courses that are already existing. Maybe even some tracks that we used to go, that we don’t go anymore, like Chicago, the Joliet racetrack. I’d like to see comeback because it’d be a great racetrack, and it always was.”

It is worth noting that NASCAR and the City of Chicago are in their last year of contract to host the street race. While it has been a good promotional event and attracted a few eyeballs, the racing, in particular, has not been something to rave about, partly because of the weather. So, with rumors floating about NASCAR pulling the plug on the street race in the Windy City, a trip back to Chicagoland does make sense.