NASCAR Planning to Change the Auto Club Speedway, Michael Waltrip Asked for it Back in 2008

There are only a few drivers with 700 plus races in NASCAR. Michael Waltrip is one of them. Waltrip is a two-time victor of the Daytona 500, having dominated the race in 2001 and 2003. He is likewise an analyst for the NASCAR Cup Series, a commentator for the Xfinity Series, and the Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series for Fox Sports. He last raced in the 2017 Daytona 500. Micheal is the younger brother of three-time NASCAR champion and hustling reporter Darrell Waltrip.

Michael Waltrip has 784 career starts. He has won 4 races, out of which three were at the Daytona Racetrack and one at Talladega. Michael had a tough outing at the 2008 Auto Club 400 race. Firstly, he had an oil spill on the track that delayed the formation lap, then on lap 150, he crashed which brought out a caution.

After the race, he criticized the track and asked for a renovation of the Fontana track. Moreover, he gave some startling suggestions which many thought were impossible at that time.

ESPN reports, “They will never win against Las Vegas [Motor Speedway],” Waltrip said. “So build up the corners, 32 to 33 degrees banking, and make this a restrictor-plate track.”

His suggestions were to add banking in the corners and to make it a restrictor-plate event. He was quite a fan of restrictor-plate races as he won all his 4 races on those tracks. Above all, He wanted to make the race at the facility a fan-friendly race.

“Think about Sonoma and Phoenix and Vegas,” Waltrip said. “Sonoma has amenities and it’s a cool road course. It’s different. Phoenix … a fun, little short track that people adore so much. Vegas, obviously.

“But you come here and it’s sort of caught in the middle. We could come to the West Coast to a purpose-built plate track, the first one that’s ever been done that way. We could put on a heck of a race.”

Now after 12 years when Michael Waltrip made those suggestions, NASCAR is planning to convert the Auto Club Speedway into a short track.

Read More: NASCAR Converting Auto Club Speedway into a Short Track, What it Means for the Future?

NASCAR presented a proposition on Tuesday. The venture would include changes to the track the way things are, just as diminishing the size of the facility. The rebuilt track would consolidate two existing short-tracks while corners like Bristol’s precarious banking would make up the turns.