NASCAR fans will get their last look at Auto Club Speedway in its current layout this weekend, as the sanctioning body has sold a massive plot of land at the site.
The Sports Business Journal reported Saturday that NASCAR has sold 433 acres of the roughly 522-acre site in Fontana, about 40 miles east of Los Angeles. NASCAR’s subsidiary, California Speedway Corp., sold the parcel for an estimated $544 million.
NASCAR had already notified fans and stakeholders that this weekend’s racing action, capped by Sunday’s Pala Casino 400, will be the last on the current 2-mile configuration.
According to SBJ, NASCAR is considering building a short track on the site, but it hasn’t confirmed that plan. The site’s buyer, Speedway SBC Development LLC, plans to build e-commerce, greenways and other amenities on the parcel.
The report also notes that NASCAR will use proceeds from the sale to invest at its tracks around the circuit, in areas such as fan experience and track upgrades. The cash will also help pay down debt from NASCAR’s purchase of the International Speedway Corp. in 2019.
Built on the site of an abandoned steel mill, the facility opened as California Speedway in 1997. Fans often complained about the quality of racing at the huge oval, although events have improved with the introduction of NASCAR’s Next Gen car.
Fans think NASCAR made a good move selling at that massive. price.
There’s 544 reasons it’s becoming a short track
— Mike Dallrace (@MDallrace) February 24, 2023