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A NASCAR BLOG BY Art Weinstein
Questions about Auto Club Speedway
Watching Matt Kenseth hold hard-charging Jeff Gordon at bay made for a somewhat entertaining finish to Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Auto Club Speedway.
Few fans were talking about that finish, though. Instead, fans debated the question that seems to pop up every time NASCAR races there: Should Auto Club Speedway have two Sprint Cup dates?
Here's a short Q & A segment that played out in my head as I watched Sunday's race (hey, some people think about movies, or fishing, or Guitar Hero. I think about NASCAR):
Q: Does the track provide good racing?
A: No.
Q: Isn't that being a bit harsh?
A: No. Maybe if you'd never seen another NASCAR Sprint Cup race, and watched one at Auto Club Speedway, you would think it was great. But the racing there pales in comparison to what fans can see at most other tracks around the circuit.
Q: So there's no good racing there?
A: To be fair, you'll occasionally see some good racing back through the field. Fans in the stands get a much better view of that than those watching on TV, where the focus is on the leaders.
Q: What can be done to improve the racing there?
A: I'm not sure anything can be done, short of redesigning the track surface.
Q: Are there many NASCAR fans in Southern California?
A: Yes.
Q: As many fans as in the Southeastern U.S.?
A: No.
Q: Should, as some fans suggest, NASCAR drop one of the Auto Club Speedway race dates to return to North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham?
A: No. Rockingham's day in the NASCAR cup series limelight has come and gone. Love what new owner Andy Hillenburg is doing there, though, with other series.
Q: What does NASCAR gain by racing in the Los Angeles market?
A: It's critical for the sport to have a presence in the Southern California market, for business reasons. Everyone in the sport benefits from the exposure to the millions of people living there.
Q: Would it be better if NASCAR visited Auto Club Speedway just once a year?
A: Yes. Keep the fall race date, the one that will be part of the Chase For The Sprint Cup this year.
Q: What about Auto Club Speedway's February race date?
A: Send it to another track. Las Vegas Motor Speedway comes to mind. Just imagine a Chase race in Las Vegas.
Q: There was no sign of Paris Hilton this past weekend at Auto Club Speedway. Where was she?
A: I don't know, and don't care. I think part of the fan backlash against the track has to do with the fact it has trotted out celebrities such as Hilton in order to attract buzz, or make the sport seem relevant out there in Southern California. NASCAR shouldn't need that type of publicity to succeed.
Art Weinstein
Managing Editor Art Weinstein has been covering NASCAR since 1995 and has worked at NASCAR Scene for 11 years.
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Comments
9 responses to "Questions about Auto Club Speedway". Post a Comment.
Michael Daly said:
Feb 24, 2009 at 11:12 AM"Pales compared to what fans see at most tracks on the circuit?" Like what? Darlington? Fontana's racing is better. Bristol? Fontana is better. Martinsville? Fontana better. Why does the surface have to be redesigned when plating the cars and bolting on roof rails will do the job? Fontana's biggest problem is it's a poor racing demographic and no, the sport hasn't benefitted there. That doesn't mean it should give up one of its dates, though, because nobody else deserves two dates instead of what the sport already has. And a Chase race in Vegas? Vegas is a dump.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportdavid larison said:
Feb 24, 2009 at 12:03 PMMichael,what races in Fontana are you watching? Better than Bristol or Martinsville? Not at their worst! Any track on the circuit is better than the Fontana yawn fest. (OK maybe Michigan).
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» Confirm Abuse Reportchris welch said:
Feb 24, 2009 at 12:42 PMmichael, why do you want restrictor plates and roof wickers at every track? the roof wicker would do NOTHING to improve the racing. dont you think this COT has enough drag and punches a BIGGER hole in the air than the wickers would? PLATES ARE NOT THE ANSWER TO BAD RACING. no banking is the problem. if they bumped it up to 24 degrees that would have a chance at better racing. the short tracks are where its at though. they should move the auto club race to irwindale. but auto club in its current configuration is BORING and the most boring on the schedule. (worse than pocono)
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» Confirm Abuse ReportTom Meier said:
Feb 24, 2009 at 12:45 PMI think that the one thing that hurts the attendance at Auto Club Speedway in February is the Las Vegas race follows it. to many people, if given the choice between
Report as Abusegoing to Southern California or Las Vegas,
will choose Las Vegas. These two races should not be back to back
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» Confirm Abuse ReportBill B. said:
Feb 24, 2009 at 1:11 PMIf Nascar is letting them keep 2 races,then separate them from Vegas.But watching 2 races in Ca. is like watching 2 races in Michigan. Give them both (Mich. and Ca.)1 race and get some short track racing back.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportMichael Daly said:
Feb 27, 2009 at 1:28 PMDavid, the ones they're running at Fontana. Absolutely they are better than Bristol or Martinsville - those two places are only about crashes; they're not about positional passing.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportMichael Daly said:
Feb 27, 2009 at 1:31 PMChris Welch, because THEY DO MAKE THE RACING BETTER. The roof wicker makes the draft work better. The COT does not have enough drag and while it does open more air it's not enough of a bigger hole - if it were enough then there would be a drafting effect on intermediate superspeedways. Plates are indeed part of the answer to bad racing by slowing the cars to where they can corner better. If you want to bank up the track then bank it to 33 degrees; 24 is nonsense. The short tracks are not good races - get this fact into your head, Chris. Irwindale is a dump; Fontana is a superior configuration to ANY short track (so is Pocono).
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» Confirm Abuse Reportchris welch said:
Feb 27, 2009 at 3:37 PMmichael daly is a lunatic!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportGreg Boyd said:
Mar 1, 2009 at 2:08 PMArt, your crazy, going from two races at Fontanna, to just one race there and two races at Las Vegas is like going from bad to worse. Las Vegas and Fontanna both should only have one race date if that, they are both the most boring races on the schedule to watch. Put a short track or a road course in the chase, or better yet change the chase races to different tracks every year.
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