Auto Club Speedway Road Course
Auto Club Speedway Road Course Notes:
The Auto Club Speedway is a NASCAR-owned and operated motorsports facility paved in 1997 on what used to be a steel mill in Fontana, California, an hour drive east from downtown Los Angeles. It was born with the name California Speedway, changing it later in 2008 as part of a sponsorship deal with the Automobile Club of Southern California (ACSC). There are several possible layouts in the racing complex, such as the NASCAR speedway oval, a sports car road course, a motorcycle course, and the inner test circuit. Fontana has excellent weather throughout the year, with pleasant temperatures, relatively low humidity, and scarce precipitations, making it an ideal place for high-performance racing.
The sports car road course is a 2.88-mile (4.63 km) layout that combines the NASCAR oval with an intricate infield section of the race track consisting of 19 turns and several straightaways. There are plenty of passing opportunities in the oval, where racers press the gas pedal hard the reach velocities as high as 150 mph (241 km/h). The other internal layout in the Auto Club Speedway is the infield road course, a 2-mile circuit that consists of straight segments and chicane-like turns.
Road Course Notes:
Auto Club Speedway's Road Course configuration delivered 4.635 kilometers of Southern California's largest oval-infield hybrid challenge through 19 turns combining the 2-mile D-shaped oval with intricate infield sections, operating from 2001 until the facility's 2023 closure for Next Gen California reconstruction project. Located in Fontana, 80 kilometers east of Los Angeles, this 2.88-mile layout emphasized technical infield corner combinations contrasting the oval's high-speed straightaways, creating diverse sector challenges where road racing vehicles navigated tight direction changes before unleashing power on banked oval segments. The road course hosted Grand-Am sports car racing, AMA motorcycle events, and Japanese GT Championship's rare 2004 overseas appearance, demonstrating versatility across different series before the facility's demolition beginning October 2023 ended the road course's 22-year operational history as reconstruction plans stalled due to high costs and shifted priorities.
The Road Course's character derived from extreme contrast between infield technical sections and oval high-speed segments. The 19-turn layout packed numerous infield corners into tight combinations testing chassis agility and driver precision, then transitioned to banked oval straightaways where vehicles stretched legs briefly before diving back into technical infield maze. Separate motorcycle configuration eliminated Turns One-Two banking entirely, creating flatter alternative safer for two-wheel racing and demonstrating layout flexibility for different vehicle types. Southern California's Mediterranean climate created year-round racing potential with minimal rain but summer heat producing track temperatures exceeding 55°C affecting tire strategy across 4.6-kilometer laps. The 2001 infield reconfiguration added road course capability to the 1997-opened oval facility, expanding Auto Club's versatility beyond NASCAR stock car racing into sports car and motorcycle markets. The facility's 2023 closure and demolition beginning October 2023 ended the road course era as Next Gen California project planned complete reconstruction, though high costs and priority shifts have prevented work from beginning beyond initial demolition. The Road Course configuration represented 22-year period where Southern California's largest oval offered road racing alternative, creating unique layout combining D-shaped oval geometry with complex infield sections before closure ended an era of hybrid facility versatility serving multiple racing categories across greater Los Angeles motorsport landscape.
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