The track will only have one Cup race in 2011 and it won't have a Chase race.
The realigned Sprint Cup Series schedule has a bunch of changes. The Cup race at Auto Club Speedway will be in March. The second race of the season, which used to be at Auto Club Speedway, will be at Phoenix International Raceway. The first race in the Chase will be at Chicagoland Speedway in Illinois. Kansas Speedway will have two Cup races. Kentucky Speedway will host a Cup race for the first time.
Auto Club Speedway president Gillian Zucker said she expects her race track will have two Cup races again. But she said she isn't so sure she wants a Chase race if and when a second date is added to the NASCAR Cup schedule.
Roger Penske, whose Penske Motorsports Inc. bought the land and completed building the track in Fontana in 1997, said adding new venues to the Cup schedule is a good idea.
Go to ESPN LA.com for more on the Sprint Cup Series schedule and Auto Club Speedway losing one of its races.
Photo: Jimmie Johnson won the first Chase race at Auto Club Speedway in 2009. Auto Club Speedway lost one of its races and won't host a Chase race in 2011. (Getty Images)
Ms.Zucker is having illusions if she believes the CA> track will get another race.If anything when our economy gets well sometime in the future I predict that there won't be a race at all.The property will be much more valuable for development by then.
ReplyDeleteI went to the Ontario race track in 1979.There was a championship at stake as it was the last race of the year.I went to Sears on Sat.night hoping to get 2 tickets for the race the next day.There were plenty of seats available.I had seats right at the start/finish line pretty close to the top row.There were empty seats everywhere.I think Californions have to many other sports and are not that interested in racing. By the way Richard Petty clinched the championship that day,and Dale Earnhardt was rookie of the year.We know how good the ROOKIE became.Dale was the reason I went to the race at Ontario. From VA.