Auto Club Speedway Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Auto Club Speedway
D-shaped oval

Location	9300 Cherry Avenue, Fontana, California, United States
Time zone	UTC-8
Capacity	122,200
Owner	International Speedway Corporation
Operator	International Speedway Corporation
Broke ground	1995
Opened	1997
Construction cost	$100 million
Architect	Paxton Walters Architecture Penske Motorsports, Inc.
Former names	California Speedway (1997-2007)
Major events	Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series NASCAR Xfinity Series AMA Superbike
Surface	Asphalt
Length	2 mi (3.2 km)
Turns	4
Banking	Turns: 14° Frontstrech: 11° Backstretch: 3°
Race lap record	241.428 miles per hour (Gil de Ferran, Team Penske, October 28, 2000, CART)
Interior Test Circuit
Surface	Asphalt
Length	1.45 mi (2.3 km)
Turns	13
Sports Car Course
Surface	Asphalt
Length	2.8 mi (4.5 km)
Turns	21
Motorcycle course
Surface	Asphalt
Length	3.79 mi (2.736 km)
Turns	21
Drag strip
Surface	Asphalt
Length	1/4 mi (0.40 km)

Auto Club Speedway is a famous race track in Fontana, California, USA. It used to be called California Speedway. This track is a 2-mile (3.219 km) long, D-shaped oval. It has hosted many exciting NASCAR races since 1997. The speedway has also been used for open-wheel racing events.

The track is owned by a company called International Speedway Corporation. It's easy to get to, as it's close to major highways like Interstate 10 and Interstate 15. There's even a train station nearby!

Construction of the speedway started in 1995 on the site of an old steel mill. It was finished in late 1996. The track can hold about 68,000 fans. It also has 28 special skyboxes for viewing races. In 2006, a fun fan zone was added. Lights were put in place in 2004, allowing races to be held at night. Since 2011, Auto Club Speedway has hosted one main NASCAR race weekend each year.

IndyCar races were held here from 2012, often as their season finale. Before that, IndyCar (then called CART) also raced here from 2002 to 2005.

History of the Race Track
- Building the Speedway
- First Races and Events
Track Lengths
Related pages
Pictures of the Speedway
See also

History of the Race Track

Building the Speedway

On April 20, 1994, Roger Penske, a well-known racing team owner, and the Kaiser company announced plans to build a race track. It would be built where the old Kaiser Steel mill used to be in Fontana, California. Soon after, the CART racing series said they would hold a race there every year. A few months later, NASCAR also agreed to have a race at the new track.

Local meetings were held to talk about how the track would affect the community. Most people supported the idea. They thought it would make land more valuable and help the area grow. In April 1995, the local government approved the project. The California Environmental Protection Agency gave permission to start building after Kaiser agreed to pay $6 million to clean up hazardous waste from the site.

Construction began on November 22, 1995, by tearing down the old steel mill. A tall 100-foot water tower from the mill was kept and used as a scoreboard. About 3,000 cubic yards (2,300 m³) of contaminated dirt was removed and taken to a special landfill. To make sure no bad stuff came up, a special plastic layer was put down. Then, 2 feet (0.610 m) of clean soil was placed on top. The track was finished in late 1996.

First Races and Events

On January 10, 1997, a driver named Paul Tracy was the first person to test a race car on the new track. NASCAR held its first test session there from May 5-7. The official opening ceremony was on June 20, 1997. The very first race, a NASCAR West Series race, happened the next day.

The first big NASCAR Winston Cup Series race (which is now called the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) was held on June 22, 1997. The first NASCAR Busch Series race (now the Xfinity Series) took place on October 30, 1997.

In 2011, Auto Club Speedway changed its schedule and no longer hosted a playoff race.

Track Lengths

The main oval track is 2.00 miles (3.219 km) long. The interior test circuit is 1.45 miles (2.334 km) long. The sports car course is 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) long. The motorcycle course is 3.79 miles (6.099 km) long. The drag strip is 1⁄4 mile (0.402 km) long.