NASCAR has sold the remaining California Speedway property. Despite rumors of a new project for the Southern California racetrack, it is evident those plans did not come to fruition.
California Speedway, also known as Auto Club Speedway, was a 2.0-mile, D-shaped oval track located in Fontana, California. It was a yearly stop on the Cup Series tour from 1997-2023, with the exception of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The track closed in 2023 for reconstruction for a new racing project. However, the plans ultimately did not materialize.
Details of NASCAR selling remaining California Speedway property
The California Speedway news was brought to light on X by Speedway Digest, a website dedicated to NASCAR and regional racing news. They wrote:
“California Speedway and any project there is no longer, NASCAR has sold the remaining track property.”
Speedway Digest also shared the quitclaim deed NASCAR sent in, a legal document used to transfer real estate from the grantor to the grantee. The document states:
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“FOR VALUABLE CONSIDERATION, receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY, LIC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Grantor”). hereby REMISES, RELEASES AND QUITCLAIMS to SPEEDWAY SBC DEVELOPMENT, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Grantee”).”
The California Speedway hosted 33 Cup Series races spanning across four different decades. Jeff Gordon, a California native, won the inaugural race at the track. Jimmie Johnson, another California native, was the winningest driver at California Speedway with six victories.
California Speedway is also where Kyle Busch won his first Cup Series race, the track’s only first-time winner. Busch won the final race at the track in 2023, his first of three victories with Richard Childress Racing.
NASCAR’s proposed plan for California race project prior to selling
Following the closure of California Speedway in 2023, NASCAR did not want to give up on the area yet.
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NASCAR had plans for a “Next Gen California” project. The proposed $300 million redevelopment project was to tear down the 2.0-mile oval and create a high-banked, half-mile short track. Ninety acres of the Fontana land were kept for blueprint.
Dave Allen, NASCAR’s West Region, expressed confidence in a Yahoo Sports article in 2025 that something would be done.
“The market is extremely important to NASCAR. We’re not abandoning the market. What we don’t have is a firm timeline yet. There’s some things within the sport that need to get sorted before we can make some strategic decisions as it relates to what we’re going to build,” Allen said.
However, about a month later, NASCAR paused its efforts for “Next Gen California.” After selling over 400 acres of the 522-acre site, warehouses and an industrial park were built on the property.
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NASCAR continues to race in California at Sonoma Raceway. This year, the Cup Series added Naval Base Coronado to the schedule, located in San Diego. It was NASCAR’s first-ever race on a naval base.
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