Auto Club Speedway Demolition Stuns Fans - Rebuild Delayed, Trust Shaken
For decades the two-mile Auto Club Speedway in Fontana was a staple of NASCAR’s calendar — a high-speed, multi-groove oval that produced memorable races and drew passionate crowds. That legacy feels endangered now. Recent photos taken by a visiting fan show the track largely gutted: grandstands reduced to skeleton frames, empty garages exposed to the sky, and an infield scattered with debris. What once was a busy racing cathedral now reads like a stalled construction site, and with no visible timeline for return, fans are left wondering if the track’s best days are gone for good.
NASCAR originally said the oval would be torn down to make way for a modern short track intended to bring closer, harder-nosed racing. Instead, demolition and redevelopment have proceeded unevenly. Crews have laid asphalt for non-racing purposes, bulldozers flattened large parts of the property, and the organization reportedly sold 433 acres of the site for about $800 million. The last NASCAR race on the two-mile layout was the 2023 Pala Casino 400, won by Kyle Busch for Richard Childress Racing — widely regarded at the time as the final event on that configuration. Nearly two years on, the promise of a short track has not translated into visible progress: no foundations, no active crews building a new facility, and warehouses creeping closer to the former speedway footprint.
NASCAR has said under court oath that it still intends to build a short track at the site, but public statements have offered mixed signals. President Steve Phelps told reporters in April 2025 that the project was on hold because of rising construction costs and “more pressing priorities,” a comment that did little to reassure long-time supporters. That gap between stated intent and visible action has widened a trust deficit among fans. Social media reaction to the new images has been blunt: some defend the organization’s long-term plan, but many others feel the sport effectively “killed” the original oval and are skeptical that a promised replacement will ever materialize.
The Auto Club situation mirrors other stalled projects in NASCAR’s recent rebuild efforts, and it highlights a broader frustration among supporters who want tangible results, not promises. Until shovels hit the ground for a new racing facility, the demolition photos stand as a stark reminder that words alone don’t rebuild tracks. For now, fans are mourning a beloved venue and watching a once-proud speedway disappear under dust and disuse, hoping — but no longer assuming — that racing will return to Fontana.
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