Auto Club Speedway Date Change Shows NASCAR's L.A. Commitment
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Auto Club Speedway Of Southern
California To Host October Race In '09 |
As part of a race-date swap among three tracks officially announced yesterday, the Auto Club Speedway of Southern California’s August NASCAR Sprint Cup race will move to October 11 next year, a change that “is about what NASCAR can and should do to help make its sport work” in the L.A. market, according to Jim Alexander of the Riverside PRESS-ENTERPRISE. NASCAR has “struggled mightily” in the market, with “empty seats the norm” since the track got a second Cup date in ’04. The change gives the track a “more relevant race, in the fourth week of the Chase [for the Sprint Cup], with better weather. The sports calendar at that point may be a little more crowded … but it should provide a better chance for success.” However, the L.A. market “would be better served if the [February] date was pushed back to its previous late April slot.” Changing the February date “would mean NASCAR is seriously committed to success” in L.A. (Riverside PRESS-ENTERPRISE, 8/20). In L.A., Tim Haddock writes it “only took NASCAR five years to realize that it’s too hot, the track is too slick and the grandstand seats are too empty in Fontana over Labor Day weekend.” Auto Club Speedway President Gillian Zucker said, “What we see here is a real opportunity for people to come out and experience NASCAR in temperate conditions and we believe it certainly will help with our attendance and help us to continue to grow” (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 8/20).
SWAP MEET: Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS) in ’09 will give up its November Chase for the Sprint Cup race date for Talladega Superspeedway’s Labor Day weekend night race. AMS President Ed Clark said the track “weighed giving up a race in the Chase to do this, but I can tell you fans have been clamoring here for a night race at (AMS) for years.” Clark: “We’re looking at it as kind of a new start. We’re working with our community to promote this event and making it a bigger happening for the fans. … We feel certainly the attendance is going to be larger than it is” (“NASCAR Now,” ESPN2, 8/19). Clark said that he is “planning to work with the tourism industry to make the race a destination event for holiday travelers” (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 8/20). Clark: “We’ll be celebrating our 50th year of racing next year. This event will be the keystone event of that celebration” (SCENEDAILY.com, 8/19). Meanwhile, Talladega Superspeedway President Rick Humphrey said of picking up AMS’ November date, “We believe that moving even deeper into the Chase makes Talladega even more significant to the championship. … In 2009, our race weekend falls on Halloween, which is certainly something we feel is an asset and something we’ll be able to capitalize on” (K.C. STAR, 8/20).
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