Auto Club Speedway Pre- Race 2023

^Does NASCAR realize what they're losing here or is any track replaceable as long as markets overlap?
 
As long as the track isn't Daytona or Talladega, it appears the answer is 'Yes.'

Pretty much. Bristol being reconfigured and now dirt, Kentucky being promised and then taken away before it could even get going. Same with RA. Rumors about Iowa becoming a Cup track for years and now it's on life support. Atlanta being destroyed into a zombie wannabe plate track.
 
I think autoclub is just stuck in limbo because of the new car. With the last car everyone was like "we need more short tracks racing on these tracks suck" but with the current car it more like "racing on short tracks sucks, we don't need more of them" .

I wouldn't be surprised if they haven't already signed a contract to sell at least a portion of the land and now they don't know if they want to spend the money on a short track knowing the racing it now produces.

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I really don't know how we lost Chicagoland and Auto Club and are ok with a Chicago street course and throwing dirt on a top 3 track on the schedule once a year but I'm sure there's a few posters who will tell me I'm being a complainer for not drinking the NASCAR kool-aid.
 
I really don't know how we lost Chicagoland and Auto Club and are ok with a Chicago street course and throwing dirt on a top 3 track on the schedule once a year but I'm sure there's a few posters who will tell me I'm being a complainer for not drinking the NASCAR kool-aid.
OR a death bedder.
 
I think autoclub is just stuck in limbo because of the new car. With the last car everyone was like "we need more short tracks racing on these tracks suck" but with the current car it more like "racing on short tracks sucks, we don't need more of them" .

I wouldn't be surprised if they haven't already signed a contract to sell at least a portion of the land and now they don't know if they want to spend the money on a short track knowing the racing it now produces.

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Need more horsepower at ACS.
 
I really don't know how we lost Chicagoland and Auto Club and are ok with a Chicago street course and throwing dirt on a top 3 track on the schedule once a year but I'm sure there's a few posters who will tell me I'm being a complainer for not drinking the NASCAR Kool-Aid.

Come on. Drink up. There's plenty for everyone !!!

Kool-Aid.jpg
 
I liked Auto Club, but it's not to be. I'm not going to join the pity party anytime soon though.
I wouldn’t really call it a pity party personally. I understand why some folks would be upset by it. If it was a track I really loved, I wouldn’t like the change. ACS is a track I personally could take it or leave it, good races but not one where I’m like damn I’ll miss this place.
 
I’ve debated on going. I’d like to go to a college basketball tournament or March Madness in March though.

Fontana is a great track. Shameful to see West Coasters want a short track in CA instead of Washington.

Really, it’s just silly when there’s Irwindale nearby.
 
I wouldn’t really call it a pity party personally. I understand why some folks would be upset by it. If it was a track I really loved, I wouldn’t like the change. ACS is a track I personally could take it or leave it, good races but not one where I’m like damn I’ll miss this place.
well, I will miss the place myself. It's unique. 3 lanes easily they can run on a 2 mile track.
 
Really going to be some crap weather. News said there is a blizzard warning in the mountains of L.A. County. 😵‍💫

Friday/Saturday looking bad, but rain should be gone Saturday evening and Sunday should mostly be dry, but with temps not getting out of the 40s.
 
I really don't know how we lost Chicagoland and Auto Club and are ok with a Chicago street course and throwing dirt on a top 3 track on the schedule once a year but I'm sure there's a few posters who will tell me I'm being a complainer for not drinking the NASCAR kool-aid.
Friday/Saturday looking bad, but rain should be gone Saturday evening and Sunday should mostly be dry, but with temps not getting out of the 40s.
Starting to rain right now.
I’m 60 miles from Fontana.
 
Breaking ...

Bad weather forecasted for SoCal.

Local man breaks down. 😇
 

I was looking forward to the Fontana reconfiguration but at this point this might very well be the last race at Fontana altogether.
It doesn't sound like there actually is a plan for the reconfiguration yet. Before the last race at Gen 2-Atlanta in July in 2021 it was announced in detail how the new track would look like. There hasn't been an announcement concerning the configuration of the Fontana short track.
Need more horsepower at ACS.
And all other tracks:)
 
What's stupid about the short track plan is NASCAR is getting greedy with what they want to keep. They are basing the track around keeping the existing suites in the infield and the existing grandstands on the frontstretch. No wonder the physics aren't working in the simulations.... you're trying to make a half mile track that has a massive frontstretch and turns tighter than Martinsville. Keep the frontstretch, tear down the infield suites, and make a suitable .6-.75 mile track.
 
I really don't know how we lost Chicagoland and Auto Club and are ok with a Chicago street course and throwing dirt on a top 3 track on the schedule once a year but I'm sure there's a few posters who will tell me I'm being a complainer for not drinking the NASCAR kool-aid.
Especially Chicagoland!

It's such a unique intermediate. That curved back stretch was always so interesting.

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Goodyear Fast Facts — Fontana​

FEBRUARY 21, 2023 AT 8:19 AM

NASCAR Cup Series — Race No. 2 – 200 laps / 400 miles
Auto Club Speedway (2.0-mile oval) – Fontana, Calif.Fast Facts for February 25-26, 2023

Tire: Goodyear Eagle 18-inch Speedway Radials

Set limits: Cup: 1 set for practice, 1 set for qualifying and 12 sets for the race
(11 race sets plus 1 set transferred from qualifying)


Tire Codes:
Left-side — D-5186;
Right-side — D-5190

Tire Circumference:
Left-side — 2,263 mm (89.09 in.);
Right-side — 2,279 mm (89.72 in.)

Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front — 20 psi;
Left Rear — 22 psi;
Right Front — 48 psi;
Right Rear — 44 psi

Storyline – Cup teams face challenges at Fontana: There will be two notable challenges for NASCAR Cup teams and the tires at Auto Club Speedway this weekend. First the track surface, which is one of the more abrasive on the circuit. The surface will cause tires to wear heavily, so tire management will come into play for drivers, and pit crews will be busy with four-tire stops all day. Second will be the air pressure settings in the left-side tires. Auto Club is a track where teams often drop their left-side pressures in an attempt to gain grip. Going below Goodyear’s recommendation – 20 psi on the left-front and 22 psi on the left-rear – comes with risk. By running too low on air pressure, especially on such a rough and bumpy track surface, the tire’s sidewall will over-deflect, potentially causing damage to the point of air loss.

“Auto Club Speedway’s track surface has become quite abrasive over the years, so tire wear and tire management will be a key factor throughout the race,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “Cup teams will have 12 sets of tires for the race, and we will see four-tire stops at almost every opportunity. The other thing to watch for is how teams use their left-side air pressures as a tuning tool. Teams will often go below our minimum recommended pressures in order to gain grip, but they will have to balance that in a risk vs. reward proposition.”

Notes – New tire set-up for Cup cars at Fontana: Being on an 18-inch bead diameter tire, NASCAR Cup teams will run a different tire set-up than those in the Xfinity Series at Fontana this week . . . . . . these are two different tire codes from what the Cup cars ran in this race last season . . . compared to what they ran at Fontana in 2022, this left-side tire features construction and mold shape changes, while this right-side tire features a construction update, all to align with what is run at other speedways . . . both tread compounds are the same as last season’s . . . with this 18-inch tire, and its lower profile sidewall, NASCAR Cup cars will not run inner liners in any of their tires in 2023.
 
Eh, if Goodyear does what it always does, the tires will be hard as rocks and teams will be going with two tires on some stops.
 
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