California Speedway Demo / Rebuild

StandOnIt

StandOnIt

Farm Truck
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The untouched front stretch where the new track is supposed to go is untouched
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that track looks like its legit in the middle of an industrial park, apologies as I've never seen overhead shots of the place.
 
They should just make a complete circle and rename it Langhorne West. :) For those unaware, the land the track is on was formerly a Kaiser steel mill.

From Wikipedia:
Kaiser Steel was an integrated steel mill near Fontana, California, founded by Henry J. Kaiser on December 1, 1941.[2] The plant's first blast furnace, "Bess No. 1" (named after Kaiser's wife) was fired up on December 30, 1942, and the first steel plate was produced in August 1943 for the Pacific Coast shipbuilding industry amid World War II. The Fontana facility produced about 75 million tons of steel over its history.
 
I love this place.....I hope it comes back in some form.
 
Revman said:
Yeah, and for those who haven't been there....it feels industrial...I heard that when it first opened, fans were afraid to drink the water. Nobody wanted this land. Penske cleaned it up.....now, it's worth a bundle.
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I believe it was a Superfund Hazmat site to start with. Kaiser had to pay in 4 or 5 million towards the cleanup.
 
AlTerego said:
The track looks out of place in an industrial park. I didn’t realize it was like that.
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Yeah, and it feels like that. I remember driving into that place for the first time....past rusted out buildings, etc.
 
AlTerego said:
The track looks out of place in an industrial park. I didn’t realize it was like that.
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Get used to it. That's what all these tracks are starting to look like now that they're selling former parking lots and campgrounds that haven't been needed in a decade plus. It's perfect for any kind of warehouse. Flat land, minimal traffic 51 weeks of the year, easy access to highways. Las Vegas speedway is all warehouses now, for example. I believe this process has begun at Texas as well.
 
Speedbowl14 said:
Get used to it. That's what all these tracks are starting to look like now that they're selling former parking lots and campgrounds that haven't been needed in a decade plus. It's perfect for any kind of warehouse. Flat land, minimal traffic 51 weeks of the year, easy access to highways. Las Vegas speedway is all warehouses now, for example. I believe this process has begun at Texas as well.
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Uh, no

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I admire Bobby's love of his home track, it's really admirable to see someone support local businesses.

But man some of his hot takes around Fontana are just complete "homer" takes. Dude really said in another thread that Fontana was one of the most popular tracks on the circuit. So popular that they went from 2 races to 1. 🤣
 
Bristol wasn’t in the middle of nowhere like I thought it’d be. Kentucky was, nothing around except a gas station or two. Daytona is across the street from a mall and there’s a hooters across the street, actually built up around there from my last visit in 2018. Chicagoland has warehouses around it after being in the middle of nowhere for so long but the exit to 80 is a few miles away.
 
BobbyFord said:
Charlie mentioned Indianapolis.
How much burbs y’all think were around that track in 1911?
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I think Richmond is by a neighborhood, my brother has been to two races there and mentioned it was weird to see
 
The Nature Boy said:
I admire Bobby's love of his home track, it's really admirable to see someone support local businesses.

But man some of his hot takes around Fontana are just complete "homer" takes. Dude really said in another thread that Fontana was one of the most popular tracks on the circuit. So popular that they went from 2 races to 1. 🤣
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I’m guessing he’ll need to find a new home track as I think Cali is history. I would love it if they did do a Bristol clone.
 
I haven’t been to the track for many years so I don’t know how much things have changed. I don’t remember Bristol, Talladega, MIS, IMS, Dover, Wilkesboro, Rockingham, Daytona, Martinsville or Atlanta being housed in industrial parks. Things may have changed though.
 
BobbyFord said:
Charlie mentioned Indianapolis.
How much burbs y’all think were around that track in 1911?
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It was all farm land, and the town of Speedway did not exist at all. It was out in the sticks. The City of Indianapolis made Carl Fisher and James Allison move their Prestolite factory out into the country because they were tired of the explosions from their factory in Indy. That factory, later Union Carbide, then Praxair and now Linde sits across the street from the Speedway. For those not in the know, Fisher and Allison were two of the four founders (and the actual driving force) of the Speedway. Their Prestolite Company started out making acetylene headlights for cars, which is why Union Carbide later bought out that part of the business. Fisher later developed Miami Beach, and Allison founded Allison Engineering, which after being sold to GM, developed aircraft engines (P38, P40, fighters etc). and the heavy duty automatic transmission. GM spun off the aircraft business to Rolls Royce (that plant is still in Speedway too), and GM spun off Allison Transmission the the Carlisle Group.
 
I'm hoping the rebuild vids come next. It's pretty amazing how much land that is getting reworked. The scope doesn't show it looking at pictures.
 
StandOnIt said:
I'm hoping the rebuild vids come next. It's pretty amazing how much land that is getting reworked. The scope doesn't show it looking at pictures.
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100%. I have that scope....I was all over that property in February.....with so much rain/show, had some time to drive around.....That was the sight of my first NASCAR race man....this bugs me. I really hope they build the short track, but the locals are generally feeling that it isn't happening.
 
Revman said:
100%. I have that scope....I was all over that property in February.....with so much rain/show, had some time to drive around.....That was the sight of my first NASCAR race man....this bugs me. I really hope they build the short track, but the locals are generally feeling that it isn't happening.
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I thought they would leave the grandstands if they were going smaller. So it was a surprise when I saw them getting torn down.
 
StandOnIt said:
I thought they would leave the grandstands if they were going smaller. So it was a surprise when I saw them getting torn down.
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I openly admit that the people I have talked to down there are a small sample size, but they are in the industry. When I asked about the short track, they just laughed. They were like at 0 in terms of optimism. I also think that The Clash is going another year as a stop gap until NASCAR truly answers the question.....Do we need to be in SoCal? I think it is a dumb question with an obvious answer.....but Riverside, Ontario, and now Fontana?
 
Revman said:
I openly admit that the people I have talked to down there are a small sample size, but they are in the industry. When I asked about the short track, they just laughed. They were like at 0 in terms of optimism. I also think that The Clash is going another year as a stop gap until NASCAR truly answers the question.....Do we need to be in SoCal? I think it is a dumb question with an obvious answer.....but Riverside, Ontario, and now Fontana?
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But, the tV cOnTrAcT!!! :dunce:
 
Revman said:
I openly admit that the people I have talked to down there are a small sample size, but they are in the industry. When I asked about the short track, they just laughed. They were like at 0 in terms of optimism. I also think that The Clash is going another year as a stop gap until NASCAR truly answers the question.....Do we need to be in SoCal? I think it is a dumb question with an obvious answer.....but Riverside, Ontario, and now Fontana?
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I seldom base decisions on heresay, but the lack of communication from Nascar about this situation doesn't make me all warm and fuzzy. I would have expected some concept drawings by now.
 
Revman said:
I openly admit that the people I have talked to down there are a small sample size, but they are in the industry. When I asked about the short track, they just laughed. They were like at 0 in terms of optimism. I also think that The Clash is going another year as a stop gap until NASCAR truly answers the question.....Do we need to be in SoCal? I think it is a dumb question with an obvious answer.....but Riverside, Ontario, and now Fontana?
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I think people are reading too much into the grandstands that are being torn down.

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This image shows you how much they were always going to demolish.

That said, your feelings and what you've heard about the pessimism of this track actually happening are shared by many inside the industry.

I still vote for staying at the Los Angeles Coliseum long-term, but I'm not sure it's a long-term solution. Especially with the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad fast approaching.
 
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