“Focusing on Different Options”– Steve O’Donnell Unmasks Truth on Demolished NASCAR Track’s Future Amid Southern California Search
· Yahoo Sports
NASCAR decided to tear down Auto Club Speedway in Fontana after its final Cup Series race there in 2023. Subsequently, they sold most of the area for more than $500 million to develop industrial warehouses, but the 89 acres that remained in NASCAR’s name have given fans of the Southern California track a reason to hold on to hope that it will one day return.
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EO Steve O’Donnell took to Reddit on Friday, September 4, to answer questions from the fanbase, and when a fan asked about the organization’s plans to build a track in Fontana, he offered a rather sobering update.
“NASCAR still owns substantial acreage at Fontana, and we remain open-minded about a future there. However, right now, we are focusing our efforts on different options to service the Southern California market,” the Reddit reply from O’Donnell read.
NASCAR had initially held talks to build a high-banked, half-mile short track on the land it owned in Fontana, but those plans have since stalled. High construction costs, inflation, and shifting priorities — such as the move to Coronado’s Naval base — have contributed to the decision, per reports. Additionally, the Next Gen cars have not been particularly well-suited to short tracks, which also raised concerns about the project.
O’Donnell himself said that NASCAR is particularly excited about its return to the military base in Coronado after a successful debut in 2026. Tens of thousands of fans from San Diego and nearby parts of California, along with visitors from 17 different countries, reportedly attended the race. The sanctioning body had little hesitation in announcing that it would return to race around the active military base once again in 2027.
“I wish everyone could experience that event – not just the race, but the opportunity to spend time with the men and women who live and work on the base. They are an inspiring group, and their passion for their work was awesome to see,” O’Donnell also said about the Coronado track in the Reddit post.
That said, O’Donnell did provide some updates on what they might have in store for fans in the long run. They don’t want a single-use facility anymore and are embracing trends that have already been seen at tracks like Daytona, Kansas, and more recently, Homestead-Miami. The goal for NASCAR is to have multipurpose venues that would include retail outlets, amusement parks, restaurants, and other activities that would generate revenue year-round.
Doing that in a place like Southern California could do wonders for NASCAR, considering it’s one of the biggest entertainment capitals in the world and is already home to multiple sports teams from the major leagues in America. But it would also be difficult to tap into the market wholeheartedly, given how saturated it is.
Interestingly, NASCAR has to maintain a constant presence in California, owing to the massive $7.7 billion media rights deal it signed two years ago. The agreement demands a footprint in one of the most competitive media markets in the country, which has pushed NASCAR to get creative with races like the Anduril 250 in Coronado. Before that, they held the season-opening Clash at the LA Coliseum, which was held between 2022 and 2024.
California’s link to NASCAR is deep and rooted in success. Some of the best Cup Series stars in history are from the state, including four-time champion Jeff Gordon, 2014 champion Kevin Harvick, and seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, who won his first-ever Cup Series race at Fontana in 2002.
Plus, the state is home to some of the biggest companies in the country, putting NASCAR in a position to potentially secure major sponsorship deals from a stone’s throw away in Silicon Valley. So, although Fontana may be out of the picture for now, NASCAR will continue its presence in California, with San Diego’s Coronado base serving as the current option and a new state-of-the-art track potentially coming somewhere down the line.
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