California Speedway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| California Speedway | |
  |
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| Facility statistics | |
|---|---|
| Location | 9300 Cherry Avenue, Fontana, California 92335 |
| Broke ground | 1995 |
| Opened | 1997 |
| Owner | International Speedway Corporation |
| Operator | International Speedway Corporation |
| Construction cost | $100 million USD |
| Architect | Paxton Waters Architecture Penske Motorsports, Inc. |
| Former names | |
| None | |
| Major events | |
| NASCAR Nextel Cup Auto Club 500, Sony HD 500 |
|
| Seating capacity | |
| 91,200 (NASCAR) | |
| Current dimensions | |
| Track shape | D-shaped oval |
| Track length | 2 miles |
| Track banking | Turns - 14 degrees Frontstretch - 11 degrees Backstretch - 3 degrees |
The California Speedway is a two-mile, low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, California, similar to that of "sister track" Michigan International Speedway. It is located approximately 40 miles east of Los Angeles on the site of the former Kaiser Steel mill. It is a relatively new race track, opening in early 1997, and has additional configurations and facilities to accommodate "road" races, motorcycle races, vehicle testing, and drag races (Auto Club Dragway). The racetrack is a stones throw from the old Ontario Motor Speedway and the old Riverside International Raceway. After Riverside's closure in 1988, Southern California did not host a NASCAR race until California Speedway was opened.
In addition to NASCAR, the raceway has also hosted open-wheel events from both CART and the Indy Racing League. In 1999 Canadian driver Greg Moore was killed in a crash at the track, resulting in a major overhaul of the backstretch for safety (it was discovered Moore's car slid in the grass off Turn 2, allowing the car to overturn, and cause the fatal crash; following that, International Speedway Corporation, which had purchased the track in 1999, paved that section of backstretch apron in time for the 2000 NASCAR event to prevent cars from sliding in that section, and to allow for drivers to have control of the cars in an incident); in 2003 the Indy Racing League set the highest average speed for any circuit event in motorsports at the track.
Like many modern oval tracks, Fontana also features an infield road-course, which has been used by the Grand American Road Racing Association and by the Japanese Grand Touring Car Championship, with the JGTC race being unique in the fact it was a night race. The GARRA Rolex Sports Car Series no longer goes to this track.
In 2005, 19 year old Kyle Busch earned his first ever NASCAR NEXTEL Cup win at California Speedway. He is to date the youngest driver to win a race in the NEXTEL Cup Series.
The circuit is often used for television commercials. In 2000, portions of Charlie's Angels were filmed at the speedway and in 2004, portions of Herbie: Fully Loaded were filmed there.
See also: List of NASCAR race tracks
Contents |
[edit] Track Timeline
November 1, 1993: Initial discussions among Penske Speedways Inc. and Kaiser Values Inc. begin about making a speedway in California. The California Speedway is approximately 45 miles east of Los Angeles, CA.
April 20, 1994: Official announcement is made to the public about making a 2.5 mile NASCAR track in California.
July 18, 1994: CART signs on to officially run races at California Speedway in a multi-year deal.
April 26, 1995: San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors approves for construction of the track.
November 22, 1995: Initial construction for the 2.0 mile speedway begins.
May 30, 1996: NASCAR, ABC, and ESPN team up to sign a multi-year deal to televise the California race live.
January 10, 1997: CART Team Penske driver Paul Tracy is the first person to drive on California Speedway.
March 24, 1997: Jay Sauter and Dave Marcis are the first to drive stock cars on the pavement of California Speedway, testing for IROC.
May 5, 1997: First Winston Cup Series Test session for California Speedway.
June 20, 1997: Official opening of California Speedway.
June 21, 1997: The very first race at California Speedway, the Auto Club 200, a Winston West series race, is won by Ken Schrader. The first IROC race is also ran and won by Mark Martin.
June 22, 1997: The first Winston Cup series race at California Speedway, the California 500, is won by Jeff Gordon.
September 27, 1997: Mauricio Gugelmin sets CART world speed record at California, with a speed of 240.942 mph.
September 28, 1997: Mark Blundell wins the first CART race at California Speedway.
October 18, 1997: The first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at California Speedway is won by Mike Bliss.
October 19, 1997: The first NASCAR Busch Series event at California is won by Todd Bodine.
October 28, 2000: Gil de Ferran, during a closed track session, tops Mauricio Gugelmin's track record with a blazing 241.428 mph.
February 9, 2001: A proposal is sent to San Bernardino County to build a quarter-mile drag strip at California Speedway for the NHRA to use.
June 19, 2001: An official announcement is made that the California Dragway will be made, along with the plans of a road course integrated into the 2.0 mile speedway.
September 8, 2001: The first weekend for the street legal Friday Night at California Dragway is run.
October 4, 2001: An announcement with the Rolex Sports Car Series is made for a several year agreement to race at the new road course integrated into California Speedway.
November 21, 2001: An announcement is made to let the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship to run the road course at California Speedway for rounds 2 and 3.
February 6, 2002: IRL runs a pre-season test session on the road course section of the track.
March 23, 2002: Didier Theys and Fredy Leinhard Jr. win the first Rolex Sports Car Series event at California Speedway.
March 24, 2002: Sam Hornish Jr. wins the first IRL race at California Speedway by 0.0281 seconds over Jaques Lazier.
April 6, 2002: Anthony Gobert wins the first AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship at California Speedway.
November 3, 2002: Last CART race at California Speedway is won by Jimmy Vasser.
April 24, 2003: An announcement is made that lights will be installed in the raceway sometime during 2004.
September 5, 2004: The first race under the lights is ran at California Speedway, a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup series race won by Elliott Sadler.
October 16, 2005: Dario Franchitti wins last IRL race held at California Speedway
[edit] Current races
- NASCAR NEXTEL Cup - Auto Club 500
- NASCAR NEXTEL Cup - Sony HD 500
- NASCAR Busch Series - Stater Bros. 300
- NASCAR Busch Series - Ameriquest 300
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series - San Bernardino County 200
[edit] Records
- NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Qualifying: Kyle Busch, 38.248 sec. (188.245 mph), 2005
- NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Race (500 miles): Jeff Gordon, 3 hrs. 13 min. 32 sec. (155.012 mph), June 22, 1997
- NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victories: Jeff Gordon, 3. Gordon is also the only multiple-race winner since the California Speedway opened in 1997, winning the inaugural and then again in 1999 and 2004.
- NASCAR Busch Series Qualifying: Tony Stewart, 38.722 sec. (185.941 mph), 2005
- NASCAR Busch Series Race (300 miles): Hank Parker, Jr., 1 hr. 55 min. 25 sec. (155.957 mph), April 28, 2001
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying: David Reutimann, 40.228 sec. (178.980 mph), 2006
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Serie] Race (200 miles): Ted Musgrave, 1 hr. 22 min. 14 sec. (145.926 mph), September 20, 2003
- CART Qualifying (one lap): Gil de Ferran, 241.426 mph, October 28, 2000.
- CART Race (500 miles): Jimmy Vasser, 197.995 mph, November 3, 2002.
- Indy Racing League Qualifying (one lap): Helio Castroneves, 226.757 mph, September 20, 2003.
- IRL Race (400 miles): Sam Hornish, Jr., 207.151 mph, September 21, 2003.
[edit] External links
- California Speedway Official Site
- California Speedway Page on NASCAR.com
- GNEXTINC.com: California Speedway Page - Local area information, track specs, mapping, news and more.
- Jayski's California Speedway Page - Current and Past California Speedway News
- Trackpedia guide to driving this track
- Caliifornia Speedway Page on Ballparks by Munsey & Suppes
- Super High Resolution image from Windows Live Local
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps or MapQuest
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Microsoft Virtual Earth, or WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
| Current NASCAR Nextel Cup Series racetracks |
|---|
|
Atlanta - Bristol - Brooklyn, Michigan - Charlotte - Darlington - Daytona - Dover - Fontana, California - Fort Worth - Indianapolis - Joliet, Illinois - Kansas City - Las Vegas - Loudon - Martinsville - Miami - Pocono - Phoenix - Richmond - Sonoma, California - Talladega - Watkins Glen |
| Current NASCAR Busch Series racetracks |
|---|
| Atlanta, Bristol, Brooklyn, Michigan, Charlotte, Darlington, Daytona, Dover, Fontana, California, Fort Worth, Indianapolis, Joliet, Illinois, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Loudon, Madison, Illinois, Martinsville (1982–1994, 2006), Memphis, Mexico City, Miami, Milwaukee, Montreal (2007), Nashville, Phoenix, Richmond, Sparta, Kentucky, Talladega, Watkins Glen |
| Current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racetracks |
|---|
|
Atlanta - Bristol - Brooklyn, Michigan - Charlotte - Daytona - Dover - Fontana, California - Fort Worth - Indianapolis - Kansas City - Las Vegas - Loudon - Madison, Illinois - Mansfield - Martinsville - Memphis - Miami - Milwaukee - Nashville - Phoenix - Talladega - Sparta, Kentucky |
| Tracks of IROC |
|---|
| Current Tracks Daytona International Speedway • Texas Motor Speedway • Atlanta Motor Speedway Former Tracks |
| Tracks of the Champ Car World Series |
|---|
| Current Tracks (2007)
Assen • Cleveland • Edmonton • Houston • Las Vegas • Long Beach • Mexico City • Mont-Tremblant • Phoenix • Portland • Road America • San Jose • Surfers Paradise • Toronto • Zhuhai • Zolder Former Tracks (Ovals) Former Tracks (Road Courses) Former Tracks (International) |
| Tracks of the Indy Racing League |
|---|
| Ovals Indianapolis Motor Speedway Chicagoland • Homestead • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Michigan • Milwaukee • Motegi • Nashville • Richmond • Texas Road/Street Courses Former Tracks |
