Local Look: Fontana

Event: Auto Club 500

Local papers covering: Los Angeles Times, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario)

Celebrities take their turn at Fontana

The deal: Tim Haddock of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin says it's been a while since Melissa Joan Hart has been to California Speedway. The actress from "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" fame last made a trip to the Fontana track to watch her then-boyfriend, Casey Mears, race in the NASCAR Busch Series.

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She returned this week to participate in the Richard Petty Driving Experience with a host of other celebrities before this weekend's festivites. No stranger to auto racing, Hart jumped behind the wheel of a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series stock car and took eight laps around the two-mile, D-shaped oval.

"I love cars. I love racing. I love this track," Hart told the paper. Hart has competed in three Toyota Pro-Celebrity races at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, including one this month.

Why we care: Among the other celebrities at the track were musician Steve Harwell from Smashmouth, and actors Patrick Dempsey, Rob Schneider, Tom Jane, Patricia Arquette and Chris Klein. Jimmie Johnson was also in attendance to give the less-daring a chance to ride in a stock car rather than drive one around the track.

Harwell told the paper he loves NASCAR. He has gone through the Richard Petty Driving Experience before with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and has even driven Legend cars against Bobby Hamilton Jr., at a track in Nashville, Tenn.

"I did this once before with Junior out at Charlotte and I just love it," Harwell told the paper. "I want to get involved in team ownership in a couple of years, maybe in the Truck end of it or the Busch end. I really dig it."

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Forget the NFL, Los Angeles is NASCAR country

The deal: Mike Penner of the Los Angeles Times says Los Angeles residents know bumper-to-bumper traffic. They know how it feels to sit behind the steering wheel staring at a billboard that seems to be moving faster than their car. They know how to make a pit stop, although, out here, we call it the drive-through window at In-N-Out.

Welcome to NASCAR country.

That's right, Los Angeles.

Why we care: According to statistics compiled by Nielsen Media Research, Los Angeles is the No. 2 NASCAR television market in the country, behind only Atlanta. And climbing. Through the first seven races of the 2004 Nextel Cup Series, television viewership across the country was up 2 percent. But in Los Angeles, the average network rating was up 17 percent.

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SAFER barriers a lot to absorb

The deal: Shav Glick of the Los Angeles Times says it probably won't even be noticeable to spectators this weekend at California Speedway, but the track will have "safer" walls for the first time — just in case.

Technically, their name is Steel and Foam Energy Reduction, or SAFER. Their purpose is to absorb as much energy as possible that is transferred during a crash.

	Ricky Craven

Why we care: Although the barriers blend into the track, almost unnoticed, their importance is the latest project in motor racing's continuing struggle to make a dangerous sport as safe as possible. Speeds at California Speedway, which have exceeded 225 mph for Indy cars and 187 mph for Nextel Cup cars, are caused by a smooth surface, gentle banking in the corners and racing lanes that are 75 feet wide with another 15-foot apron.

"Getting around California takes a combination of handling, horsepower, aerodynamics, a combination of all those things," Ricky Craven, driver of the No. 32 Tide car owned by longtime Southern California car builder Cal Wells, told the paper. "You have to factor in all of those things, including the draft.

"You'll see two, three cars pull out as a result of the draft on the frontstretch. Not nearly as significant on the backstretch, but the frontstretch does create a heck of a draft."

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Time already running short for teams

The deal: Louis Brewster of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin says even though the season is only one-fourth completed, time is already running out for team hoping to move up into the "Chase for the Championship."

Why we care: If history is any indication, few drivers not in the top 10 at this point of the season will actually race into the chase. Three drivers who left Fontana a year ago in the top 10 dropped out by race No. 26, and four finished outside the top 10 by season's end.

	Kurt Busch

Ricky Craven took the hardest fall after Fontana last, losing 20 spots to finish 27th at year's end. Elliott Sadler went from 10th to 22 while Michael Waltrip lost nine places to finish 15th.

Kurt Busch, whose win at the Speedway last year vaulted him to fourth, eventually finished 11th for the season. He was eighth after race No. 26 but five finishes of 36th or worse doomed his possible top 10 finish.

Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Terry Labonte and Bill Elliott rallied after the Fontana stop to finish in the top 10 in 2003. But no driver scored more points after Fontana than Jimmie Johnson, whose 3,666 pushed him from fifth to second in the points race.

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