Drivers saddened by Fontana's plight

FONTANA, Calif. -- As track officials and drivers come to grips with what will be the last fall race at Auto Club Speedway for the foreseeable future, there was disappointment throughout the garage area, coupled with the hope that the decision to eliminate one of the two Sprint Cup races beginning in 2011 will perhaps regenerate fan interest.

After a series of sellouts from the time NASCAR returned to the Southland in 1997 until the traditional Labor Day date at Darlington was moved here in 2004, attendance at the 2-mile oval has steadily and precipitously declined. February's race had an estimated crowd of 72,000, nearly half of what was announced during the track's heyday.

There are a number of theories as to why Southern Californians no longer flock to the speedway. The track is 43 miles east of downtown Los Angeles via Interstate 10. The local economy has been decimated by the recession. The February races have been riddled by rain while the Labor Day events were blisteringly hot. And then there's the endless complaints about the racing, or supposed lack thereof.

Speedway president Gillian Zucker and her staff have relentlessly promoted this weekend's race with beau coup discount-ticket packages, a hauler parade, Richard Petty visiting the Party Zone, a Kenny Loggins concert, and appearances by David Hasselhoff and other dignitaries. But just like in racing, once you've lost momentum, it takes both time and energy to get it back.

When the 2011 schedule was announced in August, Zucker's response at the time was focused primarily on the positive aspects of having the spring race moved from late winter to early spring.

"Moving our Auto Club 500 event from February to March provides us the opportunity to show off the area's beautiful 'Chamber of Commerce' weather," Zucker was quoted as saying. "We remain committed to providing unforgettable experiences to our loyal fans and we will continue to look at ways to diversify our schedule, working diligently to add exciting events for 2011 and beyond."

In the garage area Friday, drivers tried to place their fingers on the pulse of Auto Club Speedway, what might be wrong and what needs to be done to fix things. In the opinion of Jeff Burton, the local economy is still the primary factor.

"I believe we have a lot of race fans out here," Burton said. "I also know the economy around the race is really bad. That has hurt the race track a lot as far as being able to sell tickets.

"But I think it is important for us to be here. It is hard to say taking a race away is a good thing, but sometimes it is and this may be a case where you end up netting out more people for one race than you end up netting out for two races. I hope that is the case."

Three-time Fontana winner Jeff Gordon agreed, although he added that finding a niche in a market in which there are so many entertainment choices is a challenge.

"They can't even get an NFL franchise to work in this area," Gordon said. "There's something about this area that is really tough when it comes to sports franchises and sports entertainment in general.

"I think that right now it's the right move. Hopefully, we can get back to selling out this race and utilizing this market because it is a great market and then maybe one day come back and have two races."

Greg Biffle is sad to lose two races at Fontana for a variety of reasons. One, he's usually run well here. Two, as a native of Washington state, he likes coming back to the West Coast.

"I've got friends and family who come from Washington and Oregon, where I grew up," Biffle said. "I see a lot of people here I used to race with and fans, so it gives all the West Coasters a chance to come and visit this race track. So I think it has a pretty good draw from a lot of different states."

If there's anyone who should be most upset at the prospect of not making two trips to Auto Club Speedway, it would be Jimmie Johnson, who has won four of the past six races here. But the El Cajon, Calif., native takes a pragmatic look at the pros and cons of the decision.

"As a California native, I'm disappointed to hear that it's losing an event because it's taken so long for NASCAR to get here and then to really ingrain it into the sports fan in the area," Johnson said. "I hate to see us lose a weekend here, but on a national scale and what's right for the sport, I kind of see that side, as well.

"... I have a lot of friends that would come all the time when there was just one race. When it went to two races, it almost gave them an out to say, 'Well, we're busy this spring, we'll come back in the fall.' The fall would be here and the race would be here and they would say, 'Well, we'll come back in the spring.' I could see both sides of it. Either way, I just hope that we have packed stands and everybody watching at home."

There's no doubt the folks at Fontana and at International Speedway Corp. headquarters in Daytona Beach, Fla., share that sentiment.

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