Auto Club Speedway announced Tuesday it will shorten its Sprint Cup Series race from 500 miles to 400 for the 2011 season.

The October race at ACS was dropped to 400 miles and was well-received for the action involved. ACS will have just one Cup race in 2011, on March 27, and decided to make it the Auto Club 400.

October's "gem" resulted in a Tony Stewart victory by 0.466 seconds over Clint Bowyer -- one of the closest races ever recorded at the Southern California facility. The intense side-by-side racing elicited rave reviews, including from Stewart, who said, "The restarts early in the race were out of control. We were five wide!"

"It's impossible to ignore the on track excitement we experienced at Auto Club Speedway in October, as a result of NASCAR reducing the Chase race from 500 to 400 miles," said ACS president Gillian Zucker. "We're confident the newly [shortened] Auto Club 400 will continue the momentum we have been experiencing and that March's race will be the most exciting ever at Auto Club Speedway."

In response to the mileage change and the excitement that it likely will produce, Auto Club Speedway is offering several ways to see the action.

* Seats in the Auto Club Members section are available at discounts up to 50 percent.

* With the purchase of a $75 upper reserved seat, fans will receive a free pre-race pit pass.

* Save $10 on any ticket for the March 26 Nationwide Series race.

Call (800) 944-RACE or visit www.autoclubspeedway.com to get tickets.