Does It Matter If There Is No Race in Southern California?

Does it matter if there’s no NASCAR Cup Series points race in Southern California next year? If it does, where should the race be?

Zach Gillispie: Let’s make one thing clear: The Los Angeles Coliseum should not be a points race. Yes, it’s been fun racing there, but it is a gimmick for TV money. The crowd was pretty bad this year, and the race was a complete crash fest. The fact that there are even rumors and speculation flying around that it could become a points race is absolutely absurd and blatantly dangerous for the health of the sport.

From a market standpoint, a race in Southern California would be good but should not necessarily be treated as an end-all, be-all on the schedule. If you are going to plop a race in the area while Auto Club Speedway is being transformed, there should be only one location: Irwindale Speedway. It’s the same size as Bristol Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway, the two most exciting tracks on the circuit.

Wyatt Watson: I would like NASCAR to continue to run a points-paying race in Southern California to continue to build the brand and recognition in that area of the country while Auto Club is reconfigured (may the 2-mile oval rest in peace). However, I do not subscribe to the notion that the LA Coliseum should be a traditional points-paying event. The track is meant to be a fun and different experience rather than taken too seriously.

My two proposals while waiting on Auto Club would be to run at either WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca or the Long Beach Grand Prix circuit, depending on how street racing goes at the Chicago street course this year. Come to think of it, Auto Club was temporarily replaced in 2021 by the Daytona International Speedway road course, so I could definitely see NASCAR green lighting this move in the future.

Josh Calloni: Southern California is much too important to abandon completely for one season, so yes, there’s a need for a race there. However, the LA Coliseum isn’t the answer. The track is much too small for a points-paying Cup event.

The series should look into Irwindale for its 2024 season. While the streets of Long Beach are enticing, there’s no guarantee a street circuit works well, and since Chicago is on the schedule for the next few years, adding another right away could be counterintuitive. Irwindale offers a short track that many Cup regulars are already familiar with, though some improvements would likely need to be done to the…