Corey LaJoie reveals why NASCAR fans hate Cup races at Auto Club Speedway
The 2 miles track will undergo a major renovation in 2023.
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Corey LaJoie
The NASCAR garage is on the way to Fontana, California, for the second Cup series race of the 2023 season hosted at the Auto Club Speedway. The 2 miles oval is not necessarily a fan favorite; on the contrary, it has become one of the most criticized races on the schedule. The lack of bumper-to-bumper racing and limited passes being made during the race are a few of the major reasons behind the lack of interest.
Unlike the traditional short track fans want NASCAR to return to, the big ovals often create a big gap among the cars during the event. Drivers running in a straight line also makes it less entertaining. But unlike the fans, drivers tend to enjoy racing on such tracks. Auto Club will be repaved and undergo a major renovation in 2023, and the track will be shortened.
Cup series driver Corey LaJoie has expressed his opinion on things drivers deem fun that fans don’t like. He pointed out that the five-lane running ability and tire conservation stretch the race out and make it less entreating for fans watching it from TV or the back rows of the ground.
“I think that what the drivers like a lot of times isn’t what the fans show up in droves to see. Fontana is a really fun race track. It has a lot of character with the ability to run five lanes, the ability to run on the fence, to use some tire conservation. But, then again, it also plays into a stretched-out race with not a ton of passes, not a lot of cars close together which for the viewers on TV, they don’t necessarily love that,” Corey LaJoie said.
“I don’t think it’s super exciting to watch necessarily, but we went there last year, and it was a pretty good show. But NASCAR has to adapt and change with the changing landscape of just the economy. That land up there is super valuable, so they can pay for a reconfiguration and make money on the backend of it in addition to that, then that’s what they’re going to do,” Corey LaJoie added.
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Ryan Blaney reveals why drivers love to race at Fontana
The No:12 Penske Racing driver pointed out the bumpy and rough nature of old tracks such as Auto Club. This is due to the tracks’ big, slick, multiple-lane groove nature. He pointed out that drivers don’t like racing in a straight line, just like the fans, but they don’t have any other choices while racing.
“It is a big, slick, multiple-lane groove race track. It is bumpy and rough, and drivers love that stuff. That is the reason why all of us loved Atlanta before they repaved it. Why all of us loved Texas before they repaved it? Chicago, we don’t even go there anymore, but all of us loved that place. Old, worn-out tracks with a bunch of grooves and lanes are what drivers like. It is challenging, and you are sliding around, and there is room to race,” Ryan Blaney said.
“We don’t like running in a straight line any more than anybody likes watching it. It sucks when that stuff happens, but it is kind of the way it is. We don’t have much pull on it, obviously. We have failed at every attempt,” Ryan Blaney added.
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Justin P Joy
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