NASCAR’s future at Auto Club Speedway has been iffy since the 2020 season. It was announced that Auto Club would be turned into a short track for future events that year. Then, it was not on the schedule for the 2021 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, the sport is set to have an announcement in Phoenix, Arizona about Auto Club Speedway. The press conference is scheduled for Sunday, November 6 at 2:00 PM ET on the last day of the 2022 racing season.
Let’s look into the situation surrounding Auto Club and what the announcement could be as the final race of the 2022 season is coming soon.
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As stated above, the plan for Auto Club Speedway was to turn it into a short track that is similar to Martinsville Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway. Granted, the NextGen car has taken that excitement and flushed it down the drain.
The NextGen car has not been performing well on short tracks while Auto Club held one of the best races of the season that resulted in a Kyle Larson victory. The 1.5-mile-plus tracks have seen a boost in competitiveness.
However, that did not stop NASCAR from scheduling the 2023 event as the last race weekend on the current configuration. Starting for the 2024 season, Auto Club Speedway is supposed to go forward as a short track.
Since this was already known, what could this announcement be about now? Well, one idea is that it could simply be an update on the progress, layout, and any other matters that concern the track’s future.
It would be very, very surprising to hear that the short-track plan has been scratched. NASCAR fans need to brace themselves that next year’s event will be the final one on the current layout.
Perhaps, it could be something along the lines of Auto Club Speedway holding Championship Weekend after its configuration or a possible short-track event under the lights in March 2024.
These are all just ideas on what it could be on Sunday; however, any update surrounding the future of Auto Club is bound to be a major one as there are so many unanswered questions.
You won’t want to miss this intriguing update about the future of Auto Club Speedway. The live stream will be available on NASCAR.com at 2:00 PM ET before the championship race at Phoenix Raceway.