4 Burning Questions: Is Auto Club Really Gone?

Has Auto Club’s last hope gone up in smoke?

Editor’s note: Multiple reporters have since confirmed with NASCAR that it still owns its part of the land.

—

As of earlier this week, California Speedway LLC no longer owns any part of the track that NASCAR once told its fan base was destined to become one of the sport’s premier short-track destinations, and that’s incredibly sad.

Until a transaction between the company and a development group in late June, the California Speedway group still owned several parcels of land around the old Auto Club Speedway, as revealed in December’s NAScourt files. However, that is no longer the case, as the grouphas sold its remaining property in and around the facility to the same development group that originally sought to purchase only part of the holding.

https://twitter.com/speedwaydigest/status/2090550902734160328

Nobody likes to see a racetrack close its doors in this sport (unless you live around Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, apparently), but this one hits home, as NASCAR’s West Coast swings are so few and far between, and Auto Club in its prime was one of the most entertaining tracks to grace the schedule on a yearly basis.

Apparently, a booming real-estate market and a lack of investment to push the short-track project forward are to blame for the track’s demise. Whether that’s the case or not, fans will likely never know the entire story unless someone decides to make a documentary on the track and its final years — which I would pay handsomely to watch, by the way.

More than likely, NASCAR knows it dropped the ball on this one by stripping away a great and storied track, promising to replace it with a short track that featured Bristol Motor Speedway’s corners and Martinsville Speedway’s straights, only to let it fall on its face a few years later in a sale. I’m not here to point the finger, either, as I understand the racing business is ever-changing.

But dammit, wasn’t Auto Club fun?

What does Chicagoland Speedway’s reported return mean for the Chicago media market?

It’s fitting that, at a certain point this season, it was a toss-up whether NASCAR would race on the Chicago street course again or make its way back to Chicagoland in 2027 following its sell-out race earlier this year.

Why is it fitting? Because, according to reporting from Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic, NASCAR is set to take on Chicagoland again next year. NASCAR chose that side of the coin, whether out of necessity or by choice, and that decision has two stories surrounding it depending on what side of the issue you fall on.

While the street race was plagued by weather issues and other factors, such as disdain from many inner-city residents, it served a well-intentioned purpose: consistently attracting a more upscale, Formula 1-style fan base to the sport. In many ways, that plan succeeded, and thus, the street course served its purpose.

Full story on NASCAR returning to Chicagoland Speedway in 2027 and what went into the decision. https://t.co/KgCc5RMTer

— Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) August 18, 2026

Conversely, it alienated many oval-racing fans in the area and left the old Chicagoland, a track with a fairly important history of its own, to suffer a fate similar to Kentucky Speedway’s. Thankfully, that isn’t the case, as 2027 will mark the second straight year that NASCAR has hosted an oval race at the facility, which also represents the country’s third-largest media market.

By ditching the former, NASCAR could be returning to its roots, but what about bringing in new fans? Well, both could be true, since we don’t have all of next year’s dates lined up yet. While two races in Chicago seem like overkill, there’s real momentum behind the idea of another street course following Coronado this year, and I would imagine NASCAR isn’t keen on ditching the idea.

Perhaps, then, the Chicago street course served its purpose more than we think. It proved that NASCAR could race on the street, and now, it’s the sport’s job to take that concept and apply it in areas that might make more sense for the sport as a whole.

How much should fans pay attention to NASCAR returning to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park?

A lot. It’s no secret that since it held the race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, NASCAR has desperately wanted to keep tapping into international markets.

However, this isn’t F1, and NASCAR needs the right international market to make it work on a stage like this. Canada is one such market, and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series returning in 2027 signals real interest in potentially bringing the other three touring series along at some point.

The Truck Series made that event special for several consecutive years in the 2010s, and while it may not be suited for a Cup race, that doesn’t mean there aren’t venues in Canada that couldn’t host it. After all, we just talked about the possibility of a street course moving around. Would Toronto or Montreal be a bad destination?

Realistically, no. It wouldn’t be. The population size is there. The oddity of American stock cars racing through the streets of Canada would draw eyeballs, and it doesn’t strip a date from an oval that already has a dedicated fan base. Would one track potentially lose its second date to make this happen? Sure. But would that be a worthwhile price to pay instead of watching a second race at a track like Phoenix Racewau? You bet.

If the race at CTMP returns with the same or more support than it had during its signature run that saw one of the best finishes in Truck history, I expect NASCAR to, at the very least, entertain the conversation.

A street course through downtown Toronto at least sounds cool in theory, eh?

How does Trackhouse Racing fix its contract issue?

With Connor Zilisch signed to the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 starting in 2028, a natural successor has been named to fill Alex Bowman‘s soon-to-be-empty seat, and with the move, some contract drama has been revealed over at Trackhouse.

Evidently, all three Trackhouse drivers — Zilisch, Shane van Gisbergen and Ross Chastain — are in a contract season in 2027. Zilisch’s departure came as a shock to no one on the outside, but according to Chastain, it set off a few alarm bells inside the Trackhouse camp that could probably be heard all the way from Concord, N.C.

In a recent episode of Bussin’ With the Boys, Chastain said he and his fellow Trackhouse drivers are simply not happy with the quality of car the organization has brought to the track this year. To be fair, this episode was recorded before the Cup race at Iowa Speedway, where Chastain finished seventh, and before his 12th-place finish last weekend.

Perhaps, then, Chastain’s alarm caught the attention of some of the Trackhouse brass. Either way, Trackhouse now has a fire to put out with its hottest commodity leaving for a larger team. It’s going to have to spend big to keep van Gisbergen around by the end of next year, especially if he ends up winning an oval race or two between now and then, and dependent on how Chastain performs in ’27, he could be the hottest free agent on the market heading into that offseason.

All I know for certain is that I wouldn’t want to be in Justin Marks‘ shoes come negotiation time either this offseason or next. Perhaps the organization could extend one this offseason and re-sign the other the next, but now it has to worry about filling its chartered seat in 2028, and unless a clear candidate emerges, it appears that a lackluster signing might be foretold by the great NASCAR magic 8-ball.