American open-wheel car races had been hosted at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California since its inauguration in 1997 until 2015 (except from 2006 to 2011), under both CART/Champ Car and modern-day IndyCar Series sanctioning, representing a continuous lineage of American open-wheel oval racing in the Southern California-area that dates back to 1970.
For many years in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the race served as the season finale for the CART series. From 2012 to 2014, when it was sponsored by MAVTV, it served as the finale for the IndyCar Series.(IZOD IndyCar) Series Returning to Fontana in 2012
In 2015, the race was moved to June. Despite several journalists calling the 2015 edition one of the best IndyCar races, the race did not return on the schedule for 2016, ending the lineage of Southern California open-wheel oval races.
History CART CART renewed the 500-mile oval race in 1997 at the newly built California Speedway in Fontana, California. The new track was built just from the previous Ontario Motor Speedway where the California 500 was held between 1970 and 1980. Indy car races were also held at nearby Riverside, but only from 1967 to 1969 (prior to the opening of Ontario) and again from 1981 to 1983 (after Ontario closed).
The Fontana race was held under the moniker Marlboro 500, and served as the CART season finale. This event was held through 2002. The race became known for closed-course record speeds, and fast and competitive racing, owing much to the track's width.
The 1999 race is considered a tragic day in the history of CART, after the fatal crash of Greg Moore. The 2003 event was cancelled due to the Old Fire.
Along with the popular Long Beach Grand Prix, the Southern California area featured two major open wheel CART races annually for a time.
Indy Racing League / IndyCar In 2002, the IRL IndyCar Series added a 400-mile race to the facility. Fontana became the first facility to host races from both rival open wheel series (CART and IRL), although the race distance was different (500 vs 400 miles). The Toyota Indy 400 was held through 2005. However, crowds dwindled, and the event was removed from the calendar.
The now-unified IndyCar Series returned to Fontana for the 2012 season with a 500-mile fall night race under the lights. The race served as the season finale from 2012 to 2014. For 2015, the race was moved to June.
Closed-course speed records Two world closed course speed records were established in qualifying for the CART event. Maurício Gugelmin, driving a Reynard/Mercedes established a one-lap time of 30.316 seconds (average speed of in 1997. At the time, CART officials recognized the track measurement as . Gugelimin had furthermore turned an unofficial lap of during the morning practice.A.M. Briefing -- Gugelmin Record: Lap At 240.942 Mph
On October 28, 2000, Gil de Ferran of Penske Racing topped Gugelmin's time driving a Reynard/Honda. The lap time by de Ferran was 30.255 seconds at an average speed of . Using the more common track measurement of 2.0 miles, de Ferran's lap translated into an average speed of .
In 2002, the 500-mile CART series race averaged 197.995 mph, and stood as the fastest 500-mile race in history (either open wheel cars or stock cars) for a dozen years. The record stood until the 2014 Pocono 500. The 2003 IRL/IndyCar race was the fastest circuit race ever in motorsport history, with an average speed of 207.151 mph (333.306 km/h) over 400 miles (643.737 km).
Race results SeasonDateDriverTeamChassisEngineRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed(mph)ReportRef Laps Miles (km)PPG CART World Series/FedEx Championship1997 September 28 Mark Blundell PacWest Racing Reynard Mercedes-Benz250500 (804.672)3:02:42 166.575 Report1998 November 1 Jimmy Vasser Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda250500 (804.672)3:17:54153.785 Report1999 October 31 Adrián Fernández Patrick Racing Reynard Ford-Cosworth250500 (804.672)2:57:17171.666 Report2000 October 29/30* Christian Fittipaldi Newman-Haas Racing Lola Ford-Cosworth250500 (804.672)3:38:04139.563 Report2001 November 4 Cristiano da Matta Newman-Haas Racing Lola Toyota220*440 (708.111)2:59:39149.073 Report2002 November 3 Jimmy Vasser Team Rahal Lola Ford-Cosworth250500 (804.672)2:33:42197.995 Report2003 November 9 Cancelled due to wildfires in the San Bernardino Mountains. ReportIndy Racing League/Verizon IndyCar Series2002 March 24 Sam Hornish Jr. Panther Racing Dallara Chevrolet200400 (643.737)2:13:49179.345 Report2003 September 21 Sam Hornish Jr. Panther Racing Dallara Chevrolet200400 (643.737)1:55:51207.151 Report2004 October 3 Adrian Fernández Aguri-Fernández Racing G-Force Honda200400 (643.737)2:14:13178.826 Report2005 October 16 Dario Franchitti Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda200400 (643.737)2:22:23168.567 Report2006–2011 Not held2012 September 15 Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara Chevrolet250500 (804.672)2:57:34168.939 Report2013 October 19 Will Power Penske Racing Dallara Chevrolet250500 (804.672)3:13:43154.867 Report2014 August 30 Tony Kanaan Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Chevrolet250500 (804.672)2:32:58196.111 Report2015 June 27 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Dallara Honda250500 (804.672)2:57:41168.846 Report
2000: Race started on Sunday but finished on Monday due to rain. 2001: Race started late because of rain and was shortened because of darkness.
Firestone Indy Lights SeasonDateDriverChassisEngineRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed(mph)Ref Laps Miles (km)Auto Club Speedway1997 September 27 Clint Mears Lola Buick50100 (160.934)0:52:16116.4671998 October 31 Mark Hotchkis Lola Buick50100 (160.934)0:39:41153.3951999 October 30 Jonny Kane Lola Buick50100 (160.934)0:46:52129.9022000 October 29 Scott Dixon Lola Buick50100 (160.934)0:33:08183.6722001 November 4 Townsend Bell Lola Buick44*88 (141.622)0:29:23182.3342002 Not held2003 September 20 Mark Taylor Dallara Infiniti50100 (160.934)0:41:14145.5362004 October 2 James Chesson Dallara Infiniti50100 (160.934)0:40:51146.8942005 October 16 Wade Cunningham Dallara Infiniti50100 (160.934)0:43:07139.172006–2011 Not held2012 September 15 Carlos Muñoz Dallara Infiniti50100 (160.934)0:37:38159.412013 October 19 Carlos Muñoz Dallara Infiniti50100 (160.934)0:32:10186.552
2001: Race shortened due to time limit.
References
External links Champ Car Stats: Ontario archive, Fontana archive Ultimate Racing History: Ontario archive, Fontana archive