NASCAR on FOX
Auto Club 500
Live from the Auto Club Speedway of Southern California
3:30 PM
720p & DD5.1

Weather may continue to be an issue at the Auto Club Speedway of Southern California. Showers are predicted throughout the afternoon.

Racing is scheduled to begin around 4:00 PM weather permitting.

From the Speed Pre race show, it looks very wet at the track. Guess it is Fox's turn to fill time today after ESPN2 did so last night.

Still raining here!!!

Not raining in Darlington. (opps, sorry wrong race).

New lighting color scheme for the Hollywood Hotel. Blue instead of the typical yellow for Sprint Cup events.

Not raining in Darlington. (opps, sorry wrong race).


Wrong weekend. It was the Labor day race that got stolen and moved to CA, not the spring race. :);)

After over 2:30 hours of filling time, it is time for the racing to begin.

Starting Grid graphical crawl seems to missing its graphical background.

Video from the blimp does not look all that good.

Finally, some racing!

Agreed, that blimp shot looks bad.

Great shot from that robo of the accident.

Fox must be cursed today, rain delay, MW dropped oil to delay the start, and now a red flag.

I'll bet the Mears family's hearts skipped a few beats when Waltrip misinterpreted where Mears was in the car.

Great shot from that robo of the accident.

Fox must be cursed today, rain delay, MW dropped oil to delay the start, and now a red flag.

Was that the cam that was shaking up and down?

Was that the cam that was shaking up and down?

No, the robo is the cam robotic camera mounted just outside the wall where Hornish got under Mears.

Really odd shot being used for the screens in the Hollywood Hotel. A camera shot looking skyward.

My newspaper said the Nationwide series race, which was postponed due to rain yesterday, would be run after the Autoclub 500 tonight. Will there be time tonight for this? What network will carry the Nationwide race?

My newspaper said the Nationwide series race, which was postponed due to rain yesterday, would be run after the Autoclub 500 tonight. Will there be time tonight for this? What network will carry the Nationwide race?

I don't see the Nationwide race being run, and it will be on ESPN2.

No, the robo is the cam robotic camera mounted just outside the wall where Hornish got under Mears.

Ah, okay.

I don't see the Nationwide race being run, and it will be on ESPN2.

I'm beginning to wonder if this one will actually be run...

I'm beginning to wonder if this one will actually be run...

Look for it on Monday.

Look for it on Monday.

Yup, wouldn't be the first time. :)

I honestly think the NASCAR season is too long, of course, nobody really expects rain in SoCal, ever...:D

So between the rain delay and the red flag, what drivers have not been interviewed?

They said earlier that the Nationwide race will be on one hour after the conclusion of the Sprint Cup race. But the way this is going they could be starting the race at 12 eastern tonight.

That's a cool shot as they come down the straight under the lights, the reflection runs up the car and off the top.

Lap 34

The Race Trax graphics just showed Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart both down 4,294,957 laps.

I guess they are way behind!

Another delay

Cool feature of recording on the NASCAR Hotpass HD Network channel.

It appears to have automaticly padded the race for me.

I'm so glad I'm not at this race in person.

Well that had to be the most riveting 6 hours of television.

Now they're showing the Simpsons.

Now they're showing the Simpsons.

great simpsons too....always luvd the "treehouse of horror" episodes !!

p.s. if thats the 1 they showed.

Well that had to be the most riveting 6 hours of television.

lol...

FOX came back at 10pm for an update.
Local news will on next but according to Chris Myers Nascar insists the race will resume tonight. FOX will be back at 11pm EST for another update.

Looks like the race will be longer then the Oscars :P

Big difference in PQ between the grainy Hotpass Fox Network HD channel and crystal clear Fox OTA local.

We will check in again in another hour at midnight ET.

In the first 6 hours, between 3:30 and 9:30, Fox showed about 33 minutes of green flag action.

Are they really going to try to get every lap in? Are there no noise regulations they have to worry about? I don't know much about the track and where it's located, but I remember past delayed NASCAR races couldn't be run past 10 or so because of noise.

Are they really going to try to get every lap in? Are there no noise regulations they have to worry about? I don't know much about the track and where it's located, but I remember past delayed NASCAR races couldn't be run past 10 or so because of noise.

Sounds like the race will be restarted.

We will be back at 1 AM Eastern.

Wow. They really don't want to pick it back up on Monday.

I'm also thinking... some Hollywood folks'll be saying, "Hey, this after party is boring, the NASCAR track is only an hour away, the stands will probably be pretty empty... you guys want to go check it out?" :D

I know I won't be there and I'm never going back again! A Major cluster @$^@ for my children and me. What a huge disappointment! This should have been postponed until tomorrow!

This is nutty. The race isn't going to end until probably 4:30 am EST.

I guess they just want to get this over with so the haulers can head home. I've been to a couple of rain delay races. It's just no fun. Last year MIS was postponed until Tuesday morning.

Sorry to hear that Run4two. I haven't been to a NASCAR race, but I've been to other racing events that were delayed until the next day because of rain when they probably could have just ran them well past midnight if they wanted to. Picking it up the next day- even if that next day is Monday- always seemed to make the most sense to me, and seemed to be the most convenient option for most fans.

Just looks like NASCAR wants to get it over with here. Maybe they're taking into account travel time to get the cars back to the teams' home base(North Carolina?). It's certainly not helping out the track's reputation any.

The track's rep has something to be said here. Ontario failed!!! There have been major issues with this track and if it will succeed. Nascar did no favors when they awarded a second race, taking away Labor Day's race from a highly respectable track! Nascar seems to want Nascar to succeed in SoCal, but have done everything wrong to make it happen! I'm done. I'll spend more time and MONEY!!!with my kids enjoying TRUE teamsports that have a greater respect for their fanbase!

It's a shame that people are blaming the track for this bad weather.

Next update will be at 2 AM ET

Well the track does have issues weeping like a crying school kid that had his lunch money stolen. And finishing the race after midnight on the west coast is ludicrous. I hope the fans get their money back.

Well it really is getting pretty ridiculous now. I'd love to hear what the drivers are saying about this right now, if they're not getting some sleep.

At this rate the morning local news on the east coast will be on right after the race. A whole new meaning to the graphic at the end of sporting events saying your local news is next.

See you later today

Now they say the race will resume 1pm EST today.

I am getting nothing on the HD station and The Shield on our SD broadcast. KDSM-DT in Des Moines via Mediacom. I wish I had a way to get a hold of them

edit: now according to NASCAR.com it will be 1pm tomorrow. Nationwide afterwards.

Race should have been on TNT. "We Know Drama". Lotta drama for nothing. NASCAR officials must have been squabbling over rules and procedure or something, because I can't believe they were seriously considering restarting a race that-taking into account cautions and possible red flags from wrecks- may not have seen the checkered flag until the early morning hours. I'd guess they were wondering if they could run the race to the halfway point then end it, even without another weather delay and with a reasonable chance to restart the race the next day.

Welcome to the real NASCAR. Their motto, "We never met a dollar we didn't like."

We here in the south have been putting up with crap like this for years. You folks out west who have been singing the praises of NASCAR, you now see what NASCAR really is. Enjoy.

Damn, I told my wife that I need a slingbox. After the 11pm update, i was in bed and watching a L&O rerun.

21 and half hours after FOX first went on the air we have a green flag.

Fox just cut to commercial after showing a quick glimpse of a a roll out. Looks like a mistake by network control.

13 minutes short of 24 hours after Fox first went on the air, the race is finally over.

if i hit it i'll call it stupid cam lol

It's a shame that people are blaming the track for this bad weather.

I wasn't blaming the track for the weather! What I meant by situations was strictly financial! This racetrack may not make it. Read the article at Espn.com to give you some insight into the past hardships of SoCal racing tracks. As far as the "weeping" issues, that was due to the weather and hadn't been encountered before. IMHO it caused the wrecks yesterday. There were none today!

Update. My kids and I went back today and had a blast. We got scanners and listened to the chat between the chiefs, spotters, and drivers. Got some phenomenal pics of Carl Edward's win. Traffic was horiffic leaving as the staff hired for the weekend races for traffic control had been substantially reduced. A great day overall!

I miss Riverside, used to go to that track all the when I lived in SoCal.

I miss Riverside, used to go to that track all the when I lived in SoCal.

Are you talking about a short track or the old Ontario Motor Speedway?

This would not have happened if they were at Rockingham.

This would not have happened if they were at Rockingham.

I don't understand, elaborate please. Do you mean that the race would have been skipped over and not run or that they would not have run in the wet conditions yesterday?

Are you talking about a short track or the old Ontario Motor Speedway?

I'm talking about Riverside International Raceway, a road course, it used to be off the 60 and what used to be known as US-395(now US-215) split out by March AFB.

The Ontario track actually hastened the demise of Riverside. Used to see Can-Am races there as well as NASCAR. Just houses and light industry there now.

I don't understand, elaborate please. Do you mean that the race would have been skipped over and not run or that they would not have run in the wet conditions yesterday?

no "weepers", track dried quicker, and proximity to home bases. Also Fontana races are boring, especially for the first non-restrictor plate race after Daytona.

no "weepers", track dried quicker, and proximity to home bases. Also Fontana races are boring, especially for the first non-restrictor plate race after Daytona.

True but the REAL problem is "The Rock" can't seat the same number of people Fontana can so that automatically makes Fontana a "better track." :rolleyes: Remember, with NASCAR it isn't about the racing, it is about the money. Just ask the France's. If it were up to the France's, the words "North Carolina" would be replaced with the word "Florida" because in their eyes, NASCAR really started on the beach at Daytona, not the foothills of North Carolina and they along with a few others are trying their damnedest to rewrite history and those in North Carolina know it and don't like it.

Case in point, North Wilkesboro. There has not been ANYTHING at North Wilkesboro since the last NASCAR cup short track race there years ago. The track has literally rotted away with all that NASCAR history and NASCAR doesnt' care. It isn't big enough to bring in the money they want so they let it rot away as of it were never there in the first place. I would suspect Martinville's days are numbered too and when that race goes away, that track with fade into dust also, a reminder of how NASCAR had its roots in North Carolina and not Florida. The Rock is headed in that same direction along with Darlington. The fans who made the sport, the people of North and South Carolina, are getting the shaft badly and NASCAR doesn't care. They have their eyes on big west coast markets that may seat more people but the fan base isn't there like it is in the south and NASCAR will find that out one day soon, after they run off the southern fan base. The fans around here are SO ticked off at NASCAR over this whole race Sunday it is unbelievable. That is all people talked about on Monday. A few more boneheaded decisions like that and people will start to leave in droves. They are NOT happy around here.

I'm talking about Riverside International Raceway, a road course, it used to be off the 60 and what used to be known as US-395(now US-215) split out by March AFB.

The Ontario track actually hastened the demise of Riverside. Used to see Can-Am races there as well as NASCAR. Just houses and light industry there now.

Ontario was a copy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It used to host the final race of the year. When it went away, then Riverside hosted the last race until it also went away.

As far as North Wilkesboro goes, that track is handcuffed by its two owners, Bruton Smith and Bob Bahre. Both wanted one of the dates for their respective tracks, so they bought the track and took those dates. NASCAR and even ARCA has wanted the track to reopen for CTS and ARCA races, but neither co-owner can agree on anything regarding the use of the track. So it just sits there rotting away. With Bahre selling NHIS to Smith, I hope Smith will get 100% ownership of North Wilkesboro and then sell it.

I felt sorry for Fox and ESPN for being tied up the way they were on Sunday.

As far as North Wilkesboro goes, that track is handcuffed by its two owners, Bruton Smith and Bob Bahre. Both wanted one of the dates for their respective tracks, so they bought the track and took those dates. NASCAR and even ARCA has wanted the track to reopen for CTS and ARCA races, but neither co-owner can agree on anything regarding the use of the track. So it just sits there rotting away. With Bahre selling NHIS to Smith, I hope Smith will get 100% ownership of North Wilkesboro and then sell it.

If NASCAR really wanted North Wilksboro back open, they could make Smith and Bahre deal. But since Smith and Bahre are two of the biggest NASCAR big wigs, they wheel a tremendous power and NASCAR bows down to them. North Wilkesboro is another sour spot in these parts and Charlotte, eh Lowes Motor Speedway is beginning to be another one with the the whole "drag strip" incident a few months back. NASCAR's support in the south is waning.

It cracks me up when people whine about Rockingham and North Wilkesboro being closed considering that when those tracks were open they couldn't even come close to seeling the 50-60k seats they had.

It's somehow appropriate that both defunct Southern Cal racetracks (Riverside and Ontario) are now the site of shopping malls.

It's somehow appropriate that both defunct Southern Cal racetracks (Riverside and Ontario) are now the site of shopping malls.

NASCAR has never really been big out here, too many people still have the "good ole' southern white boy" connotation of what NASCAR is all about. It's only been recently that NASCAR has had anything but white men involved in it. I would almost bet that NASCAR paid Montoya to come to their sport as I doubt NASCAR has much draw amongst the large and increasing Latino population in the US, especially on the west coast.

IMO, the sport is way too "white" still, they have a long ways to go before they get anything even close to diversity.

I also think the season is way too long, and the races should be shortened by 30%, or at least most of the 500 milers. But, the longer the race, the more ad time that can be sold.

The thing about the long races is that after dealing with all that traffic and expense of going to a race, people expect at least 3 hours of racing.

It cracks me up when people whine about Rockingham and North Wilkesboro being closed considering that when those tracks were open they couldn't even come close to seeling the 50-60k seats they had.

They were packed most races.

Sorry. If I am NASCAR I put my most loyal fans and traditional tracks ahead of the hope in the Fontana races. The tens of thousands of die hards at Rockingham and North Wilkesboro are a greater asset than the greater number (not by too much) of more casual fans out in California.

Give CA a race, ok. Give them two? No. Especially not at a boring track like Fontana. The most ridiculous thing of all is one of these races is at the expense of the Southern 500. There was no reason they had to move the Darlington race. You want to talk about not caring about tradition...

BTW.. your track in Michigan is boring too, along with Kansas. And I say that with Kansas being the closest track to me and I won't go to it.

Sorry. If I am NASCAR I put my most loyal fans and traditional tracks ahead of the hope in the Fontana races. The tens of thousands of die hards at Rockingham and North Wilkesboro are a greater asset than the greater number (not by too much) of more casual fans out in California.

Give CA a race, ok. Give them two? No. Especially not at a boring track like Fontana. The most ridiculous thing of all is one of these races is at the expense of the Southern 500. There was no reason they had to move the Darlington race. You want to talk about not caring about tradition...

BTW.. your track in Michigan is boring too, along with Kansas. And I say that with Kansas being the closest track to me and I won't go to it.
There's actually 3 races in CA, 2 at Fontana on the one in Sears Point.

Yesterday's Fontana race, Sears Point in June and then the Pepsi 500 back in Fontana in Aug.

Being a road race I excluded Infinion from this discussion. I know there are three races, but only two oval. I don't see the road races as being in competition with the oval tracks.

Being a road race I excluded Infinion from this discussion. I know there are three races, but only two oval. I don't see the road races as being in competition with the oval tracks.

Good point. Coming from a sports car racing background before getting into NASCAR, I'd like to see more road courses myself. Take the 2nd Fontana race and put it at Laguna Seca. :)

Good point. Coming from a sports car racing background before getting into NASCAR, I'd like to see more road courses myself. Take the 2nd Fontana race and put it at Laguna Seca. :)

It would be fun watching NASCAR cars going around the cork screw.

I think the following tracks should lose a race: Fontana, Pocono, Michigan, and Kansas, and New Hampshire. They should go back to Rockingham, North Wilksboro, build a short track in the pacific northwest, build a short track in the New York area they so want, and add a road course race in the chase.

What Nascar needs is a good ole figure 8 track.