Fontana Cup Race to Move to October in 2009

Good new for us NASCAR fans in Southern California - the 2nd Cup race at Fontana will move from Labor Day weekend to October in the 2009 Cup season:

Auto Club Speedway president Gillian Zucker has not been shy in her desire to switch out the track's NASCAR Labor Day weekend race for a Chase for the Cup date.

Now, it appears her wish has been granted.

Auto Club Speedway is part of a three-track deal that will bring NASCAR to Fontana in October 2009, in the midst of the Sprint Cup's Chase for the Championship, according to a person familiar with the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Atlanta Motor Speedway will acquire the Labor Day weekend race, Auto Club Speedway will take Talladega Superspeedway's old date -- which is scheduled for early October this year, the fourth race in the Chase -- while Talladega will get Atlanta's date in late October.

NASCAR has scheduled a teleconference for tomorrow morning. It will include NASCAR President Mike Helton, Atlanta Motor Speedway President Ed Clark, Talladega Superspeedway President Rick Humphrey and Zucker.

Auto Club Speedway has struggled to fill its seats for the Labor Day weekend race in recent years. Atlanta has done the same, and both track presidents have talked about the benefits of changing their race dates.

This move is good for two reasons: #1 it moves this race into the Chase for the Championship which will make it more exciting for the fans; and, #2 it will probably be 20-25 degrees cooler in October. That last two years it's been 105 and 103 degrees on race day, and that was enough to keep me from buying a ticket to go see the race. With the race in October there's always a slight chance of rain and a chance of Santa Ana winds, but the temperatures should be cooler for the fans and the participants.

A good move on the part of NASCAR and the California Speedway.