Auto Club 500 shortened to 400 miles

NASCAR continues to listen and respond to its fans and as a result, they will be the beneficiary of more exciting NASCAR Sprint Cup racing when it comes to Southern California in March.

Changing the mileage from 500 to 400 for Auto Club Speedway’s October event along with double file restarts resulted in an action-packed three hours that media, drivers and fans called “the best race ever at Auto Club Speedway.”  With that feedback, ACS officials announced today that the Auto Club 500 will now be the Auto Club 400.  The race will take place on Sunday, March 27 beginning at noon (PT) on FOX.

October’s “gem” resulted in a Tony Stewart victory by 0.466 seconds over Clint Bowyer – one of the closest races ever recorded at the Southern California facility.  The intense side-by-side racing elicited rave reviews from everyone, including Stewart who said, “The restarts early in the race were out of control.  We were five wide!”

Others agreed with Stewart wholeheartedly:

Motor Racing Network:  “Simply put, Sunday’s race was the best Sprint Cup Series race ever at the two-mile Southern California track.”

Motor Sports Weekly News:  “Fans that stayed home this time or didn’t tune in on TV missed what just might have been the best race this track has ever put on.”

Clint Bowyer:  “They say you’re only as good as your last race.  Well, for this place, that was a hell of a race.”

“It’s impossible to ignore the on track excitement we experienced at Auto Club Speedway in October, as a result of NASCAR reducing the Chase race from 500 to 400 miles,” said ACS President Gillian Zucker.  “We’re confident the newly remileaged Auto Club 400 will continue the momentum we have been experiencing and that March’s race will be the most exciting ever at Auto Club Speedway.”

In response to the mileage change and the excitement that it likely will produce, Auto Club Speedway is offering several ways to see the 5-wide excitement of NASCAR at Southern California’s premier motorsports facility.


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Credit: Auto Club Speedway PR