It’s weird looking at auto club speedway pictures lately. You see the massive grandstands, that distinctive D-shaped oval, and the hazy San Bernardino Mountains in the background, and it feels like a postcard from a version of Southern California that’s rapidly disappearing. It isn't just nostalgia. It is the realization that the two-mile asphalt monster in Fontana, once the crown jewel of West Coast racing, is effectively a ghost.
The track is being torn up. That’s the reality.
If you scroll through recent photography of the site, you won't find shiny Next Gen cars drafting at 200 mph anymore. Instead, you see heavy machinery. You see the "California" logo fading under the sun. For anyone who spent their Sundays baking in those aluminum stands since 1997, those images hit different. It’s the end of an era for a track that Roger Penske built on the bones of an old Kaiser Steel mill.
The Aesthetic of Speed: What Made Those Photos Iconic
What made auto club speedway pictures stand out from the rest of the NASCAR circuit wasn't just the racing. It was the light. Photographers loved Fontana because of the "Golden Hour" in the Inland Empire. When the sun started to dip behind the San Gabriel Mountains during the final stage of a 400-mile race, the light turned this thick, honey-gold color.
It was beautiful. It was also incredibly gritty.
Because the track was built on an industrial site, there was always this juxtaposition in the frame. You’d have a high-tech, multi-million dollar stock car in the foreground, and in the background, you’d see the industrial skeletons of the surrounding area. It gave the photos a blue-collar, "workhorse" vibe that you didn't get at the glitzier tracks like Las Vegas or even Daytona.
Then there was the surface itself. By the time the final race rolled around in 2023, the asphalt was ancient. It was gray, cracked, and abrasive. In close-up shots of the cars, you could see the "marbles"—shards of rubber—flying off the tires like shrapnel. That wear and tear created some of the best racing visuals in the sport. The cars didn't just drive; they slid. Drivers were fighting the wheel, and you could see the smoke pouring off the rear tires in every corner exit photo.
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Why Everyone is Hunting for Old Race Photos
People are hunting for these images now because we’re in a transition period. NASCAR is planning to turn the site into a short track, but the timeline has been, well, let's call it "fluid." In the meantime, the old two-mile oval is being dismantled.
Looking at a photo from the 1997 California 500—won by Jeff Gordon—is like looking at a different world. The stands were packed. The liveries were vibrant. Looking at that compared to a 2024 drone shot of the demolition is jarring. It’s a visual timeline of the rise and restructuring of American motorsports.
A lot of the demand for these pictures comes from the sim-racing community too. Digital artists use high-resolution archival photos to recreate the track for platforms like iRacing or Assetto Corsa. They need to know exactly how the seams in the pavement looked in Turn 4 or where the sponsor decals were placed on the backstretch. They are essentially digital archaeologists.
The Famous "Backstretch Bump"
If you find a photo of a car caught in mid-air or with its suspension fully compressed on the backstraight, you’ve found the "Fontana Bump."
It was legendary.
The track was built on land that liked to settle. Over time, a massive bump developed on the backstretch. At nearly 200 mph, hitting that was like hitting a jump in a rally car. Photographers would camp out specifically to catch the sparks flying from the underbelly of the cars as they bottomed out. It’s one of the most recognizable "action shots" in the history of the venue. Honestly, if a driver tells you they didn't hold their breath a little bit going over that seam, they're probably lying.
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The Reality of the Demolition Images
Recently, a new sub-genre of auto club speedway pictures has emerged: ruin photography.
It’s heartbreaking for some, but fascinating for others. You see shots of the catch fencing being pulled down. You see the "Auto Club Speedway" signage being craned off the towers. These images represent the "Short Track at Fontana" project, which aims to bring racing back in a more intimate, high-contact format.
But for now, the pictures show a lot of dirt.
NASCAR sold a significant portion of the land—roughly 433 acres—to a real estate developer for hundreds of millions of dollars. The remaining land is where the proposed half-mile track will sit. So, when you look at current aerial shots, you're seeing the footprint of a massive logistics hub being born while the racing heritage is condensed into a tiny corner of the property.
How to Find High-Quality Archival Shots
If you’re looking for the good stuff—the professional-grade, high-res captures—don’t just stick to a basic image search. You have to know where the pros keep their portfolios.
- Getty Images Editorial: This is the gold standard. They have the "NASCAR Collection" which features work from legends like Nigel Kinrade. You can see the evolution of the track from the inaugural race to the bitter end.
- The NASCAR Digital Archive: They often release "throwback" galleries. These are great for seeing the behind-the-scenes stuff, like drivers in the garage or fans in the infield.
- Local News Archives: The San Bernardino Sun and the Press-Enterprise have covered the speedway since day one. Their local photographers often captured the "vibe" of the crowd in a way the national sports photographers missed.
- Social Media "Leakers": There are several drone pilots on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) who regularly fly over the site to document the demolition progress. Just search for the speedway's location tags.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Photos
A common mistake people make when looking at old auto club speedway pictures is assuming the track was always "empty" toward the end.
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There’s this narrative that NASCAR died in SoCal, which led to the demolition. But the 2023 final race was a sell-out. The photos from that day show a sea of people. The decision to tear it down was more about land value and the desire for "stadium-style" racing than a lack of interest.
When you look at those final-day photos, pay attention to the fans. You’ll see families who had been camping in that infield for twenty-five years. You see the "Save the 2-Mile" signs. Those images capture a protest as much as a sporting event.
Actionable Steps for Collectors and Fans
If you're a fan of the track or a collector of racing history, here is how you should handle these visuals:
- Download and Backup: If you find high-quality fan photos on forums like Reddit’s r/NASCAR or old Flickr accounts, save them now. As the track is physically erased, many of these older, niche galleries tend to go offline or links break.
- Look for "Penske Era" Memorabilia: Photos from the 1997–2002 era are the most "pure" in terms of the original vision for the track. Look for shots that show the original "California Speedway" logo before the Auto Club rebranding in 2008.
- Check the "Last Lap" Galleries: Search specifically for "Fontana Last Lap" to see the final sunset over the two-mile oval. It is arguably the most photographed moment in the track's history.
- Use Modern Mapping Tools: Go to Google Earth and use the "Historical Imagery" slider. You can literally watch the track be built, thrive, and then start to disappear through satellite photography. It’s a wild way to see the scale of the 400+ acre change.
The two-mile oval is gone, and no amount of nostalgia will bring back that specific type of high-speed, multi-groove racing to Fontana. But we have the visual record. Whether it's the sparks hitting the pavement on the backstretch or the hazy mountains framing a pack of cars at 200 mph, those images are the only way we have left to experience the fastest track in the West.
The next time you see a photo of the "The Lady in Black" (Darlington) or the high banks of Talladega, just remember that for a couple of decades, a steel-mill-turned-speedway in Southern California gave them all a run for their money. The pictures prove it.
To preserve your own racing history, consider looking into physical prints from independent motorsports photographers. Often, these smaller creators have "B-roll" shots that never made it to the big publications but capture the raw, unpolished reality of the track better than any corporate gallery ever could. Keep an eye on the official NASCAR social channels for the official announcement of the new short track's groundbreaking, which will likely be accompanied by a massive "look back" digital exhibit.