FONTANA, Calif. (KABC) — Despite the heavy rain and brutal winter weather conditions at Fontana, NASCAR fans are still planning to compete in this weekend’s final race at Auto Club Speedway.
This weekend’s Cup Series races will be the final races on the current configuration of the track. It will be converted to a short track after the race – a project that will prevent the track from being raced in 2024.
“I’ve put up four canopies, we’ve got a lot of tarps, we’ve got green grass, we’ve got pallets, we’ve got a lot of stuff, I’ve got three coats, four pairs of boots… just a lot of layers,” said one Canyon Lake fan.
Snow, rain and hail fell across southern California on Friday as a winter storm hit the region with an intensity not seen in decades.
Auto Club Speedway has canceled several events scheduled for Friday.
Many are hoping for a bit of sunshine ahead of Saturday’s qualifying rounds. Auto Club Speedway crews can essentially dry the track with special machines, but they need the weather to cooperate.
“I wish the weather was a little better this year but hopefully we get a window and things will be good and we can still have two fantastic races over the course of the weekend,” said NASCAR driver Justin Allgaier.
Crews and drivers also have to adapt the vehicles to the weather.
Bad weather forced a series of closures and event cancellations in other areas.
Saturday’s Major League Soccer season-opening game at the Rose Bowl between LA Galaxy and LAFC has been postponed to July 4.
A BikeLA Cruise & Connect ride scheduled for Saturday through Griffith Park was also scrubbed.
Horse racing has been canceled through the weekend at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia. Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain were both closed on Friday.
City News Service, Inc. and Associated Press contributed to this report.