Past Events A Steal of a Deal at the Price of Admission

It’s seems interesting how many people are neck-deep in gas thirsty automotive spirit, rarely miss an opportunity to attend a Cars & Coffee yet have never been to a racetrack or years since their last race event. Folks, you have no idea what you’re missing. That slight scent of petrol in the air, the sound of mega horsepowered roaring engines and the overall vibe of being around others with the same passion of automotive racing, well, there is simply nothing else like it. If you want to hang with a menagerie of adrenaline junkies whose only cure is octane, then racing events are for you! If you have kids and want them to share your automotive excitement, that’s one more reason to spend the day at the track.

One of our finest tracks in Southern California, Fontana’s Auto Speedway (formally California Speedway) is only 75 minutes (with light traffic) from Woodland Hills. This venue is not to be confused, as it often is, with Pomona’s Auto Club Raceway.

Auto Club Speedway’s track site was originally the Kaiser Steel Mill, built in 1942, during the height of WWII. The mill was instrumental in producing steel for our U.S. warships. Being an inland location, the site was chosen as it was out of range of offshore Japanese warships. Kaiser Steel went BK in 1983 and the property stood silent for years. Roger Penske entered the picture with an idea to create a track similar to his Michigan International Speedway. The rest of that story is now history. The track opened in 1997 and has catered to a host of race events such as NASCAR, CART and AMA (motorcycling). The Auto Club Speedway is among the most modern circuits in America and has the distinction of holding the world closed-circuit speed record, with an average lap speed of more than 240 mph.

The 18th annual California Festival of Speed (CFoS) was held at Auto Club Speedway March 29th to 31st. This 3-day annual event is hosted by Zone 8 of the Porsche Club of America, with support and participation from the Porsche Owners Club (POC). The event is the biggest Porsche event in the Southwest. Besides the many racing events throughout each of the 3 days, static vehicle displays featured both 356 and 914 Porsche model Timelines, a swap meet where rare Porsche parts are often discovered and procured, a Vendor Row offering T-Shirts, model cars and of course automotive accessories. Plus, beverage and food trucks a plenty.

The event will repeat again next year and will be open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm during its 3-day run. Oh, how thick should you pack your wallet? Not too much as IT’S FREE! Yes race fans, free. A $15 parking fee ($10 if you are a PCA/POC member). Minors under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. A steal of a deal at the price of admission!

To obtain future updates for the 2020 CFoS, visit http://www. zone8.org/events/speedfestival.php or http://www.autoclubspeedway. com