Auto Club Speedway — Attraction in California

2015 MAVTV 500 INDYCAR Race

Parking lot trams were available to pick patrons up and take them to the grandstands, INDYCAR Fan Village, or Lefty's Fun Zone.

A procession of Corvettes showcased drivers in front of the grandstand fans as they made a lap around the race track. Next a parade of MAVTV sponsored vehicles, tow trucks, and emergency vehicles made their way around the track. A couple of skydivers landed on the track during the National Anthem with US Flag announcing their arrival. 2016 Corvette Stingray was the official pace car. The starting Honda Sports Illustrated INDYCAR was driven by Mario Andretti as the cars made their way around the race track, sort of like a warm-up. The green flag announced the start of the race and the sound of speed hit the air immediately as the INDYCARs were nearing speeds of 200+ MPH for a 250-lap race. It seems like a lot of laps, but each lap takes approximately 35 seconds to complete.

At 11:00am, a handful of wineries participated in the first Southern California Wine Festival presented by Yancey's Fancy Artisan Cheese. The Pit Road Terrace Suites were a great venue with great pit views and a full view of the race track from the seating on top of the building.

Yancey's Fancy had most of their variety of cheeses available for tasting. Jersey Mike's had an array of sandwiches from Ham & Cheese, Jersey Favorite, Turkey, Veggie, Club, and more. BJ's Restaurants served up their Spinach and Artichoke Dip, Gourmet Mac and Cheese, Asian Chopped Salad, and Margherita Fresco Flatbread Appetizer Pizza.

Since it was so hot that day, I just tried one winery, Andretti Winery. 2013 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is made with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and aged for 16 months in French oak. Tasting notes: Oak aroma; Oaky and not a lot of fruit or sweetness on the palate with dry finish. 2013 Napa Valley Chardonnay is aged for 10 months in French oak. Tasting notes: peach and citrus aroma; Lemon and slight bitter notes on the palate with a crisp finish.

It was time to go up top and watch the pits as the drivers were starting to stop for tire changes. Tires changes were averaging 9-10 seconds in the pits. Now, that's a quick tire change! The pit crews were amazing - coordinating and maneuvering out of the way as the cars came into the pits and then get back out while watching their competitors' pits on either side. There is not a lot of room down there. The cars were a blur as they raced past the stands.

Tip: Bring hearing protection as the cars are very loud. The noise bounces around the track. Ear plugs are good, but heavy duty ear muffs will do the trick.

We did witness one crash with the #20 CHF Racing's Ed Carpenter and teammate #67 Josef Newgarden cars. Both cars were towed into the pits.

I had to stop by the Chevrolet tent to pay a visit to my favorite car of all time, the Chevrolet Camaro. They had a 2016 Camaro SS on display with Chevy Performance package.

The sun shone bright through the clouds and the heat seemed to be stagnant over the track. Even though the suites were air-conditioned, it was time for us to leave in my Chevrolet of Irvine Courtesy Car. We wanted to beat the out-going traffic after the race was over. It was really neat hearing the sound of the cars whizzing around from the infield. This was a great event and hope that Auto Club Speedway can put on more of culinary events in conjunction with a major race. It was so much fun and...

If you haven't been to a NASCAR RACE in person, if it is ever possible again at Autoclub Speedway, I highly recommend doing so. Television doesn't do NASCAR justice what so ever, with the movement of the camera tracking the car down the straightaway and even the cameras in the turns that pan as the cars fly by and the occasional still shot of the cars flying by the steady camera mounted on the wall is great for showing the action of the race, but the brute Force speed and action with the true sense of speed especially sitting in the AAA Member section at the very end of the seating area right at the point of maximum speed (under the sign showing the actual speed of cars passing by before breaking in to turn 1) is the most amazing place to sit and you will find yourself craving a yellow Flag to see another restart because watching the best of the best fly in to turn 1....3,4, maybe even 5 wide on a Green/White/Checker Sprint to the finish like fighter jets in a dog fight trying to get on the inside for a kill shot, lap after lap just inches apart some times after a 2 mile lap flying in to turn one in almost the exact same positions as the prior lap, and the best driver and car set up rises to the top after the abrasive track shredding at their tires, lap times, car balance, and driver nerves as they start to lose preferable grip and balance the driver's skills and search for grip come in to play an mistakes are made getting loose or tight in the middle of the corner having to lift off the throttle and the winner can come from anywhere in the top 12 in only 3 laps as I've seen Ky.Busch do so from 12th, then 3rd in to the last turn as the 11 & 22 get in each other 11 slides up and hard left in to the inner cement wall and 22 in the outer barrier wall and 18 split them down the middle for the win. Track safety team was amazing,had Hamlin in the Medivac helicopter in minutes to tend to his crushed disc in his back so he was able to recover back to racing quickly, also they added safer barrier to the inside wall... A++ Experience, A++ employees and AAA Member specials are AMAZING! Worth joining just for the race, also join the tracks Kids Club on the speedway website your kids will get to enjoy amazing events to meet drivers, have books read to them by drivers, free Pit Road Access with an adult entry that is 50% off with AAA. Kids tickets are half off Saturday and free Friday practice, qualifying day. Buy tickets early for best freebies and prices at least a 45 days before for best results, Sooner the better... Please do yourself a favor and bring the family I'm so glad I did especially after everything shutdown due to CV-19 a week after. My mother, brother and nephews not NASCAR Fans before have not been able to stop talking about it and can't wait for NASCAR to just be back on TV again, wish everyone the best, stay healthy and I hope to see you all at the races next year at Autoclub...

If you have never been to an automotive race track or you are taking someone for the first time to an automotive race track this is the one to go to. It is easy to find on Cherry Avenue. It has excellent facilities and is very professionally maintained. It has a good snack bar and it has a good store for souvenirs. This is also a place to take someone who is not sure whether or not they are going to like race tracks. This is a good place to take someone who is very questioning whether they're going to like it because everything is clean. Everything is organized and safe. Also important of course is that the bathrooms are plentiful and absolutely clean. If you want to stay overnight here in an RV the facilities are also excellent the hookups are easy and you get both electricity and water. The other Advantage about this race track is that if you need any kind of supplies Cherry Avenue has plenty of fast food restaurants regular restaurants and supermarkets within 5 to 10...