Why I won’t go to Fontana (2nd Update)

UPDATE #2 Another reader writes, Dear AR1.com, I just read the comment on the web site about an anonymous fan’s decision not to return to Fontana based on Greg Moore’s accident and death. I too was at the track that day. Along with the 1973 Indy 500, it was probably the saddest race I’ve ever attended. A slight correction is needed to the inference in the article that Greg Moore’s status was not communicated to the crowd. During the race, the large, main flags in the center of the pit area were lowered to half-staff. It was a clear, poignant and powerful confirmation of the outcome that all feared. I well remember my emotional reaction once I saw the flags being lowered and my immediate loss of interest in the outcome of that pivotal race, and continued emotions in and around the sullen paddock after the race. In short, it was brutal.

While I may have lost interest in the rest of the race, I understand the reasoning for continuing the race. I equally understand the decision to end the Las Vegas race after Dan Wheldon’s tragic crash. I also respect the fan’s decision not to visit Fontana based on respect for Greg Moore and his family.

However, I highly doubt that the other 90,000+ people in attendance at Fontana in 1999 share Anonymous’ feelings and commitment. I cannot understand their continuing lack of interest in open wheel racing at the track. The track owner/promoter and the sanctioning body need to get those others (and their friends and families) back to Fontana to support IndyCar racing in 2017 and beyond. Kenneth A. Ehrlich

08/19/15 Editor's Note: We'll note that it was not pack racing when Greg Moore was killed. He simply lost control of his car, hit a barrier, and was sadly killed instantly. We don't disagree with the reader's contention that the race should have been stopped. But racing is dangerous. Always has been, always will be. Football players die each year too. The game goes on. So will racing.

08/19/15

An AR1 reader shares a unique perspective on the empty grandstands at Auto Club Speedway

An AR1 reader shares his thoughts on the recent announcement that IndyCar will not return to Auto Club Speedway.

Dear AR1:

As a long time CART/Champ Car/Indy car and F1 fan, I believe in an alternative view why people don't go back to Fontana/ACS. It is not about the lack of media exposure or a more preferable date. And not all those 110,000 fans in the seats were corporate customers of Marlboro, Toyota, Honda, Mercedes, Chevy, Target, AAA, Shell, Texaco, Kmart, etc. Let's be honest, nobody cares about the leadership running the race or the split between CART and the IRL. NASCAR gets decent attendance at Fontana. Long Beach gets great attendance for IndyCar. So what gives? Why don't I go to Fontana?

October 31, 1999. I will never forget the day we lost one of our young, beloved heroes in Fontana. I won't go back there ever out of respect to Greg Moore and the Moore Family. They ran that race to completion and didn't tell us what we already knew in our hearts and saw till after the race was over. Shame on them for that.

And especially after the carnage and disaster of high speed, pack racing in Las Vegas and out of respect for Dan Wheldon, why would I go to any pack racing oval outside of the Indy 500 or a flat oval. Fool me once shame on you, Fool me twice shame on me.

If choosing between the festive Long Beach atmosphere and the empty grandstands at Fontana, one Southern California resident says there is no decision.

That said, I will invite and buy tickets for friends to attend the Long Beach Grand Prix. I even take my kids out of school on Friday to walk the paddock, meet the drivers, watch "just" practice, see all the old Indycars, see the festivals of motor sports, etc. at Long Beach. I do wonder if a Jeff Krosnoff-type or a Dario Franchitti-type of accident happened at Long Beach I would feel the same way I do about Fontana. Racing is dangerous. Bad accidents can happen in any race. But nobody wants to watch a game of Russian roulette at Fontana. Greg Moore is long remembered in Southern California among race fans who were in the stands that day.

Maybe I am alone in my views regarding ACS, but when I see the empty stands on TV, I understand why nobody goes Fontana.

Anonymous