California Speedway in Fontana opens its doors to its first NASCAR race Saturday, June 21, 1997. Ron Esau, 1986 Inaugural Southwest Tour Champion, has been selected to pilot the #2 Advantage Memory, GMR, AMPRO Chevrolet Monte Carlo owned by Advantage Memory owner Dave Reed.
Both Dave and Ron look forward to fielding a car in the first race ever at the new Roger Penske, 2-mile, high-banked, D-shaped super speedway oval. Hopes for a top five finish are anticipated, as Ron is an experienced veteran of super speedways. Esau won the final Southwest Tour race held at the Riverside International Raceway and is setting his sights high to win the first race at the California Speedway. As Dave and Ron have assembled a championship caliber team for the Auto Club 200 race, Dave regularly fields a car in the Southwest Tour Series with driver, Craig Raudman. The combination of a new track and veteran driver, Ron Esau, should couple for an exciting finish for the team this weekend.
The Winston West Series stops at the speedway for their 7th race of the season, which will include entries from eight states and Canada with veteran drivers such as Kenny Schrader and David Green. The Winston Cup Series will debut the following day.
From all aspects, California Speedway has everything a fan or racer could ask for and need. There is seating to accommodate 80,000 race fans with an ultimate capacity of 118,000, free parking for 32,000 spectator vehicles, pizza delivery and convenience stores for the infield spectators and views of the entire track from every seat in the house. A lot of thought has gone into the preparation and planning of PENSKE'S $120 million California Speedway.
