SPORTING CHANCE : MOTOR RACING

Prospects for motor racing in Southern California are better than they have been in several decades.

The opening of Roger Penske’s new California Speedway on the grounds of the old Kaiser steel mill in Fontana has stimulated interest in racing of all types and will fill the void left by the closing of Ontario Motor Speedway--only about three miles from the Fontana site--and Riverside International Speedway in the 1980s.

The two-mile banked oval will open June 21-22 with a Winston Cup stock car race and an International Race of Champions. Later in the year, there will be a CART race and a Busch Grand National-Craftsman Truck doubleheader. Long-range plans call for six major events a year on the oval and a proposed road course.

Although it occupies only one weekend a year, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach continues to be the standard by which American street races are judged. Last month’s CART race attracted a record announced paid attendance of 215,000 for three days.

The short-track picture, dimmed by the closing in recent years of Ascot Park and Saugus Speedway, was brightened by the opening last year of Perris Auto Speedway in the Inland Empire, and there are plans for another short track in Irwindale.

Weekly shows continue to attract local patronage at the Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino and Ventura Raceway.