Wheel2Wheel: California Dreamin'

With the stars and cars of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series set to take the season's second green flag Sunday afternoon, FanHouse bloggers Holly Cain and Geoffrey Miller debate the oh-so-touchy subject of NASCAR's presence at Southern California's Auto Club Speedway.

Q: Should NASCAR leave its biggest race at Daytona and make the trip west to Auto Club Speedway for the season's second race?

Holly Cain: I've always thought NASCAR should completely overhaul the schedule, but there is a reasonable argument in keeping traditional dates at some places -- Auto Club Speeday doesn't have the tradition of Darlington or Bristol or Daytona.

Having said that, Southern California's mild climate makes sense for a February-March stop. Wisely, NASCAR eliminated the off-week right after Daytona and put California and Las Vegas next to each other. My suggestion, switch the dates -- run the Las Vegas race first so there's no in-market competition with the Academy Awards and roll out the red carpet the following week in Fontana when there will be less competition for media and fans and more star-power available trackside.

Geoffrey Miller: The better question really needs to be "Should NASCAR ever race at Auto Club Speedway?" but as we know with just about everything that is pushed by NASCAR, such a reversal isn't ever going to happen. The track's two dates appear -- as of now, at least -- to be incredibly secure on the schedule. Still, that doesn't mean NASCAR has any business making ACS the second stop on the schedule. Last week's Daytona 500 380 wasn't exactly a barnburner of a finish, but NASCAR needs to have a track for the second race that produces good racing -- not the single-file spread-out product we get at ACS.

Q: What keeps Auto Club Speedway from being a well-received stop on the schedule.

GM: ACS just simply wasn't built for bulky and heavy stock cars, and the lack of appreciable banking turns the track into a test in aerodynamic handling. Hence, one car gets the lead and the clean air and pulls away. It's just not great racing. Put an open-wheel car with multiple times the downforce of a stock car and ACS is a great track -- except the track burned its bridges with the open-wheel brigade in favor of NASCAR.

Of course, the die-hards in the both NASCAR's garage and grandstands know that ACS was the track that NASCAR made its most egregrious blunder in terms of eroding the sport's tradition after it pilfered the Labor Day weekend Southern 500 out of the hands of Darlington Raceway. That race moved to ACS, and the wounds are yet to close.

HC: Simple -- too much competition for the entertainment dollar in the Los Angeles market and not enough competition on the race track.

There are just so many options for people's weekends in Southern California that NASCAR should do a better job seizing on its unique offering - for sure there's nothing else like the speed, personality and excitement of watching a race first-hand. Experience it once and you've got an instant fan and return customer. And while the competitors swoon about the great track surface and race potential at Auto Club Speedway, frankly it tends to be one of the more boring stops. Already this weekend, we've seen one car check out and lead a parade. Great for the winner, not so much for the rest of us.

Q: Is there anything that can make Auto Club Speedway a better place for NASCAR?

HC: See question number one. Timing, timing, timing. There's no doubt NASCAR needs to be in the Los Angeles market - maybe just not twice. Being there brings a sense of legitimacy to NASCAR's expansion, saturation and claim to be a mainstream, premier professional sport. But it would be more beneficial to have one celebrated, well-recieved event instead of a pair of so-so weekends.

GM: The track has made an extensive effort at bringing celebrities from the Southern California area in for races to drive the pace car, play pre-race concerts and wave the green flag. Problem is, Fontana, Calif., is nearly an hour away from the hustle and flow of L.A.'s trendy scene and the general population around the track isn't exactly in to that. Celebrities, frankly, shouldn't be the draw for fans at a NASCAR race -- the racing should.

California has NASCAR fans, but when track executives try to turn the track into a possible hangout for the stars of MTV's "The Hills", the core fan base just loses interest. Make the racing better and the enviornment more hospitable to the race fan demographic and ACS might have a chance to be something to look forward to on the season schedule.

Q: Who should be a favorite for Sunday's Sprint Cup race?

GM: Rumor has it Carl Edwards did in fact race in Daytona last week, though you'd be hard-pressed to find anything notable he did during Speedweeks. His season starts Sunday at a track he won at a year ago.

HC: With the way Kyle Busch is running, he's the favorite for any and all races.