Auto Racing

Five years ago, the Los Angeles area didn’t have a professional football team--or a motor-racing circuit.

As had the Rams and the Raiders, so had racetracks at Riverside, Ontario, Saugus and Ascot Park disappeared.

We still don’t have a National Football League team. Well, not quite. But three distinctly different tracks now give Southern California racing fans more variety than they have had in decades. Maybe ever. (Note to the NFL: All three were constructed with private financing.) The lineup:

California Speedway. The track, built by Roger Penske on the grounds of the dilapidated Kaiser steel mill in Fontana, offers a two-mile oval with more than 80,000 seats to showcase NASCAR Winston Cup stock-car events and CART championship car racing.

Irwindale Speedway. The stadium opens Saturday night and promises to become the premier short-track venue in the country. It has half-mile and one-third-mile paved ovals on which open-wheel and stock cars will share cheers and the spotlight. More than 6,500 seats, including sky boxes, are ready for opening night, already said to be a sellout.

Perris Auto Speedway. In the Inland Empire about 75 miles east of downtown Los Angeles sits this dirt-track counterpart to Irwindale--a half-mile oval where sprint cars sliding broadside through corners present one of racing’s most exciting spectacles.

And, of course, north and south and into Arizona and Nevada there are such established venues as Willow Springs International Raceway at Rosamond, Laguna Seca near Monterey, Sears Point Raceway in the wine country north of San Francisco, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway.

Want to go to the races? Here is a listing of the region’s major four-wheel and two-wheel events:

Saturday. Opening night, Irwindale Speedway, USAC midgets, sprint cars, World of Super Modifieds. (626) 358-1100.

Sunday. Indy Racing League, Indy cars, Phoenix International Raceway. (602) 252-3883.

April 10. Speedway motorcycle opening night, Costa Mesa Speedway. (949) 492-9933.

April 11. NASCAR Winston West, Mesa Marin Raceway, Bakersfield. (805) 366-5711.

April 18. Toyota Grand Prix, CART champ cars, waterfront streets of Long Beach. (562) 490-4513.

April 18. AMA Superbike Tour, Willow Springs Raceway, Rosamond. (805) 256-2471.

May 1. AMA Supercross, Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas. (630) 566-6100.

May 2. California 500, NASCAR Winston Cup, California Speedway, Fontana. (909) 429-5000.

May 9. AMA National Motocross Series, Glen Helen Park, San Bernardino. (909) 880-3090.

June 19. NASCAR Winston West, Irwindale Raceway. (626) 358-1100.

June 27. NASCAR Winston Cup, Sears Point Raceway, Sonoma. (707) 938-8448.

July 11. World Superbike road races, Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey. (831) 648-5116.

Aug. 8. NHRA drag races, Sears Point Raceway, Sonoma. (707) 938-8448.

Aug. 21. NASCAR Winston West, Irwindale Raceway. (626) 358-1100.

Sept. 11. World of Outlaws, sprint cars, Santa Maria Speedway. (805) 922-2233.

Sept. 12. Grand Prix of Monterey, CART champ cars, Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey. (831) 648-5116.

Sept. 26. Indy Racing League, Indy cars, Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (702) 644-4444.

Oct. 2. U.S. Speedway Motorcycle Nationals, Costa Mesa Speedway. (949) 492-9933.

Oct. 9. USAC Silver Crown, Cal-Expo State Fairgrounds, Sacramento. (916) 969-7484.

Oct. 10. AMA Grand National dirt track motorcycles, Del Mar Fairgrounds. (310) 547-9898.

Oct. 16. USAC Silver Crown, Irwindale Speedway. (626) 358-1100.

Oct. 17. NASCAR Winston West, Mesa Marin Raceway, Bakersfield. (805) 366-5711.

Oct. 30. World of Outlaws, sprint cars, Perris Auto Speedway. (909) 940-0134.

Oct. 31. Marlboro 500, CART champ cars, California Speedway, Fontana. (909) 429-5000.

Nov. 7. NASCAR Winston Cup, Phoenix International Raceway. (602) 252-3883.

Nov. 7. Petite Le Mans, sports cars, streets of San Diego. (619) 233-3278.

Nov. 14. Winston Finals, NHRA drag races, Pomona Fairgrounds. (626) 914-4761.

Nov. 20. Kindoll Classic, SCRA sprint cars, Perris Auto Speedway. (909) 940-0134.

Nov. 25. Turkey Night Midget Grand Prix, Irwindale Speedway. (626) 358-1100.

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Shav Glick covers racing for The Times’ Sports section.