Fontana track will again host IndyCar finale in 2013

The Izod IndyCar Series next year will again finish its season with a night race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, the series announced Sunday night.

The series unveiled a 2013 schedule with 19 races overall, up from 15 this year, that included the return of IndyCar racing to Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and the streets of Houston.

In addition, IndyCar announced a $1-million bonus for any driver who captures its version of a “triple crown” by winning the Indianapolis 500, the race at Pocono and the finale at Auto Club Speedway in the same year.

IndyCar added another twist to its schedule: Three “doubleheaders” in which the series will hold separate races back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday at the same track.

Those will occur at three street courses: Detroit’s Belle Isle Park, Toronto and Houston.

“We feel that our 2013 schedule will certainly challenge the fastest, most versatile drivers in the world with a strong mix of ovals and road and street courses,” IndyCar Chief Executive Randy Bernard said in a statement.

Auto Club Speedway, a two-mile, oval track 50 miles east of Los Angeles, two weeks ago held its first IndyCar race in seven years. The race, won by Ed Carpenter, also decided the IndyCar championship that went to Ryan Hunter-Reay.

Next year’s race in Fontana was pushed back a month, to Oct. 19.

The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, on the city’s seaside streets, is April 21.

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