AVONDALE, Ariz. — NASCAR President Steve Phelps told NBC Sports on Saturday that considering Dodger Stadium as a potential race venue is part of NASCAR's creative approach to scheduling, and that NASCAR's next race He also said that he was satisfied with the proposal he presented to the team. Charter contract.
“I'm excited about where we're headed in terms of the 2025 schedule and beyond,” Phelps said at Phoenix Raceway.
Sports Business Journal reported this week. NASCAR announced that it has held discussions with officials from Dodger Stadium, home of the Major League Baseball team Los Angeles Dodgers, regarding hosting a NASCAR race. Phelps said in an interview with FOX Sports before the Daytona 500. NASCAR to race in Southern California in 2025.
“We're fully committed to the market,” Phelps told NBC Sports on Saturday about the Los Angeles market. “That's important. We don't know what it's going to be like this time next year. Was there an exploration with the Dodgers, a collaboration with Formula E, and the creation of potential joint opportunities? Yeah.
“It's not surprising. It's just due diligence. If something works, great, and if it doesn't, that's fine, but we need to continue to push the boundaries, not just from a schedule standpoint. I think there is. I think we've seen that, or I think the fans have seen it, the media has seen it. We have a willingness to think differently, and that's what we've seen. It’s working well.”
NASCAR has held the Clash at the Los Angeles Coliseum to open the season for the past three years. NASCAR's contract with the Coliseum expires after this year's race, and it has not been announced whether NASCAR will return to the Coliseum.
“It's still under consideration,” Phelps said of returning to the Coliseum.
NASCAR is looking for a site in the Los Angeles area with a speedway in Fontana, Calif., but it likely won't be ready until 2026 or 2027. NASCAR sold most of the land surrounding the track, securing enough land to reconfigure the speedway from the two-mile track. Go to the short track. Such a project is expected to take 18 months, but work has not yet begun. That leaves NASCAR's plans in Los Angeles uncertain.
“In my opinion, whether this happens or not, I still think there is a very viable opportunity in the Inland Empire,” Phelps said of where the Fontana Track will be located. “They should have ultimately sold the remaining 100 acres if they had no interest in building a racetrack there. Why keep it? It makes no sense.
“We could have gotten a premium if we sold it all at once, but we didn't. Do you want to see us go back there and build that truck? I think we would… . We have to look at debt and various other things. This is a business that we need to run and approach wisely. Considering my Ph.D., that's what I want to do. That’s the thing.”
Mr. Phelps explained how the business environment could impact the start time of work on the Fontana truck.
“I think when interest rates go down, the cost of capital goes down,” he said. “It's expensive now. It's really expensive.”
Additionally, NASCAR's charter agreement with the team expires at the end of this season. This contract sets up financial payments to the team.
In October 2022, a Cup team executive said:The team's economic model is 'broken'. No extension has been agreed. Jeff Gordon, vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports and a member of the Cup team bargaining group, said last month. He said he was “frustrated” by the talks that failed to reach an agreement, but remained optimistic..
Phelps acknowledged his disagreement with the team, but remained optimistic about the contract.
“They want to accomplish something, too,” Phelps said. “It's a negotiation. It probably depends on which lens you look at it. We have some things to do to bridge the gap. The gap is not a chasm. It's just a gap. What an extension looks like. I think there are some things that both parties would like to know about.
“What I know is that this will be a fair deal, and it will improve the team's financial position and definitely put us on the path to profitability. I think it will increase the value of the company. It's going to be even more competitive on the racetrack, and that's the real goal they were talking about.
“I think the proposals that are currently on the table also accomplish that. Probably not as much as the team would like. We are in a good position.”
