California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., located in the second-largest market in the United States, will have a second NASCAR Winston Cup race starting next season, to be held on Labor Day weekend. The Mountain Dew Southern 500, formerly held at Darlington Raceway on Labor Day weekend, will move to the November date formerly held by North Carolina Speedway and become the next-to-last race on the schedule.

"These decisions have been made with the long-term interest of the sport – starting with the fans – in mind," NASCAR President Mike Helton said. "Back in January when we announced our intentions to realign the schedule, we said that realignment presented an opportunity to grow the sport, to bring the most competitive racing in the world to the widest-possible audience, and to more effectively deliver the kind of value that has made NASCAR one of the world's most-attractive sports properties.

"It's also important to reiterate something else we said in January, that the ‘realignment door' is open to all track owners as we continue discussions pertaining to scheduling. We are certainly willing to make similar moves for others, if the objectives of ‘Realignment 2004 and Beyond' are met.

"These initiatives announced today represent significant steps that will help achieve those objectives. In the process, the championship stretch run will be enhanced greatly, as drivers will be required to run three distinctly different tracks – Phoenix, Darlington and Homestead-Miami – the last three weeks of the season."

California Speedway's new race will be held on Sunday, Sept. 5 next season and is slated for a "twi-night" start, at approximately 5 p.m. PT (broadcast by NBC), meaning a prime-time start for the Eastern portion of the United States. California Speedway's original NASCAR Winston Cup race will retain its spring slot in the schedule and remain an afternoon event.

The switch of the Mountain Dew Southern 500 – the oldest NASCAR Winston Cup race and one of the most-prestigious – to November (Sunday, Nov. 14 next season) moves the event to one of South Carolina's most-agreeable times of the year, weather-wise. It also moves the event into the thick of the series championship stretch run.

North Carolina Speedway will retain its late-February race weekend that follows the season-opening Daytona 500. The track will have a NASCAR Busch Series/NASCAR Winston Cup Series companion weekend on Feb. 21-22, 2004.

"When you consider the number of events that are held in the general area where North Carolina Speedway is located, this sort of geographical balancing of the schedule makes sense," Helton said. "And having only one NASCAR Winston Cup race there should enhance that race's appeal to our fans."

"Realignment 2004 and Beyond" is based on the realization that the NASCAR Winston Cup schedule has "over-saturated" the Southeast, at the expense of some larger markets that reflect the sport's ever-expanding nationwide appeal. Thus, there are several criteria by which a race is judged: geographical location; the overall quality of a hosting facility including the facility's infrastructure; a race's current fan base and possible growth; and the overall benefit to the track, teams and sponsors involved in the sport.

"The Los Angeles market is the second-largest in the country and clearly important to our growth," Helton said, regarding California Speedway's attractiveness.

"As far as moving the Southern 500's date goes, that can only add to the excitement of the series championship chase. The Southern 500 has a tradition unlike any other event on our schedule. And while Darlington has been a leader in tradition, it's also worth noting that Darlington always has been a leader in change. Years ago the Southern 500 was held on Labor Day, a Monday. The race eventually moved to Sunday. The track's spring race originally was 300 miles, for convertibles. Darlington was the first track to reduce a race from 500 to 400 miles. And then, a few years back they flip-flopped the start-finish line from one side of the track to the other."

Today's announcement comes in advance of the comprehensive 2004 schedule announcement. The entire 2004 schedule likely will be released in several months.

"The reason we wanted to announce these adjustments now is to accommodate our fans and everyone else in the industry, letting them know as soon as possible," Helton said.

"Knowing that it would be very difficult to add events to the existing schedule, we're moving existing events with the interest being to better serve everyone."

REALIGNMENT 2004 AND BEYOND – THE FIRST PHASE

The Philosophy Behind The Concept

- This first phase of schedule realignment for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series has resulted from consultations with track owners and others within the racing industry, and is part of a long-term plan to benefit the sport – always with the interest of our fans in mind.

- The objective of this long-term realignment plan is to grow NASCAR by bringing it to the widest possible audience.

- Tradition is not being tarnished by realignment, but rather, embellished. Tradition is a vital part of what we do and who we are, and we are mindful of tradition's importance to the fans. We believe tradition should be used as a guiding principle – and not as an impediment – for progress.

California Speedway: A Bull Market For NASCAR

- California Speedway is located in the nation's second-largest overall market.

- California Speedway's other NASCAR Winston Cup race, held in the spring, regularly sells out.

- The speedway's second race, with an approximate 5 p.m. PT start, will place NASCAR into Sunday night prime-time viewing on the East Coast.

Mountain Dew Southern 500: Change Is Good

- The Mountain Dew Southern 500 is NASCAR's oldest – and one of its most-prestigious races; moving it to November will make it an integral part of the series championship stretch run.

- This move will reposition the race during one of South Carolina's most-agreeable times of the year weather-wise.

- Darlington Raceway has tradition, but it also has a tradition of change. Darlington has made a variety of moves through the years that set the track apart; this continues that history.

North Carolina Speedway: Still An Integral Part of NASCAR

- North Carolina Speedway's February weekend now will become the track's showcase and should become bigger and better than ever.

- By retaining its February date, North Carolina Speedway will continue to follow the momentum from Daytona International Speedway's season-opening "Speed Weeks" and the Daytona 500.

- This sort of schedule readjustment results from an over-saturation of Southeastern events; when viewed in that context, this "geographical balancing" makes sense.