NASCAR At Fontana 2012: Weekend Schedule

NASCAR rolls into Southern California this weekend for its third race in four weeks on the West Coast.

It’s an odd cluster of races, to be sure – Phoenix, Las Vegas and now Fontana, Calif. – but one made necessary by the absence of warm-weather tracks at this time of year.

Though Fontana has gotten a bad rap over the years thanks to its low attendance and strung-out racing, the quality of the races have actually improved over the past few events. And with the 400-mile length instead of 500, it fits neatly into a three-hour window.

Here’s the weekend schedule for NASCAR’s events at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana (all times Eastern; track is on Pacific time):

FRIDAY

3 p.m. -- Sprint Cup Series practice (1 hour, 30 minutes)

4:40 p.m. -- Nationwide Series final practice (2 hours, 20 minutes)

7:10 p.m. -- Sprint Cup Series qualifying

SATURDAY

12:30 p.m. -- Sprint Cup Series practice (50 minutes)

1:35 p.m. -- Nationwide Series qualifying

3:50 p.m. -- Sprint Cup Series final practice (1 hour)

5:30 p.m. -- Nationwide Series race (150 laps, 300 miles)

SUNDAY

3 p.m. -- Sprint Cup Series race (200 laps, 400 miles)