The project originated in April 1994 when Roger Penske and Kaiser Steel jointly announced plans to build a racetrack on the former Kaiser Steel Mill site in Fontana. CART announced a race commitment the following day, and within three months NASCAR president Bill France Jr. agreed to sanction Cup Series races — the first time NASCAR had committed to a track not yet built. The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors approved the project in April 1995, and the California Environmental Protection Agency cleared construction after Kaiser Steel agreed to pay $6 million to remove hazardous waste from the brownfield site. A cap of non-porous polyethylene was laid down to prevent remaining contaminants from surfacing, covered with two feet of clean soil.
Demolition of the Kaiser Steel Mill began on November 22, 1995. The 100-foot water tower that had been a landmark of the Kaiser property was preserved at the center of the infield and repurposed as a scoreboard. Construction completed in late 1996. The first driver to test the new facility was Paul Tracy on January 10, 1997; the official opening was held on June 20, 1997.
The track opened to full competition in June 1997 with a NASCAR West Series race. The CART Marlboro 500 and the NASCAR Cup Series event followed in 1997 as well. From 1997 to 2002 CART ran its Marlboro 500 on the oval; IndyCar returned from 2002 to 2005 and again from 2012 to 2015, with the 500-mile finale often serving as the IndyCar season closer. Canadian driver Greg Moore died in a crash during the 1999 Marlboro 500 when his car struck an infield pavement edge and was launched into a concrete wall; the incident prompted ISC to pave the backstretch grass at both California and Michigan, and accelerated the adoption of head-and-neck restraints in American open-wheel racing.
NASCAR ran two Cup Series weekends annually at California from 2004 to 2010, with one of them scheduled under lights following the installation of a lighting system in 2004. Attendance declined significantly after the second date was added, dropping by as much as 20,000 per event. The track is situated in the nation's second-largest media market, but the local entertainment landscape and unpredictable weather were cited repeatedly as factors suppressing attendance. NASCAR reverted to a single annual Cup weekend beginning with the 2011 season.
Capacity adjustments reflected the ongoing attendance challenges. The track opened with a main grandstand of roughly 68,000 seats and a total capacity near 122,000. By 2014 the grandstand capacity was formally reduced to 68,000 through seat removal and widening average seat width from 18 to 23 inches.
The facility recorded some of the highest lap speeds ever measured at a closed-course oval. At the 1997 Marlboro 500, Mauricio Gugelmin set qualifying and practice records of 242.333 mph and 240.942 mph respectively on CART's measured track length of 2.029 miles. Gil de Ferran raised the one-lap qualifying record to 241.428 mph at the 2000 Marlboro 500, a mark that remained the fastest official qualifying lap speed at any race meeting as of 2023. The 2003 Toyota Indy 400 produced an average race speed of 207.151 mph over 400 miles, recognized as the fastest circuit race in motorsport history.
The Automobile Club of Southern California purchased naming rights on February 21, 2008, in a ten-year deal valued at an estimated $50 to $75 million, renaming the venue Auto Club Speedway. The deal was renewed and the name held until March 2023. A multiuse infield road course was configured in 2001. A dragstrip, Auto Club Dragway, was built outside the backstretch the same year. In 2006 a new midway area called the Discover IE FanZone, featuring a Wolfgang Puck restaurant and entertainment stage, was added behind the main grandstand.
In September 2020 documents surfaced showing plans to reconstruct the facility as a high-banked half-mile short track. The proposed layout would have fit inside the existing tri-oval footprint and retained the main grandstand and garages. Construction was originally scheduled to begin after the 2021 race, but the 2021 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With NASCAR's Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum beginning in 2022, pressure to rebuild eased and the conversion was put on hold.
After the 2023 Cup race the track closed permanently. Demolition began in October 2023. By 2025, 433 of the facility's 522 acres had been sold for warehouse and industrial park construction. NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps stated in April 2025 that the rebuilding project was on hold due to high construction costs. NASCAR has since redirected its Southern California presence toward events at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and a planned street race at Naval Base Coronado.