Eric Bostrom leads Ben Spies (1) and the rest of the field at the start of the AMA Superbike race at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., on Sunday, April 29, 2007. (Tom Riles photo)

Another great photo in the Nelson/Riles series – Eric Bostrom leads Ben Spies (1) and the rest of the field at the start of the AMA Superbike race at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., on Sunday, April 29, 2007.

After a nine-year run Fontana is not on the American Superbike schedule for 2011. Southern California, the epicenter of motorcycling, has yet to find a venue that can consistently produce a good crowd to watch races.

There have been numerous tracks try and fail over the years, including Willow Springs (actually about 90 miles from L.A.), Riverside, Ontario, Pomona and now Fontana. Ontario did actually have big crowds in the early 1970s when promoters Gavin Trippe and Bruce Cox ran the event. They did it by bringing over some of the top GP and British road racers of the era and paying big money.

Rumors are that California Speedway is slated to eventually meet the same fate that befell Ontario and Riverside.