SPEEDWAY USHERS IN TRAFFIC RELIEF EFFORT.

Byline: Jeff Sanders Staff Writer

FONTANA - Race fans filing in and out of California Speedway this weekend will have loads of information, triple the roadway signs and several agencies assisting the commute.

``Traffic and parking are an absolute priority,'' said Phil Tucker, director of operations at California Speedway.

With more than 30,000 incoming vehicles expected for the event, speedway officials are working in conjunction with the California Highway Patrol, the Fontana and Ontario police departments, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department and Caltrans in an effort to ease area traffic strains.

Such an effort includes taking on increased costs to provide guests with specific parking instructions, increasing road signs from 20 to more than 60 that relay specific lane and gate information, and filling roads with manpower in the hundreds.

Each agency will be represented in a command post that will work with both Caltrans cameras and an overhead CHP helicopter toward keeping traffic moving. Drivers can help by knowing alternative entrances - other than the primary Cherry Avenue exit off Interstate 10 - and using those routes, Worthington said.

That information, specific to gate and seating assignments, is available by calling (866) THE-GATE.

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