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NASCAR - Sprint Cup - Auto Club 400 Preview
From The Sports Network
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| DATE: Sunday, March 27th |
| SITE: Auto Club Speedway (1997) -- Fontana, California |
| TRACK: two-mile oval - 3,100 feet (Frontstretch); 2,500 feet (Backstretch) |
| CAPACITY: 92,000 (Grandstand Seating) |
| ANNUAL: 15th |
| TELEVISION: FOX |
| ANNOUNCERS: Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds |
| RADIO: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio |
| START TIME: 3 p.m. (et), Green Flag: 3:16 p.m. (et) |
| DEFENDING CHAMPION: Jimmie Johnson |
| RUNNER-UP: Kevin Harvick |
| POLE WINNER: Jamie McMurray (Finished 17th) |
| LAPS: 200 |
| MILES: 400 |
| QUALIFYING RECORD: Kyle Busch, 2005 (188.425 m.p.h.) |
| RACE RECORD: Jeff Gordon, 1997 (155.012 m.p.h.) |
| TOTAL PURSE: $6,021,218 (2010 figures) |
| PAYOUTS: 1st Place - $333,103; 2nd Place - $248,651; 3rd Place - $213,265 |
| 2010 Finish |
| Finish | Driver | Start | Finish | Driver | Start |
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 7 | 6 | Kurt Busch | 12 |
| 2 | Kevin Harvick | 6 | 7 | Matt Kenseth | 20 |
| 3 | Jeff Burton | 14 | 8 | Clint Bowyer | 3 |
| 4 | Mark Martin | 10 | 9 | Tony Stewart | 16 |
| 5 | Joey Logano | 19 | 10 | Greg Biffle | 35 |
| 2010 Auto Club 400 Facts and Figures |
| AVERAGE SPEED: 141.911 m.p.h. |
| TIME OF RACE: 3 hours, 31 minutes, 24 seconds (500-mile race) |
| MARGIN OF VICTORY: 1.523 seconds |
| CAUTION FLAGS: 6 for 30 laps |
| LEAD CHANGES: 26 among 13 drivers |
| POLE WINNER: Jamie McMurray (183.744 m.p.h.) |
| Past Auto Club 400 Winners (Starting Position) Car -- Speed |
| 2010 -- Jimmie Johnson (7th) -- Chevrolet -- 141.911 m.p.h. |
| 2009 -- Matt Kenseth (24th) -- Ford -- 135.839 m.p.h. |
| 2008 -- Carl Edwards (9th) -- Ford -- 132.704 m.p.h. |
| 2007 -- Matt Kenseth (25th) -- Ford -- 138.451 m.p.h. |
| 2006 -- Matt Kenseth (31st) -- Ford -- 147.852 m.p.h. |
| 2005 -- Greg Biffle (5th) -- Ford -- 139.697 m.p.h. |
| 2004 -- Jeff Gordon (16th) -- Chevrolet -- 137.268 m.p.h. |
| 2003 -- Kurt Busch (16th) -- Ford -- 140.111 m.p.h. |
| 2002 -- Jimmie Johnson (4th) -- Chevrolet -- 150.088 m.p.h. |
| 2001 -- Rusty Wallace (19th) -- Ford -- 143.118 m.p.h. |
| 2000 -- Jeremy Mayfield (24th) -- Ford -- 149.378 m.p.h. |
| 1999 -- Jeff Gordon (5th) -- Chevrolet -- 150.276 m.p.h. |
| 1998 -- Mark Martin (3rd) -- Ford -- 140.220 m.p.h. |
| 1997 -- Jeff Gordon (3rd) -- Chevrolet -- 155.012 m.p.h. (race record) |
| NOTE: Formerly called California 500 by NAPA (1997-1999), NAPA Auto Parts 500 |
| (2000-02), Auto Club 500 (2003-10). Race changed from 500 to 400 miles |
| in 2011. |
| Last Race Results |
| RACE: Jeff Byrd 500 (March 20th) |
| SITE: Bristol Motor Speedway -- Bristol, Tennessee |
| MILES: 266.5 |
| LAPS: 500 |
| WINNER: Kyle Busch |
| RUNNER-UP: Carl Edwards |
| THIRD: Jimmie Johnson |
| FOURTH: Matt Kenseth |
| FIFTH: Paul Menard |
| POLE WINNER: Carl Edwards (Finished 2nd) |
| TIME OF RACE: 2 hours, 53 minutes, 55 seconds |
| AVERAGE SPEED: 91.941 m.p.h. |
| MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.946 seconds |
| CAUTION FLAGS: 10 for 57 laps |
| LEAD CHANGES: 17 among 8 drivers |
| LAP LEADERS: C. Edwards 1-17; P. Menard 18-52; Kyle Busch 53; D. Gilliland |
| 54-57; R. Newman 58-83; Kyle Busch 84-91; M. Truex Jr. 92-154; K. |
| Harvick 155-191; J. Johnson 192-247; Kyle Busch 248; J. Johnson |
| 249-269; Kyle Busch 270-341; J. Johnson 342-346; Kyle Busch 347; |
| J. Johnson 348-429; Kyle Busch 430-473; C. Edwards 474; Kyle |
| Busch 475-500. |
| Auto Club 400 Entry List |
| Car | Driver, Hometown | Car/Name |
| 00 | David Reutimann (Zephyrhills, FL) | Toyota/Aaron's |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray (Joplin, MO) | Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski (Rochester Hills, MI) | Dodge/Miller Lite |
| 4 | Kasey Kahne (Enumclaw, WA) | Toyota/Red Bull |
| 5 | Mark Martin (Batesville, AR) | Chevrolet/GoDaddy.com |
| 6 | David Ragan (Unadilla, GA) | Ford/UPS |
| 7 | Robby Gordon (Orange, CA) | Dodge/Speed Energy |
| 09 | Landon Cassill (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Chevrolet/Rydex |
| 9 | Marcos Ambrose (Launceston, Australia) | Ford/DeWalt |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin (Chesterfield, VA) | Toyota/FedEx Office |
| 13 | Casey Mears (Bakersfield, CA) | Toyota/GEICO |
| 14 | Tony Stewart (Columbus, IN) | Chevrolet/Office Depot |
| 16 | Greg Biffle (Vancouver, WA) | Ford/3M |
| 17 | Matt Kenseth (Cambridge, WI) | Ford/Crown Royal |
| 18 | Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, NV) | Toyota/Interstate Batteries |
| 20 | Joey Logano (Middletown, CT) | Toyota/Home Depot |
| 21 | Trevor Bayne (Knoxville, TN) | Ford/Motorcraft/Quick Lane |
| 22 | Kurt Busch (Las Vegas, NV) | Dodge/Southern California AAA |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon (Vallejo, CA) | Chevrolet/Drive to End Hunger |
| 27 | Paul Menard (Eau Claire, WI) | Chevrolet/Menards/Serta |
| 29 | Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield, CA) | Chevrolet/Jimmy Johns |
| 31 | Jeff Burton (South Boston, VA) | Chevrolet/Caterpillar |
| 32 | Mike Skinner (Susanville, CA) | Ford/VA Mortgage Center |
| 33 | Clint Bowyer (Emporia, KS) | Chevrolet/Cheerios/Hamb. Helper |
| 34 | David Gilliland (Riverside, CA) | Ford/Taco Bell |
| 36 | Dave Blaney (Hartford, OH) | Chevrolet/Tommy Baldwin Racing |
| 37 | Tony Raines (LaPorte, IN) | Ford/TBA |
| 38 | Travis Kvapil (Janesville, WI) | Ford/Long John Silver's |
| 39 | Ryan Newman (South Bend, IN) | Chevrolet/U.S. Army |
| 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya (Bogota, Colombia) | Chevrolet/Target |
| 43 | A.J. Allmendinger (Los Gatos, CA) | Ford/Best Buy |
| 46 | J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, AZ) | Chevrolet/Red Line Oil |
| 47 | Bobby Labonte (Corpus Christi, TX) | Toyota/Little Debbie |
| 48 * | Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon, CA) | Chevrolet/Lowe's |
| 56 | Martin Truex Jr. (Mayetta, NJ) | Toyota/NAPA |
| 60 | Todd Bodine (Chemung, NY) | Toyota/Big Red |
| 66 | Michael McDowell (Glendale, AZ) | Toyota/HP Racing LLC |
| 71 | Andy Lally (Northport, NY) | Chevrolet/Eco-Fuel Saver |
| 78 | Regan Smith (Cato, NY) | Chevrolet/Furniture Row Racing |
| 83 | Brian Vickers (Thomasville, NC) | Toyota/Red Bull |
| 87 | Joe Nemechek (Lakeland, FL) | Toyota/NEMCO Motorsports |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Kannapolis, NC) | Chevrolet/Amp Energy/Nat'l Guard |
| 99 | Carl Edwards (Columbia, MO) | Ford/Aflac |
| Leading Contenders (Finish the last nine years) |
| Driver | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Jimmie Johnson | Won | 16th | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 9th | Won |
| Kevin Harvick | 35th | 29th | 9th | 6th | 29th | 17th | 8th | 38th | 2nd |
| Jeff Burton | 19th | 19th | 26th | 19th | 5th | 4th | 12th | 32nd | 3rd |
| Mark Martin | 5th | 17th | 11th | 7th | 9th | 5th | 16th | 40th | 4th |
| Joey Logano | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 26th | 5th |
| Kurt Busch | 2nd | Won | 23rd | 3rd | 16th | 7th | 13th | 5th | 6th |
| Matt Kenseth | 20th | 9th | 4th | 26th | Won | Won | 5th | Won | 7th |
| Clint Bowyer | --- | --- | --- | --- | 14th | 6th | 19th | 19th | 8th |
| Tony Stewart | 29th | 41st | 16th | 17th | 43rd | 8th | 7th | 8th | 9th |
| Greg Biffle | 13th | 18th | 33rd | Won | 42nd | 15th | 15th | 4th | 10th |
| Brian Vickers | --- | --- | 29th | 21st | 18th | 10th | 11th | 10th | 12th |
| Carl Edwards | --- | --- | --- | 5th | 3rd | 29th | Won | 7th | 13th |
| Kyle Busch | --- | --- | --- | 23rd | 10th | 9th | 4th | 3rd | 14th |
| David Reutimann | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 33rd | 23rd | 14th | 15th |
| Jamie McMurray | --- | 5th | 15th | 4th | 6th | 37th | 22nd | 16th | 17th |
| Paul Menard | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 20th | 27th | 37th | 18th |
| Jeff Gordon | 16th | 11th | Won | 30th | 13th | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 20th |
| Brad Keselowski | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 21st |
| Denny Hamlin | --- | --- | --- | --- | 12th | 11th | 41st | 6th | 29th |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr | 36th | 6th | 19th | 32nd | 11th | 40th | 40th | 39th | 32nd |
| Kasey Kahne | --- | --- | 13th | 40th | 4th | 38th | 9th | 12th | 34th |
| Ryan Newman | 14th | 42nd | 3rd | 9th | 20th | 12th | 10th | 28th | 36th |
| Juan Pablo Montoya | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 26th | 20th | 11th | 37th |
| Martin Truex Jr | --- | --- | --- | --- | 15th | 42nd | 6th | 27th | 39th |
| Mover of the Week |
| Kurt Busch - Started in 20th position and finished 7th |
| Sports Network Selections |
| Pick to Win - Matt Kenseth |
| Darkhorse - Marcos Ambrose |
| Last Week's Pick to Win (Kyle Busch) - Finished 1st |
| Last Week's Darkhorse (Clint Bowyer) - Finished 35th |
| NOTES: |
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It took eight years, but Jimmie Johnson finally repeated his 2002
performance at Auto Club Speedway by defeating Kevin Harvick for his 48th
career Sprint Cup title. Johnson, who had posted six straight top-10 finishes
prior to the win, including four seconds, dominated the field, leading eight
times for a whopping 101 laps in posting a 1.523 second victory. Johnson took
the lead for good with 24 laps remaining. Seeking his fourth win in the past
five years, Matt Kenseth placed seventh after starting 20th on the grid. Pole
sitter Jamie McMurray finished 17th.
Kenseth won this race for the third time in four years back in 2009, as he
raced to victory. Kenseth reclaimed the lead with 39 laps remaining and held
on to defeat Jeff Gordon by 1.463 seconds. Kenseth, who started 24th, led
three times for 84 laps, as he posted his 18th career Sprint Cup title. Pole
sitter Brian Vickers never led the race and finished 10th.
Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson and Gordon battled over the final 40 laps, but it
was Edwards who came out on top in the spring 2008 race at California, as he
won under caution for his eighth career Sprint Cup title. Edwards, who started
ninth, took the lead on lap 211. However, Gordon moved in front on lap 221.
Pole sitter Johnson, who led on nine occasions for a race-high 76 laps,
reclaimed the advantage just one lap later. But Edwards took over again on lap
238 and then held it for the win, despite the accident on turn 4 of the final
lap. The race, which started late Sunday, was completed the next day due to
inclement weather.
Dominating. That's the only word that can describe Kenseth in 2007 at
California. Kenseth, who became the first back-to-back winner of this
race, led seven times for a whopping 133 laps to capture his 15th career
Sprint Cup title. Gordon, the pole sitter, finished less than a second
behind Kenseth. Gordon led just two laps.
Gordon is a three-time winner of this race, including the inaugural year in
1997. Gordon's streak of three straight top-three finishes ended last year
with a 20th place result.
In 2006, Kenseth crossed the finish line just 0.338 of a second ahead of
Johnson for his 11th career Sprint Cup title and first of that year. Kenseth,
who led four times for a total of 40 laps, reclaimed the lead on lap 219 of
the 251-lap event and held on for the win. Greg Biffle, who led for a race-
high 168 laps, finished 42nd due to engine problems, while pole sitter Kurt
Busch finished 16th.
After winning in 2002, Johnson has recorded a 16th place finish in 2003, three
consecutive runner-up finishes, a third in 2007, 2nd again in 2008, ninth in
2009 and a win last year at his home track. The El Cajon, CA-native has an
average finish of 5.3 in 16 races there. In all, Johnson has five wins and 12
top-10 finishes.
Auto Club Speedway, formerly California Speedway, has the distinction of
laying claim to the world's fastest two-mile oval. During the 2001 Marlboro
500 Presented by Toyota CART Championship Series qualifying, Marlboro Team
Penske driver Gil de Ferran set a new speed record with an average lap of
241.428 m.p.h. That speed topped Mauricio Gugelmin's mark of 240.942 m.p.h.
set here in 1997. The speedway is 52 miles east of Los Angeles and 60 miles
west of Palm Springs. During the 1997 season the speedway accommodated 80,000
fans with an eventual seating capacity of 107,000. The total cost of the
project was approximately $120 million.
The pole sitter has never captured this race in the 14-year history; however,
Johnson won the 2008 fall event at California from the pole. The number three
position has won this race twice ,while the 31st position is the furthest any
driver has started and won there (2006). When Rusty Wallace captured this
event in 2001, he became the oldest winner at California at 44 years, 8 months
and 15 days. Four drivers have competed in all 21 races: Jeff Burton, Jeff
Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Joe Nemechek. Ten of the 21 races were won from
starting positions outside the top 10; only one has been won from the pole
(Jimmie Johnson in 2008). The most prolific starting position is third, with
three victories.
Richard Marx will sing the national anthem, Christian Slater is the Grand
Marshal and will shout for the drivers to start their engines and Sugar Ray
Leonard is the honorary starter.
The next Sprint Cup Series race is the April 3rd Tums Fast Pain Relief at
Martinsville Speedway. Denny Hamlin is the defending race winner.
03/23 09:39:31 ET
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As of March 23, 2011, at 09:39 AM ET
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