Snapshot: Fontana

On the front row | Full starting lineup
1. Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Chevrolet (185.142 mph)
2. Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet (185.047 mph)

Fast fact: Jimmie Johnson (2008) is the only driver to win this race from the pole.

Failed to qualify
Reed Sorenson, RAB Racing No. 29 Toyota; Travis Kvapil Team Xtreme No. 44 Chevrolet
 
Fastest in practice
First practice: Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 41 Chevrolet (186.741 mph) | Full results
Second practice: Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 41 Chevrolet (187.115 mph) | Full results
Final practice: Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 41 Chevrolet (184.971 mph) | Full results
Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and David Ragan (filling in for the injured Kyle Busch) were also consistently fast in practice.

Last year's winner: Kyle Busch won last year's race at Fontana and the race in 2013 but won't be here to defend the title as he remains at home in North Carolina recovering from a broken leg and foot -- injuries sustained in an accident during the season-opening NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Daytona.
 
On the line: Harvick has finished first or second in the last seven Sprint Cup races dating back to the end of the 2014 season -- a mark last accomplished by Richard Petty 40 years ago. Harvick holds a two-race winning streak entering Sunday's race and a win would give him a sweep of NASCAR's West Coast swing.

History lesson: Six-time champ Jimmie Johnson has a series-best five wins at his "home track." The El Cajon, California native is far and away the top-rated driver here. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Matt Kenseth (3), Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon (3) and Stewart-Haas Racing's Tony Stewart are the only other drivers in Sunday's field with multiple wins at Auto Club Speedway. Johnson, Kenseth and Carl Edwards are the only drivers to have made multiple starts here and have top-10 average finishes.
 
Super Subs: Three drivers are substituting for others this weekend. Brett Moffitt, 22, is driving the No. 55 Toyota for regular driver Brian Vickers who is sidelined while taking blood-thinning medication to treat a reoccurrence of blood clots. It's Moffitt's fourth Cup start this year and his second with Michael Waltrip Racing this season. His last start with MWR was an eighth-place finish at Atlanta three weeks ago. David Ragan is driving the defending race-winning No. 18 Toyota car for the injured Busch. XFINITY Series regular Chris Buescher is making his Cup debut in the No. 34 Ford that Moffitt has driven the last two weeks.
 
Redemption: Denny Hamlin is one driver with extra motivation to win here. He was badly injured in an accident while challenging for the lead in the final lap of the 2013 race. Last year, he had to pull out of the race only minutes before the green flag after a piece of metal was embedded in his eye. Hamlin is tied with a series-best three pole positions at Fontana including three straight front row starts from 2011 to 13, yet has only one top-five in 13 starts here to show for it.

California Dreamin': There are 10 drivers in Sunday's field from California, the largest representation of any state and a mark of NASCAR's exposure West. The reigning Sprint Cup Series champion Harvick (Bakersfield), along with six-time champ Johnson (El Cajon) and four-time champ Gordon (Vallejo) are among those hailing from the Golden State. Those three drivers have nine wins among them at Auto Club Speedway and California drivers have the most of any state.
 
They said it: "We love coming out here. The weather is great. I was watching clips from this race the last time we were here where we were five-wide through the corners. You can't make that kind of racing up. That is incredible. I think that everybody needs to recognize just how good of a race track this is and also the market and how important it is to NASCAR and its growth." -- Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet)

Driver Rating
Best driver rating average at Auto Club Speedway based on past 10 years:
Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet (120.1)
Matt Kenseth, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota (106.2)
Tony Stewart, Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Chevrolet (100.7)

Former Auto Club Speedway winners in the field
Jimmie Johnson (5); Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth (3); Tony Stewart (2); Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle (1)

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