For the first time since 2020, NASCAR is back at Auto Club Speedway.
The Wise Power 400 rolls off on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET (FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Practice is back with a new format, history shows trends, and storylines fill the air as the Next Gen makes its racing debut around the 2-mile oval. Let’s get into it.
RELATED: Auto Club weekend schedule | Where to catch NASCAR on TV
PRACTICE? WE TALKIN’ ABOUT PRACTICE?
For the first time since March 2020, practice is back as a regular staple on the NASCAR schedule. How it looks, however, will be quite different from what we saw at Daytona during Speedweeks.
On most ovals this season, including this week at Auto Club, teams will be split into two groups based on odd/even finishing order from the week’s previous race for one 15-minute warm-up/practice session per group. That will lead directly into single-car, single-lap qualifying. The top five drivers from each group will then advance to the second round of qualifying to fight for the pole with another single-car, single-lap run.
“NASCAR is excited to return practice and qualifying to its race weekends,” said Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition. “We missed seeing cars and trucks on track all weekend long, and so did our fans. We worked closely with our broadcast partners, teams and racetracks to create an exciting, unique qualifying format while keeping several of the efficiencies that helped our entire industry successfully navigate the pandemic.”
Practice begins at 2 p.m. ET (FS1) on Saturday with qualifying scheduled for 2:35 p.m. ET (FS1, MRN).
RELATED: 2022 practice formats, procedures | Practice groups and qualifying order
FONTANA HISTORY
– Sunday’s race will be the first at Fontana since March 1, 2020, a span of 728 days.
– Auto Club Speedway’s asphalt is the oldest on the Cup Series circuit, last repaved ahead of its 1997 race.
– Roger Penske and Kaiser Ventures announced the construction of the racing facility in April 1994. The site for the 2-mile oval was formerly held by the Kaiser Steel mill. Construction began in Nov. 1995.
– Part of the site is still producing steel, operated by California Steel Industries, the leading producer of flat-rolled steel and API grade pipe products in Western North America. As one of the few remaining heavy industry sites near Los Angeles, the site is a common filming location. It was used as a location for the film Black Rain, and for the Arnold Schwarzenegger showdown with the cyborg in Terminator II.
– Paul Tracy was the first driver to run on the track on January 10, 1997, driving for Team Penske in a CART FedEx Championship Series car. NASCAR held a test session in May.
– The first competition was a NASCAR West Series race won by Ken Schrader on June 21, 1997. Mark Martin won an IROC race the same day.
Source: Racing Insights
GOODYEAR TIRES
Auto Club’s old, abrasive asphalt means heavy tire wear on these 18” Goodyear tires. To alleviate some of the bumps – as well as the lower rear ride heights with the diffuser on the Next Gen race cars – NASCAR ground bumps out of the backstretch pavement to help smooth the surface.
“The track has had bumps on the back straightaway, we’ve ground out some bumps before,” Miller said.”Trying to make it smooth back there. Problematic and rough. Just trying to make that part as smooth as we possibly can, short of repaving it there. We’re also going to use some resin and tire dragon to get the corners prepped because it sat so long (without NASCAR events the past two years).”
Teams will use a single-tread compound as opposed to the multi-zone tread used in 2020. Additionally, with this 18-inch tire, and its lower profile sidewall, NASCAR Cup cars will not run inner liners in any of their tires in 2022.
UPDATE: Goodyear Racing revealed on social media that they would give each Cup team an extra set of tires for Sunday’s race, bumping the number up to 12 race sets plus one set transferred from practice/qualifying.
RELATED: NASCAR issues statement on wheels
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA STORYLINES
– Clint Bowyer‘s pole run in 2020 was Ford’s first Fontana pole since 2005.
– The last six races at Auto Club have been won by six different drivers, most recently Alex Bowman in 2020.
– Seven drivers have won the last eight pole awards, with only Austin Dillon repeating as a pole sitter in that time.
– Stage 1 winners have gone on to win each of the four races at Auto Club since stage racing was introduced in 2017.
– Austin Cindric leads the points standings after winning the Daytona 500. The last time a rookie led the Cup Series points standings was Jimmie Johnson in 2002.
– Alex Bowman is the only driver without a Cup series championship to win in the last 15 races at Auto Club.
– Hendrick Motorsports’ drivers won five of the last nine races on the West Coast.
Source: Racing Insights
NEW CAR, SAME FAVORITES
Despite the unknowns of how the Next Gen car will perform at Auto Club, sportsbooks believe the same guys who have been strong in the past will be strong again. Kyle Larson enters the weekend as the betting favorite with 7-2 odds, according to BetMGM. Larson scored his second career victory at this track back in 2017, and his recent dominance only implies he’ll be quick again Sunday.
Other favorites behind Larson include Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch, both listed at 7-1 odds. But the better play there would be Busch. The two-time Cup Series champion has four wins, 11 top fives and 16 top 10s in 22 Fontana starts; meanwhile, Elliott has just one top five and three top-10 finishes in five starts.
Defending race winner Alex Bowman may look like a tempting pick at 12-1 odds, but be careful – that victory is Bowman’s only finish higher than 13th in five career starts.
RELATED: BetMGM’s odds for Auto Club Speedway
FANTASY LIVE
Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Check out NASCAR Fantasy Live, which is open now. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew-chief instincts by garaging a driver by the end of Stage 2, and there is a $25,000 prize for the winner.
The 2022 Fantasy Live points leaders are Austin Cindric (45 points), Brad Keselowski (44 points) and Martin Truex Jr. (44 points).
How to play: Fantasy Live | Set up a team today!
ALSO ON NASCAR.COM
Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week a select number of in-car cameras will be available – as well as a battle cam and an overhead look.
NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement in the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more – and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.