Posted on by Staff Report

Building upon a scorchingly hot start to the season, Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney picked up his first stage win of 2020 by winning Stage 2 of Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway.

The No. 12 Ford driver has seemed to get faster as the race rolls on, overtaking Stage 1 winner Alex Bowman early in the segment to lead a race-high total of 69 laps and take the green-white-checkered flag.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Bowman placed second, followed by six-time Auto Club winner and teammate Jimmie Johnson, making his final start at his home track in Fontana, California. Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing entries rounded out the top five, with Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. placing fourth and fifth, respectively. Truex started from the rear after his No. 19 Toyota failed pre-qualifying inspection three times.

On Lap 81, Christopher Bell’s No. 95 Toyota dropped a cylinder and was forced to the garage area. He finished 38th.

The caution came out on Lap 93, as pole-sitter Clint Bowyer’s No. 14 Ford was spitting sparks after a flat tire. He was 24th at stage end.

After contact with Denny Hamlin in Stage 1 put him off the pace, 2017 Fontana winner Kyle Larson remained down a lap and in 27th place until the stage break caution put him back on the lead lap.

Finish Driver Team Points
1 Ryan Blaney Team Penske 10
2 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports 9
3 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports 8
4 Brad Keselowski Team Penske 7
5 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing 6
6 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports 5
7 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing 4
8 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing 3
9 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing 2
10 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 1


Alex Bowman zooms to Stage 1 win at Fontana

Sporting perhaps the strongest car of the weekend, Alex Bowman scored the Stage 1 win in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway.

The No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver led a stage-high 44 laps, picking up his first stage win of the season — and of his career.

MORE: Full Fontana Stage 1 results

Points leader Ryan Blaney continued his hot start to 2020, placing runner-up in the stage after starting 16th. Jimmie Johnson, making his last scheduled start at his home track, started the race second and placed third in the stage. Aric Almirola and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Clint Bowyer picked up just the fourth pole of his career but wasn’t able to do much with it, sinking back to 16th in the stage.

On Lap 34, Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota touched the rear of Kyle Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet a bit too hard, sending Larson’s rig up the track and scraping the wall. Larson needed to come down pit road for fixes and placed 32nd in the stage.

After his car failed three times in pre-qualifying inspection, Martin Truex Jr. started the race from the back of the pack but worked his way up to 13th.

Ross Chastain, filling in for No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing driver Ryan Newman, placed 19th in the stage.

Finish Driver Team Points
1 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports 10
2 Ryan Blaney Team Penske 9
3 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports 8
4 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing 7
5 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing 6
6 Brad Keselowski Team Penske 5
7 Joey Logano Team Penske 4
8 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing 3
9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports 2
10 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing 1

 

Posted on by Staff Report

The JTG Daugherty Racing Nos. 37 and 47 teams were issued L1-level penalties Sunday after NASCAR officials discovered the team’s Chevrolets were not in compliance with the NASCAR Cup Series Rule Book in pre-qualifying inspection.

RELATED: Starting lineup

Officials said that the two teams violated Section 20.20 of the Rule Book: “Assembled Vehicle Overall Rules; Note: Parts, systems, devices, omissions or component failures cannot affect what what should otherwise be the normal airflow over the body of the vehicle.” The following penalties were subsequently handed down in Fontana, California:

• The Nos. 37 and 47 of drivers Ryan Preece and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., respectively, will be sent to the rear for Sunday’s race (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX). Stenhouse Jr. had qualified 10th and Preece had qualified 20th on Saturday.

• Both drivers and teams will be docked 10 points in their respective driver and owner standings.

• Additionally, crew chiefs Trent Owens (No. 37) and Brian Pattie (No. 47) have been suspended from Sunday’s Auto Club 400 through the at-track penalty provisions of the rule book.

A JTG Daugherty spokesperson said that engineer Brian Burns would substitute for Owens on the No. 37 pit box, and that engineer Eddie Pardue would fill in for Pattie with the No. 47 team in Sunday’s 400-miler.

Posted on by PJ Walsh

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Call me old school, but I like racetracks with old, worn surfaces that eat tires and force drivers to really manhandle their cars later in green flag runs.

Auto Club Speedway is exactly that.

“Tire wear” is your drinking phrase for Sunday’s race and you’ll hear it early and often. The drivers who run well here know how to save tires early in runs to ensure they’ll have as much speed as possible once their rubber is gone.

In addition, the correlation between practice speed and race speed is stronger at tracks with significant tire falloff, making it easier for us to pinpoint which drivers truly have the best cars going on race day.

Looking to bet NASCAR? Check out DraftKings. Get up to a $1,000 sign-up bonus at DraftKings today or see more offers and reviews for the best online sportsbooks.

And after analyzing Friday’s practice sessions, here are the drivers I’m betting for the Auto Club 400.

NASCAR Auto Club 400 Betting Picks

*All odds as of 5:30 p.m. ET Saturday via Westgate Superbook

Alex Bowman (+800)

Bowman has been the class of the field since unloading in Fontana. He was the best car in practice, qualified third and even has attention of his fellow competitors:

Let’s not overthink this and take a really fast car with a great starting spot at +800.

Ryan Blaney (+1200)

Blaney was my lone early bet this week and he still has plenty of value at +1200. The driver of the No. 12 Ford had the second-best 15-lap average and the fastest 20-lap average in final practice, indicating that car has oodles speed on long runs.

While Blaney didn’t exactly nail it in qualifying — he starts 16th — a good car in race trim can easily make up that track position.

Matt DiBenedetto (+4000)

And now for a longshot! Matty D. posted the eighth-best 15-lap average and the fourth-best 20-lap average in final practice. Granted, only eight cars made 20-lap runs, but DiBenedetto was still faster than heavy-hitters Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson over 20 laps.

He’ll also start 12th, which is respectable considering his 40-1 price tag.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

FONTANA, Calif. — Riley Herbst was charging hard for the lead from his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Harrison Burton, in the closing laps of the Production Alliance Group 300 on Saturday at Auto Club Speedway, but Herbst just ran out of time in the 150-lap race.

Normally, second place would sting a little for a driver, but Herbst was happy to see Burton win, especially because of the message it sent.

“I’m really, really proud of Harrison,” Herbst said. “Me and him have been working so hard this offseason. We’ve read it all — everything — that we aren’t ready for it, that we can’t do it in this series. Keep on talking because we’re coming for more wins for sure.”

RELATED: Unofficial results | ‘Big One’ in Fontana | At-track gallery

Herbst spent the bulk of the final 50 laps in the top six and took over second place for good after Chase Briscoe’s spin on Lap 126 but couldn’t get by Burton for the lead. The second-place finish was Herbst’s best finish to date in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in just his 13th series start and his second straight top-10 finish.

“Statistically, it might be my first top five, but I don’t feel like it is,” Herbst said. “We’ve ran in the top five before, just had mistakes on my end or just racing incidents that took us out of these positions. It’s good to get it on paper. Good to get some momentum building with my team, but I’ve been telling people we’re going to win some races this year and people are going to see.”

Of the three winners so far in the 2020 Xfinity Series season, Burton and Noah Gragson are first-time series winners.

For his part, Burton would like to see a battle among his teammates — Herbst and Brandon Jones (who led a race-high 73 laps) — become the norm in 2020.

“That’s our goal,” Burton said. “We had meetings early this year and we were kind of scoping out our competition and we’re like, man, there’s no reason our ‘Big 3’ can’t be in the room we’re sitting in with our guys.

“If Riley gets a win and I finish second, I’m going to be excited for him. I know deep down he wanted to win and that’s how it should be. That’s how we want to race each other as a team.”

Herbst, who turned 21 years old Monday, admitted he did not give any thought to roughing up Burton if it came to it, as he wanted to race his teammate cleanly.

Now the Xfinity Series schedule turns to the LS Tractor 200 at Phoenix Raceway (March 7 at 4 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), where two Cup Series regulars are slated to be in the field.

“We’re going to see where we stack up against the best of the best in the sport with Brad (Keselowski) and Kyle (Busch),” Herbst said, “so I’m excited for it.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

FONTANA, Calif. — Holding off teammate Riley Herbst with a determined run over the final 19 laps, 19-year-old rookie Harrison Burton charged to his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in Saturday’s Production Alliance Group 300 at Auto Club Speedway.

Working his way through traffic in the closing laps in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Burton beat Herbst’s No. 18 Camry to the finish line by .455 seconds, with Austin Cindric trailing the winner by .642 seconds in third.

RELATED: Official results | ‘Big One’ in Fontana | At-track gallery

The victory was redemption of sorts for Burton, son of former NASCAR Cup Series star Jeff Burton, after last year’s winless season in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.

“Heck yeah, man, this is awesome,” said Burton, who protected the top lane over the final 19-lap green-flag run. “All we’ve heard is that we can’t do it … we’ll never do what last year’s (No. 20 team with driver Christopher Bell) did, but we’re off to a good start. It feels so good to win.

“There’s times when you go through a little bit of a drought, and you doubt yourself. But to get a win feels so good, especially after last year. We struggled a little bit. Once we moved up to the top (of the track) at the end, it was going to be really hard for (Herbst) to pass us. I was trying to be smart and not put it in the wall in the lead. The whole team was huge. I’m just so happy, man. This is something I’ve worked so hard for, and my team’s worked so hard for.

“Hell yeah, we won — that’s awesome!”

Herbst, who has yet to win a race in one of NASCAR’s top three national series, thought both he and Burton proved a point with their 1-2 run. Herbst felt he needed a few more laps to make a winning pass.

“I’m really, really proud of Harrison,” Herbst said. “Me and him have been working so hard this offseason. We’ve read it all — everything — that we aren’t ready for it, that we can’t do it in this series. Keep on talking because we’re coming for more wins for sure.”

In a third Joe Gibbs Racing car, the No. 19 Toyota, Brandon Jones led the first 73 laps in sweeping both the first and second 35-lap stages of the race. But Jones suffered a tire rub and subsequent flat tire after contact in traffic on a restart on Lap 102 of 150 and was relegated to 30th at the finish, four laps down.

Ryan Sieg ran fourth behind Cindric, posting his second straight top five and third straight top 10 to start the 2020 season. Justin Haley was fifth, followed by Anthony Alfredo (sixth in his first start in the series), Daniel Hemric, Ross Chastain, Jeremy Clements and Josh Williams.

Chase Briscoe, last week’s winner at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, led 16 laps, but his No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford spun off Turn 4 on Lap 26 while chasing Burton for the lead. Briscoe finished 19th, two laps down.

Burton leaves California with the series lead, 10 points ahead of second-place Briscoe. Cindric is 18 points back of Burton in third, followed by Sieg, who trails the leader by 24.

Note: Coincidentally, Burton’s uncle, Ward Burton, collected his first Xfinity Series victory on Feb. 29, 1992 — also on leap day.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

FONTANA, Calif. — It’s Race 3 of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season: the Auto Club 400 (Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX/FOX Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Clint Bowyer scored the Busch Pole Award to lead the field to green, but is he worth the start in Fantasy Live? NASCAR.com’s RJ Kraft offers up his race-day lineup and bonus picks below.

RJ Kraft race-day lineup for Auto Club 400:
1: Joey Logano
2: Jimmie Johnson
3: Alex Bowman
4: Ryan Blaney
5: Kurt Busch
Garage: Kyle Busch
Just missing the cut: Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Matt DiBenedetto, Chase Elliott and Bowyer

Cars dropping to the rear: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Preece

MORE: No. 19 misses qualifying | Info on the JTG penalties

RELATED: Lap averages, practice results and more | Fantasy preview coming into Fontana

Analysis: Auto Club Speedway has long been a strong spot for Team Penske. Logano and Blaney look the best in that camp this weekend and were 1-2 in 15-lap averages for final practice. Logano has five straight top-seven finishes at this track. Blaney will start 16th, but there are guys ahead of him who elected for full-qualifying trim for their respective laps. He’s also got the hot hand with an average of 42.5 points in the first two races of 2020.

Bowman has been the talk of the garage this weekend as he led both practices and topped the 10-lap board in final practice. He backed that up with a strong qualifying effort, and I’m a believer the speed from Las Vegas Motor Speedway has carried over.

Johnson is a bit of sentimental pick, but I like his history in Fontana, California, the fact he starts on the front row, crew chief Cliff Daniels targeting stage points and the speed he showed at Vegas. He has also completed every lap of races he has run at this track.

Kurt Busch’s lap averages kind of snuck up on me, but I like that he did not have a drastic falloff across his averages. Veterans tend to take care of tires better at the rougher surfaces. He also finished sixth in this race last year.

For the garage, I’m playing a hunch Kyle Busch will look solid on race day. The averages weren’t eye-popping, but again, the falloff for him from 10- to 15-lap averages wasn’t as steep as others. Besides, I like the security blanket of having the defending race winner and reigning champion in the garage.

Larson was a tough omission for me, but I liked Kurt Busch’s lap averages a bit more. Bowyer is a bit more of wild card, even though he’s on the pole. He does not have a ton of practice averages to go off of, and his overall history at this track leaves a little something to be desired.

Bonus picks: I’m taking Bowman in Stage 1, Harvick in Stage 2 and the win with Ford as the manufacturer pick. The Harvick pick is some extra protection from not having him in my main roster. I wrote earlier this week about saving the use here and still believe in doing that, but his qualifying spot has me thinking that incorporating him into the bonus picks is a sound move.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

FONTANA, Calif. — It’s far too early to be thinking about Christmas, but Clint Bowyer was the Grinch whole stole the thunder from local favorite Jimmie Johnson during Saturday’s time trials at Auto Club Speedway.

With a stronger run off Turn 4 on his qualifying lap, Bowyer edged Johnson by .007 seconds to earn the pole position for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The last driver to turn a lap, Johnson had the edge at the exit from Turn 4, but in a comparison with FOX Sports’ “ghost car” (representing Bowyer), the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion ran wider off the final corner and lost the top starting spot by roughly two feet.

RELATED: No. 19 misses qualifying after multiple inspection failures

“I was freaking out that the sun kept coming out,” said Bowyer, who claimed his first Busch Pole Award at Fontana, his first of the season and the fourth of his career. “You know the track’s building temperature. Everybody — you could see the data — kept getting looser and looser down in (Turns) 1 and 2.

“I knew coming to the green was important, tried to stay out high, try to get up through the gear box as good as you can, but that’s what it was. It stuck down there (in Turns 1 and 2), and everybody else had to kind of chase it up the track and lost speed and momentum.

“Then (Johnson), I’m thinking, ‘Man, if it comes down and I get beat by the last car on the race track, I’m going to freak out.’ I got a pole, baby! Looking forward to tomorrow. It’s going to be a hell of a race.”

Bowyer covered the two-mile distance in 40.086 seconds (179.614 mph) in his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.

Johnson (179.582 mph) is facing his last race at Auto Club as a full-time driver, and his wife Chandra and daughters Genevieve and Lydia send him on his way from the flag stand above the start/finish line.

“I wish we were one spot further ahead, and clearly, off of Turn 4 there, I ran a little more distance to the start/finish,” said Johnson, who grew up in El Cajon near San Diego. “Such a fine balance trying to understand how much you can open the wheel and let the engine run. Clearly, I did a little too much.

“That’s just the competitor in me. But a very special weekend for me, and I can’t wait to see my girls up in the flag stand waving that green flag.”

Alex Bowman, who led both Friday practices, qualified third, followed by Kurt Busch, as Chevrolets claimed the second, third and fourth starting spots for Sunday’s race. Kyle Busch was 17th in the fastest Toyota.

Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Martin Truex Jr., will start last (38th) on Sunday, having been barred from making a qualifying run after his No. 19 Camry failed inspection three times.

Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola will line up fifth and sixth, respectively, for the third NASCAR Cup Series race of the season, followed by Joey Logano, Michael McDowell, Kyle Larson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Posted on by Staff Report

The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota failed pre-qualifying inspection three times Saturday at Auto Club Speedway while the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet failed twice, as confirmed by a NASCAR spokesperson. As a result, the No. 19 team of Martin Truex Jr. was not permitted to qualify for the race and will start from the back.

The team also loses a crew member (car chief Blake Harris) for the duration of the weekend and will serve a 15-minute practice penalty at the next NASCAR Cup Series event (Phoenix Raceway). The car passed on the fourth time through inspection. Truex was the 2018 winner of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club.

RELATED: Auto Club schedule

For his part, Truex is not concerned about having to come from the back of the field and his 38th-starting spot. He placed third in the 10- and 15-lap averages in final practice.

“I’m always optimistic,” Truex said. “I did feel good about our car. It seemed like long runs we were pretty strong. Hopefully, we will have a lot of those tomorrow and be able to use them to our advantage.”

For the No. 1 team and Kurt Busch, who is the 2003 Auto Club winner, they will be without car chief Nick Case this weekend and will serve a 15-minute practice penalty at the next event.

Contributing: RJ Kraft

Posted on by Staff Report

The biggest offseason question mark was answered this week:

Who will Doug Coby race for in his chase for a seventh NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship?

In the end, the 40-year-old Coby found the answer by looking in the mirror.

“This is a good thing going forward,” Coby told RaceDayCT.com in an exclusive interview. “Becoming a driver/owner wasn‘t necessarily what I expected to have happen. But the fact that I see how it‘s unfolding makes me really excited for the team‘s potential and what we‘re able to provide for the sponsors that will help us out.”

RELATED: Doug Coby Career Stats |Sixth Title Adds Coby To Historic NASCAR List

Coby announced that he had purchased one of his race winning Whelen Modified Tour cars from retiring owner Mike Smeriglio III, and start his own team in pursuit of defense of his 2019 crown.


Coby also confirmed that he was again pairing with longtime crew chief Phil Moran, and they would keep the rest of his former team together. The Milford, Connecticut, driver confirmed he would again pair with primary sponsor Mayhew Tools, associate sponsors Reynold‘s Auto Wrecking and Modzelewski‘s Towing, and additional sponsors would be announced.

RELATED: Family Time: Mike Smeriglio III Retiring As Car Owner on NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour

It isn’t the first time Coby has been looking for a ride following a successful season. He parted ways with car owner Wayne Darling after winning the 2012 title and finishing second in 2013. He paired with Smeriglio in 2014, and together they won 19 races and five drivers championships.

His sixth championship last year made him just he 13th driver all-time to to win six or more NASCAR national or regional/international series champions. It put his name on a list that includes the likes of Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Richie Evans and Mike Stefanik.

“I always try to remember that my last win could be my last win, and my last championship could be my last championship,” Coby said after the 2019 finale.

Coby appeared prophetic when news broke that Smeriglio committed to selling a pair of cars to the family driver Tyler Rypkema and selling the team hauler to Kevin Stuart Motorsports.

Friday, though, Coby confirmed exclusively to RaceDayCT his new team, Doug Coby Racing, will make its debut at the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour opener on March 21 at Virginia’s South Boston Speedway. He also told the outlet the team is committed to running the full season and chase title No. 7.

Crew of #2 Doug Coby, driver of the Mayhew Tools Chevrolet during the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Jersey Shore 150 on May 18, 2019 at Wall Stadium Speedway in Wall Township, New Jersey.