Posted on by Reid Spencer

FONTANA, Calif. – Martin Truex Jr. drove three things Sunday afternoon at Auto Club Speedway.

First, he drove the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota to a dominating victory in the Auto Club 400, the fifth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season.

RELATED: Race results | Series standings
SHOP: Truex Jr. gear

Second, he drove a time machine, turning back the clock to 2017 when his mastery of stage racing propelled him to his first series championship.

Truex’s effort in Sunday’s race was every bit as overwhelming as his most convincing triumphs of last season. He started from the pole, then swept the first two stages and the victory, leading 125 of 200 laps and beating runner-up Kyle Larson to the finish line by a whopping 11.685 seconds.

Finally, Truex drove home a point, that those who doubted he could continue the excellent performance that led to the title just might be wrong.

“People kept asking ‘When are you going to win again? When are you going to win one of these stages?’” said Truex, who went to Victory Lane eight times last year. “Well, there you go.”

RELATED: Truex sweeps stages en route to win

The victory was Truex’s first at Fontana and the 16th of his career.

Truex’s form, however, wasn’t the overriding question entering the race. Kevin Harvick entered the event riding a wave of three straight wins and was the heavy favorite to win a fourth, having dominated Saturday’s practices in race trim.

But Harvick’s bid came to an abrupt end on Lap 38, when contact with Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet under extremely hard racing sent Harvick’s No. 4 Ford into the outside backstretch wall, crippling the car. Larson recovered, but Harvick was consigned to a 35th-place finish, nine laps down.

RELATED: Harvick falls short of four

That left Toyota drivers Truex and Kyle Busch to battle for the lead throughout the middle portion of the race, with Truex prevailing in decisive fashion and Busch ultimately finishing third behind Larson, who fought a vibration in his Chevrolet and had to charge through the field on three occasions after precautionary pit stops.

“We had a lot of weird issues, vibrations, and different stuff that happened where we had to restart at the back and drive back forward,” said Larson, who saw his streak of four straight Cup victories on 2-mile tracks end with the runner-up finish.

“It seemed like we could always get to third or fourth and kind of stall out there. Still, a really good day. The 78 (Truex) was really good. I think the 4 (Harvick) — he didn’t get to race a lot, but he was probably the best car again.”

RELATED: Larson rallies to finish second

Truex might dispute that, having picked up all seven available playoff points and taking over the series lead with a nine-point edge over Kyle Busch in second.

“I knew we really had a good race car after the first adjustment of the race,” Truex said. “The thing just came alive. From there it was just about managing my tires and being smart. We had a little trouble getting beat out of the pits, and that was tough.

“At one point we fell back to fifth, and then we needed to work our way back up. I really just needed to take care of my front tires, and once we got some clean air, this thing was unbelievable.”

Joey Logano (fifth Sunday) and Brad Keselowski (fourth) are third and fourth in points, respectively. Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney, Jimmie Johnson and Austin Dillon completed the top 10 in the Auto Club 400.

Harvick dropped from first to eighth in the series standings.

Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was found to have one lug nut unsecured in post-race inspection.

 

Posted on by Reid Spencer

FONTANA, Calif — You couldn’t call Sunday a bad day for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch.

After all, the driver of the No. 18 Toyota led 62 laps in Sunday’s Auto Club 400, second only to race winner Martin Truex Jr. And though Busch finished third behind Truex and Kyle Larson, he held second place in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings, nine points behind Truex, who took over the lead.

The problem was that Busch expected better after a strong showing in Saturday’s practice. But clearly, his Toyota team has some catching up to do relative to Truex’s squad at Furniture Row.

RELATED: Race results | Larson rallies for second | Truex wins at Auto Club

Where was Busch’s car losing time to Truex’s?

“Everywhere,” Busch said succinctly. “Just thought we were closer than that, but obviously not. We were right on top of the 78 (Truex) Saturday. The first run, I thought we were really good and showed some strength, but from there on out showed no strength.”

An apparent wrong-way adjustment for Busch also cost the No. 18 team precious handling in the final stage of Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway.

Busch, who emerged from pit road with the lead on Lap 165, quickly fell to second behind Truex by Lap 169 after a crew member made the wrong wedge adjustment, according to FOX’s Larry McReynolds. Busch could counteract the errant adjustment by using his driver-controlled track bar, but if he did, it did not help enough as the No. 18 team came home in third place.

MORE: Busch salty on Twitter

Busch took the checkered flag more than 12 seconds behind Truex.

It’s the third consecutive top-five finish for Busch, who finished second at both Las Vegas and Phoenix prior to Sunday’s third-place result.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Zack Albert

FONTANA, Calif. — Kevin Harvick’s winning string ended at three with an early Sunday thud at Auto Club Speedway, but a slightly more obscure streak belonging to Kyle Larson also fell — a victorious four-race stretch at NASCAR’s 2-mile tracks.

Larson settled for the next best thing in Sunday’s Auto Club 400, rallying twice from deep in the pack to finish a season-best second place behind a dominant Martin Truex Jr. He surged back after an early collision with Harvick in the 37th lap, then made an extra pit stop before the final stage began for a vibration, forcing him to make a methodical comeback to the runner-up spot.

“Would have liked to be one spot better, but we couldn’t even see Martin,” Larson said, making a nod to the sizable 11.685-second margin of victory. “Got to be a little bit better. All in all, a good day. We fought hard. That’s all you can ask for.”

RELATED: Truex sweeps stages | Celebs, great racing at Auto Club

Harvick and Larson had already been engaged in a back-and-forth contest for third place over the course of multiple laps when their battle escalated into a coming-together of Californians. Coming off the 2-mile track’s second turn, Harvick fought for control and bobbled, then veered left into the side of Larson’s No. 42.

Harvick’s car ricocheted off the outside retaining wall then narrowly avoided the inside barrier, scraping away with significant damage. After repairs, he limped to a 35th-place result, nine laps down. Larson’s crew made their own mending work in an extended stop, dropping him to 20th in the running order.

Harvick keyed his radio to shoulder the blame for their contact, a stance he reiterated in post-race interviews on pit road. Larson’s radio was slightly more colorful in the initial aftermath, but having Harvick’s messaged relayed to him helped soothe any potential ill will.

RELATED: Harvick: ‘Just my fault back there’

“I think he came down to side-draft me maybe and just got on my right-rear,” Larson said. “Just the one replay I saw, it looked like it just spun him to the right. I’m glad that he’s not mad at me because I didn’t think I did anything wrong at the time, so it’s good that he doesn’t feel that way either.”

Larson’s next round of misfortune came on Lap 125 during the intermission after Stage 2. Instead of restarting seventh for the final stage, an additional pit stop to cure a wheel vibration knocked him back to 28th, setting the table for another charge through the field.

WATCH: See the wreck unfold

Larson chalked both setbacks up as “a lot of weird issues,” but Chad Johnston — his crew chief on the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet team — said that the earlier trouble was the more irksome of the two.

“For passing as many cars as we did, it’s just frustrating to get wrecked 30 laps into a race for no reason,” Johnston said. “That’s the most frustrating part to me. I don’t know why we were raced that hard 30 laps in and if it was the other way around, I’m sure that he wouldn’t be happy about it either. But we need to clean up our issues on pit road if we’re going to have a shot to win ’em, but guys are working hard and we’ll get it figured out. It’s new for everybody.  

“We’ve just got to find our rhythm in what we need to do to do our jobs and go from there. But the car’s got speed, so that’s good.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Busch Pole Award winner Martin Truex Jr. grabbed Stage 1 and Stage 2 victories in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway.

In Stage 1, Kyle Busch finished second after flanking Truex on the front row. Busch led 19 laps in Stage 1 after taking the lead away from Truex on Lap 11. Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top five.

RELATED: Stage 1 results | Photos from Fontana | Lap-by-Lap updates

The biggest news in Stage 1 occurred on Lap 37 when Kevin Harvick made contact with Kyle Larson on the backstretch, sending the No. 4 Busch Beer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford into the outside wall.

Finish Driver Team Race points
1  Martin Truex Jr.  Furniture Row Racing 10
2  Kyle Busch  Joe Gibbs Racing 9
3  Joey Logano  Team Penske 8
4  Brad Keselowski  Team Penske 7
5  Jimmie Johnson  Hendrick Motorsports 6
6  Kyle Larson  Chip Ganassi Racing 5
7  Kurt Busch  Stewart-Haas Racing 4
8  Erik Jones  Joe Gibbs Racing 3
9  Clint Bowyer  Stewart-Haas Racing 2
10  Denny Hamlin  Joe Gibbs Racing 1

Stage 2

Stage 2 winner at Auto Club, MTJ.

Martin Truex Jr. did more Martin Truex Jr. things at Auto Club Speedway, earning the Stage 2 victory to sweep both stages of the Auto Club 400.

RELATED: Stage 2 results

Truex led 48 circuits of the 60-lap stage on his way to the win. Brad Keselowski finished second as Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones completed the top five-finishers.

The only caution flag of the stage occurred on Lap 108 when Trevor Bayne slammed the outside wall in Turn 4.

Finish Driver Team Race points
1  Martin Truex Jr.  Furniture Row Racing 10
2  Brad Keselowski  Team Penske 9
3  Kyle Busch  Joe Gibbs Racing 8
4  Denny Hamlin  Joe Gibbs Racing 7
5  Erik Jones  Joe Gibbs Racing 6
6  Joey Logano  Team Penske 5
7  Jimmie Johnson  Hendrick Motorsports 4
8  Kyle Larson  Chip Ganassi Racing 3
9  Clint Bowyer  Stewart-Haas Racing 2
10  William Byron  Hendrick Motorsports 1
Posted on by Reid Spencer

FONTANA, Calif. – Make no mistake — there were heated words on the radios of Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick after their collision on the backstretch on Lap 38 of Sunday’s Auto Club 400 that ended Harvick’s bid to win a fourth straight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.

Harvick wondered aloud what Larson was doing when the driver of the No. 42 Chevrolet turned up the track after Harvick moved down to side-draft the Chip Ganassi Racing machine.

Larson questioned why Harvick would race him so hard for position so early in a 200-lap event.

But after Larson recovered to run second to race winner Martin Truex Jr., and Harvick rolled home 35th in a heavily damaged car, the drivers were far more conciliatory.

WATCH: See what Harvick saw during wreck 

“I went down to side-draft, and he (Larson) was coming up and we touched, and it just knocked the thing to the right and spun out,” Harvick said after watching the video replay. “I don’t know that it’s his fault. I think that’s my fault for coming down the race track right there and trying to side-draft, and then as we touch it just came back up the race track.

“I was just trying to get a little too much right there. I knew the stage was coming (to an end). I’ve just got to thank all of my guys. They did a great job on our Busch Beer Ford, and it was just my fault back there.

“That was just a dumb mistake on my part… The race car was there. It was just a mistake.”

Larson likewise took a more amicable tone after his runner-up result.

“We were racing really hard, and I was better than him in (Turns) 3 and 4, and he was better than me in (Turns) 1 and 2,” Larson said.

“I would side-draft him down the frontstretch, and he would side draft me down the backstretch, and I don’t know if he was just coming down to side draft me or what, but we made contact and it spun his car to the right. So you never want to make contact with anybody, but all in all it was a good day for our DC Solar Chevrolet team.”

WATCH: Harvick: ‘Just my fault back there’

Posted on by Staff Report

What channels are NASCAR races on this week? We answer that and provide all the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: Get the NBC Sports App |  How to find FS1, FS2 | Get FOX Sports GO | How to find NBCSN

Monday, March 19
12 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400, FS1 (re-air)
12 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400, FS2 (re-air)
5 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

On MRN:
12 p.m.: MRN Motorsports Monday presented by Outback Steakhouse (Hosts: Steve Post, Erin Evernham)

Tuesday, March 20
5 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
11 p.m.: NASCAR K&N Pro Series West: Kern County Raceway Park, NBCSN

On MRN:
7 p.m.: NASCAR Live (Host: Mike Bagley)

Wednesday, March 21
5 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m.: NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, Performance Plus 150 from Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway, NBCSN

On MRN:
Noon: MRN Crew Call presented by Hercules Tires (Hosts: Dion Williams, Sammi Jo Francis)
1 p.m.: NASCAR Coast to Coast (Hosts: Kyle Rickey, Hannah Newhouse)

Thursday, March 22
5 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

On MRN:
1 p.m.: Throwback Thursday presented by Sunoco

Friday, March 23
1 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, FS1
2 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, FS1
3 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FS1
9 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, FS2 (re-air)
10 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FS2 (re-air)

On MRN:
11 a.m.: Inside Line Fantasy Racing Show (Hosts: Tyler Burnett, Robbie Mays)

Saturday, March 24
6:30 a.m.: Classic NASCAR: 1988 Daytona 500, FS1
7 a.m.: NASCAR Masters of the Clock: The Legend of Martinsville, FS1
8 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice (re-air), FS1
9 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice (re-air), FS1
10 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO)
11 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying, FS1
12 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, FS1
12:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO)
1:30 p.m.: NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
2:00 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Alpha Energy Solutions 250, FS1

Sunday, March 25
12:30 p.m.: NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
2 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series STP 500, FS1 (Canada: TSN 3) POSTPONED UNTIL MONDAY, 2 P.M. 
Approx. 7 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Alpha Energy Solutions 250 resumes, FS1 POSTPONED UNTIL MONDAY, 11 A.M. 

Posted on by Staff Report

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series take on the first short track of the year in a doubleheader at Martinsville Speedway. The NASCAR Xfinity Series is off. Check out the tentative full schedule below, subject to change.

Note: All times are ET

Monday, March 26
11 a.m.: Conclusion of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Alpha Energy Solutions 250 (250 laps, 131.5 miles), FS1 (Results)
Approx. 2 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series STP 500 (500 laps, 263 miles), FS1 (Canada: TSN 1); (Results)

Pre-race schedule
10:58:00 a.m.: Trucks restart engines
11:00:00 a.m.: Trucks roll off pit road to resume Alpha Energy Solutions 250
12:00:00 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver/crew chief meeting
1:20:00 p.m.: Monster Energy Series Driver Introductions
1:48:00 p.m.: Presentation of Colors by: Martinsville-Henry County Combined Law Enforcement Color Guard
1:48:20 p.m.: Invocation by: Martinsville Speedway Track Chaplin, Mike Hatfield
1:49:00 p.m.: National Anthem by: Ted Alt, Virginia Tech Department of Music
1:50:30 p.m.: Flyover:  2 – F18 Hornets, VFA Tact 37 Ragin’ Bulls from Naval Air Station Oceana  (Turn 4 to Turn 1)
1:55:30 p.m.: “Drivers, Start Your Engines” by: Executive Chairman of Spectrum Brands, parent company of STP; David Maura And his Daughter Emily
2:01:00 p.m.: Start of the STP 500 (500 Laps, 263 Miles)

Press Pass (Watch live)
Approx. 1 p.m.: Post-Camping World Truck Series race
5:45 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race

Sunday, March 25
2:07 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series STP 500 (500 laps, 263 miles), FS1 (Canada: TSN 3); (POSTPONED UNTIL MONDAY at 2 P.M. ET)
Following STP 500 (approx. 7 p.m.): NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Alpha Energy Solutions 250 (250 laps, 131.5 miles), FS1 (POSTPONED UNTIL MONDAY AT 11 A.M. ET)

Saturday, March 24
10:05-10:55 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO); (Results)
11 a.m.: Camping World Truck Series qualifying, FS1 (Results)
12:30-1:20 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO); (Results)
2 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Alpha Energy Solutions 250 (250 laps, 131.5 miles), FS1 (POSTPONED UNTIL SUNDAY)
5:10 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Award qualifying, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO); (CANCELED, Lineup)

Press Pass (Watch live)
9 a.m.: Chase Elliott
9:15 a.m.: Jimmie Johnson
11:15 a.m.: Darrell Wallace Jr.
11:30 a.m.: Brad Keselowski
Noon: Denny Hamlin

Friday, March 23
11:05 -11:55 a.m.: Camping World Truck Series first practice (Results)
1:05-1:55 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series second practice, FS1 (Results)
3:05-3:55 p.m.:Camping World Truck Series final practice, FS1 (Results)

Press Pass (Watch live)
10:15 a.m.: Harrison Burton, Todd Gilliland, Noah Gragson
10:30 a.m.: Kyle Benjamin, Timothy Peters, Ben Rhodes

Posted on by Zack Albert

FONTANA, Calif. — William Byron has made rapid advances up NASCAR’s national series ladder in a brief amount of time, and he’s in elite territory that 20-year-old rookies rarely visit.

His Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series experience in Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 24 Chevrolet is just four races old, but Byron is already benefiting from the influence of veteran crew chief Darian Grubb. Byron’s maturation is ongoing, but Grubb says he’s also studying right alongside him.

“We’re definitely learning every week,” Grubb told NASCAR.com. “Every time we go on track, we’re learning a little bit more about each other and what the car needs and what William needs as a driver and how we can compare it to our teammates. It’s definitely been a learning experience so far, for all of us.”

RELATED: Johnson: ‘I will be around a while’

Byron led his first laps in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition last weekend at ISM Raceway, setting the pace for 15 circuits. Grubb called the stint up front a “big confidence booster” that exposed Byron to running with the lead group.

Though Byron has exceeded expectations with winning campaigns in both the Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series, Grubb says they’ve made more measured goals for their progress this season.

“It’s one of those things that we didn’t expect to go out and win the first three races,” says Grubb, whose last full-time season as a Cup Series crew chief came in 2015. “We knew it was going to be a learning process. We thought we’d be a little better than we are right now, but I can sit and look and make a list for each race of what we did wrong as a team, where we missed on the setup and what we did wrong for adjustments during the race to where we needed to be. So the speed’s definitely not just on him being a young driver. It’s all team and us growing together and learning how to set the car up.”

As for Byron, the 42-year-old Grubb says he’s become a more vocal contributor in the shop for Hendrick’s four-car organization. It’s made him adopt a dual role as a student, both at Liberty University and learning the ropes with Hendrick’s development and communication tools — homework all around.

“He’s been a good team member so far,” Grubb said. “He’s in all the meetings we have and when we ask him to be at the shop. Doing all the simulator work and all those things, too, so it’s been really good.”

Contributing: Pat DeCola

Posted on by Reid Spencer

FONTANA, Calif. – The best measure of Joey Logano’s dominance in Saturday’s Roseanne 300 at Auto Club Speedway came during one of the rare instances when the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford didn’t have the lead.

 

Off-cycle on pit stops late in the race, Logano chose to pit under caution on Lap 122 while most of the other contending cars stayed out on tires that had only six green-flag laps of use. Logano restarted 16th on Lap 125. By Lap 126, he was third.

 

On Lap 127, Logano passed Justin Allgaier for second. One Lap later he sailed past Elliott Sadler for the lead.

 

In claiming his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season and the 29th of his career, Logano survived a late restart on Lap 143 and pulled away to win by 1.429 seconds over Allgaier, who passed Sadler for the runner-up spot.

RELATED: Race results | Series standings | Detailed breakdown

“It was a great car—oh, my gosh,” said Logano, who led 139 of 150 laps in winning for the third time at the two-mile Fontana track. “It’s one of those races where you feel relieved when you win. It wasn’t a cheerful one—you’re supposed to win when you have a car that fast.”

 

That didn’t keep Logano from second-guessing crew chief Brian Wilson for choosing to keep Logano on the track after a Lap 110 caution for Dylan Lupton’s blown engine.

 

“Brian opted (to stay out),” said Logano, who won the first and second stages of the race. “That was not my thought at all. But it ended up working out. I thought we were going to lose more track position than we did. We were able to stay out front, actually, on older tires, which I didn’t think we had a chance of doing.

 

“It just showed how fast our car was. It was an amazing day.”

 

Allgaier edged Sadler for the runner-up spot by .047 seconds, but much earlier than that Allgaier realized he was probably racing for second place, the position he also claimed a week earlier in Phoenix when Brad Keselowski drove the No. 22 to victory for Team Penske.

 

“The 22 was definitely the class of the field today and had everybody covered,” Allgaier said. “So hats off to those guys.

 

“I’ve been following the 22 for a couple of weeks now, and that’s getting kind of depressing.”

 

Austin Dillon ran fourth behind Sadler, followed by Richard Childress Racing teammate Daniel Hemric. Cole Custer, Tyler Reddick, Matt Tifft, Ryan Preece and Ross Chastain completed the top 10.

 

Pole winner Christopher Bell brushed the wall early, spun off Turn 4 on Lap 97 and was collected by the No. 5 Chevrolet of Michael Annett eight laps later. Bell salvaged a lead-lap, 21st-place finish and held fourth place in the series standings.

WATCH: Bell’s spin through the grass with visor cam | Bell, Annett collide

Sadler leaves Auto Club with a slim lead over his JR Motorsports teammates. Reddick is second in the standings, four points back, with Allgaier five points behind Sadler in third.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will have two weeks off before returning to action at Texas Motor Speedway for the My Bariatric Solutions 300 on April 7 (3 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN , SiriusXM).

Pit Notes: Post-race inspection found that the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (driven by Ryan Preece to a ninth-place finish) had one lug nut unsecured. The No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, the No. 18 JGR Toyota, the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet and the No. 22 Team Penske Ford will all be heading back to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina.

Contributing: Staff report