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Driver looks forward to bouncing back from last to first

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After suffering his worst finish since becoming a fireball at Texas Motor Speedway last spring, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is reversing roles with crew chief Greg Ives and playing cheerleader for his young team as they head to Auto Club Speedway for the Auto Club 400 (Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET, FOX).

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"We just go around and gather all the guys up and tell them all that we’re going to go to Fontana and get back on track," Earnhardt said on Dirty Mo Radio’s "Dale Jr. Download". "It’s a long season. You’re going to have adversity. You’re going to have problems."

A blown tire at Phoenix International Raceway resulted in a 43rd-place finish and dropped Earnhardt from second to sixth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings. Earnhardt said he and the team could stomach the last-place result because it was a mechanical failure.

"It’s a little easier to take when you can kind of understand the problem that you can either fix or it’s something out of your hands, out of your control that’s not part of the race car and something that’s your responsibility," Earnhardt said. "That’s the best way I can look at it."

Heading to Auto Club, Earnhardt has top-12 finishes in each of his last four starts, including a runner-up finish in 2013 as he followed Kyle Busch to the finish following Joey Logano‘s tangle with Denny Hamlin. It was one of four top-three results at the track in 22 starts there.

Earnhardt feels groovy about the racing surface and enjoys running next to the wall at the facility.

"I love Fontana, a lot of different grooves, fun race track," Earnhardt said. "We should be able to go out there and be real competitive. I’m looking forward to it. We run the high line a little bit there which is always fun. It should be a fun race."

Ives will roll out a brand new chassis, 88-924, for the race.

Earnhardt notes that tires will be key again as NASCAR goes west for one more week.

"It’s a fast track, and you can find speed out there," Earnhardt said. "The back straightaway is very rough, and if we can manage our tires."

Next week, Earnhardt returns to Martinsville Speedway, where he claimed his first grandfather clock in the last race at the short track last fall.

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Justin Boston: ‘He’s definitely recovering quickly’

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MARTINSVILLE, Va. — The boss might be sidelined indefinitely, but team owner Kyle Busch is keeping in touch with the goings on within his Kyle Busch Motorsports team.
 
Busch, recovering from injuries sustained in a crash during the season-opening XFINITY Series race at Daytona International Speedway, fields three Camping World Truck Series teams. Two of the teams, the No. 54 Toyota with driver Justin Boston and the No. 51, which will see Busch, Daniel Suarez and Matt Tifft behind the wheel, were on hand Tuesday at Martinsville Speedway for testing.

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"I texted with him definitely a lot after Atlanta," Boston said during a break in testing at the 0.526-mile track. "As far as the test goes, I probably won’t talk to him too much until after we’re done today."
 
Boston, 25, made two XFINITY Series starts for Joe Gibbs Racing last season, and a single NCWTS start with Venturini Motorsports in conjunction with KBM.
 
He’ll run the full Truck Series schedule in ’15 for KBM, and finished 29th at Daytona and 16th at Atlanta earlier this year. He is currently 18th in points.
 
"He’s definitely recovering quickly," Boston said of his boss. "I saw him at the shop last week so he’s pretty pumped about getting back in a car."
 
Boston, along with teammate Erik Jones, is competing for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. Suarez is as well, but in the XFINITY Series where he is competing full-time for JGR and accruing championship driver points.
 
"In Daytona we had a lot of help from (Kyle)," Suarez said. "In Atlanta it looked like we got even more communication. For Martinsville, actually I was talking with him yesterday about exactly what to do, what line to run. I wish he could be here to give us some advice."
 
That communication, he said, has been invaluable as he visits the bulk of the tracks on the schedule for the first time.
 
"You know, a rookie driver, we can ask a lot of things," Suarez said. "This is my first time here, my first time in Atlanta, my first time in Daytona. It’s a lot of information that I can get before I get to the track so I can at least take a couple of steps forward. Just trying to do that, trying to ask as many questions as possible to be more prepared."
 
Suarez will be back in the team’s No. 51 Toyota when the series returns to Martinsville for the Kroger 250 on March 28. He earned his first top-10 with a ninth-place finish at Daytona and followed that with his first top-five in Atlanta, where he finished fourth.
 
"We’ve talked a lot about the aero," Suarez said. "The aero in the trucks is something that I never had (experienced) before. It’s something different, definitely. It’s something that I have been working hard on.
 
"I’ve had a lot of advice from him trying to be better in that and try to learn fast. I think we have a long way to go with that; it’s a lot to learn there. But I think with someone like him on our side, and the whole organization, I think is going to be very helpful."
 
Busch has missed the first four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races after suffering a compound fracture of his right leg and multiple fractures in his left foot in the Daytona crash. JGR officials have said there is no timetable for his return to competition.
 
Two-time NCWTS champion Matt Crafton filled in for the No. 18 Sprint Cup team at Daytona while David Ragan took over for stops in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix.
 
The area of the wall where Busch’s car struck on Lap 112 of the Alert Today Florida 300 at DIS was not covered by SAFER barrier. Since the incident, several venues have re-evaluated their facilities with several installing additional SAFER barrier coverage as well as tire barriers.
 
In addition to Suarez and Boston, rookie Daniel Hemric (NTS Motorsports) also took part in Tuesday’s test.

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Harvick sets a high bar for performance entering Auto Club weekend

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AVONDALE, Ariz. — Kevin Harvick‘s run of success in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series continued Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway where the Stewart-Haas Racing driver won his second consecutive race of the season.

It was his seventh consecutive finish of either first or second dating back to the closing races of 2014.

STATS DURING HARVICK’S STREAK OF TOP-2s

Driver Rating

Driver Rating
Kevin Harvick 134.5
Joey Logano 111.5
Kurt Busch* 105.5
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 105.2
Jimmie Johnson 104.9


Average Running Position

Driver ARP
Kevin Harvick 3.618
Joey Logano 6.353
Kurt Busch* 7.928
Jeff Gordon 8.391
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 9.500


Laps Led

Driver Led
Kevin Harvick 802
Jimmie Johnson 367
Jeff Gordon 297
Joey Logano 214
Denny Hamlin 95


Fastest Laps Run

Driver FLR
Kevin Harvick 460
Jeff Gordon 184
Jimmie Johnson 155
Joey Logano 95
Brad Keselowski 93

*Four races since joining Tony Gibson

But as strong as his Chevrolet has been, the 39-year-old says there is always room for improvement.
 
"I’ll probably critique today more than the days we ran bad," Harvick said after earning his seventh career win at the 1-mile track. "There are a lot of things that we could do better, little areas that we can work on. We’ll have notes upon notes.
 
"But I won’t approach the post-race report any different than I will a race we run 20th. We’ll probably have more information … on things we could or couldn’t do on a day we win."
 
Running 20th doesn’t seem likely at this point for Harvick, crew chief Rodney Childers and the No. 4 team. In his last 21 starts, Harvick has finished outside the top 30 only once and he has finished outside the top 15 only twice in that time.
 
In the meantime there are others that have run well — but not nearly as consistently.
 
Since the start of the ’14 season, no one has more wins than Harvick (7) and only Jeff Gordon has as many second-place finishes (each has eight).
 
Only Joey Logano has as many top-fives (18).
 
Harvick has nearly twice as many poles during that time and his laps led total (currently at 2,619) is more than 1,000 beyond the next driver.
 
While the NASCAR world is looking for new ways to describe the team’s dominating performances, Harvick is trying to keep the season in perspective.
 
"Winning is something that ultimately makes the confidence level in myself, Rodney and everybody on this team know that you can make things happen in many different types of situations," he said. "I think as you go to the next race, you go to California, it’s nothing like what we’ve done here, nothing really like what we did at (Las Vegas). You just have to forget about what you did."
 
Statistically, Auto Club Speedway, site of this weekend’s Auto Club 400, hasn’t been one of Harvick’s best tracks. He has won at the 2-mile facility (in 2011), but his average finish is worse at only two other venues still on the schedule.
 
He finished 36th, two laps down, last year after suffering multiple tire issues.
 
Sunday’s victory marked the third time in his career that Harvick had posted back-to-back wins in the Sprint Cup Series, and the second time in the last six races.
 
His performances haven’t gone unnoticed, with several fellow competitors mentioning the team’s show of strength.
 
"We’ve got to keep working hard to catch up to Kevin," Hendrick Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne, fourth at PIR said. " Kevin drives a great race and they have a lot of speed."
 
"We just have to find some more speed," said former series champ Brad Keselowski, sixth on Sunday. "That is the common theme — to keep up with the 4 car (of Harvick)."
 
Jamie McMurray (Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates) drew comparisons to others that enjoyed notable stretches of success such as four-time champion Jeff Gordon, who won 10 or more races for a three-year stretch, including 13 in ’98.
 
"It was incredible," McMurray said of Gordon’s dominance.
 
"I remember when the 4 car unloaded at the Charlotte test (in December of ’13), first lap on the track he was literally the fastest car. For a year it’s been that way."
 
Even Harvick seems somewhat taken aback by just how well his team has performed each week.
 
"It’s almost scary," he said.
 
"You don’t want to talk about it too much because you want to keep it going."

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Chat with race fans while NASCAR heads to Auto Club Speedway

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A stats-based look ahead to the fifth race of the 2015 Sprint Cup season

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California going into the Auto Club 400 on FOX at 3:30 p.m. ET on March 24.

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AUTO CLUB-SPECIFIC STATISTICS

Greg Biffle (No. 16 Clean Harbors Ford)

·         One win, four top fives, seven top 10s

·         Average finish of 17.8

·         Average Running Position of 13.5, ninth-best

·         Driver Rating of 93.7, eighth-best

·         217 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most

·         1,243 Green Flag Passes, ninth-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 171.601 mph, seventh-fastest

·         2,484 Laps in the Top 15 (67.3%), eighth-most

·         676 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), 10th-most

Clint Bowyer (No. 15 BlueDEF Toyota)

·         Two top fives, seven top 10s

·         Average finish of 12.9

·         Average Running Position of 12.9, eighth-best

·         Driver Rating of 92.1, ninth-best

·         74 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-most

·         1,211 Green Flag Passes, 11th-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 171.347 mph, 11th-fastest

·         1,918 Laps in the Top 15 (60.2%), 12th-most

Kurt Busch (No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet)

·         One win, six top fives, 11 top 10s; three poles

·         Average finish of 11.9

·         Average Running Position of 14.6, 12th-best

·         Driver Rating of 90.6, 12th-best

·         94 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-most

·         1,368 Green Flag Passes, third-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 171.271 mph, 12th-fastest

·         2,401 Laps in the Top 15 (65.1%), ninth-most

·         762 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Carl Edwards (No. 19 Subway Toyota)

·         One win, eight top fives, 14 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 8.5

·         Average Running Position of 12.5, seventh-best

·         Driver Rating of 97.8, fifth-best

·         154 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 171.692 mph, fifth-fastest

·         2,773 Laps in the Top 15 (75.1%), fourth-most

·         754 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet)

·         Three wins, 10 top fives, 11 top 10s; two poles

·         Average finish of 11.8

·         Average Running Position of 10.2, fourth-best

·         Driver Rating of 97.3, sixth-best

·         252 Fastest Laps Run, second-most

·         1,391 Green Flag Passes, second-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 171.729 mph, fourth-fastest

·         2,756 Laps in the Top 15 (74.7%), sixth-most

·         Series-high 831 Quality Passes

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota)

·         One top five, four top 10s; three poles

·         Average finish of 19.0

·         Average Running Position of 13.9, 10th-best

·         Driver Rating of 90.7, 11th-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 171.376 mph, 10th-fastest

·         1,926 Laps in the Top 15 (64.6%), 11th-most

Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet)

·         One win, four top fives, nine top 10s

·         Average finish of 16.4

·         Average Running Position of 12.5, sixth-best

·         Driver Rating of 94.7, seventh-best

·         126 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most

·         1,277 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 171.559 mph, eighth-fastest

·         2,662 Laps in the Top 15 (72.1%), seventh-most

·         742 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Pro Services Chevrolet)

·         Five wins, 12 top fives, 14 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 6.7

·         Series-best Average Running Position of 6.0

·         Series-best Driver Rating of 120.1

·         Series-high 504 Fastest Laps Run

·         Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 172.393 mph

·         Series-high 3,432 Laps in the Top 15 (93.0%)

·         767 Quality Passes, third-most

Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Time Warner Cable Chevrolet)

·         One win, four top fives, 10 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 16.0

·         Driver Rating of 91.5, 10th-best

·         109 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most

·         1,264 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most

·         2,315 Laps in the Top 15 (62.7%), 10th-most

·         738 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 20 DeWalt Toyota)

·         Three wins, nine top fives, 15 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 9.8

·         Average Running Position of 9.1, third-best

·         Driver Rating of 106.2, third-best

·         137 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 171.784 mph, third-fastest

·         3,066 Laps in the Top 15 (83.1%), second-most

·         735 Quality Passes, ninth-most

Tony Stewart (No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Chevrolet)

·         Two wins, seven top fives, 13 top 10s

·         Average finish of 13.5

·         Average Running Position of 10.5, fifth-best

·         Driver Rating of 100.7, fourth-best

·         226 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 171.657 mph, sixth-fastest

·         2,773 Laps in the Top 15 (75.1%), fourth-most

·         752 Quality Passes, sixth-most

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2015 Top 16 at Auto Club Speedway

Rank

Driver

Races

Poles

Wins

Top Fives

Top 10s

DNFs

Average Finish

Driver Rating

  
 

1

Kevin Harvick

21

0

1

4

9

2

16.4

94.7

  

2

Joey Logano

8

0

0

2

2

0

18.4

78.1

  

3

Martin Truex Jr.

14

0

0

0

3

2

20.1

75.7

  

4

Kasey Kahne

18

1

1

4

10

3

16.0

91.5

  

5

AJ Allmendinger

10

0

0

0

1

1

19.1

71.5

  

6

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

22

0

0

5

6

5

19.5

78.1

  

7

Jimmie Johnson

20

1

5

12

14

0

6.7

120.1

  

8

Ryan Newman

20

1

0

4

8

3

17.4

81.4

  

9

Brad Keselowski

6

0

0

0

0

0

23.3

71.6

  

10

Matt Kenseth

22

1

3

9

15

0

9.8

106.2

  

11

Paul Menard

12

0

0

0

2

0

22.0

62.3

  

12

Casey Mears

18

0

0

0

2

1

22.3

65.8

  

13

Denny Hamlin

13

3

0

1

4

3

19.0

90.7

  

14

Aric Almirola

7

0

0

0

0

3

31.6

49.3

  

15

Clint Bowyer

14

0

0

2

7

1

12.9

92.1

  

16

Greg Biffle

20

0

1

4

7

3

17.8

93.7

  

* – Based on last 16 races at Auto Club Speedway (2005 – 2014).

Auto Club Speedway Data

Season Race #: 5 of 36 (03-22-15)

Track Size: 2-miles

Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 14 degrees

Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 14 degrees

Banking/Frontstretch: 11 degrees

Banking/Backstretch: 3 degrees

Frontstretch Length:  3,100 feet

Backstretch Length:  2,500 feet

Race Length: 200 laps / 400 miles

 

Top 10 Driver Rating at Auto Club

Jimmie Johnson…………………… 119.6

Kyle Busch…………………………. 109.2

Matt Kenseth……………………….. 105.5

Tony Stewart……………………….. 102.0

Carl Edwards………………………… 98.5

Jeff Gordon………………………….. 96.2

Kevin Harvick………………………… 95.8

Greg Biffle……………………………. 95.5

Clint Bowyer…………………………. 92.9

Kasey Kahne………………………… 91.4

Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2014 races (16 total) among active drivers at Auto Club Speedway

Qualifying/Race Data

2014 pole winner:

Matt Kenseth, Toyota

187.315 mph, 38.438 secs. 03-25-14

2014 race winner:

Kyle Busch, Toyota

132.987 mph, (3:05:53), 03-27-14

Track qualifying record:

Kyle Busch, Chevrolet

188.245 mph, 38.248 secs. 02-25-05

Track race record:

Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 155.012 mph (3:13:32); 6-22-97

Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 160.166 mph, (1:36:39; rain shortened), 03-25-12

At Auto Club Speedway:

History

·         Groundbreaking for California Speedway, as Auto Club Speedway was originally known, took place in November 1995.

·         The first race at Auto Club Speedway was a NASCAR K&N Pro Series, West race won by Ken Schrader on June 21, 1997.

·         The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on June 22, 1997 and won by Jeff Gordon.

·         September 2004 was the first night race at Auto Club Speedway and that also was the first year both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide Series ran two races in a season there.

·         The track name was changed to Auto Club Speedway (ACS) in February 2008.

Notebook

·         There have been 25 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Auto Club Speedway, the track hosted one NSCS race a season from 1997-2003, then two races per season from 2004-2010. In 2011 Auto Club Speedway returned to a single race season.

·         137 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club; 108 in more than one.

·         Jeff Gordon leads the series in starts at Auto Club Speedway with 25.

·         Joe Nemechek won the inaugural Coors Light pole (1997) with a speed of 183.015 mph (39.341 secs.).

·         16 drivers have poles at Auto Club Speedway, led by Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch with three each.

·         Denny Hamlin (2011, 2012), Kurt Busch (2006 sweep) and Jamie McMurray (2010 sweep) are the three drivers to win consecutive poles at Auto Club Speedway.

·         Youngest ACS pole winner: Kyle Busch (2/27/2005 – 19 years, 9 months, 25 days).

·         Oldest ACS pole winner: Mike Skinner (4/30/2000 – 42 years, 10 months, 2 days).

·         14 different drivers have won at ACS, led by Jimmie Johnson (five). Three other drivers have multiple wins at Auto Club Speedway: Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth each have three wins, Tony Stewart has two.

·         Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at Auto Club Speedway with nine, followed by Roush Fenway Racing with seven and Stewart Haas Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing each have two.

·         California-native Jimmie Johnson became the first and only driver to win from the pole at Auto Club Speedway in 2008.

·         Only two ACS races have been won from the front row both by six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson,  fall of 2008 (pole); and the fall of 2007 (second-place).

·         Nine of the 25 (36%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Auto Club Speedway have been won from a top-five starting position.

·         13 of the 25 (52%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Auto Club Speedway have been won from a top-10 starting position.

·         Seven of the 24 (28%) races have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

·         The deepest in the field that a race winner has started was 31st, by Matt Kenseth in the spring of 2006.

·         The most proficient starting position at ACS is pretty random. Three starting positions (third, ninth and 24th) have produced three winners each.

·         Youngest ACS winner: Kyle Busch (09/04/2005 – 20 years, 4 months, 2 days).

·         Oldest ACS winner: Rusty Wallace (04/29/2001 – 44 years, 8 months, 15 days).

·         Jimmie Johnson leads the series in runner-up finishes at Auto Club Speedway with five; followed by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon with four.  

·         Jimmie Johnson leads the series in top-five finishes at Auto Club Speedway with 12; followed by Jeff Gordon (10), Matt Kenseth (nine), Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch (eight each).

·         Matt Kenseth leads the series in top-10 finishes with 15; followed by Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards (14 each) and Tony Stewart (13).

·         Jimmie Johnson leads the series in average finish at ACS with a 6.650.

·         Jimmie Johnson (6.6), Carl Edwards (8.5) and Matt Kenseth (9.8) are the only three active drivers with an average finish in the top 10 at Auto Club Speedway.  

·         There have been three green-white-checkered finishes at Auto Club Speedway: 2005 (250/254), 2006 (250/251) and 2014 (200/206).

·         Three active drivers have posted their first NSCS Coors Light pole at Auto Club Speedway: Carl Edwards (9/4/2005) and Joe Nemechek (6/22/1997). Kyle Busch won his first pole (2/27/05) and first series win (9/4/05) at ACS in 2005.

·         Greg Biffle (4/28/02) and J.J. Yeley (9/5/04) made their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career starts at Auto Club Speedway.

·         Jimmie Johnson posted his first series career win at Auto Club Speedway on April 28, 2002.

·         Jimmie Johnson (fall of 2009 – spring of 2010) and Kyle Busch (2013, 2014) are the only drivers to win consecutive races at Auto Club Speedway.

·         12 of the 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers who have won at Auto Club Speedway participated in at least two or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Jeff Gordon (1997 – inaugural event) and Jimmie Johnson (2002) are the only drivers to win at ACS in their first appearance.

·         Tony Stewart competed at Auto Club Speedway 18 times before winning in the fall of 2010; the longest span of any the 14 winners. Only Stewart (18) and Kevin Harvick (17) have made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Auto Club Speedway.

·         Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads all active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Auto Club Speedway without visiting Victory Lane at 22.

·         Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Auto Club Speedway was the (3/27/2011) race won by Kevin Harvick with a MOV of 0.144 second over Jimmie Johnson.

·         Three reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions have gone on to win at Auto Club Speedway the following season: Tony Stewart (2012), Jeff Gordon (1999) and Jimmie Johnson – the only one to do it multiple times (2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010).

·         Two drivers have won at Auto Club Speedway and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in the same season: Jeff Gordon (1997) and Jimmie Johnson (2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010).

·         Two female drivers have competed at Auto Club Speedway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Shawna Robinson and Danica Patrick.

**Note: Robinson first attempted to qualify for the race at ACS on 4/29/2001 but failed to make the event.

Driver

Starting Position

Finishing Position

Date

Shawna Robinson

43

42

4/28/2002

Danica Patrick

40

26

3/24/2013

Danica Patrick

27

14

3/23/2014

·         Only three car numbers have produced three or more Auto Club Speedway NSCS wins:

Car Number – Drivers – (Years)

o    No. 48  – Jimmie Johnson (2002, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010)

o    No. 17 – Matt Kenseth (2006, 2007 and 2009)

o    No. 24 – Jeff Gordon (1997, 1999 and 2004)

NASCAR in California

·         There have been 137 NASCAR Sprint Cup races among 15 different tracks in California.

·         Auto Club Speedway has hosted the second most NSCS events among active California tracks.

Track Name

City

NSCS

Riverside International Raceway

Riverside

48

Sonoma Raceway

Sonoma

26

Auto Club Speedway

Fontana

25

Ontario Motor Speedway

Ontario

9

California State Fairgrounds

Sacramento

6

Carrell Speedway

Gardena

4

Ascot Stadium

Los Angeles

3

Bay Meadows Race Track

San Mateo

3

Marchbanks Speedway

Hanford

3

Oakland Stadium

Oakland

3

Redwood Speedway

Eureka

2

Willow Springs Speedway

Lancaster

2

Capitol Speedway

Sacramento

1

Merced Fairgrounds

Merced

1

Santa Clara Fairgrounds

San Jose

1

NASCAR in California

·         431 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as California.

·         39 drivers from California have won at least one race in NASCAR’s three national series. 25 of the 39 California native NASCAR winners have won in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Driver

NSCS

NXS

NCWTS

Jeff Gordon

92

5

0

Jimmie Johnson

71

1

0

Kevin Harvick

30

45

14

Marvin Panch

17

0

0

Ernie Irvan

15

3

0

Dick Rathmann

13

0

0

Dan Gurney

5

0

0

Eddie Gray

4

0

0

Parnelli Jones

4

0

0

Eddie Pagan

4

0

0

Robby Gordon

3

1

0

Ray Elder

2

0

0

Danny Letner

2

0

0

Marvin Porter

2

0

0

AJ Allmendinger

1

2

0

Dick Brooks

1

0

0

Marvin Burke

1

0

0

Jim Cook

1

0

0

Lou Figaro

1

0

0

Danny Graves

1

0

0

Johnny Mantz

1

0

0

Casey Mears

1

1

0

Bill Norton

1

0

0

John Soares

1

0

0

Danny Weinberg

1

0

0

Ron Hornaday Jr

0

4

51

Kyle Larson

0

2

1

Jason Leffler

0

2

1

David Gilliland

0

1

0

Ryan Reed

0

1

0

Joe Ruttman

0

1

13

Boris Said

0

1

1

Mike Skinner

0

1

28

Matt Crafton

0

0

6

Cole Custer

0

0

1

Justin Lofton

0

0

1

Tyler Reddick

0

0

1

Scott Speed

0

0

1

Brandon Whitt

0

0

1

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Posted on by

Dewar: ‘Globalization is a key initiative for NASCAR’

Daytona Beach, Fla. (March 16, 2015) – NASCAR announced today it has signed a seven-year media broadcast extension with FOX Sports Latin America, ensuring that sports fans in Latin America can continue to enjoy NASCAR events and news on FOX Sports through 2021.

Through this extension, FOX Sports Latin America will continue to be the home of live races for all three of NASCAR‘s national series – the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™, NASCAR XFINITY Series™ and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™ – across Latin America, including Brazil. Additional NASCAR programming on FOX Sports Latin America includes the NASCAR K&N Pro Series™.

"Globalization is a key initiative for NASCAR, and there is no question that partnering with FOX Sports Latin America has been integral to the sport’s growth in this region over the past several years," said Brent Dewar, NASCAR chief operating officer. "In addition to ensuring the presence of NASCAR racing content for existing fans for the next seven years, this extension will allow NASCAR and FOX to build upon the work that’s already been done in cultivating NASCAR fans in Latin America."

All NASCAR content will air exclusively on FOX Sports 3 in Spanish speaking countries in Latin America and on FOX Sports 2 in Brazil. In addition, FOX Sports’ original production "Central FOX Nitro," – a daily motorsports news show – will feature NASCAR news and highlights.

"We are thrilled to continue to offer NASCAR fans in Latin America the best quality of NASCAR race content across different FOX Sports portfolio of media services," said Carlos Martinez, president of FOX International Channels Latin America. "This long term deal with NASCAR represents our commitment to an exceptional partner and we know that it will yield great value to all of our Latin American viewers."

FOX Sports is the leading sports cable television network in Latin America and has been broadcasting NASCAR races since 2002. The network, which reaches more than 60 million homes in 19 countries in Latin America, is focused on sports-related programming including events, sports news, sports talk shows and other original content.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

JGR driver has been splitting time in Nos. 20 and 54 cars

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AVONDALE, Ariz. — Erik Jones sure knows how to make an entrance.

Five races into his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in 2013, he scored his first national series win. Seven races into his NASCAR XFINITY Series career, he earned his first top-five. Both came at Phoenix International Raceway with the latter coming in last Saturday’s Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200.

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Jones earned a top-five finish at the 1-mile oval, filling in for the injured Kyle Busch in the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota. The result was even more welcome as it came a week after late contact from Ryan Blaney derailed his chances for a win and a top-five at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

"It’s nice to finally get the finishes I thought we deserved," Jones said. "We struggled with getting caught up in people’s messes early on."

Jones qualified third for the race and spent much of the opening half of the race in the top five. Other teams’ strategy plays saw Jones cycle back to ninth on Lap 120 before he made a charge of his own to get back into the top five by Lap 150. From there, he had to hold off points leader Ty Dillon for the final spot in the top five.

"The Monster Energy Camry was fast — just got behind on adjustments all day. We were tight early and freed it up and just got too free. On the last stop, we wanted to go back and make sure it was going to be snug enough because on those restarts you have to try to get so much and when you’re free you just can’t make anything happen."

Fast pit road times did benefit Jones. He spent the second-lowest amount of time on pit road (2:00:001 for an average of 40.000 seconds during his three stops).

The young driver is no stranger to success at Phoenix. He now has two finishes of fifth and sixth in the XFINITY Series as well as two wins in the Camping World Truck Series at the track.

"It always helps when you have experience at a place, especially confidence with a race win. I definitely think it helped me out a little bit."

The 18-year-old is running full-time in the Camping World Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports, while running a part-time slate in the XFINITY Series for Joe Gibbs Racing.

In the XFINITY Series, Jones is bouncing between the Nos. 20 and 54 Toyota, due to Busch’s recovery from a compound fracture to his right lower leg and a mid-foot fracture of his left foot suffered in a late-race accident in the XFINITY opener at Daytona. Busch’s injury led to Jones picking up a few more XFINITY starts until his mentor returns.

"We’ve been fortunate enough to run every race. So far, it’s been fairly easy. The only roadblock, I guess you’d say, would be switching between the 54 and the 20, which really hasn’t been too big of a deal. Two great race teams. When you go back and forth, it definitely makes it easier when your cars are fast."

Jones will be back behind the wheel of the No. 20 XFINITY Series Toyota on March 21 at Auto Club Speedway for the Drive4Clots.com 300 (4 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1). His next turn in the No. 54 will come at Richmond International Raceway in April.

"It’s nice to finally get a finish after having a couple rough weeks and then come back and hopefully gives us some momentum going into Fontana next weekend."

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Posted on by RJ Kraft

Rash of late cautions derailed No. 2 team’s Phoenix plan


RELATED: Full race results | Updated series standings

AVONDALE, Ariz. — With Kevin Harvick‘s desert dominance on everyone’s mind, strategy plays were the tactic of choice to potentially break up his monopoly.

The No. 2 team of Brad Keselowski tried its hand with two such ploys, but it ultimately wasn’t enough with how the cautions fell in the CampingWorld.com 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday.

Keselowski finished sixth, while Harvick won his second straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of the season and fourth straight at the 1-mile oval. Afterward, Keselowski lamented the fact that Chevrolet teams seem to have a little more speed than the other manufacturers right now.

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"We just didn’t quite have enough speed," Keselowski said. "I thought we were about a third- or fourth-place car and got shuffled to finish where we did. It was a great effort. We have to keep working to find more speed. There are a lot of Chevys up there and we need to get our Fords running a tiny bit better."



Team Penske‘s No. 2 crew made two crucial strategy calls during the race. One worked out well, while circumstances disrupted the other.



A caution on Lap 117 saw all the front-runners come down pit road, and Keselowski and crew chief Paul Wolfe decided to take two tires. That lifted the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion from fourth place to the lead.

From there the 31-year-old was out front for 52 laps — 41 more than he had led in the season’s previous three events. Through three races last year, Keselowski had led 69 laps and already had a race win to his credit.

"We had that one run where we got out to the lead and led like 50 laps which was second to Harvick, that is something here," Keselowski said.



Keselowski gave up the lead for good on Lap 171, but spent the next 50-plus laps in the top three.

During his pit stop after the race’s seventh caution on Lap 227, Keselowski shook up the strategy some more. This time, pitting from third place, Wolfe and Co. elected to put on four tires. The No. 2 restarted in 17th place on Lap 234, with the hope being a lengthy green-flag run would aid their chances of getting back to the front.

However, three more cautions came out between the Lap 234 restart and the finish of the race, allowing drivers on older tires to keep track position near the front. 



Keselowski rose as high as fifth place on Lap 289, but fell back to sixth by the checkered flag as a surging Kurt Busch slipped past him for the final spot in the top five.

"Everybody was on a different strategy it seemed, and it didn’t quite pan out for us to get the third or fourth we deserved but we ran really well," Keselowski said.

For the first time all season, Keselowski led more laps in a race than Team Penske teammate Joey Logano. And despite leading 35 circuits himself, Keselowski’s younger teammate was direct in his assessment about whose car had the upper hand.



"Brad had the better car, for sure," Logano said after his eighth-place finish. "The finishing order kind of showed that."



For Keselowski, the sixth-place result continued his upward trajectory for the season as he has improved on his finish in each race. After a crash in the season-opening Daytona 500 led to his day ending early and a 41st-place result, he has rolled off three consecutive top-10s with a ninth-place finish at Atlanta and a seventh-place finish at Las Vegas.

The Phoenix finish also saw him rise seven spots in the point standings. Still, unlike last year, when the No. 2 crew came out firing with a win and three straight top-three finishes, something seems to be lacking in the early going. Keselowski said he knows exactly what it is.

"We just have to find some more speed," he said. "That is the common theme."

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Posted on by Staff Report

Earnhardt will drive No. 55 Chevrolet at Auto Club Speedway

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Viva Motorsports announced Monday that NASCAR XFINITY Series driver/owner Jamie Dick will sit out this weekend’s race at Auto Club Speedway after being diagnosed with new onset diabetes.
 
Dick, 26, visited the infield care center at Phoenix International Raceway, reporting symptoms of fatigue and dizziness after finishing 28th Saturday in the fourth XFINITY Series race of the season. Medical personnel at the track recommended Dick visit nearby West Valley Hospital in Goodyear, Arizona, that evening.

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According to the team, Dick was released from the hospital Sunday afternoon. The team said he returned to the Charlotte, North Carolina, area for further treatment and evaluation.
 
"I would like to thank everyone for their support during this difficult time," Dick said in a statement released by the team. "It was quite a surprise to hear the diagnosis from the doctors, but the response from the NASCAR and PIR medical staffs was outstanding. The support from the racing community, my Viva Motorsports team, and the fans has been overwhelming. Now I need to learn about this disease and do whatever it takes to get back behind the wheel as soon as possible."
 
Jeffrey Earnhardt, who drove the Viva No. 55 Chevrolet in the other two XFINITY events this season, will fill in for Dick in Saturday’s Drive4Clots.com 300 (4 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1) in Fontana, California.

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Cars will no longer be pointed nose in on pit road

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The tricky tango of rolling a full field of 3,400-pound stock cars with limited rear view into reverse to begin group qualifying is over.
 
NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell said Monday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that a bulletin for the 2015 NASCAR Rule Book would reach teams this week, stating that teams in all three NASCAR national series will start Coors Light and Keystone Light Pole Qualifying pointed nose out. The new procedure would begin with this weekend’s Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series events at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

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NASCAR officials have made several tweaks to the knockout-style group qualifying format since its advent in the 2014 season, but the parking method in the idle time before qualifying sessions had endured. The orientation was first determined in part to allow media better access to the drivers; officials have since allowed media members over the pit wall during breaks in group qualifying.
 
"We did that initially working with everybody that, you guys and the TV partners in terms of access to the drivers," O’Donnell told SiriusXM. "As we’ve gone through it, we’ve learned some different things so we won’t have the cars back in. We’ll send a memo out to the teams this week where we tweak it."
 
O’Donnell said the logistics of placing cool-down units and other equipment within reach of the vehicles and crews also was in development.
 
"As with anything, we keep learning," O’Donnell told SiriusXM. "If we can make it better we will, and it’s just another slight adjustment as we head into California."
 
Officials informed NASCAR teams of the impending alterations last weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. Not everyone was receptive to the change, O’Donnell joked.
 
"I heard a great line from Michael Waltrip," O’Donnell said, referring to the full-time owner and part-time driver who now spends the bulk of his time in the FOX broadcasting booth. "He said he likes to be nosed in because that way when he backs up, it’s not his fault. But when he has to pull straight out, he can get in trouble."

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