NASCAR SPRINT CUP AT AUTO CLUB

This weekend, NASCAR shifts from one of its smallest tracks – Bristol Motor Speedway – to one of its biggest – Auto Club Speedway.

Auto Club Speedway, a two-miler, offers the fifth different track-size in as many weeks, a challenge to each driver’s skill and versatility.
Up first this weekend is the NASCAR Nationwide Series, running the 13th Annual Royal Purple 300 on Saturday.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing wraps up the weekend, with Sunday’s 15th Annual Auto Club 400 – a race that’ll see a ratcheted-up sense of urgency. This one’s 50 laps -- 100 miles – shorter than past spring races at Auto Club Speedway.
And for the first time since 2005, there have been four different winners in the first four races. Competitive balance is high, especially when you consider that last year’s top winners – Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson – have yet to triumph.
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
Home, Sweet Home For Five-Time
From Auto Club Speedway, five-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson has about a two-hour drive to his native El Cajon, Calif.
Usually, he makes a stop at Victory Lane sometime during the trip.
Johnson leads all drivers with five victories at the Fontana track. He has won three of the last five races, and has a series-leading Driver Rating of 124.2, making ACS his best track in terms of the Loop Data statistic.
Seven California natives in all will make a home state return this weekend: Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, AJ Allmendinger, David Gilliland, Robby Gordon and Casey Mears.
Menard Enjoying Life With New Team
Paul Menard is the surprise success story of the season thus far.
Menard has never finished higher than 23rd in the points, yet currently sits fifth – the best points position of his career.
Every week, he impresses – and improves. On a team with past Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup participants such as Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton, Menard has consistently earned the top finish. He has been the top-finishing Richard Childress Racing driver in three of the four races this season.
At Bristol, he led 35 laps, the highest single-race total of his career. This weekend presents another new challenge for Menard. In eight career Auto Club Speedway races, Menard has just one finish in the top 20 – an 18th last February.
Passing Thought: Competition Up At ACS
Both Auto Club Speedway races last season featured Loop Data-era highs in passing. The first race saw a total of 3,849 green flag passes, the most since the inception of Loop Data in 2005. That mark almost fell in October, when there were 3,839 passes.
Passing up front was also high. In the February event, there were 35 green flag passes for the lead all around the track. In October, there were 30. Combined, there were 65 green flag passes for the lead last season at Auto Club Speedway, the highest two-race total since NASCAR started taking passing stats in 2005.
Getting To The Points: Interesting Storylines Throughout Standings
Scan down the entire length of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings, and there’s a story for each spot.
At the very top sits Kurt Busch, the only driver to score a top-10 finish in all four races this season. But his lead is scant – just a single point ahead of Carl Edwards. Edwards, too, has enjoyed a blazing start, with a win and two runner-up finishes.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. moved up a spot, from 10th to ninth.
Some surprises in the top 15: the aforementioned Paul Menard in fifth, Martin Truex Jr. in 10th and Bobby Labonte in 14th.
Just as fascinating are the names outside the top 20. The list includes three 2010 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup members: Greg Biffle (23rd), Clint Bowyer (24th) and Jeff Burton (29th). Then there’s Joey Logano, who some considered a preseason favorite to make the Chase, sitting in 30th. Brian Vickers has shown some rust (and had some horrible luck) in his 2011 return. He is 31st in the points standings.
Last Chance To Build Top 35 Cushion
For the first five races, the 2010 owner points are used when awarding top 35 teams guaranteed status to each race.
Auto Club Speedway hosts race No. 5. After Sunday, the 2011 points will be used.
That presents some interesting storylines all around the top-35 bubble. Casey Mears and his No. 13 Germain Racing Toyota has had to qualify on speed for the first five races, and now sits directly on the bubble, in 35th. Mears is one point ahead of Dave Blaney and the No. 36 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet, in 36th.
A few marquee teams are perilously close to the bubble. Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet sit 30th, 23 points ahead of the cut-off. Joey Logano and the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota are also 23 points up. Brian Vickers and the No. 83 Red Bull Racing Toyota are just 18 points ahead of the cut-off.