Auto Club Speedway Weekend Preview
March 17, 2016
Staff Report
NASCAR Wire Service
Close finishes define young season – but none involve Kyle Busch … yet
First, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin beat Martin Truex Jr. to the line by .010 seconds to win the Daytona 500.
Then, Kevin Harvick edged Hamlin’s teammate Carl Edwards at Phoenix – by that same .010 seconds margin.
Two
races, both ranking in the top 10 among the closest finishes in NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series history. In fact, the average margin of victory this
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season
is 0.232 seconds – the closest MOV since NASCAR implemented electronic
timing and scoring in 1993.
Oddly,
despite top-five finishes and laps led in each of the first four races,
none of those finishes have involved Kyle Busch, another member of the
Joe Gibbs Racing stable.
Count on that changing this weekend.
When
Brad Keselowski visited Victory Lane at Auto Club last year after
leading only the last lap, Busch – who took the checkered flag there the
previous two seasons – did not
get to race for his third straight win because he missed the contest
with a broken right leg and fractured left foot.
Sidelined
no more, Busch will get the chance to unseat Keselowski and bring home
his third win in as many starts at Auto Club victory in Sunday's Auto
Club 400 (3:30 p.m. ET
on FOX).
“The
finishes of both of those races were pretty exciting," Busch said about
his last two Southern California starts. "Of course, I won both so that
makes it even better for
me. The track is just down the road from Toyota Racing Development
(TRD) headquarters and our wins there were the first two Sprint Cup wins
for them at their hometown track."
Prior
to his two wins, Busch finished second at Auto Club in 2012 and third
there in 2011. He enters Sunday's contest on an eight-race top-five
finish streak. The 2015 NSCS
champion leads the points standings, but is still searching for his
first win of the season.
“(Auto
Club is) a fast racetrack and you just have to be able to carry a lot
of speed through the corners," Busch said. "You’re in the corner for a
long time, but the more
speed you carry through the turn, the better it makes your
straightaways. It’s a big, fast racetrack and I’m hoping we can get
M&M’S their first win during their 75th anniversary celebration
year.”
Keselowski,
who two weeks ago passed Busch with five laps remaining to capture his
first win of the season at Las Vegas, has similar plans.
"I'm
looking forward to coming back as the defending race winner,"
Keselowski said. "That's always an honor, something you take a lot of
pride in, and you think about last
year's events throughout the weekend. I'm excited about that.
"Of course I want to win it again, so we have to keep our heads down and stay focused as well."
JR Motorsports hopes to continue strong start
JR
Motorsports has two new drivers running full-time schedules, but
continues to post strong results four races into the 2016 season.
The
Dale Earnhardt Jr.-owned organization, which saw Chase Elliott and
Regan Smith move on to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rides, has not missed a
beat with new drivers Elliott
Sadler and Justin Allgaier.
The
duo will try to continue its early-season success in Saturday's NASCAR
XFINITY Series TreatMyClot.com 300 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana,
California (4 p.m. ET on FOX).
Currently
second in the series standings (eight points behind Daniel Suárez),
Sadler owns three top-five and seven top-10 finishes in 11 Auto Club
starts. The No. 1 Chevrolet
driver and Suárez are the only XFINITY Series competitors with a top-10
finish in the first four races.
“It’s
the last week of the West Coast swing and we have high expectations for
this weekend," Sadler said. "We have a nice top-10 streak going and our
cars have a lot of speed.
We’re going to keep working hard to get into Victory Lane.”
Allgaier
ranks fourth in the series standings, a mere 12 points behind Suárez,
on the strength of an 8.2 average finish. He has struggled at Auto Club
with only two top-10
showings in seven starts there, but believes he can get to Victory Lane
on Saturday.
"So
far this West Coast swing has treated us well," said Allgaier, driver
of the No. 7 Chevrolet. "We got our first top five last weekend and we
really just want to keep that
positive momentum going. We’ve had fast cars and Jason (Burdett, crew
chief) has made great calls in the pits. A win this weekend at Fontana
would be the perfect way to wrap up our time out west before we head
into this break.”
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Race: Auto Club 400
Place: Auto Club Speedway
Date and Time: Sunday, March 20 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Tune-in: FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 400 miles (200 laps)
What to Watch For:
Brad Keselowski attempts to win at Auto Club for the second straight
season.
His car owner, Roger Penske, constructed Auto Club Speedway and has two
wins there as an owner. ... Jimmie Johnson, who leads all drivers with
five wins at Auto Club, tries to surpass Dale Earnhardt in the NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series record books with his 77th
career victory. ... Phoenix race winner Kevin Harvick goes for his
second straight checkered flag. ... The average margin of victory in the
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season is 0.232 seconds – the closest margin
of victory since NASCAR began keeping the stat
in 1993. Click here for an infographic detailing this stat.
... Last weekend's runner-up, Carl Edwards, claims the second-best average finish at Auto Club (8.8).
NASCAR XFINITY Series
Race: TreatMyClot.com 300 by Jannsen
Place: Auto Club Speedway
Date and Time: Saturday, March 19 at 4 p.m. ET
Tune-in: FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 300 miles (150 laps)
What to Watch For:
Daniel Suárez looks to extend his eight-point standings lead over
Elliott Sadler.
... Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Erik Jones goes for his fourth
straight top-three finish. ... Kyle Busch will attempt win his fourth
consecutive NASCAR XFINITY Series race, tying a series record set by Sam
Ard in 1983.
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