Fast Facts NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Next Race: Auto Club 400 The Place: Auto Club Speedway The Date: Sunday, March 23 The Time: 3 p.m. (ET) TV: FOX, 2:30 p.m. (ET) Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90 Distance: 400 miles (200 laps) NASCAR Nationwide Series Next Race: TreatMyClot 300 The Place: Auto Club Speedway The Date: Saturday, March 22 The Time: 5 p.m. (ET) TV: ESPN, 4:30 p.m. (ET) Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90 Distance: 300 miles (150 laps) NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Next Race: KROGER 250 The Place: Martinsville Speedway The Date: Saturday, March 29 The Time: 1:30 p.m. (ET) TV: FOX Sports 1, 1 p.m. (ET) Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90 Distance: 250 miles (131.5 laps) Edwards Makes It Four-For-Four; Is Johnson Next? It’s win-and-you’re-in … and with his victory at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday night, Carl Edwards more than likely locked himself into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. But, with a bevy of different winners so far this season, there’s a key phrase in the above sentence: “more than likely.” If there are more than 15 winners in the first 26 races, all bets are off – a race winner could be left out of the Chase. But again, it’s unlikely. Last year, there were five different winners to start the season – and the regular season still ended with “only” 13 different winners in the first 26 races. The record is 10 different winners to start a season, in 2000. In other words, if you have won a race, rest easy. You’re likely going to make the Chase Grid come lap 400 at Richmond in September. So, if there’s another new winner, who’s the best guess this weekend? It all starts with Jimmie Johnson. Johnson, an El Cajon, Calif., native, has won a record five races at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. Johnson also has the most top fives (12), most top 10s (14), most laps led (851), top driver rating (119.6) and best average start (9.6) and finish (5.7). He’s good there. The six-time champion has finished in the top 10 in 10 of the last 11 races; his worst finish during that stretch was a 12th last season. And, seemingly, he’s due. He has finished in the top six in three of the first four races this season – and probably would’ve notched another top 10 if not for a tire issue at Bristol. He’s tallied double-digit laps led figures in three of the four races, and scored triple-digit driver ratings in three of the four. ‘Smoke’ Billows After Bristol Top Five To start the season, the Twitter hashtag celebrating Tony Stewart’s return to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition was #StandWithSmoke. And soon, fans may be standing with him in Victory Lane. After scraping off some rust in the first three races of the season – he finished 35th, 16th and 33rd – Stewart blistered through the field at the end of Sunday’s race at Bristol to finish fourth. Now, after missing 15 races last year because of a broken leg, we may see Stewart win a race – maybe as soon as Sunday at Auto Club Speedway. Stewart has won two of the last three races at Auto Club Speedway. Over the last six ACS races, he finished in the top 10 four times. The three-time series champion’s new found momentum – and positivity – has a lot to do with the growing pains of life with a new crew chief, in this case, Chad Johnston. Johnston had called the shots for Martin Truex Jr. for the past three seasons. Now, a chemistry is building with his new driver. “It’s something I needed, for sure,” Stewart said after the Bristol race. “Obviously for Chad and I to work together for the first time for four or five races into the season and be able to get a top-five at Bristol, that is pretty big for us. We had a really good car, very balanced and very drivable. Chad just kept working on it all day and making it better for us.” Bouncing Back: Earnhardt Eyes Auto Club To Get Back On Track Something, Bristol provided a speed bump in an otherwise dreamlike season for Dale Earnhardt Jr. But there’s always another race. In Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway, Earnhardt will try to rebound from his first finish outside the top two (he finished 24th at Bristol). In 21 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at the two-mile speedway, his best finish is a pair of second-place showings. His first runner-up showing came in September 2006 with the second one coming last March. In 2012, he finished third. With the natural progression of his improvement over his last two trips to Auto Club, one might want to believe that Earnhardt’s due for a win. This thinking might not be too far from the truth, as Earnhardt was in contention to win late in the Phoenix and Las Vegas races. His Daytona win and the new Chase qualifying format where a win all but guarantees a driver a spot in the postseason has allowed him to race all out for the win every weekend. Earnhardt did win the 1998 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Auto Club, so he knows what it takes to win at the track. 2014 Sunoco Rookie Of The Year Battle Heats Up Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon completed their first 500-lap race at Bristol Motor Speedway, finishing 10th and 11th, respectively; with Larson taking Sunoco Rookie Of The Race honors for the second time this year. Though Dillon leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings, his lead is shrinking. He currently holds a six-point lead over Larson, down from eight after Las Vegas – his largest cushion of the season. Larson’s strong performance at Bristol put the rest of the field on high alert – though it’s his first season, he’s for real. Larson contended for the win in final 100 laps at Bristol, scoring a driver rating (104.5) that ranked fourth best. Can he back up this strong performance in his home state of California? Auto Club Speedway has been a site for big name first-time winners in the past. California native Jimmie Johnson scored his first Sprint Cup win as a ROY contender in his first start at Auto Club Speedway in 2002. Kyle Busch won his first NSCS Coors Light Pole Award and his first NSCS race at Auto Club Speedway as a ROY contender in 2005. None of this year’s ROY contenders have started a NSCS race at Auto Club Speedway. Dillon, Larson and Parker Kligerman are the only rookie contenders to post top-10 finishes at Auto Club Speedway in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Larson, a native of Elk Grove, Calif., posted a sixth-place finish in his only NNS start at what he considers to be his home track. Dillon finished fifth in each of his two NNS starts at Auto Club Speedway. No Sophomore Slump For Stenhouse During the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. managed to post one top five, three top 10s, and a highest finish of third. Through four races of the 2014 season Stenhouse Jr. has already posted one top five, two top 10s, and a highest finish of second. This year’s stats for Stenhouse seem are more comparable to his stats in the NASCAR Nationwide Series than any of his stats from last year’s rookie season. So what’s different this year about the No.17 Roush-Fenway Ford? Crew chief Mike Kelley. Stenhouse and Kelley enjoyed the success of two NASCAR Nationwide Series championships and eight NNS wins from 2011 to 2012. During this past off-season Stenhouse and Kelley requested to work together once again, this time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The duo knew this request would bring added attention, and added pressure. So far it has paid off. Prior to the season Stenhouse discussed the addition of Kelley to his team, “We’re really looking forward to having Mike back on the pit box with me. Mike Kelley and I get along so well and have that good chemistry that you need in a race team, so I’m really looking forward to getting to the track with him.” Four races in, his enthusiasm is just as high. “Its been nice working with Mike and the guys again. Were having a lot of fun. Were just slowly working and getting better and better.” With confidence levels at an all-time high for Stenhouse Jr., look for him to be strong at Auto Club Speedway. Stenhouse Jr. and Kelley recorded top fives in both of their NNS starts together at the two-mile track. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Etc. Nine California natives are on the entry list for the Auto Club 400: Johnson (El Cajon), Jeff Gordon (Vallejo), AJ Allmendinger (Los Gatos), Larson (Elk Grove), Casey Mears (Bakersfield), David Gilliland (Riverside), Cole Whitt (Alpine), Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield), Josh Wise (Riverside). … Last year’s Auto Club Speedway winner Kyle Busch needs 67 laps led this weekend at Auto Club – a feat he’s accomplished five times at the two-mile track – to become the 15th driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to log 10,000 laps led. … Travis Kvapil will attempt to reach two milestones in one: 250 NASCAR Sprint Cup starts and 400 NASCAR national series starts. Rarefied Air: Joe Gibbs Racing Goes For Unprecedented Record In Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series TreatMyClot 300 at Auto Club Speedway, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Elliott Sadler have the opportunity to reach double digits – that is, win Joe Gibbs Racing’s 10th consecutive race at ACS. In February 2008, Tony Stewart, in his final season with Joe Gibbs Racing, gave team owner Joe Gibbs his first victory at the two-mile track in Fontana, Calif. What happened next was unprecedented and unlike anything else anyone had seen before in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. JGR’s drivers reeled off win after win at the track located about an hour east of Los Angeles. In March 2013, Busch took home the last trophy at Auto Club for JGR’s ninth straight win. Between Stewart’s 2008 and Busch’s victory last season, Joey Logano captured two checkered flags at the track while Busch claimed the other six. Stewart and Logano have since moved on to other organizations and have been replaced by NASCAR Nationwide title contender Sadler, who is currently fifth in the series standings, and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular Kenseth. Since all three JGR drivers in Saturday’s race have at least one national series victory at Auto Club, it is very possible that the streak is extended. Although Sadler has never won a NNS event at the track – his best outcome is a pair of fifth-place finishes – he was victorious in the Sept. 2004 Sprint Cup race. Kenseth has compiled four victories at the track in the NNS, most recently in February 2004. He has also visited the track’s Victory Lane three times in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. All seven of his wins came with Roush Fenway Racing – the team he left to come to JGR prior to the 2013 season. With 10 total victories among the three national series, Busch reigns supreme in Fontana, especially in Nationwide where he’s racked up six wins. He has two wins apiece in the NASCAR Camping World Truck and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Busch and Kenseth are 1-2 atop the NNS wins list at Auto Club. Buckle Up, The Title Hunt Is About To Hit Overdrive This season’s NASCAR Nationwide Series championship battle is already heating up. Need proof? Heading into Auto Club Speedway for the TreatMyClot 300, the fifth race of 2014, one point separates Regan Smith and second-place Trevor Bayne. This time last year, Sam Hornish Jr. held a 22-point advantage over second-place Justin Allgaier. Of course, things change throughout the season and Austin Dillon, who was sixth at this point last year, ultimately was crowned the series champion in November. By season’s end, Hornish was second with Allgaier fifth. Last year, 34 points separated the top six heading into Auto Club. This season, the top-eight drivers are separated by a margin of 34 with Smith, Bayne, Ty Dillon, Chase Elliott, Elliott Sadler, Brendan Gaughan, Brian Scott and James Buescher making up the top eight. What does all this mean? This year’s championship conversation will likely include more drivers, and the points race will likely be tighter. In 14 national series starts at Auto Club, Smith’s best finish came in the Nationwide event last year where he finished third. The finish was only his second top 10 at the track, the first (a ninth-place finish) coming in the previous year’s Nationwide race. In six series starts, Smith’s average finish is 20.5. Bayne has made six Nationwide starts in Fontana and has six top-20 finishes. His best finish was sixth in 2011. In March 2013, Bayne posted his second top-10 finish at the track, placing ninth. Want Close Competition? Check Out The Rookie Class Four races into the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series season, Ty Dillon and Chase Elliott are proving why they’re the early frontrunners for the series’ Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. With the series headed to California for Saturday’s TreatMyClot 300, Dillon and Elliott are tied atop the rookie standings with 51 points apiece. Dylan Kwasniewski is third, 14 points back. Both drivers have had stellar starts to their rookie campaigns with neither finishing outside the top 15 in the season’s first four races. Dillon, who is currently third in the championship standings, finished a season-best sixth last week in Bristol. His lowest finish in the first four races was 11th in Las Vegas. One spot behind Dillon in the championship standings is Elliott, who has compiled three top 10s and a 15th-place finish in four races. Dillon and Elliott have never competed in a NASCAR national series event at Auto Club. NASCAR Nationwide Series Etc. Five drivers return to their home state for Saturday’s TreatMyClot 300 in Fontana, Calif.: Matt DiBenedetto (Grass Valley), Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield), Kyle Larson (Elk Grove), Ryan Reed (Bakersfield) and Josh Wise (Riverside). Peters Among Contingent Of Drivers Headed To Martinsville For Testing Testing is always part of team preparation, and for several NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams, they are taking advantage of testing at Martinsville Speedway this week. Timothy Peters and his Red Horse Racing team will be one of several teams testing in preparation for the KROGER 250 on Saturday, March 29. Peters has one win at the track in 16 starts with his lone victory coming in 2009 – his first season for current owner Tom DeLoach. Peters also has one career pole at the .526-mile track, coming in October 2012. While this might be just another race for several drivers, competing at one of NASCAR’s oldest tracks has special meaning for drivers like Peters. A resident of nearby Danville, Va., Peters has 16 of his 163 career starts in the series at his home track – more than any other track for the truck series veteran. This will be his 13th consecutive truck start at the track and during that span his average finish has been 12.0. Peters has picked up 10 top-10 finishes at Martinsville and has exceled at short tracks, picking up five of his seven career wins at tracks under one-mile. And he’s enjoyed recent success – especially in the upcoming spring event. Peters finished fourth in Martinsville last March and enters next week’s race with a streak of four consecutive top-five finishes in the annual spring event. He’ll be joined by teammate German Quiroga and Brian Ickler at the test with several more teams including HAAS Racing, DGM Racing, Win-Tron Racing, and NTS Motorsports also scheduled to turn laps at the paper-clip shaped half-mile in Southern Virginia. Martinsville: One Of The Truck Series’ Original Tracks Martinsville Speedway\ is set to host the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the 31st time on March 29, second only to Texas Motor Speedway (32 races). Former series champion Mike Skinner, Kevin Harvick and Dennis Setzer lead all drivers with three wins at the track with four previous race winners scheduled to compete in the KROGER 250. Johnny Sauter leads that group with a pair of wins; Ron Hornaday Jr., Timothy Peters and last fall’s winner Darrell Wallace Jr. complete the list. While there are several drivers looking for their second Grandfather clock – the popular trophy awarded to Martinsville race winners -- others will be looking for their first. Among those will be Ryan Blaney, Jeb Burton, Ben Kennedy Erik Jones and German Quiroga. All five drivers scored a top-seven finish at Martinsville last season, with Burton the only driver to finish in the top five in both events coming home third in both races at his home track. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Etc.: NTS Motorsports has named Chase Pistone as driver for the No. 14 Chevrolet in 14 events this season. Pistone, the grandson of two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner Tiger Tom Pistone, will make his first start with the team at Martinsville Speedway on March 29. … Kyle Busch Motorsports signed Dollar General as a sponsor for four truck races (Kentucky, Bristol and Chicagoland with Kyle Busch and Phoenix with Erik Jones). … Performance Instruction and Training, a Moorsesville, N.C. facility to train potential pit crew members, has received a license by the North Carolina Board of Community Colleges. The facility was created by Red Horse Racing owner Tom DeLoach and former crew chief and current FOX Sports NASCAR analyst Jeff Hammond. K&N West Joins National Series In SoCal The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will join the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series in Southern California this week with the NAPA Auto Parts 150 at Irwindale Speedway. Irwindale, just 36 miles down I-210 from Auto Club Speedway, is a half-mile short-track jewel that features weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing and has played host to the K&N Pro Series West 21 times since 1999. The NAPA Auto Parts 150 will be Race No. 2 on the 2014 schedule for the K&N West, which opened on Feb. 27 at Phoenix International Raceway. Greg Pursley was victorious in the West’s last trip to Irwindale in 2011. After a trip to Bristol Motor Speedway, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will head to another historic half-mile this Saturday for the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 at Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway, where Brandon Gdovic is the defending race winner. Last week series veteran Eddie MacDonald took the checkers at Bristol to end Daniel Suàrez’s four-race winning streak (2-East, 2-NASCAR Mexico Toyota Series) and Gray Gaulding moved to the points lead, four points ahead of fellow NASCAR Next driver Suàrez, after three events. JR Bertuccio scored a surprise victory in NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour action last Saturday at Southern National Motorsports Park in Lucama, N.C. It was Bertuccio’s first triumph in 56 combined starts between NASCAR’s two Whelen Modified Tours. After two events Bertuccio leads Andy Seuss by a single point in the standings while three-time defending champion George Brunnhoelzl III is five points back.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 23:06:53 +0000
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