This Weekend in NASCAR – California Dreaming

NASCAR’s top two series are in action this weekend at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The NASCAR XFINITY Series is on deck Saturday and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Sunday. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to the track March 28 at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.

Storylines for this weekend follow…

Freaky Fast

Jimmy John’s isn’t kidding.

Kevin Harvick is fast.

Freaky fast.

After back-to-back wins at Las Vegas and Phoenix, the defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion has reeled off seven consecutive top-two finishes since his runner-up showing at Texas on Nov. 2, 2014, including four victories. His streak is the longest since “The King” himself, Richard Petty, pulled off 11 consecutive top twos in 1975.

History helps paint the picture of Harvick’s dominance, but his loop statistics do an even better job of showing just how good Harvick has been throughout his extraordinary run.

During his streak, Harvick has posted a 134.5 driver rating, 23 points higher than the next-best competitor (Joey Logano, 111.5). Additionally, his 3.618 average running position is almost three places higher than Logano’s next highest 6.353 total.

His 802 laps led and 460 fastest laps run more than double the next-highest totals (Jimmie Johnson, 367 laps led; Jeff Gordon 184 fastest laps run).

The No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing driver will look to further his streak in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX).  He owns one victory and a second-place finish in 21 starts at his hometown track.

Right now, Harvick looks unstoppable.

But remember, it’s a long season. Thirty-two races remain.

Auto (Club) Pilot: Johnson Attempts to Continue Success at Fontana

For the second consecutive week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to a track where an active driver holds its wins record.

Last week, it was Kevin Harvick at Phoenix. This week it’s six-time NSCS champion Jimmie Johnson, who heads to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California hoping to collect his sixth victory at the two-mile oval.  Auto Club is one of four tracks where Johnson boasts at least five victories (Dover, 9; Martinsville, 8; Charlotte, 7). It also stands as one of five tracks where he owns the track wins record (Dover, 9; Charlotte, 7; Las Vegas, 4; Texas, 4).

Johnson’s last Los Angeles area victory came in spring of 2010, but the No. 48 Chevrolet driver also claims  12 top fives (60%) and 14 top 10s (70%) in 20 starts at Auto Club.

Going Back to Cali: A Number of Drivers Head Home for West Coast Finale

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is going going, back back to Cali Cali.

Ten drivers return to their home state of California for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California: Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon), Jeff Gordon (Vallejo), AJ Allmendinger (Los Gatos), Kyle Larson (Elk Grove), Casey Mears (Bakersfield), David Gilliland (Riverside), Cole Whitt (Alpine), Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield), Josh Wise (Riverside) and Matt DiBenedetto (Grass Valley).

Jimmie Johnson has been the most “notorious” at the Southern California track with a course-record five checkered flags. A new victor is guaranteed as Kyle Busch – winner of the last two Auto Club races remains out due to injury.

Toyota Time?

Toyota drivers get to showcase their talents on their manufacturers’ United States turf when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California for the Auto Club 400. Toyota has won the last two races at the two-mile track behind the efforts of Kyle Busch. Wheelmen Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, David Ragan and Brian Vickers are all poised to take their Toyotas to Victory Lane. Toyota Racing Development (TRD), USA is located in Costa Mesa – about an hour away from the race track.

Gordon Fontana Finale

Born in Vallejo, California, Jeff Gordon may be racing in the southern part of his home state for the last time in this weekend’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

Gordon claims three victories at Auto Club – including its inaugural race in 1997 – but hasn’t won there since 2004. He will try to build on his first top-10 finish of the season at Phoenix last week, as well as add  to his NSCS-leading two Coors Light Pole Awards.

The track isn’t the only place Gordon has experienced SoCal success. His off-track endeavors also have a Hollywood flare: “Steel Chariots,” “Looney Tunes: Back in Action,” “Taxi,” “Herbie: Fully Loaded” and “Cars 2” (as the voice of Jeff Gorvette). Gordon has starred on the small screen in episodes of “Arli$$,” “Spin City,” “The Drew Carey Show,” “Speed Racer: The Next Generation,” and “The Simpsons.” Comfortable as an entertainer, Gordon hosted an episode of “Saturday Night Live” in 2003 and also co-hosted “Live! with Regis and Kelly multiple times.

Truex Jr. Poised for Big Season

Showing no signs of slowing down from his hot start to the season, Martin Truex Jr. rallied to a seventh-place result at Phoenix, posting his fourth consecutive top-10 finish to open 2015. Truex’s string of top 10s is his longest since 2012 when he recorded separate streaks of five (career high) and four.  That season, the New Jersey native tallied a personal-best 19 top 10s and made his second career Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup appearance.

Coincidentally, Auto Club Speedway was part of Truex’s five-race top-10 streak. He will be visiting the two-mile oval this weekend as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits Fontana, California for the Auto Club 400.  Truex enters the fifth race on the season slate third in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings, trailing second-place Joey Logano by five points and leader Kevin Harvick by 27 points. The No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet driver ranks tied for second in average finish (5.8) and fifth in driver rating (103.8), yet still costs less than $20 on NASCAR.com’s Fantasy Live. HINT: Pick him up while you can.

Newman’s Own

Ryan Newman has started the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season the same way he finished the last one – on a nice little run.

Newman closed the 2014 season with three top fives in the last five races, including a runner-up finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway to capture second place in the final NSCS standings. He has carried that momentum into his 14th full-time NSCS campaign with third-place finishes in his last two races and three top 10s just four races into 2015.

The early speed is a welcome sight for the 37-year-old Chevrolet driver. Last year, he did not log a top five until June 28 at Kentucky Speedway – the 17th event of the season. He has not won a race since his Indianapolis victory on July 28, 2013.

NASCAR  Boasts Long SoCal History

When Bill France Sr. founded NASCAR, he envisioned a stock car series that stretched from coast-to-coast. He worked immediately to make it happen.

In 1951, the NASCAR Grand National Division (today’s Sprint Cup Series) visited Carrell Speedway in Gardena, California three times. The first race, held on April 8, was the first NASCAR venture west of the Mississippi.  Marshall Teague took the checkered flag in his Fabulous Hudson Hornet, the same car he had driven to victory on the famed Daytona beach-road course two months earlier.

From 1958-88, Riverside International Raceway was a West Coast highlight of the NASCAR schedule.  The race was often the first of the calendar year and from 1970-81 was the NASCAR premier series season opener. The list of Riverside race winners reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of motorsports, with NASCAR Hall of Famers Bobby Allison (6), Richard Petty (4), Darrell Waltrip (4), David Pearson (3), Cale Yarborough (3), Rusty Wallace (2) and Bill Elliott (1) winning 24 of the 48 races held at the 2.62-mile road course.

In 1971, NASCAR scheduled its first 500-mile oval race in Southern California at the new Ontario Motor Speedway.  The 2.5-mile track was built as the “Indianapolis of the West,” complete with a rectangular shape and low banking.  Its inaugural race, the 1,000th in premier series history, was won by racing legend A.J. Foyt, who had won three Indianapolis 500s at that point.

Kyle Larson Returns To Auto Club Speedway To Defend Win

Last season, Kyle Larson put on a performance of mastery in the closing laps of the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Auto Club Speedway. The young driver made daring passes in the final laps and fended off the pursuits of veterans Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch to claim his first ever series victory and in turn thrust himself into the NASCAR limelight.

Now running full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Larson has been deemed by his fellow competitors as the ‘next big thing’ and his winning of the 2014 NSCS Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors confirms their assumptions.

Despite his ever growing schedule Larson still makes time for Saturday races and this weekend he will strap into HScott Motorsports with Chip Ganassi’s No. 42 Chevrolet. Don’t be surprised if Larson contends for the win again this season, in two starts at Auto Club his average finish is 3.5. He also leads the series among active drivers in pre-race Driver Rating at ACS with a 113.7.

Solid Start To Season Has Ty Dillon Opening Up Points Lead

Following his fourth consecutive top-10 finish to open the season, Ty Dillon now commands a 14-point lead over second-place Chris Buescher, the biggest points margin following the first four races since 2013 when Sam Hornish Jr. led Justin Allgaier by 22 points.

Dillon’s steady hand has him leading the pack and his Loop Data backs it up. In the first four races he has an Average Running Position of 7.608, has run 97.5% of his laps completed in the top 15 and 97.8% of his laps run on the lead lap – all three are best among series championship contenders. Dillon season-to-date Driver Rating is 102.9 – second only to his brother Austin Dillon (122.2).

On the final leg of the West coast swing, Ty Dillon will lead the series to Auto Club Speedway for the Drive4Clots.com 300 on Saturday, March 21 (FOX Sports 1). Dillon made his series debut at Auto Club last season where he started third and finished eighth.

2014 Series Champ Chase Elliott Continues To Climb The Standings

After kicking the season off with a 28th-place finish at Daytona and burying himself in the points (20th), Chase Elliott has been on a mission climbing back up the standings. In the subsequent three races Elliott has jumped 16 spots to now fourth in the standings, 25 points back from Ty Dillon.

Elliott turned red hot last season from the second to the eighth race on the schedule when he strung together seven consecutive top-10 finishes including his two wins at Texas and Darlington. This season he is looking to do the same and his last three consecutive top 10s have him on track to do just that.

Expect Elliott’s consistency to continue this weekend at Auto Club Speedway; in his series debut at the 2-mile track he posted a solid sixth-place finish.

Elliott’s season-to-date Loop Data supports his recent comeback. He leads the series championship contenders in Green Flag Speed, and has fourth-best Driver Rating (98.9) among championship contenders.

Heavy Hitters Stack Auto Club Speedway Entry List

The level of competition will be fierce this weekend at Auto Club Speedway especially with popular NASCAR Sprint Cup stars like Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson and Sam Hornish Jr. touting the entry list.

When it comes to big names in NASCAR, nobody has flashed across headlines more this season than 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick. Harvick will pilot the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet this weekend at Auto Club Speedway. Harvick has made 18 starts at ACS posting 15 top 10s and an average finish of 6.9. Harvick has yet to win at the 2-mile speedway.

Team Penske has tapped Brad Keselowski to command the owner points leading No. 22 Ford this weekend. Keselowski’s teammate Joey Logano won last weekend at Phoenix catapulting car owner Roger Penske to the owner standings lead by six points over Richard Childress’ No. 33 team. Keselowski has made 12 starts at Auto Club Speedway posting four top fives and five top 10s.

It will be Austin Dillon’s job to reclaim the owner points lead for his grandfather in the No. 33 RCR Chevrolet – which could be a possibility. Dillon has made two starts at Auto Club Speedway and both times he finished fifth. Dillon has been impressive in his stint in the No. 33 this season; he leads the series in season-to-date Driver Rating (122.2), Average Running Position (5.466) and Percentage of Laps Run on the Lead Lap (99.4%).

Denny Hamlin will be substituting for the injured Kyle Busch in the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Joe Gibbs Racing has won nine of the last 10 races at ACS: Kyle Busch (six), Joey Logano (two) and Tony Stewart (one).

Sam Hornish Jr. will be in the No. 98 Biagi Bros. Ford for car owner Fred Biagi. This will be Hornish’s third series start at Auto Club Speedway where he has posted one top-five finish.

I Wish They All Could Be California … Drivers?

California natives have been some of the most successful drivers in NASCAR national series history.

You might recognize names like 6-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champ Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon) or 4-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champ Jeff Gordon (Vallejo) to name a couple. Since the NASCAR XFINITY Series inception in 1982, a total of 69 different drivers from the state of California have competed in at least one series event. This weekend, four drivers from California will compete in the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Auto Club Speedway the Drive4Clots.com 300: Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield), Kyle Larson (Elk Grove), Ryan Reed (Bakersfield) and Stanton Barrett (Bishop).

Of the four entered Reed is the only driver that is running full-time for a NASCAR XFINITY Series title.

“Being only a couple hours from where I grew up, Auto Club is a track I really want to do well at and I would love to get a win there,” said Ryan Reed. “I’m really excited to see all my friends and family this weekend and hope that we have a strong run in our Lilly Diabetes American Diabetes Association Ford Mustang.”

NASCAR In California: NASCAR national series competition has held 189 races at 17 different tracks across the state of California. … The NASCAR XFINITY Series has hosted 25 of the 189 NASCAR national series events in California and all 25 were at Auto Club Speedway. … The first NASCAR XFINITY Series race held at Auto Club Speedway was on Oct. 19, 1997 and won by Todd Bodine. … 431 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as California. … 39 of the 431 drivers from California have won at least one race in NASCAR’s three national series. … 15 of the 39 California native NASCAR winners have won at least one race in the NASCAR XFINITY Series; led by Kevin Harvick with 45. … Kyle Larson is the only California native to win a NASCAR XFINITY Series race in his home state (Auto Club Speedway, 2014).

Exciting Opportunity For Boys & Girls Club of America Youth At ACS

Comcast NBCUniversal has partnered with Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) to offer 60 Club Youth across the country an opportunity to experience the behind-the-scenes excitement of a NASCAR XFINITY Series race and the technology that fuels a national series event. The next step for the program, which launched last month, is this weekend’s race at Auto Club Speedway. Youth in attendance will tour the NASCAR XFINITY Series garage area, learn about NASCAR’s technical inspection areas, explore NASCAR’s Acceleration Nation  in the fan interactive area, meet Richard Childress Racing driver Brendan Gaughan, attend the driver’s meeting and  pre-race ceremonies.  Similar events across the country will send local Club participants to NASCAR XFINITY Series races in Loudon, New Hampshire; Joliet, Illinois; Dover, Delaware; and Fort Worth, Texas throughout the year.

Young Driver Brigade Continues to Impress

For the fifth week in a row the NASCAR XFINITY Series points standings top five is dominated by drivers under the age of 24. The youthful group occupying the top five in points has an average age 21.2.

The elder statesman of the youth contingent is points leader Ty Dillon who just turned 23 years old on Feb. 27th. The second and third positions in the standings belong to Roush Fenway Racing’s Chris Buescher (22 years old) and Ryan Reed (21 years old). The youngest of the group is fourth-place Chase Elliott at the age of 19. And last but not least, Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Darrell Wallace Jr. is at the ripe age of 21.

Sunoco Rookie Update: Wallace The Man To Catch

Darrell Wallace Jr. continues to hold court in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings and this past week he extended his lead by seven points over second-place Daniel Suarez. Suarez moved ahead of Ross Chastain to the second spot in the rookie points following his career best series finish (11th) last weekend at Phoenix.

This will be all three driver’s (Wallace, Suarez, Chastain) series track debut this weekend at Auto Club Speedway.

Rookie Standings Following Phoenix: Darrell Wallace Jr. (46), Daniel Suarez (39), Ross Chastain (38), Cal Conley (32), Harrison Rhodes (24) and Josh Reaume (16).