This Weekend in NASCAR – Auto Club Speedway

NASCAR Cup Series

• Next Race: Pala Casino 400
• The Place: Auto Club Speedway
• The Date: Sunday, February 26
• The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
• The Purse: $8,484,302
• TV: FOX, 2:30 p.m. ET
• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 400 miles (200 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 65), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 130), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)

NASCAR Xfinity Series

• Next Race: Production Alliance Group 300
• The Place: Auto Club Speedway
• The Date: Saturday, February 25 / POSTPONED BY RAIN TO SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26
• The Time: 5 p.m. ET (Saturday), approx.
• The Purse: $1,659,396
• TV: FS1, 4 p.m. ET
• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 300 miles (150 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 35), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 70), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 150)

NASCAR Cup Series

Last chance to catch NASCAR on the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway

With the announcement that this weekend’s Pala Casino 400 (Feb. 26 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will be the last NASCAR Cup Series race on the 2-mile configuration, the anticipation for a spectacular final event is steadily growing. Planning continues for a proposed half-mile short track located on a portion of the speedway’s current property, but the timing for the commencement of that project remains uncertain making this weekend that much more special.

The 2023 Pala Casino 400 will be the 33rd time the NASCAR Cup Series has competed at the paved 2-mile oval located in Fontana, California. The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway took place on June 22, 1997, and was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon driving the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet.

In total, 172 different drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway producing 21 different pole winners and 18 different race winners. Kurt Busch leads the series all-time in poles at Auto Club Speedway with four (2015, 2007, and 2006 sweep), and Jimmie Johnson leads the series in wins with six (2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016).

Five of the 21 NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club Speedway pole winners are active this weekend, led by Denny Hamlin with three poles (2009, 2012, 2013).

Six of the 18 NASCAR Cup Series race winners at Auto Club Speedway are active this weekend, led by Kyle Busch with four victories (2005, 2013, 2014, 2019).

All the NASCAR Cup Series on-track activity begins with practice and Busch Light Pole Qualifying on Saturday, Feb. 25 and both events will be televised on FS1 starting at 2 p.m. ET.

JTG Daugherty DAYTONA 500 victory was big for the organization

JTG Daugherty Racing accomplished a few feats this past weekend at Daytona International Speedway.

First, owner Brad Daugherty became the first African American car owner in the NASCAR Cup Series to win the DAYTONA 500.

Secondly, JTG Daugherty Racing grabbed their second NASCAR Cup Series career victory with the DAYTONA 500 win last weekend, snapping a 482-race winless streak dating back to 2011 when the organization got its first victory with driver A.J. Allmendinger at Watkins Glen International. With the win, they became the first single-car team to win the DAYTONA 500 since the Wood Brothers in 2011.

And last but not least, with the win to open the season JTG Daugherty Racing has earned a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Owner Playoffs, and it is just the second time the organization has qualified for the postseason (2011, 2023) in the series.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. earns infamy with DAYTONA 500 win, plus a trip to the Playoffs

No bigger race to win than the DAYTONA 500 and JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. found this out firsthand on Sunday and the following days. Not only did Stenhouse grab the third victory of his career snapping a 199-race winless streak, but also secured his spot in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs – which will be his first appearance in the postseason since 2017.

Now, the Olive Branch, Mississippi native, Stenhouse, heads to Auto Club Speedway looking to become the sixth different driver to win the first two races of a NASCAR Cup Series season; joining Marvin Panch in 1957 (Lancaster, Concord), Bob Welborn in 1959 (Daytona, Champion), David Pearson in 1976 (Riverside, Daytona), Jeff Gordon in 1997 (Daytona, Rockingham) and Matt Kenseth (Daytona, Auto Club). Stenhouse has made nine career starts at Auto Club Speedway posting one top-five and two top-10s. His average finish on the 2-mile track is 17.5.

Joey Logano back on top of Cup point standings just like he ended 2022

Team Penske’s Joey Logano finished the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season as the champion on top of the point standings and following the season-opener of 2023 at Daytona, the 32-year-old finds himself back atop the points right where he left off. Following Daytona, Logano holds a two-point lead over RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher in second.

Logano finished a close second to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the 2023 DAYTONA 500 earning 42 points on the day, but the Connecticut native managed to win the Duel he was in last week, and in doing so earned an additional 10 points to catapult him to the standings lead heading to Auto Club Speedway.

Logano will look to keep the early season success flowing this weekend at Auto Club Speedway where he has made 15 series career starts, posting seven top fives and eight top 10s. He finished fifth in the NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club Speedway race last season.

Californian Kyle Larson returns to Auto Club Speedway to defend his last season win

Hailing from Elk Grove, California, Kyle Larson returns to his home state to defend his last season NASCAR Cup Series win at Auto Club Speedway, located in Fontana, California about 420 miles south of Larson’s hometown.

Kyle Larson is looking to become just the third different driver to win back-to-back victories at Auto Club Speedway; joining Jimmie Johnson (2009-2010) and Kyle Busch (2013-2014).

If Larson were to win this weekend, he would extend Hendrick Motorsport’s all-time record for the most NASCAR Cup Series wins at Auto Club Speedway to 13 victories. Larson is one of five Hendrick drivers to win at Auto Club Speedway – 12 victories – Jeff Gordon (1997, 1999, 2004), Kyle Busch (2005), Jimmie Johnson (2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016), Alex Bowman (2020), Kyle Larson (2022).

Larson has made eight career starts at Auto Club Speedway posting one pole, two wins, and four top-fives. His average finish at Fontana is 13.0.

Harvick to make 750th consecutive NASCAR Cup Series career start this weekend

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick will reach a career milestone this weekend, as he will be making his 750th consecutive NASCAR Cup Series career start at Auto Club Speedway, becoming just the third different driver to accomplish the feat.

Kevin Harvick is ranked third on the NASCAR Cup Series all-time consecutive starts list, behind only Jeff Gordon with 797 consecutive Cup starts from 1992-2015 and Ricky Rudd with 788 consecutive Cup starts from 1981-2005. Harvick’s streak of consecutive starts began on April 21, 2002, at Talladega Superspeedway.

Harvick has made 28 series career starts at Auto Club Speedway posting one win (2011), seven top fives, and 14 top 10s.

Among active drivers, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. has the next longest active streak of consecutive starts in the NASCAR Cup Series behind Kevin Harvick with 613.

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill goes back-to-back at Daytona

It seems that Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill has made himself very comfortable in Victory Lane at Daytona International Speedway as he just won his second consecutive season opener in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in a dramatic overtime finish.

Not only does he have two Daytona wins under his belt in the Xfinity Series, but he also won the season opener in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series in 2019 at the 2.5-mile track. His wins make him one of only four drivers to have Daytona wins in both the Xfinity and Truck Series, joining Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick and Mike Wallace.

With his win last weekend, Hill will once again have the opportunity to become the fourth different driver to win the first two races of the Xfinity Series season; joining Tony Stewart (2008: Daytona, Auto Club), Chad Little (1995: Daytona, Rockingham) and Dale Earnhardt (1986: Daytona, Rockingham). Last season, he started his race at Auto Club in the eighth position but ultimately finished 27th.

John Hunter Nemechek, who is running his first full-time season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series since 2019, finished runner up while Xfinity Series veteran Justin Allgaier finished in third. Rookie Parker Retzlaff and Myatt Snider rounded out the top five.

Going back to Cali: Auto Club Speedway up next

After an action-packed race to kick off the season, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will be making its way back to the West Coast to keep the momentum flowing. Drivers will take the grid for the Production Alliance 300 at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday, February 25 at 5 p.m. ET, airing on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR radio.

This will be the 33rd NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Auto Club Speedway, the previous 32 have produced 18 different race winners and 21 different pole winners. Five races have been won from the pole or first starting position, most recently by Kyle Busch in 2013.

Joey Logano leads the NASCAR Xfinity Series in poles at Auto Club Speedway with four (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013) while Kyle Busch leads the Xfinity Series at the Fontana, California track in wins with six (2008, 2009, 2010 sweep, 2011, 2013). Two former winners are entered in this weekend’s Production Alliance 300 – fulltime driver Cole Custer (2019, 2022) and NASCAR Cup Series regular Austin Dillon (2016), who will be behind the wheel of the No. 10 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will hold practice at 12:05 p.m. ET followed by qualifying at 12:35 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 25 on FS1.

JR Motorsports ready for Auto Club

Last season at Auto Club Speedway, there was one team in particular that stood out at the two-mile oval – JR Motorsports. All four drivers finished within the top 10 at the second race of the year and now they come back with the hope of landing themselves in Victory Lane.

With Noah Gragson now competing full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, Brandon Jones sits behind the wheel of the No. 9 Chevrolet, and he is sure to join his teammates in finding success at the California track.

Although Jones fell victim to a crash last season at Auto Club, he started the race in the third position and won the pole in 2020, proving he can hit his marks and find his way around the track. In his six starts, he has posted two top 10s and has led 76 laps.

Josh Berry and Sam Mayer will be making their second start at Auto Club Speedway, while Justin Allgaier has 13 starts under his belt, posting one top five and seven top 10 finishes.

Cup Series drivers running double duty this weekend – Two Cup Series regulars will be getting some extra time on the track this weekend at Auto Club Speedway – Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick.

Dillon will be behind the wheel of the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. He has made five starts at the California track in the Xfinity Series, posting one win (2016), four top fives and four top 10s.

Reddick will pilot the No. 24 Toyota for Sam Hunt Racing. He has made two Xfinity Series starts at Auto Club, posting one top five, two top 10s, and one pole (2019).

source – NASCAR communications