This Weekend in NASCAR – Fontana Storylines

NASCAR’s top two national series are at Auto Club Speedway this weekend with the Xfinity Series on Saturday and the Sprint Cup Series on Sunday. The Camping World Truck Series is off until April 2 when the season resumes at Martinsville Speedway. This weekend’s storylines follow…

Brad Keselowski – One-Lap Wonder

Brad Keselowski returns to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX) as the defending race winner.

Last March, the No. 2 Ford driver closed from 18th to first in the closing laps, leading solely the last lap for the victory.

Keselowski has won two races by leading just the final lap. He also achieved the feat for his first victory, at Talladega, on April 26, 2009.

Additionally, Auto Club Speedway has seen multiple drivers win races by leading just the last lap. Kevin Harvick accomplished the task on March 27, 2011 at the two-mile Southern California track.

Keselowski can join Jimmie Johnson (fall of 2009, spring of 2010) and Kyle Busch (2013, 2014) as the only drivers to win consecutive races at Auto Club.

California Love: Roger Penske Brought Back Sprint Cup Series Racing To SoCal

This is a homecoming of sorts for Roger Penske.

Penske, whose Team Penske racing team is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, announced the construction of Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California on April 20, 1994. The track was completed in 1996 and NASCAR held its first test session there from May 5-7, 1997. A month later the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series held its first race at the two-mile oval on June 22, which was won by California native Jeff Gordon.

Overall, Penske has won two Sprint Cup races at Auto Club with drivers Brad Keselowski (2015) and Rusty Wallace (2001).

Prior to the first event held at Auto Club, the Sprint Cup Series hadn’t raced in Southern California since 1988 when Wallace won at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.

The Golden State has become a breeding ground for NASCAR talent. NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers who call California home include: Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Casey Mears, Josh Wise, AJ Allmendinger, Matt DiBenedetto and Cole Whitt. Currently, more drivers from California compete in the Sprint Cup Series than those from any other state.

NASCAR Origins: Track Record-Holder Johnson Returns To Site Of First Win

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No. It’s Jimmie Johnson.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series active wins leader heads to his home track of Auto Club Speedway – the site of his first victory – decked out in a Superman firesuit and paint scheme.

And Johnson is the undeniable “Man of Steel” at the two-mile track.

He ranks first all-time at Auto Club in wins (5), top fives (12), top 10s (15), average finish (6.4), average running position (6.0), driver rating (119.4) and laps led (955).

Recently, other drivers have brought kryptonite to Auto Club. Johnson has not finished better than ninth at the Southern California oval since 2011, when he placed runner-up.

If Johnson takes the checkered flag on Sunday, he will surpass Dale Earnhardt for seventh on the all-time list with his 77th career victory.

The No. 48 Chevrolet driver is sporting the Superman paint scheme to promote the upcoming Warner Brothers film “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice.”

“The Flash” Or Kevin Harvick

He’s faster than a speeding bullet.

Oh wait… wrong hero.

If Jimmie Johnson is Superman, Kevin Harvick can be called The Flash.

Since 2014, Harvick ranks first among all NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers with 4,702 laps led, almost 2,000 more than the next closest driver – Brad Keselowski (2,749). Keselowski is followed by Joey Logano (2,498), Jimmie Johnson (2,014) and Matt Kenseth 1,553.

Harvick (surprise) led an event-high 139 laps in last weekend’s Good Sam 500 for his fifth win in the last six races at Phoenix International Raceway. In the process, Harvick edged out Carl Edwards for the win by 0.010 seconds, a margin of victory that ranks tied with four others – including Denny Hamlin’s MOV in this year’s Daytona 500 – as the seventh closest in NASCAR history since the advent of electronic scoring in 1993.

Harvick will attempt to win for the second straight weekend in Sunday’s Auto Club 400. In 22 starts at Auto Club, he has recorded one win, five top fives, 10 top 10s and a 96.8 driver rating. The No. 4 Chevrolet driver finished second there last season after leading 34 laps.

Kyle Busch A Blockbuster Hit At Auto Club

Betting on Kyle Busch to win at Auto Club is probably a good idea.

The No. 18 driver won the 2013 and 2014 races at the Southern California oval before missing last year’s due to injury. In his 2011 and 2012 starts there, he finished third and second, respectively.

Busch boasts three wins, eight top fives (47.1%) and 12 top 10s in 17 Auto Club starts. Among active drivers, he ranks second at the two-mile track in average running position (8.9) and driver rating (110.0).

Auto Club brings back some nostalgia for “Rowdy.” In 2005 there, Busch became the youngest pole winner in series history (19 years, 9 months, 23 days) in advance of his eighth career start. Seven months later, Busch returned to Auto Club where he set the record for youngest race winner in series history (20 years, 4 months, 4 days). Joey Logano has since broken both marks.

Still winless this season, Busch has produced a top-five finish in his last eight starts.

Record Closest Average MOV Through First Four Races

The average margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season is 0.232 seconds – the closest margin of victory over the first four races since the inception of electronic timing and scoring in 1993 (Note: This year’s Atlanta race ended under caution, and therefore is not included in the average). The next-closest average margin of victory occurred 15 years ago in 2001 (.436) -0.204 seconds compared to this season.

Auto Clubbin’: Edwards Entertains In Fontana

Other than Jimmie Johnson, the only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver with a single-digit average finish at Auto Club Speedway is Carl Edwards (8.9).

In 18 starts at the Fontana, California race track, Edwards owns one win, eight top fives and 14 top 10s. His 97.1 Auto Club driver rating ranks fourth among active drivers there.

Unlike last year when he started off the season slow, Edwards has been very strong in his second campaign with Joe Gibbs Racing. He has three top-five finishes, including a runner-up showing last Sunday at Phoenix.

Chasing Blaney

Did that title sound like the 1997 Kevin Smith-made comic-book-centric flick?

Total coincidence.

Right now, it’s the name of the 2016 Sunoco Rookie of the Year race.

Heading into Sunday’s Auto Club 400, Chase Elliott trails Ryan Blaney by a mere four points in the rookie standings.

Last weekend at Phoenix, the NASCAR Next alumni became the first pair of rookies to finish in the top 10 since 2014 when Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson achieved the feat twice. Elliott placed eighth, while Blaney took home 10th.

In four starts this season, each driver has two top 10s.

Elliott and Blaney are trying to join Denny Hamlin (2006) as the only rookie drivers to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Dillon Thrillin’ In 2016

Austin Dillon has started the season off strong with three top 10s to go along with an 11th-place finish in four starts.

In his first two full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series seasons (2014 and 2015), it took the 25-year-old Richard Childress Racing driver 19 and 20 starts, respectively, to notch three top 10s.

Dillon, currently eighth in the series points standings, claims a season-high finish of fifth (Las Vegas) and has an average finish of 8.5.

NASCAR Business News

SBJ Awards: NASCAR and industry stakeholders were nominated for a number of 2016 Sports Business Journal Sports Business Awards nominations – Sports League of the Year (NASCAR), Sports Event of the Year (Bojangles’ Southern 500), Sports Executive of the Year (Brian France), Best in Sports Social Media (Dale Earnhardt Jr.), Sports Facility of the Year (Daytona International Speedway) and Sports Sponsor of the Year (XFINITY from Comcast, Toyota).

France at NYU: NASCAR Chairman & CEO Brian France and the Commissioners of the NBA, NFL, MLB and MLS, led a group from across nine major professional sports leagues Monday at New York University to collaborate on social responsibility in sports. The industry summit was hosted by the NYU School of Professional Studies Tisch Institute for Sports Management, Media, and Business.

Suárez Extends Standings Lead On Way To California

Following the second installment of the #NASCARGoesWest part of the XFINITY Series schedule, Daniel Suárez now finds himself with an eight-point lead over second-place Elliott Sadler.

Suárez is honing his skills and has been quite impressive in the first four races of the season, posting two top fives and four top 10s, including a third-place finish this past weekend at Phoenix. Not only is Suárez racking up strong finishes, he is producing hefty loop data statistics. He hasn’t posted a driver rating less than 100 points this season and his average running position is 5.3. Suárez is also one of only five drivers this season to complete 100 percent of the laps scheduled thus far.

The 24-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver heads to California this weekend for the TreatMyClot.com 300 at Auto Club Speedway (4 p.m. ET on FS1). The young driver made his series track debut at Auto Club Speedway last season, starting 13th and finishing ninth.

Much of Suarez’s success can be attributed to his relationship with crew chief Scott Graves. Graves came to Joe Gibbs Racing this season following a 2015 campaign in which he led driver Chris Buescher and Roush Fenway Racing to a series title. Graves and Buescher finished fifth in this event last season.

Top Five In Points Are Well Represented By JRM and RCR

Joe Gibb Racing currently holds the top spot in the NASCAR XFINITY Series standings with driver Daniel Suarez, but the rest of the top five is made up of drivers from JR Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing.

In second is JR Motorsports driver Elliott Sadler (-8). Sadler held the points lead for the first two races of the season, but dropped to second following Las Vegas. Sadler’s consistency has been his advantage. In four starts this season, he has posted one top five and four top 10s. His average finish in 2016 is 7.3. Sadler has made 11 starts at Auto Club, posting three top fives and seven top 10s.

Third is occupied by Richard Childress Racing’s Ty Dillon (-9). Dillon’s season started slow with a 13th-place finish at Daytona, but has since picked up, finishing the subsequent three races with a top five and two top 10s. Dillon has two starts at Auto Club, posting one top 10 and an average finish of 11.0.

Fourth currently belongs to veteran Justin Allgaier (-12), who joined JR Motorsports this season. In four starts this year, Allgaier has posted one top five and three top 10s. Allgaier has made seven series starts at Auto Club posting two top 10s and an average finish of 14.6.

Rounding out the top five in points is Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate / Richard Childress Racing driver Brandon Jones (-15). Jones kicked the season off with a top-10 finish at Daytona and has run consistently ever since. His average finish this season is a 9.8. This weekend will be Jones’ series track debut.

Erik Jones A Serious Contender This Season

Erik Jones is looking to become the fourth driver to win a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and a NASCAR XFINITY Series title, joining Greg Biffle, Johnny Benson and Austin Dillon. Despite Jones’ hiccup to open the season at Daytona, he has been the best championship contender since then, posting three top fives and sitting sixth in the series standings, just 18 points behind his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Daniel Suárez.

In the last three races (Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix), Jones hasn’t started worse than second and hasn’t finished worse than third. His average finish in the last three races is 2.7. In the process, Jones has jumped from 22nd to sixth in championship points.

Jones heads to California this weekend to continue his streak of top-three finishes he has going this season. In his series debut at Auto Club Speedway last year, he won the pole and finished third.

Owner Points Battle Is Tight At The Top

Just 10 points separate the top four car owners in the NASCAR XFINITY Series owner standings following the fourth race of the season. Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 is on top of standings followed by JR Motorsports’ No. 88 (-7), Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 (-9) and Richard Childress Racing’s No. 2 (-9).

Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 team, led by crew chief Chris Gayle, has been unstoppable since being in an accident at Daytona, winning the following three races with driver Kyle Busch. Seven drivers in series history have won three or more consecutive races. Only two drivers have done it more than once – Sam Ard (four wins: 9/17/1983 – 10/8/1983); (three wins: 5/5/1984 – 5/19/1984) and Kyle Busch (three wins: (4/5/2008 – 4/20/2008); (three wins: 3/16/2013 – 4/12/2013). This weekend Kyle Busch has the opportunity to become the second driver in series history to win four consecutive races, joining Ard. In 16 starts at Auto Club Speedway, Busch has posted a series-leading six wins. His average finish at ACS is 6.6.

Busch will have his work cut out for him this weekend. Defending winner Kevin Harvick is also entered and will be driving the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. Harvick has made 19 starts at Auto Club, posting one win, 12 top fives and 16 top 10s.

NASCAR XFINITY Series Etc.:

NASCAR XFINITY Series in California: Though all three NASCAR national series have combined to race on 17 different tracks in the state of California, the NASCAR XFINITY Series has only competed at one – Auto Club Speedway. Auto Club has hosted 26 series events dating back to the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series race held on 10/19/1997 and won by Todd Bodine.

California Drivers In The NASCAR XFINITY Series: Of the 431 California natives that have competed in at least one NASCAR national series event, only 68 have competed in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, led by Kevin Harvick with 329 series career starts. Of the 68 Californians who have competed in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, only 15 have won a race and just seven have won multiple races. Kevin Harvick leads all Californians with 46 NASCAR XFINITY Series wins.