Auto Club Speedway marks the first race at tracks of 1.5 to 2 miles in length, which are the tracks that comprise the bulk on the NASCAR schedule. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
The Daytona 500 is history. Now, the real NASCAR Sprint Cup season starts. No restrictor plates, no drafting in packs. No more of The Hole. Just real, high-speed racing.
Sunday's Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway marks the first of three consecutive races at the so-called “intermediate” tracks of 1.5 to 2 miles in length. A comparatively flat track, the 2-mile ACS is a facility that requires lots of horsepower and a strong aerodynamic package.
“This has always been a great track for us,” said Alan Gustafson, crew chief for Mark Martin's No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “We've had a lot of success there. We should be a threat to win the race. The interesting thing about it is that this is the first race that everybody has worked on over the offseason to make improvements to their intermediate stuff. This is the first bread-and-butter race so to speak. This is where you see where you really stack up. It will be interesting.”
With that said, here are this week's 5 To Watch:
1. JIMMIE JOHNSON, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet — This one is pretty much of a no-brainer. Johnson has won three of the last five ACS races and four overall. He has the best finishing average of any driver entered in the race at 5.786. Interestingly, of his four ACS victories, three have come in the fall race. Johnson has nine top-five and 10 top-10 finishes here in just 14 starts.
2. GREG BIFFLE, Roush Fenway Racing Ford — Biffle won this race in 2005 and led 168 laps here in 2006 before a late-race engine failure robbed him of a certain victory. Biffle is coming off a great run at Daytona, where he finished third, best of any of the Roush Fenway drivers. He should have another great weekend this time around.
Biffle's teammate, Matt Kenseth, has won the spring ACS race three times in the last four years, but with a mid-week crew chief change, his team could have adjustments to make this week.
3. CARL EDWARDS, Roush Fenway Racing Ford — As of Friday morning, Edwards and wife Kate were still awaiting the birth of their first child, which needless to say could complicate his weekend. But Edwards has an amazing record at ACS, where in 11 Cup races he has one victory, six top fives and 10 finishes of seventh or better. If he's racing here, he's finishing in the top 10.
3. JEFF GORDON, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet — Gordon has three victories here and finished second in both ACS races last year. In his last seven races here, he has finished second three times, third once and has posted five top-five finishes. He is rock solid in Southern California.
4. KASEY KAHNE, Richard Petty Motorsports — RPM looked exceptionally strong at Daytona, as a big helping of Roush Yates horsepower put a huge smile on Kahne's face. At ACS, Kahne has one victory, one runner-up finish and six top 10s in his last nine starts. This track will be a good test of exactly how far RPM has come.
5. JEFF BURTON, Richard Childress Racing — RCR is coming off a hugely disappointing 2009 season, but one bright spot was the stretch run by Burton, who finished ninth at Talladega, fifth at Texas and second at both Phoenix and Homestead. Burton has five top fives at ACS.
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY QUICK FACTS
Races: 19
Pole Winners: 13
Youngest Pole Winner: Kyle Busch (02/27/2005 - 19 years, 9 months, 25 days)
Oldest Pole Winner: Mike Skinner (04/30/2000 - 42 years, 10 months, 2 days)
Last Race Won from Pole (or 1st Starting Position): Jimmie Johnson (08/31/2008)
Race Record: Jeff Gordon 155.012mph (06/22/1997)
Qualifying Record: Kyle Busch 188.245mph (02/27/2005)
NOTES FROM NASCARMEDIA.COM
California and NASCAR go way back, to the sport’s beginnings. Early on, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. recognized the popularity of motorsports in the Golden State, while envisioning the long-term potential of that popularity. Go back to the 1951 schedule for what is now known as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, which had five races in California. That was the start of what you could label a Big Bill mission statement. (One of many missions, it should be noted.) He called it “sea to shining sea.” Not exactly original, but he made his point.
“As soon as he realized the organization NASCAR was actually going to come together in 1947, he immediately started thinking about racing in California,” said former NASCAR West Series Director Ken Clapp. In ‘51, those five races were divided between three California dirt tracks: Carrell Speedway in Gardena, Marchbanks Speedway in Hanford and a super-fast track at Oakland Stadium.
From 1970-81, the NASCAR Sprint Cup season opened not with “The Great American Race, ” the Daytona 500, but rather in Riverside, Calif, at the old Riverside International Raceway road course. From 1981-86, Riverside hosted the season finale.
From 1974-80, Ontario Motor Speedway hosted the finale and in ‘79, Richard Petty clinched the last of his seven NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships at Ontario, by finishing fifth in the L.A. Times 500.
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