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Date: Sunday, March 24
Start Time: 3 p.m. ET
Site: Auto Club Speedway (1997) -- Fontana, Calif.
Track: 2-mile oval - 3,100 feet (Frontstretch); 2,500 feet (Backstretch)
Laps: 200
Miles: 400
Capacity: 90,988 (Grandstand Seating)
Total purse:
Payouts:
Year: 17th
On TV: FOX
Announcers:
On Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio
Race record: Jeff Gordon, 1997 (155.012 mph)
Qualifying record: Kyle Busch, 2005 (188.425 mph)
2012 Finish
Defending champion: Tony Stewart
Runner up: Kyle Busch
Pole winner: Denny Hamlin (186.403 mph)
Top 10:
1. Tony Stewart (Start: 9)
2. Kyle Busch (2)
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (14)
4. Kevin Harvick (7)
5. Carl Edwards (12)
6. Greg Biffle (4)
7. Ryan Newman (6)
8. Martin Truex Jr. (13)
9. Kurt Busch (23)
10. Jimmie Johnson (10)
Average speed: 160.166 mph
Time of race: 1 hr., 36 mins., 39 secs. (rain-shortened, 258 miles)
Margin of victory: Caution
Caution flags: 1 for 5 laps
Lead changes: 9 among 5 drivers
Past winners
2012 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 160.166 mph (rain-shortened)
2011 Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 150.849 mph
2010 Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 141.911 mph
2009 Matt Kenseth, Ford, 135.839 mph
2008 Carl Edwards, Ford, 132.704 mph
2007 Matt Kenseth, Ford, 138.451 mph
2006 Matt Kenseth, Ford, 147.852 mph
2005 Greg Biffle, Ford, 139.697 mph
2004 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 137.268 mph
2003 Kurt Busch, Ford, 140.111 mph
2002 Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 150.088 mph
2001 Rusty Wallace, Ford, 143.118 mph
2000 Jeremy Mayfield, Ford, 149.378 mph
1999 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 150.276 mph
1998 Mark Martin, Ford, 140.220 mph
1997 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 155.012 mph
Last race
Race: Food City 500 (March 17)
Site: Bristol Motor Speedway -- Bristol, Tenn.
Miles: 266.5
Laps: 500
Finish line order: Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer
Time of Race: 2 hrs., 53 mins., 25 secs.
Average speed: 92.206 mph
Margin of victory: 1.700 secs.
Caution flags: 10 for 66 laps
Lead changes: 17 among 10 drivers
Lap leaders: Ky. Busch 1-55; P. Menard 56-56; D. Ragan 57-58; K. Kahne 59-63; Ky. Busch 1-55; P. Menard 56-56; D. Ragan 57-58; K. Kahne 59-63; D. Hamlin 64-145; K. Kahne 146-153; Ku. Busch 154-154; D. Hamlin 155-189; K. Kahne 190-236; Ky. Busch 237-237; M. Kenseth 238-322; J. Logano 323-323; J. Gordon 324-389; K. Kahne 390-396; B. Keselowski 397-445; K. Kahne 446-447; B. Keselowski 448-460; K. Kahne 461-500.
Entry list
#1 Jamie McMurray (Joplin, MO) Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops
#2 Brad Keselowski (Rochester Hills, MI) Ford/Miller Lite
#5 Kasey Kahne (Enumclaw, WA) Chevrolet/Farmers Insurance
#7 Dave Blaney (Hartford, OH) Chevrolet/Sany
#9 Marcos Ambrose (Launceston, Australia) Ford/Mac Tools
#10 Danica Patrick (Roscoe, IL) Chevrolet/GoDaddy.com
#11 Denny Hamlin (Chesterfield, VA) Toyota/FedEx Express
#13 Casey Mears (Bakersfield, CA) Ford/GEICO
#14 * Tony Stewart (Columbus, IN) Chevrolet/Rush Truck Centers
#15 Clint Bowyer (Emporia, KS) Toyota/5-Hour Energy
#16 Greg Biffle (Vancouver, WA) Ford/3M Window Film
#17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Olive Branch, MS) Ford/NOS
#18 Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Toyota/Interstate Batteries
#19 Mike Bliss (Milwaukie, OR) Toyota/Plinker Tactical
#20 Matt Kenseth (Cambridge, WI) Toyota/Dollar General
#22 Joey Logano (Middletown, CT) Ford/AAA Southern California
#24 Jeff Gordon (Vallejo, CA) Chevrolet/Drive to End Hunger
#27 Paul Menard (Eau Claire, WI) Chevrolet/Menards/Certain Teed
#29 Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield, CA) Chevrolet/Jimmy John's
#30 David Stremme (South Bend, IN) Toyota/Swan Racing
#31 Jeff Burton (South Boston, VA) Chevrolet/Caterpillar
#32 Timmy Hill (Port Tobacco, MD) Ford/TBA
#33 Landon Cassill (Fairfax, IA) Chevrolet/Little Joe's Autos
#34 David Ragan (Unadilla, GA) Ford/TBA
#35 Josh Wise (Riverside, CA) Ford/MDS Transport
#36 J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, AZ) Chevrolet/Accell Construction
#38 David Gilliland (Riverside, CA) Ford/Long John Silver's
#39 Ryan Newman (South Bend, IN) Chevrolet/Wix Filters
#42 Juan Pablo Montoya (Bogota, Colombia) Chevrolet/Target
#43 Aric Almirola (Tampa, FL) Ford/Farmland
#44 Scott Riggs (Bahama, NC) Ford/No Label Watches
#47 Bobby Labonte (Corpus Christi, TX) Toyota/Bush's Beans
#48 Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon, CA) Chevrolet/Lowe's
#51 A.J. Allmendinger (Los Gatos, CA) Chevrolet/Phoenix Construction
#55 Mark Martin (Batesville, AR) Toyota/Aaron's Dream Machine
#56 Martin Truex Jr. (Mayetta, NJ) Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts
#78 Kurt Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Chevrolet/Furniture Row
#83 David Reutimann (Zephyrhills, FL) Toyota/Burger King/Dr. Pepper
#87 Joe Nemechek (Lakeland, FL) Toyota/Maddie's Place
#88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Kannapolis, NC) Chevrolet/National Guard
#93 Travis Kvapil (Janesville, WI) Toyota/Burger King/Dr. Pepper
#98 Michael McDowell (Glendale, AZ) Ford/Phil Parsons Racing
#99 Carl Edwards (Columbia, MO) Ford/Subway
Leading contenders
| Name | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Stewart | 16 | 17 | 43 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 13 | Won |
| Kyle Busch | 23 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 3 | 2 | |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr | 19 | 32 | 11 | 40 | 40 | 39 | 32 | 12 | 3 |
| Kevin Harvick | 9 | 6 | 29 | 17 | 8 | 38 | 2 | Won | 4 |
| Carl Edwards | 5 | 3 | 29 | Won | 7 | 13 | 6 | 5 | |
| Greg Biffle | 33 | Won | 42 | 15 | 15 | 4 | 10 | 11 | 6 |
| Ryan Newman | 3 | 9 | 20 | 12 | 10 | 28 | 36 | 5 | 7 |
| Martin Truex Jr | 15 | 42 | 6 | 27 | 39 | 21 | 8 | ||
| Jimmie Johnson | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 9 | Won | 2 | 10 |
| Denny Hamlin | 12 | 11 | 41 | 6 | 29 | 39 | 11 | ||
| Mark Martin | 11 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 40 | 4 | 20 | 12 |
| Clint Bowyer | 14 | 6 | 19 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 13 | ||
| Kasey Kahne | 13 | 40 | 4 | 38 | 9 | 12 | 34 | 9 | 14 |
| Matt Kenseth | 4 | 26 | Won | Won | 5 | Won | 7 | 4 | 16 |
| Brad Keselowski | 21 | 26 | 18 | ||||||
| Joey Logano | 26 | 5 | 25 | 24 | |||||
| Jeff Gordon | Won | 30 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 18 | 26 |
Notes
Formerly known as California Speedway, the groundbreaking for this 2-mile oval took place in November 1995. The first race there was a NASCAR K&N Pro Series West event won by Ken Schrader on June 21, 1997.
This track has 14 degrees of banking in all four of its turns as well as 11 degrees of banking on the frontstretch and 3 degrees on the backstretch.
ACS has been on the Sprint Cup schedule each year since 1997. Jeff Gordon won the inaugural race there 16 years ago.
There have been 23 Sprint Cup races held at Auto Club Speedway. The track hosted one Cup race each season from 1997-2003 and then two events per season from 2004-10. ACS returned to a single-race season two years ago.
Jimmie Johnson, who hails from nearby El Cajon, Calif., holds the track record for most wins with five. Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth have the second most victories there with three each, followed by Tony Stewart with two wins. Johnson also leads all drivers with the most top-5 finishes (12) and most top-10s (14) at this track.
Stewart won last year's race at Auto Club Speedway, which was shortened due to rain. With showers on the way, Stewart passed Kyle Busch on lap 85. He held the top spot when the rain arrived on lap 125. The precipitation intensified shortly after, prompting NASCAR officials to halt the race and then later calling it after 129 of 200 laps were completed. It was the first time a race at this track had to be shortened due to inclement weather.
Johnson is the only driver to win from the pole at Auto Club Speedway, doing so on Aug. 31, 2008.
Kurt Busch holds the track record for most poles with three. Denny Hamlin, Jamie McMurray, Brian Vickers and Gordon have won two poles each there.
Three drivers have competed in all 23 Cup races at Auto Club Speedway: Jeff Burton, Bobby Labonte and Gordon.
The closest margin of victory for a Sprint Cup race at Auto Club Speedway occurred in 2011 when Kevin Harvick beat Johnson to the finish line by 0.144 seconds.
Two drivers who are competing in this weekend's race made their first career Cup starts at this track: Greg Biffle (April 2002) and J.J. Yeley (September 2004).
Three drivers entered in this race claimed their maiden pole in the series there: Joe Nemechek (June 1997), Kyle Busch (February 2005) and Carl Edwards (September 2005).
Johnson and Kyle Busch are those drivers who scored their first career Cup victories at Auto Club Speedway. Johnson's inaugural win came on April 28, 2002. Busch won there on Sept. 4, 2005.
Kyle Busch is the youngest driver to win a Cup race at Auto Club Speedway. He won the fall event there in '05 when he was 20 years, 4 months and 2 days old. When Rusty Wallace was 44 years, 8 months and 15 days old, he became the oldest driver to win at this track on April 29, 2001.
The next race is the April 7 STP Gas Booster 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Ryan Newman is the defending race winner.
