Johnson, who hails from nearby El Cajon, Calif., has the most wins at this track with five. Jeff Gordon, who is Johnson's teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, and Matt Kenseth, in his first season with Joe Gibbs Racing, have three victories each here.

Tony Stewart has won two of the last three races at this track, including a victory in last year's rain-shortened event. Heavy precipitation after 129 of 200 laps were completed forced NASCAR officials to call the race. It was the first time a Sprint Cup event here was cut short due to inclement weather.

Forty-three teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Auto Club 400.

Nationwide Series

Royal Purple 300 - Auto Club Speedway - Fontana, Calif.

Joe Gibbs Racing has been unstoppable in Nationwide Series competition at Auto Club Speedway for the last five years.

One of JGR's drivers has won the previous eight Nationwide races at this two- mile racetrack. Kyle Busch holds the record for most wins in the series here with five. All of Busch's victories have come within the past seven races.

Joey Logano won at California in October 2009 and again in March 2012. Logano drove a Nationwide car for JGR from 2008-12. Tony Stewart took the checkered flag for the spring race here in 2008 when he was driving for Gibbs.

Driving the No. 54 Toyota for JGR, Busch has won two of the first four Nationwide races this year. Crew chief Adam Stevens is guiding Busch's efforts in the series. Stevens served as Logano's crew chief when Logano won at California one year ago.

"Having Adam to work with as a crew chief, he's really good," Busch said. "He's learned from a lot of good peers at Joe Gibbs Racing and under some good tutelage. I think it pays dividends into his hands and where he can go in the future too. He has done a good job building this team, and our communication and how we work together, it's paying off."

While Busch is running a limited Nationwide schedule, Brian Vickers and Elliott Sadler are driving in the series full-time for JGR this season. Vickers sits fifth in the point standing after back-to-back third-place finishes at Las Vegas and Bristol.

Sadler came to Bristol tied for second in points, but after finishing 36th, he dropped to 10th in the rankings. He suffered engine failure early in the race.

"Last week at Bristol was definitely disappointing," Sadler said. "We're ready to get back at it in California. I really like this track, because it's pretty wide and fast. I won here in 2004 in the Sprint Cup Series, and I'm looking forward to getting back there this weekend."

Brad Keselowski will join Busch as those Sprint Cup regulars competing in this race.

Forty-two teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Royal Purple 300.

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES

Honda GP of St. Petersburg - Streets of St. Petersburg - St. Petersburg, Fla.

The 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series gets underway this weekend on the streets of St. Petersburg, and so does Ryan Hunter-Reay's quest for a second consecutive championship.

Winning a series-high four races last year, Hunter-Reay edged Will Power for the IndyCar title by just three points. He had trailed Power by 36 points with two races go.

Hunter-Reay began the 2012 season with a third-place finish at St. Pete. It wasn't until midway through the 15-race calendar that he became a perennial threat for the championship. The Andretti Autosport driver moved into the title mix when he won three races in a row -- Milwaukee, Iowa and Toronto.

"You need to get off to a good start to get the team on the right track and get the momentum going and get the energy, the right energy, going to for the team," Hunter-Reay said. "No better race to do it than the first one. We will look to definitely take that first step this weekend."