It’s the final race of the west coast swing when the Monster Energy Cup Series travels to Fontanta and the Auto Club Speedway for the Auto Club 400.
When the track opened for qualifying, there were still 16 cars waiting to get through pre-qualifying inspection. One of those cars belongs to Daniel Suarez who crashed during practice.
On his first lap of qualifying, Kevin Harvick broke the longstandng track record with a lap of 38.147 seconds around the two mile track.
Since not all of the 36 cars at the track did not make it through inspection in time, some of the drivers are running slow laps around the track to make it into the top 24 and move on to the next round of qualifying. Only 24 cars made it on to the track for first round qualifying. The teams who did not get out on the track will have their starting spots determined by car owner points.
After three rounds of qualifying with a lap of 38.59 seconds, Martin Truex Jr will sit on the pole and bring the field to green for his second pole of the season.
The starting lineup for the Auto Club 400:
Martin Truex Jr
Kyle Busch
Kyle Larson
Erik Jones
Austin Dillon
Joey Logano
Kurt Busch
Ryan Blaney
Ryan Newman
Kevin Harvick
Brad Keselowski
Chris Buescher
Trevor Bayne
Paul Menard
Jamie McMurray
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ty Dillon
Matt DiBenedetto
Darrell Wallace Jr
Gray Gaulding – moved to the back of the field with an engine change
David Ragan
Michael McDowell – moved to the back of the field with a gear change
Jeffrey Earnhardt
Reed Sorenson
Denny Hamlin
Clint Bowyer
Aric Almirola
Alex Bowman – moved to the back of the field with an engine change
William Byron
Daniel Suarez – moved to the back of the field in a backup car
Chase Elliott
Jimmie Johnson
AJ Allmendinger
Kasey Kahne
Timmy Hill
Ross Chastain
Stages one and two of the race are 60 laps each with stage three lasting 80 laps for a total of 200 laps around the two mile track. The drivers cannot complete a stage without making a pit stop.
Defending Monster Energy Cup Series champion Martin Truex r brings the field down for the green flag start of the race after winning the pole two weeks in a row.
Making a bid for his fourth win in a row, Kevin Harvick begins the race in tenth place.
Martin Truex Jr leads lap one with Kyle Busch two tenths of a second behind; Erik Jones, Joe Logano, and Kle Larson round out the top five.
Lap four, Martin Truex Jr has a half second lead on Kyle Busch.
Lap six, Alex Bowman has moved up 15 spots since the race began to 19th place.
Martin True Jr holds on to the lead with Kle Busch in second a half second behind; Erik Jones, Joey Logano, and Kyle Larson fill ou the top five. Kurth Busch, Ryan Blane, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, and Ryan Newman round out the top 10.
Lap eleven, Kyle Busch closes in and passes Martin Truex Jr to take over the lead of the race. Kevin Harvick has moved up to sixth place.
Lap 14 Kyle Busch has a half second lead on Martin Truex Jr; Erik Jones, Kyle Larson, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.
Lap 17 Kyle Busch has pulled out to a lead of nearly a second on Martin Truex Jr. After starting the race in 31st place, Chase Elliot is now in 17th.
Lap 18 the top five are Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, and Erik Jones.
After the issue with qualifying, NASCAR issued a ruling allowing the 24 teams that qualified to purchase a new set of tires and trade in the old ones; allowing all of the teams to start the race on an even footing with fresh tires.
Lap 20 Kyle Busch continues to hold a lead of nearly a second with Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, and Erik Jones rounding out the top five.
Lap 25 some of the drivers have begun making green flag pit stops.
Lap 27, Kyle Busch has increased his lead to over a second on Martin Truex Jr.
Lap 28, Kyle Larson passes Martin Truex Jr for second, Brad Keselowski takes third with Jamie McMurray in fourth nad Martin Truex Jr in fifith.
Lap 29 leader Kyle Busch brings his car down pit road for service.
Once green flag pit stops have cycled through, Kyle Busch retakes the lead of the race.
Lap 31 Martin Truex Jr retakes th lead from Kyle Busch and begins pulling away. Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson battle for third.
The first caution flag of the race comes out on lap 38 when Kevin Harvick has a lot of damage to his car after making contact with Kyle Larson and hitting the wall. Kyle Larson reports slight damage to his car.
Kevin Harvick is on the caution clock – his team has six minutes to make sufficient repairs for Harvick to maintain minimum speed.
Lap 41 Martin Truex Jr brings the filed down for the the green flag restart and holds on to the lead with Kyle Busch in second.
Lap 43 the top five are Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Austin Dillon. There are 32 cars on the lead lap.
Kevin Harvick is reporting that his steering wheel is off by about six inches, but he continues to stay in the race.
Lap 47 Martin Truex Jr has a lead of nearly two seconds on Kyle Busch with Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Kurt Busch rounding out the top five. Seven time champion Jimmine Johnson is in sixth place.
With 10 laps remaining in stage one, Martin Truex Jr has pulled out to a lead of over two seconds on Kyle Busch.
After getting loose and hitting the wall on lap 49, Ryan Blaney brings his car down pit road for repairs.
Lap 54, Martin Truex Jr has a lead of over three seconds on Kyle Busch with Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, and Jimmie Johnson rounding out the top five.
Lap 58 Martin Truex Jr has a lead of nearly four seconds on Kyle Busch.
Martin Truex Jr wins stage one for his first stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Martin Truex Jr
Kyle Busch
Joey Logano
Brad Keselowski
Jimmie Johnson
Kyle larson
Kurt Busch
Erik Jones
Clint Bowyer
Denny Hamlin
Joey Logano wins the race off of pit road with Martin Truex Jr coming off in second.
Ryan Blaney’s team was penalized for having too many crew members over the pit wall and Kevin Harvick was also penalized for having too many men over the pit wall.
Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 66 and hold on to the lead.
Lap 69 Joey Logano has a half second lead on Martin Truex Jr; with Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Larson rounding out the top five.
Lap 72 Joey Logano’s lead on Martin Truex is down to just two tenths of a second. Kyle Busch holds on to third with Brad Keselowski in fourth and Kyle Larson in fifth.
Lap 73 Martin Truex Jr passes Joey Logano to retake the lead.
Kurt Busch had air gun issues during his pit stop causing his to lose eight spots on the track.
Lap 75 Martin Truex Jr has pulled out to a lead of a second on Joey Logano.
Lap 80 Martin Truex Jr has pulled out to a lead of nearly three seconds on Joey Logano; Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, and Brad Keselowski round out the top five.
Lap 83 Martin Truex Jr’s lead is nearly four seconds on Kyle Busch with Joey Logano in third, Kyle Larson in fourth, and Brad Keselowski in fifth.
Lap 87 drivers begin making green flag pit stops.
Lap 89 Martin Truex Jr now has a lead of over four seconds on Kyle Busch.
Lap 90, leader Martin Truex Jr makes his green flag pit stop and handing the lead over to Kyle Busch.
Lap 92 Kyle Busch brings his car down pit road for service. Martin Truex Jr retakes the lead of the race.
Lap 97 Martin Truex Jr has a lead of nearly five seconds on Kyle Larson with Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin rounding out the top five.
Lap 100 – halfway – there are 26 cars on the lead lap. Martin Truex Jr has a six second lead on Kyle Larson.
Lap 104, Martin Truex Jr is “driving it like he stole it” with a lead of nearly eight seconds on Kyle Busch; with Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, and Brad Keselowski in fifth.
Lap 108 Trevor Bayne hits the wall and brings out the caution flag, erasing a huge lead by leader Martin Truex Jr.
Trevor Bayne reported, “that’s the hardest hit I’ve ever had in my life.”
Martin Truex Jr wins the race off of pit road.
Paul Menard had also hit the wall and was heading for pit road when the caution flag came out.
Martin Truex Jr brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 113 and edges out Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch to hold on to the lead.
Lap 116 drivers are getting four wide across the track. Martin Truex Jr has a lead of nearly a second on Brad Keselowski with Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Erik Jones rounding out the top five.
Martin Truex Jr wins stage two.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Martin Truex Jr
Brad Keselowski
Kyle Busch
Denny Hamlin
Erik Jones
Joey Logano
Jimmie Johnson
Kyle Larson
Clint Bowyer
William Byron
Kyle Busch wins the race off of pit road.
Kyle Busch brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 127 and edges out Martin Truex Jr for the lead. Jimmie Johnson got way loose on the restart but held on to save the car.
David Ragan blows a tire after hitting the wall and brings out the caution flag for debris on the track on lap 129.
After only running three green flag laps, Klyle Busch brings the field down pit road for fresh tires.
Taking only two tires, William Byron wins the race off of pit road.
After not stopping Kasey Kahne brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 132 with William Byron taking the lead and Kyle Busch in second. Kyle Busch passes William Byron for the lead with William Byron, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Martin Truex Jr rounding out the top five.
After staying out on the track and not pitting, Kasey Kahne is falling through the field and is in 13th place on lap 134.
Lap 135 Kyle Busch has a half second lead on Brad Keselowski.
Lap 167, Kyle Busch has a half second lead on Brad Keselowski with Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr, and Erik Jones rounding out the top five.
Lap 142 Kyle Busch has a lead of over a second on Martin Truex Jr with Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Kyle Larson rounding out the top five.
Lap 149 Kyle Busch has a two second lead on Martin Truex Jr with Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, and Joey Logano rounding out the top five.
Matt DiBenedetto hits the wall on lap 151 but the track stays green as DiBenedetto makes his way to pit road.
Lap 152 Kyle Busch has a second and a half lead on Martin Truex Jr.
Lap 155 Martin Truex Jr has closed to within a second of lead Kyle Busch; Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, and Joey Logano round out the top five.
Lap 159 Martin Truex Jr has caught Kyle Busch and is challenging for the lead. Teams are beginning to make green flag pit stops.
Lap 160 Martin Truex Jr finally gets around Kyle Busch to take the lead.
Daniel Suarez was caught speeding on pot road.
Leaders are on pit road with 37 laps remaining in the race. Denny Hamlin is now leading the race.
Kyle Busch is the first driver off of pit road and will take over the lead once Denny Hamlin makes his pit stop.
Lap 165 Kyle Busch is out in front by less than half a second on Martin Truex Jr with Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, and Joey Logano rounding out the top five.
Lap 167 bMartin Truex Jr and Kyle Busch battle it out for the lead, but so far Kyle Busch holds on to the lead.
Lap 168 Martin Truex Jr passes Kyle Busch for the lead.
With 30 laps remaining in the race, Trevor Bayne is the only car out of the race.
Lap 173, Martin Truex Jr has a lead of over two seconds on Kyle Busch. During his pit stop, Kyle Busch’s team made the wrong adjustment on the car; causing Busch’s car to be freer instead of tighter. Busch has been fighting a loose condition all race long.
Lap 175 – 25 laps to go – Martin Truex Jr has a three second lead on Kyle Busch. There are 21 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 177, Martin Truex Jr has increased his lead on Kyle Busch to over four seconds; Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, and Joey Logano round out the top five.
Lap 181 Martin Truex Jr has a lead of five seconds on Kyle Larson with Kyle Busch in third, Brad Keselowski, and Joey Logano in fifth.
Lap 182, Martin Truex Jr’s lead is now over six seconds as he continues to run away with the race.
Now nine laps down, Kevin Harvick continues to run the race.
Lap 186, Martin Truex Jr’s lead is now seven seconds in front of Kyle Larson.
With only 12 laps remaining in the race, Martin Truex Jr has a six and a half second lead on Kyle Larson with 15 cars on the lead lap.
Ten to go and Chris Buescher brings a smoking car down pit road.
Martin Truex Jr continues to lead Kyle Larson by six and a half seconds with only 13 cars on the lead lap.
Seven to go – the longest green flag run of the day – Martin Truex Jr has a seven and a half second lead on Kyle Larson with Kyle Busch in third, Brad Keselowski in fourth, and Joey Logano in fifth.
Five to go and Martin Truex Jr has increased his lead to over eight seconds on Kyle Larson.
Three to go, Martin Truex Jr has driven away with it and has a lead of over nine seconds on Kyle Larson. There are only 10 cars on the lead lap.
Martin Truex Jr takes the white flag.
Martin Truex Jr wins the race to sweep all three stages in the race.
The unofficial results of the Auto Club 400:
Martin Truex Jr
Kyle Larson
Kyle Busch
Brad Keselowski
Joey Logano
Deny Hamlin
Erik Jones
Ryan Blaney
Jimmie Johnson
Austin Dillon
Clint Bowyer
Aric Almirola
Alex Bowman
Kurt Busch
William Byron
Chase Elliott
Jamie McMurray
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Paul Menard
Darrell Wallace Jr
Ryan Newman
AJ Allmendinger
Kasey Kahne
Daniel Suarez
David Ragan
Michael McDowell
Ty Dillon
Cole Whitt
Ross Chastain
Chris Bueacher
Matt DiBenedetto
Gray Gaulding
Reed Sorenson
Timmy Hill
Kevin Harvick
Jeffrey Earnhardt
Trevor Bayne