NASCAR begins its 2023 West Coast Swing with the final race at the two mile track of Auto Club Speedway for the Pala Casino 400.  The event also marks the last time Kevin Harvick will start at Fontana; but more importantly, it will be Harvick’s 750th consecutive NASCAR start; placing him third  in line for the most consecutive starts in NASCAR behind Ricky Rudd and Jeff Gordon. 

After some unusual nasty weather that included some snowflakes cancelled out practice and qualifying, NASCAR has set the field by its metric; putting Christopher Bell on the pole with Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr alongside on the front row.

The starting lineup for the Pala Casino 400:
Christopher Bell
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Joey Logano
Alex Bowman
Chris Buescher
AJ Allmendinger
Daniel Suarez
Ross Chastain
Ryan Blaney
Kevin Harvick
Cody Ware
Corey LaJoie
Denny Hamlin
Martin Truex Jr
Kyle Larson
Brad Keselowski
Aric Almirola
Bubba Wallace
Austin Cindric
Noah Gragson
Kyle Busch
JJ Yeley
Ty Gibbs
Harrison Burton
Todd Gilliland
Michael McDowell
Ryan Preece
Austin Dillon
Justin Haley
BJ McLeod
Chase Briscoe
William Byron
Chase Elliott
Erik Jones
Tyler Reddick
Ty Dillon

After a Saturday filled with cloudy skies, rain, and even snow; the sun is shining with cool temperatures on Sunday as the drivers take to the track for 400 miles of racing.

Stages one and two are 65 laps each with stage three lasting 70 laps for a total of 200 laps around the two mile track.  The teams have been given 12 sets of tires for today’s race.

Tony Stewart joins Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer in the broadcast booth again today for the race.

On pace laps the drivers are spread out five wide in a salute to the fans.  It will not be the only time today that the cars will be spread out across the track four and five wide.

Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag start of the race from the inside lane and goes side by side, but it doesn’t take long for the cars to spread out across the track with Alex Bowman taking the lead.

Lap three, the top five are Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, Joey Logano, and AJ Allmendinger.

Lap five Alex Bowman holds on to the lead with Ross Chastain in second; Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.

Lap seven, Alex Bowman holds on to the lead with Ross Chastain in second; Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.

Lap nine, Martin Truex Jr passes Christopher Bell for fourth.

Lap nine, leader Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain, and Joey Logano have separates themselves from the rest of the pack.

Lap eleven, Martin Truex Jr has moved up 10 spots since the race start and is in fourth place.

Lap 12, the drivers are already over a second slower than when they started the race due to the abrasiveness of the track.

Lap 13, Kyle Larson brings his car down pit road with possible engine issues.  The crew has the hood up on the car.

Lap 14, Alex Bowman continues to lead the race with Ross Chastain in second; Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.

Lap 15, Kyle Larson returns to the track but the crew is trying to diagnose the issue.

Lap 16, NASCAR puts out the yellow flag for the competition caution.   Teams will have the chance to check tire ware and make adjustments.

Daniel Suarez had some debris on his grille but it blew away.

Drivers come down pit road for service and adjustments with Ross Chastain winning the race off of pit road.

Martin Truex Jr had a loose tire that rolled into another pit box. and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.

After a slow stop, Christopher Bell has fallen to 16th.

Ross Chastain brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 21 and gets out in front for the lead.

Kyle Larson has taken his car to the garage for repairs.  The crew believes it is an electrical issues.  Crews are permitted to take their cars to the garage for mechanical repairs.

Lap 23 Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain, and Kyle Busch get in a three wide battle for the lead with Ross Chastain taking the spot; Joey Logano is in second with Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, and Daniel Suarez rounding out the top five.  After starting in 23rd, Kyle Busch is in the top 10 in sixth place.

After 25 laps have been run, Ross Chastain leads the race with Joey Logano in second; Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.

Lap 30, Ryan Blaney takes the lead from Joey Logano; Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace and Alex Bowman round out the top five.

Lap 32, Ryan Blaney leads the race with teammate Joey Logano in second; Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Lap 33, Martin Truex Jr is back in the top 20 after restarting the race from the back of the field as the result of a penalty.

Lap 37, Ryan Blaney has a lead of over half a second on Joey Logano; Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Lap 40, leader Ryan Blaney’s team owner Roger Penske is the man who originally built Auto Club Speedway; this is the last NASCAR race on the current two mile configuration.

Lap 41, 16 laps down, Kyle Larson has returned to the track.

Brad Keselowski spins out and brings out the second caution flag of the day after some contact with Corey LaJoie on lap 42.

Drivers come down pit road for fresh tires and adjustments.

Ryan Blaney leads the race off of pit road with Ross Chastain in second and Kyle Busch in third.

Kyle Busch was caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.

Austin Dillon makes a second trip down pit road for work on the nose of the car.

Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 47 with Ross Chastain alongside.  Drivers quickly get four the five wide across the track.  Ross Chastain takes the lead with teammate Daniel Suarez on his bumper.

Speaking on Kyle Busch and his speeding penalty, Tony Stewart said that Kyle Busch drives better when he’s mad.

Lap 49, Ross Chastain leads the race with Daniel Suarez in second; Ryan Blaney,, Alex Bowman, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Lap 50, Ross Chastain holds on to the lead with Daniel Suarez in second; Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.  Kyle Busch has gained nine spots since the race restarted.

Lap 53, Kyle Busch has entered the top 20.  Ross Chastain continues to lead the race.

With 12 laps remaining in stage one, Ross Chastain has a lead of less than half a second on Daniel Suarez; Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, and William Byron round out the top five.  Kyle Busch is just outside the top 15 in 16th place.

Lap 57, Ross Chastain has increased his lead to nearly a second on teammate Daniel Suarez; Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, and William Byron round out the top five.

Lap 59, Martin Truex Jr has entered the top 10 after serving his penalty from the first caution.

Lap 61, Kyle Busch is up to 13th after his speeding penalty.

Lap 62, Ross Chastain continues to lead the race with Ryan Blaney in second; Daniel Suarez, Alex Bowman, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

While Trackhouse Racing drivers Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez are racing in California, team owner Justin Marks is in Sebring, Florida driving in the Trans Am race.

Chris Buescher has gone one lap down with an ill handling car.

Ross Chastain wins stage one for his second stage win of the season.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Ross Chastain
Ryan Blaney
Daniel Suarez
Alex Bowman
Denny Hamlin
William Byron
Joey Logano
Kevin Harvick
Martin Truex Jr
Chase Elliott

Drivers come down pit road for service with Ross Chastain winning the race off of pit road and Daniel Suarez coming out second.  Daniel Suarez was caught speeding on pit road and will have to start the race from the back of the field.  Ryan Blaney has a slow stop and comes out in 14th place.

Ross Chastain brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 73 before a packed house.  Taking the outside lane Ross Chastain gets passed by Joey Logano after Logano got a good push from behind.

Kyle Busch is already back in the top 10.

Lap 75, Denny Hamlin leads the race.  Joey Logano passes Denny Hamlin for the lead.

AJ Allmendinger brings out the  fourth caution flag of the race after spinning out and hitting the inside wall.  Corey LaJoie has some damage to his car after making contact with Allmendinger.

Brad Keselowski is the “Lucky dog”.

Joey Logano leads the race off of pit road.  Martin Truex Jr has some damage to his car and has to come back to pit road.  William Byron and Ross Chastain nearly collide on pit road.

In making his attempt to make it back around to pit road, Martin Truex Jr lost a tire on the track.  The loose tire penalty has been revised and if the wheel comes off on the racing surface the driver is held for two laps and two crew members are suspended for a couple of weeks.

After staying out on the track, Austin Dillon brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 80 with Ryan Preece alongside.  Noah Gragson comes up from the outside (also stayed out) to take the lead.

Lap 81, Joey Logano takes the lead on fresher tires.

Denny Hamlin takes second from Noah Gragson.

Lap 82, Corey Lajoie does some agricultural racing to bring out the fifth caution flag of the race after some on track contact from Tyler Reddick.

Chase Briscoe is sitting on pit road after the crew had the hood up.

Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag with Denny Hamlin alongside on lap 87.  Ty Dillon gets turned around on the restart and collects up several drivers to bring out the sixth caution flag.  Aric Almirola, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Justin Haley, Cody Ware, Todd Gilliland, Ryan Preece, and Christopher Bell were all involved.  Bell and Almirola were stuck in the wet grass.

Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 93and battle with Denny Hamlin for the lead.   William Byron comes up on the bottom to make it a three wide battle with Denny Hamlin taking the lead. 

Lap 94, Denny Hamlin leads the race with Joey Logano in second; Ross Chastain, William Byron, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Daniel Suarez has entered the top 10 after serving a penalty for speeding.

AJ Allmendinger, Christopher Bell, Ryan Preece, Tyler Reddick, and Aric Almirola are all out of the race.

Lap 98, Ross Chastain passes Denny Hamlin to take the lead; William Byron, Joey Logano, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Lap 99, Daniel Suarez is just outside the top 10 in sixth place

Lap 100, halfway, Ross Chastain has a lead of over half a second on Denny Hamlin; Joey Logano, William Byron, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

All of the drivers involved in the crash have been checked out and released from the infield care center.

Lap 103, Ross Chastain has a lead of over half a second on Denny Hamlin.

Mike Joy reports that NASCAR was at the track at 5:30am to work on track drying in order to get the track ready for racing.

Lap 105, Kyle Busch passes Denny Hamlin for second with Ross Chastain nearly a second out in front with the lead.

Lap 106, the top five are Ross Chastain, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and Daniel Suarez.

Lap 110, Ross Chastain has increased his lead to over a second on Kyle Busch.

Lap 111, the top five are Ross Chastain, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Kevin Harvick.

Joey Logano is reporting that he may have a loose tire.

Lapa 113, Kyle Busch has closed the gap o leader Ross Chastain to just over half a second.  The leaders are out in front with no other traffic around.

Ricky Stenhouse jr brushes the wall but the track stays green.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr slaps the wall again, but the track stays green.

Lap 116 Ross Chastain has increased his lead to over a second and a half on Kyle Busch; Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.

Lap 120, Ross Chastain has increased his lead on Kyle Busch to over two seconds with 26 cars on the lead lap.

Bubba Wallace is reporting the temperatures in his car are going up.

Lap 122, continues to increase his lead on Kyle Busch; Chastain is now nearly four seconds out in front.

Lap 124 Joey Logano and Kyle Busch battle for second.

With six laps remaining in stage two, Ross Chastain leads the race with Kyle Busch in second; Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Alex Bowman’s crew is worried whether or not Bowman has enough fuel to make it to the end of the stage.

Brad Keselowski had a big piece of debris on his front grille but managed to get it off before it became an issue.

Ross Chastain wins stage two and sweeps the stage wins for the first time in his career.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Ross Chastain
Kyle Busch
Joey Logano
Kevin Harvick
Daniel Suarez
Denny Hamlin
Chase Elliott
Alex Bowman
Austin Dillon
Brad Keselowski

Drivers come down pit road for service with Kevin Harvick edging out Kyle Busch to win the race off of pit road.  Bubba Wallace and Justin Haley have long pit stops with the crew trying to get all the debris out of the grille.

Kevin Harvick brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 137 with Kyle Busch on the inside lane. Ross Chastain gives Kyle Busch a push and Busch takes the lead.

Austin Cindric bounces off the wall after some contact with Todd Gilliland but the track stays green.

Ty Dillon also bounces off the wall but the track stays green.  Dillon is slow coming down to pit road.

Sixty to go, the caution flag comes out after Ty Dillon could not get back to pit road.

Martin Truex Jr is the “lucky dog”.

Drivers come down pit road for fresh tires.  Kyle Busch wins the race off of pit road.

Kyle Busch brings the field down for the green flag restart with 55 laps remaining in the race with Kevin Harvick on the inside.  Drivers are quickly three wide for the lead with Kyle Busch getting out in front with Ross Chastain coming up to battle for the lead.

Joey Logano comes down in the inside to take the lead.  Ross Chastain gets out in front with Kyle Busch and Joey Logano in a battle for second; ChaseElliott and Daniel Suarez rund out the top five.

Lap 148, Ross Chastain has the lead with Kyle Busch a quarter of a second back in second; Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Fifty to go, Ross Chastain holds on to the lead with Kyle Busch in second; Daniel Suarez, Joey Logano, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Kyle Busch comes up to try and battle with Ross Chastain for the lead but Chastain holds him off.

Lap 151, the three most aggressive drivers are 1-2-3 with Ross Chastain in the lead; followed by Kyle Busch and Joey Logano.

With 47 laps remaining in the race, the drivers have enough fuel to make it to the end, but will the tires hold out???

Lap 155, Ross Chastain has a half second lead on Kyle Busch; Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Forty to go, Ross Chastain holds on to the lead with Kyle Busch a quarter of a second back; Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain’s teams report that they are short on fuel and will be coming down pit road shortly.

Lap 165, Ross Chastain holds a narrow lead on Kyle Busch; Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, and Daniel Suarez round out the top five.

Lap 136, Joey Logano is the first driver to come down pit road.  He has some cording on his tires. 

Drivers come down pit road for fresh tires and fuel.  Chase Elliott is the new leader.

Lap 168, Chase Elliott comes down pit road and gives the lead over to Danny Hamlin.  More drivers come down pit road.

Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain come back out on the track in 17th and 18th place.

Lap 170, Denny Hamlin leads the race with Brad Keselowski in second; Harrison Burton, Michael McDowell, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.  Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain are back in the top 10 in eighth and ninth.

Lap 172, Denny Hamlin comes down pit road and gibves the lead over to Brad Keselowski.

Brad Keselowski comes down pit road and gives the lead over the Harrison Burton.

Bubba Wallace’s car is steaming on pit road as he gets his car serviced.

Lap 178, Harrison Burton comes down pit road and gives the lead to Michael McDowell.  Kyle Busch is in second place with Noah Gragson in third.  McDowell and Gragson are the only drivers who have not made a pit stop.

Twenty-five to go, Michael McDowell has a lead of over seven seconds on Kyle Busch but Busch has fresher tires and is slowly closing the gap on the leader.

Bubba Wallace is out of the race with a blown engine.

With 23 laps to go, Kyle Busch has closed the gap on leader Michael McDowell to under two seconds.

Twenty to go Kyle Busch passes Michael McDowell for the lead with Michael McDowell in second; Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.

Since passing Michael McDowell for the lead, Kyle Busch has pulled out to a lead of over two and a half seconds on McDowell.

Just 18 laps remain in the race; Kyle Busch leads the race by over thee and a half seconds on Chase Elliott; Ross Chastain, Michael McDowell, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.

Fontana is the site where Kyle Busch won his first Cup Series race.  He has won at least one race in each of the past 18 years.

Just 12 laps to go, Kyle Busch has a lead of three and a half seconds on Chase Elliott; Ross Chastain, Kevin Harvick, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Ten to go, Kyle Busch holds a three second lead on Chase Elliott; Ross Chastain, Kevin Harvick, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Eight to go Kyle Busch increases his lead on Chase Elliott to nearly three and a half seconds.

Denny Hamlin brushes the wall but the track stays green.

Seven to go, the top five are Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez, and Kevin Harvick with 20 cars on the lead lap.

Brad Keselowski brushes the wall but the track stays green.

Four to go, Kyle Busch continues to lead the race with Chase Elliott in second; Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.

Three to go, Kyle Busch has pulled out to a 3.75 second lead on Chase Elliott.

Kyle Busch takes the white flag.

In only his second race with Richard Childress Racing, Kyle Busch wins the race in the final race on the two mile track at Fontana.  This makes 61 career wins for Busch and the record holder for winning at least one race for 19 seasons in a row.

And the stands were not full of boos when Kyle Busch crossed the finish line.  This is Busch’s fifth Fontana wins.  He notes that it isn’t about him, but about the guys.

The unofficial results of the Pala Casino 400:
Kyle Busch
Chase Elliott
Ross Chastain
Daniel Suarez
Kevin Harvick
Denny Hamlin
Brad Keselowski
Alex Bowman
Austin Dillon
Joey Logano
Martin Truex Jr
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Chris Buescher
Corey Lajoie
Harrison Burton
Ty Gibbs
Todd Gilliland
Michael McDowell
Erik Jones
Chase Briscoe
Justin Haley
Noah Gragson
JJ Yeley
BJ McLeod
William Byron
Ryan Blaney
Cody Ware
Austin Cindric
Kyle Larson
Bubba Wallace
Ty Dillon
Christopher Bel
Ryan Preece
Tyler Reddick
Aric Almirola
AJ Allmendinger