NASCAR News & Notes: Auto Club and Las Vegas
Fontana Post-Race Quotes
“The deal on pit road, we got lucky. We were in our pit box and the caution came out. We were able to just beat the 31 car [Jeff Burton] off of pit road where the scoring line is at the end of pit road. You know, [we] certainly got lucky. We were running third or fourth or fifth at the time, so it's not like we totally backed into this thing.
“We got a really nice gift with the way things worked out. Then it was kind of up to me to hang onto it.”
— Auto Club 500 winner Jimmie Johnson, on the situation near the end of the race that got him off pit road on the lead lap and eventually handed him the lead.
“Global warming. It was too cold.”
— Race-winning crew chief, Chad Knaus, on what it would take to help attendance at the Auto Club Speedway in Southern California.
“They're really good, but they're really, really lucky, too. I mean, Jimmie is a good friend of mine, but there's no way of getting around how lucky they are. You don't win four championships and do all the things they've done.
“They did a good job today in winning the race, but they have a golden horseshoe stuck up their ass. I mean, there's no way to get around that.”
— Kevin Harvick’s take on Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team.
“Spoilers. We got to start working on spoilers. That's going to be a big change. You know, everybody has what they have for the next two weeks. When the spoiler comes, you better be ready. If we get behind, you won't catch back up anytime soon.
“We did that all last year. So that's where I think the whole garage is working right now.”
— Third-place finisher Jeff Burton, on what his Richard Childress Racing team needs to work on in order to continue its early-season success.
Misc. Notes
Jimmie Johnson won the Auto Club 500 from Fontana, Calif. The win was the 48th of his NASCAR Cup career, tying him for with Herb Thomas for 12th on the all-time wins list. The win was Johnson’s fifth at Auto Club Speedway in 15 starts. Johnson earned his first career win at what was then California Speedway in 2002.
Johnson, Matt Kenseth (3) and Jeff Gordon (3) are the only drivers with multiple wins at ACS.
Kevin Harvick’s runner-up finish was his second top-10 performance of the two-race-old season. Harvick has four runs of seventh or better in the last five races dating back to last season.
With his third-place finish, Jeff Burton has eight consecutive top-15 runs dating back to last October’s Charlotte race. Over the course of his 549-race Cup career, Burton has scored a top-10 finish 223 times, or in an amazingly consistent 40 percent of his starts.
Time of Race: 3 hours, 31 minutes, 24 seconds
Average Speed: 141.911 mph
Margin of Victory: 1.523 seconds
Caution Flags: 6 cautions for 30 laps.
Lap Leaders: 26 lead changes among 13 drivers. McMurray-pole, Montoya 1-29, Johnson 30-37, Vickers 38-39, Blaney 40-42, Johnson 43-55, Harvick 56-59, Johnson 60-61, Harvick 62-81, Johnson 82-86, Harvick 87-89, Johnson 90-97, Martin 98-100, Johnson 101-134, Ku. Busch 135, Johnson 136-142, J. Gordon 143-153, Burton 154, Ky. Busch 155-165, Burton 166-181, Bowyer 182-183, Martin 184-185, Vickers 186-188, Hamlin 189-194, Speed 195-197, Burton 198-226, Johnson 227-250.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Track Specs: 1.5-mile, tri-oval; Banking/Turns: 20 degrees; Banking/Tri-oval: 9 degrees; Banking/Backstretch: 3 degrees
2009 Winner: Kyle Busch
Cup Practice Times (all times Eastern): Friday, Feb. 26: 3:00-4:30 pm; Saturday, Feb. 27: 1:40-2:20 pm; Happy Hour: 2:45-3:50 pm. All practice sessions will be televised live on SPEED TV.
Cup Qualifying: Friday, Feb. 26: 6:40 pm (SPEED TV)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Shelby American: Sunday, Feb. 28: 3:15 pm (FOX). Coverage starts at 12:00 pm on SPEED TV
Still seeing full fields
For the second straight race, 46 teams are officially entered for the Las Vegas race. Those that must race their way in (not in the top 35 in owners points): 09-Aric Almirola, 13-Max Papis, 35-Johnny Sauter, 36-Mike Bliss, 46-Terry Cook, 55-Michael McDowell, 66-Dave Blaney, 71-Bobby Labonte, 82-Scott Speed, 87-Joe Nemechek, 90-Casey Mears. Labonte, however, is guaranteed a spot based on being the most recent past champion not already locked in.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway Facts
Las Vegas Motor Speedway has hosted 12 Sprint Cup races since Mark Martin won the 1998 Las Vegas 400. At the time, the track’s turns were banked at 12 degrees. It has since been reconfigured with 20 degrees of banking. As a result, qualifying speeds have increased by nearly 20 mph.
Only four drivers — Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin — have participated in all 12 Vegas races. However, it’s Jimmie Johnson, who leads the circuit with three wins in only eight starts at LVMS. Burton and Matt Kenseth own two each. Gordon, Martin, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards have one apiece.
Burton, Gordon and Martin lead the series with five top 5s in Vegas. Martin’s nine top 10s and Burton’s 9.8-place average finish are tops in Cup competition.
Labonte, Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne are tough on pole day. These three have combined to win half of the pole positions.
Busch is also the defending pole and race winner in Las Vegas. Busch’s 2009 qualifying mark of 185.995 mph was a track record. He beat Clint Bowyer and Burton by .411 seconds on race day last March.
