Auto Club 500 Qualifying Update

Auto Club Speedway Fontana -- 02/22/2009

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Saturday Feb 21 2009 7:30pm

Two names that have been dominating headlines so far in this California race weekend are Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch.

Vickers made news last Sunday as a result of his wreck in the Daytona 500 with NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. The incident was the talk of the racing world all week, though both Vickers and Earnhardt said Friday that they have patched things up and are ready to move on.

Vickers seemed to have his head in the game during qualifying on Friday as he snagged the pole with a 183.439 mile per hour lap. Unfortunately, his car was diagnosed with an unspecified engine problem the same afternoon that was deemed serious enough to necessitate an engine change.

That moves Vickers' Toyota to the rear of the field on Sunday for the start of the Auto Club 500 in Fontana, along with the Toyota of Michael Waltrip who also had to change an engine. Reed Sorenson crashed in Happy Hour practice and will also be going to a backup.

With regard to Kyle Busch, who qualified 10th, he's been the focus of a possible weekend sweep at Fontana - something that's never been done before. Busch entered all three races (Cup, Nationwide, Trucks) and dominated Saturday's CWTS and NWS races, leading the most laps and winning both races, making him the first driver in NASCAR history to win two of the top three racing series events in the same day. Though Busch was confident about his chances for Sunday, he cites Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards as his toughest competition.

The situation with Vickers' engine will change the starting front row on Sunday, although Vickers keeps his selection of the first pit stall by virtue of earning the pole. Jimmie Johnson, who ran P2 with a 183.164 mile per hour lap, will start on the outside of the first row, but Jamie McMurray in P3 will move up to the pole position for the green flag.

Rounding out the top 10 in qualifying were Kurt Busch (4), Greg Biffle (5), Jeff Gordon (6), David Reutimann (7), AJ Allmendinger (8), Scott Speed (9), and Kyle Busch (10).

The fastest qualifiers by manufacturer are Brian Vickers/Toyota (1st, but moving to the rear for an engine change), Jimmie Johnson/GM (2nd), Jamie McMurray/Ford (3rd) and Kurt Busch/Dodge (4th).

In terms of practice sessions, there were only two this weekend for the Cup race - one each on Friday and Saturday. The first practice session was led by Jimmie Johnson, followed by Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle, David Reutimann, and Ryan Newman. Reed Sorenson was the fastest Dodge in that session at 9th, though he subsequently crashed his primary car in second practice after a possible parts malfunction. AJ Allmendinger had the next-fastest Dodge at 16th, while Scott Speed was the fastest rookie at 19th. Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran the most laps in first practice but was just 27th on the speed chart.

Jimmie Johnson also paced the second practice with a fast lap of 179.582 miles per hour. Following Johnson were Denny Hamlin, Jamie McMurray, Mark Martin and Greg Biffle. Kurt Busch and Sam Hornish Jr. ran in the top 10 for Dodge. There was concern in the No. 88 camp as Dale Earnhardt Jr. reported his car jumping out of gear in each of the two practices.

In 17 Cup races at Fontana, only one has been won from the pole position, though it was the most recent winner here, Jimmie Johnson, in August of 2008. Matt Kenseth, who's won twice here and carries the momentum from his Daytona 500 win, had the worst starting spot for an eventual race winner - 31st in February of 2006.

Weather may again play a role in the outcome Sunday as it did in last weekend's rain-shortened Daytona 500. The forecast is calling for a 30% chance of scattered showers.

Oddsmakers' favorites:

Jimmie Johnson +300
Carl Edwards +550
Kyle Busch +600
Matt Kenseth +1000
Greg Biffle +1000

A couple of long shots to watch:

David Ragan +2500
Tony Stewart +3500 (this is one of three tracks where Stewart has never won)

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User	Comment
Tetchie	It`s all good that Vickers and Earnhardt patched things up and no hard feelings involved. I wish that JJ would win more races this year than he did last year.
Elgar	I have to say this year has been pretty interesting with the ups and downs more so it seems this season has started off with a bang compared to some others in the past. Its going to be a long one but I have no doubt the excitement will slow down at all.
racefan	I think this race is anybody`s game. There are a lot of good drivers out there who could take this one. May the fastest car win!!
martys	I tend to agree with you Ben and Casey I think Busch has got a strong chance to win this one. I have been wrong before though!
nascarrocks	Sorry racegirl but Jimmie Johnson is going to be all over this one. He had it last time and I think he`s going to take it away again.
racegirl	Go Gordon go! I still think he just might pull a win out of his hat at the track this weekend. I hope this one doesn`t get rained out!
Elgar	The first are always important no matter what sport its in, its the good roll on how things are going to be in the weeks (months for this sport) ahead. Right now Kenseth is leading by a great bit, its gonna take something crazy to knock him from it from what I am reading up on this morning.
Cal	I am not sure I fully agree with this between Busch and Vickers. It looks like some just do not like Vickers since he is not all over the place as some other drivers are (media fav`s), still might be someone to keep an eye out for just to be safe.
Casey Hillman	The Auto Club race is about to come on here too. I tend to agree with you about Kurt. He has a good position and a fast car along with a good team backing him. He certainly has a good chance to win today.
Ben Smith	The smart money is on Kurt Busch this evening. I think he has the best chance of winning this race. Its about to come on here right now. Have fun guys.
MasterModder	What a horrible thing to have happen to Vickers when he was posed to have a good, very good chance of winning this race. This is the first 500 mile race and many of the drivers regard it as very important
FunDriv3	Vicker`s car was diagnosed with unspecified engine problem, maybe that`s why Earnhardt bumped into him since he was near Vickers and the road was wet from raining that time.
the_champ	The forecast is calling for a 30% chance of scattered showers? I hope no car crash would happen on the race`s outcome and I hope nobody in the track gets hurt.