Auto Club 500 Race Preview

Auto Club Speedway Fontana -- 02/22/2009

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Wednesday Feb 18 2009 11:01pm

After an offseason full of economic worries, team mergers and driver acquisitions, most NASCAR fans were really looking forward with great anticipation to a fun and exciting Daytona 500.

What came out of last weekend, though, was a little bit of excitement and a whole lot of debate over two controversial issues: the big multi-car pileup triggered by the lapped cars of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brian Vickers, and NASCAR's decision to end the race early after a brief 20 minutes of rain.

Fans and drivers disappointed with a Daytona race that didn't live up to the hype now turn their attention to the Auto Club Speedway (ACS) in Fontana, California - a relative newcomer on the Sprint Cup circuit.

Sunday's race marks the 18th time that the Cup series has visited the ACS racetrack. The first Cup race here, won by Jeff Gordon, took place in 1997. The track continued to host one Cup race a year until 2005 when a second date was awarded.

The February race date at California is a relatively new venture as well, with just four of the 17 Cup races held during that month. Remarkably, all four of them were won by Roush-Fenway Fords: Greg Biffle in 2005, last week's Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth in both 2006 and 2007, and Carl Edwards in 2008 in the first of his nine Cup wins last season.

Though Matt Kenseth was thrilled to win the rain-shortened Daytona 500 last week, he was circumspect about what that victory means in terms of his team's potential for success over the course of 36 races this year. Fontana is the first of many downforce tracks that the series will visit in 2009 without the benefit of offseason testing. “You’ve probably got to get to the first break, get through California, Las Vegas and Atlanta, through some of those downforce tracks and see what your stuff is like (to) have a better idea for the season,` said Kenseth. `Usually Speedweeks isn’t a good indicator of what the rest of the season will be like. Everybody puts a lot of focus and time on the Daytona 500. It’s obviously our biggest event of the year and everybody always puts forth a lot of effort for this race, but you’ve really got to get through that first four or five or six races to see what you have and have a better feel for the season.”

That said, Kenseth is clearly one of the drivers to watch this weekend. He is not only the reigning Daytona 500 winner and a two-time winner of the February Cup race at ACS, but he also won four Nationwide races here.

In terms of setting up a car for success at Fontana, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief Tony Eury Jr. explains, `One of the biggest challenges at California is that the track is really flat and has no grip. Basically you have to keep a really good aero platform and keep the car from getting too free off the corners. That has typically been our problem in the past - our car will be good after 20 laps, but will be too free at the start. We are really working hard to try and tighten the car up a little bit, but not get it too tight at the end of the run. You have to start the race in the day and end at night, so you've got those conditions changing on you on top of that.`

The ACS race dates have been spread over a number of months dating back to the first race in 1997, including February, April, May, June, August and September. Jimmie Johnson won two of the last three Cup races here, though both were summer rather than winter races.

Johnson and Gordon have won three races a piece here and Kenseth two, while the following drivers are single race winners: Jeremy Mayfield, Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Greg Biffle.

Over the course of the last five Fontana races, the driver accumulating the most points, including bonus points, is Jimmie Johnson, followed by Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Edwards and Jeff Gordon.

Those same five drivers also lead in the average finish category led by Johnson, then Edwards, Kenseth, Busch and Gordon.

Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson are the early favorites of oddsmakers at +400, with Kyle Busch at +500, Kenseth at +800, Greg Biffle at +1000, and Jeff Gordon at +1500.

With regard to manufacturers, Ford has won nine of 17 races here, with seven victories for GM and one for Dodge. All seven Chevy wins were by Hendrick Motorsports drivers, while Roush-Fenway has six of the nine Ford victories.

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RaceFan88	Fontana lived up to its expectations and the race was exciting for those cheering on Kenseth, Gordon, or any of the other top drivers. I would have loved to see Dale Jr. finish the race but that wasn`t to be. Hopefully, Las Vegas brings better luck for him than did California.
Elgar	Maybe they are swapping the ones who have already had the limelight for those that have not so much had it? Anything is possible with people looking over things always calling the shots.
navigator07	I wonder why Dale Earnhardt Jr. was not included in the early favorites of oddsmakers. It seems like Matt Kenseth is becoming a hot seat in the racetrack.
maddox8	I hope the weather should be in good state, then no more accidents should follow the racing sports event. I`m eyeing for Kenseth today.
the_champ	I am looking forward to see Jimmie Johnson participate in the Auto Club 500 racing competition. If he is going to drive there, I wonder how it feels like watching your favorite driver compete with a talented driver like Matt Kenseth.
FunDriv3	This race must be good for Chevrolet Impala SS. Seventeen races won makes it obvious that the Chevy cars would show their very best. Probably manufacturers of Chevy must be happy to gain such recognition in the track by now.
racefan	I think Jimmie Johnson may run away with this one. Kenseth and Gordon may very well be in the top five though. Hoping for a better race this week.
martys	After such a disappointing Daytona 500 I am really looking forward to seeing a great race this weekend. I think Gordon may be my choice for this one.
nascarrocks	I think I am going to put my money down on Matt Kenseth this weekend. He has a good record for the track and he did win last week!
racegirl	Sounds like the odds are favoring Kenseth on this one. I am still undecided about who to put my money on though. Hopefully they will get to run a full race this weekend.
Ben Smith	Place a safe bet on Jimmy Johnson and a wishful bet on Kenseth and your probably going to either break even or double your money. My feelings are that one of these two is going to win.
TeslaHopeful	Jeff Gordon is looking good for this race too, odds wise he is equal to the Jimmy God of Nascar. lol Jeff Gordon should have better odds than he does too. So should Greg Biffle.
MasterModder	I think Jimmy Johnson and his crew are going to make their move in this race. They have been sitting back watching, making few errors, but accomplishing little and now is the time for the ol` Johnson magic to start showing again.
Cal	I wonder what that is hinting towards with Roush-Fenway there at the end. You know everyone thinks if the name is Roush then its gotta work perfect and that just seems its not the case.
roadrunner	My money is on Kenseth for this one. Not only did he do a great show for Daytona (even though shortened) his experience on this track has got to be an advantage.