Auto Racing Glance

[March 14, 2019]  MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES: AUTO CLUB 400 (200 laps, 400 miles around a 2-mile tri-oval), Auto Club Speedway; Fontana, Calif.

TV: Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET (Green flag approx.. 3:46 p.m. ET) -- Fox (Radio: Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90).

THIS WEEK: Four races so far this season, four different winners shared by just two teams. Toyota driver Denny Hamlin won at Daytona and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch won last week at Phoenix. Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano won at Atlanta and Las Vegas, respectively, driving Fords. ... Notably missing from Victory Lane so far is Chevrolet. ... This is the fifth of 36 races on the season, and will be the 30th run at Auto Club, which opened in 1997. ... Martin Truex Jr. won this race last year after starting from the pole. ... Five Fords are in the top 10 in the standings, with three Toyotas and two Chevrolets. ... *Busch leads the Cup standings with 177 points, followed by *Logano (171), Kevin Harvick (168), Hamlin (165), Truex (140), Kyle Larson (138), Aric Almirola (134), *Keselowski (133), Kurt Busch (126) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (123) rounding out the top 10.

*Denotes race winner and playoff berth. Standings per NASCAR.com.

BEST BETS: Harvick and Kyle Busch enter Sunday at 5/1 with Keselowski and Logano at 6/1. The first Chevy driver, Larson, is 7/1, but of his five Cup victories, four have come at Auto Club (1) and sister track Michigan (3). It's hard not to like Chase Elliott at 20/1 and Jimmie Johnson at 50/1.

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES: PRODUCTION ALLIANCE GROUP 300 (150 laps, 300 miles around a 2-mile tri-oval), Auto Club Speedway; Fontana, Calif.

TV: Saturday, 5 p.m. ET (Green flag approx.. 5:16 p.m. ET) - FS1 (Radio: Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90).

THIS WEEK: This is the fifth of 33 races this season and the 30th Xfinity race at Auto Club Speedway. ... Joey Logano won this race last year. ... Full-time Xfinity Series racers are 2-for-4 this year, with full-time Cup driver Kyle Busch winning the past two weeks. ... Chevrolet is performing well in the series, with Chevy drivers holding six of the top 10 spots, with two Ford's and two Toyotas mixed in. ... Tyler Reddick leads the Xfinity standings with 169 points, followed by *Christopher Bell (165), Cole Custer (158), *Michael Annett (147), Brandon Jones (147), Austin Cindric (141), John Hunter Nemechek (140), Noah Gragson (130), Justin Allgaier (128) and Ryan Seig (126).

*Denotes race winner and playoff berth. Standings per NASCAR.com.

BEST BETS: Busch is the heavy favorite at 2/3 followed by Bell at 7/2 with Custer and Allgaier at 7/1. Gragson and Nemechek are bargains at 40/1.

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

THIS WEEK: The Trucks are on their final week of a two-week layoff and will return at Martinsville Speedway on March 24.... *Johnny Sauter leads the Truck standings (148 points), followed by *Brett Moffitt (109), Grant Enfinger (108), Noah Gragson (107), Ben Rhodes (103), Stewart Friesen (101), Spencer Davis (94), Dalton Sargeant (92), Matt Crafton (84) and Matt Snider (84).

*Denotes race winner and playoff berth. Standings per NASCAR.com.

VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES

THIS WEEK: After an exciting race to open the 17-race season at St. Petersburg, Fla., on Sunday, the IndyCar Series takes a week off before its inaugural race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on March 24. ... Josef Newgarden at St. Petersburg, holding off Scott Dixon, Will Power and touted rookie Felix Rosenqvist. ... Newgarden leads the standings (53 points), followed by Dixon (40), Power (37), Rosenqvist (33), and Alexander Rossi (31).
 

FORMULA ONE: AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX (58 laps, 191.118 miles around a 3.295-mile 16-turn temporary street circuit), Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia.

TV: Sunday, 1 a.m. ET (Green flag approx. 1:10 a.m. ET) - ESPN (Radio: SiriusXM Radio Channel 132).

THIS WEEK: This is the season opener, the first of 21 races. ... Germany's Sebastian Vettel won the race last year in a Ferrari, but ultimately finished second in the championship to the United Kingdom's Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes. ... Vettel is a four-time world champion and Hamilton has five, and both are considered top contenders again. Vettel is chasing the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio, who held the record of five for 45 years before Michael Schumacher came along and ultimately won seven. Schumacher is the only target left for Hamilton. ... This will be the 83rd Australian Grand Prix, the first being contested in 1928.

NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION: AMALIE MOTOR OIL NHRA GATORNATIONALS, Thursday-Sunday, at Gainesville Raceway, Gainesville, Fla.

TV: Eliminations, Sunday, 7:30-10:30 p.m. ET (Delayed) FS1

THIS WEEK: The hot rods are back after two of 24 events this season, headed to Gainesville, Fla. for the Gatornationals on March 14-17. ... In the most recent event in Arizona, Billy Torrence won in Top Fuel, Matt Hagan in Funny Car and Jeg Coughlin Jr. winning Pro Stock. Pro Stock Motorcycle debuts at the Gatornationals. ... Torrence leads the Top Fuel points with 178, followed by Doug Kalitta (172), Leah Pritchett (145), Steve Torrence (137) and Terry McMillen (132) rounding out the top five. ... Robert Hight leads Funny Car (205), with Hagan (160), Jack Beckman (151), Tommy Johnson Jr. (132) and Bob Tasca III (129) giving chase. ... Bo Butner is on top of Pro Stock (181), followed by Jason Line (157), Erica Enders (152), Matt Hartford (147) and Coughlin (145).

*Stats and standings per NHRA.com.

--K. Lee Davis, Field Level Media

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