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Weekend preview: Californians take center stage at Auto Club Speedway

[February 28, 2020] DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- For the first time in his NASCAR Cup Series career, 26-year old Ryan Blaney is leading the championship driver standings as a runner-up in the season-opening Daytona 500 coupled with an 11th-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last Sunday have him in the best shape of his young career.

The driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford shows up for Sunday's Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) having scored top-10 finishes in the last three races there, but he faces a large and talented group of California drivers eager to please their home-state fans.

Jimmie Johnson, of El Cajon; Kevin Harvick, of Bakersfield; Kyle Larson, of Elk Grove; Matt DiBenedetto, of Grass Valley; Tyler Reddick, of Corning; and Cole Custer, of Ladera Ranch, all count this week's stop in Fontana -- about an hour east of Los Angeles -- as their venue to shine in front of family, friends and neighbors.

Each of these California-raised drivers brings a distinctive storyline to the home track this week -- an unmistakable homecoming presence throughout Sunday's starting grid.

For the retiring Johnson, obviously, this will be the final Auto Club Speedway race of his seven-time championship career. And the track is ready to commemorate the certain NASCAR Hall of Famer. One of Johnson's best friends and earliest mentors, motocross champion Rick Johnson, will drive the pace car. Johnson's wife, Chandra, and two daughters, Genevieve and Lydia, will serve as the race's honorary starters.

For most of the track's existence, they've had plenty to cheer for. Johnson is Auto Club Speedway's all-time winningest driver with six victories. He's led more laps (980) than any driver, and since 2005, leads the grid in driver rating (114.0), average running position (7.271) and laps in the top 15 (88.3 percent).

Auto Club Speedway is the NASCAR Cup Series venue closest to Johnson's hometown of El Cajon, located just outside San Diego and fittingly, it is where Johnson claimed his first series trophy in 2002. Should he win this weekend in the famed No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Johnson would have 84 career NASCAR Cup Series wins -- tying him with legends such as Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip. Only three other drivers (Jeff Gordon, David Pearson and Richard Petty) have won more races.

And Auto Club Speedway is where Johnson's tall win column secured its foundation.

"People always ask me what was my most special win or memory," said Johnson, who is in a three-way tie for ninth place in the series driver standings following a fifth-place finish at Las Vegas last weekend.

"I guess you have to go with the first one and your last one. You never know how these things go.

"That first win in 2002 [at Auto Club Speedway] gave me confidence. It made me realize that I belonged in the NASCAR Cup Series and I would be able to win at this level. I couldn't have dreamed bigger or imagine things could have gone any better. It will be bittersweet taking the checkered flag this weekend. There will be so many good memories to relive. I can't wait."

Joining Johnson in this high-speed homecoming is Harvick, also a past winner at Auto Club Speedway. He won in 2011 and has 10 top-five finishes in 22 starts. He and Larson -- the 2014 winner -- are the only other California natives, among the active drivers, with a NASCAR Cup Series win at the track.

And Harvick and Larson are the only two drivers with top-10 finishes in the opening two races of the 2020 season. Harvick, who finished fifth in the season-opening Daytona 500 and eighth last week at Las Vegas is third in the standings, only four points behind the leader Blaney. Larson is ranked fourth, 15 points behind Blaney.

That there are so many fellow Californians to contend with for the NASCAR Cup Series championship these days is hardly a surprise -- more of an inevitability the way the 2014 champion Harvick sees it.

"I think, when you look at California, there are a lot of racetracks up and down the coast," Harvick said of his state's racing roots. "Whether it's asphalt, dirt tracks, go-kart tracks, there is a well-supported community of racing up and down the state of California, even into Washington and Oregon. As I was coming up, there was the Southwest Tour, Winston West Series and the (NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors) Trucks that raced on the West Coast a lot. There was also a fairly good following for Late Models.

"It's always been a well-supported racing area and I was fortunate to grow up in Bakersfield, California, which is a very well-supported racing town no matter what you race. There is a lot of racing. It just took a while for everybody to figure that out."

MOTIVATED XFINITY SERIES HEADS TO CALIFORNIA

It is only be the third race of the season, but the competition in NASCAR's Xfinity Series is already proving to be top line as drivers head to Auto Club Speedway for Saturday's Production Alliance Group 300 (4 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The 21-year old Noah Gragson started the season with a dramatic win at Daytona International Speedway, and 25-year old Chase Briscoe answered with a late race rally at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend. With the win, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver, Briscoe, takes the championship lead by a mere seven points over the JR Motorsport's driver, Gragson.

Essentially the whole field arrives at the two-mile Auto Club Speedway feeling revitalized and motivated. With no former race winner entered this week, someone is sure to have a huge first celebration in this Californian Victory Lane. And with the thrilling, tight competition in just the season's opening two races, there's no overwhelming favorite -- just the kind of unpredictable, close-quarter racing that has made this series so popular.

Three drivers have earned top-five finishes in the two season-openers -- Briscoe, Gragson and Rookie of the Year candidate Harrison Burton, who scored a career- best runner-up finish at Daytona.

And several drivers reaffirmed their championship intentions with impressive runs at Vegas. Runner-up Austin Cindric was a 2019 Xfinity Series Playoff driver and rallied from a disappointing 16th place showing at Daytona. His second-place work at Vegas in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford moved him up 10 positions in the championship standings and he's now sixth place, 17 points behind Briscoe -- his only fellow Ford driver in the field.

Burton, who drives the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, is establishing a blistering pace for the rookies this season, but his highly-touted JGR teammate Riley Herbst reminded Burton last week that he's up for the challenge. The first-year Xfinity Series driver's ninth-place finish in his hometown Las Vegas race moved Herbst from 30th place to 16th in the standings. This will be his Auto Club Speedway debut.

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One of NASCAR's most popular drivers, Ross Chastain, also turned in a Las Vegas points rally. His 10th place finish moved him from 20th place in the standings to 11th. He will be competing in both races this weekend, filling in for the injured Ryan Newman in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race and continuing his work toward a NASCAR title in the Xfinity Series race on Saturday. In five previous Auto Club Speedway starts, his best Xfinity race finish is 10th in 2018.

NASCAR Cup Series

Next Race: Auto Club 400

Auto Club Speedway

Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET

TV: FOX, 2:30 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 400 miles (200 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 60), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 120), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)

2019 Winner: Kyle Busch

What to Watch For: Jimmie Johnson's six wins at the track are most all-time and he leads the series in total laps led (980 to Kyle Busch's 807). ... Four drivers have won the Auto Club Speedway race the season after hoisting the NASCAR Cup Series championship trophy -- Tony Stewart (2012), Jeff Gordon (1999), Martin Truex Jr. (2018) and Johnson, who did it four times from 2007-10. ... The most laps ever led in a race is 228 when Johnson won in 2008. The most laps led by a driver who did not win is 168 laps by Greg Biffle in 2006. He finished 42nd. .... Kurt Busch holds the record for most pole positions (4) won. He and Denny Hamlin (3) are the only active drivers to have won multiple poles. ... Kyle Busch is both the youngest pole-winner (19 years, 9 months 25 days in February 2005) at Auto Club Speedway and the youngest race winner (20 years, 4 months, 2 days in September 2005). ...he closest margin of victory is .144-seconds when Kevin Harvick beat Johnson in March, 2011. ...Johnson leads all drivers with five second place finishes. ...Johnson leads all drivers in top-10 finishes (17) and top-five finishes (13). ...The farthest back a race winner has started is 31st - Matt Kenseth in 2006. .... Five positions on the grid have produced the most winners (three each). They are pole position, third place, fifth place, ninth place and 24th place. ... Only three drivers have won from the pole (Johnson in 2008, Kyle Larson in 2017 and Truex in 2018). ... Twice the race winner has led only the final lap -- Harvick (2011) and Brad Keselowski (2015). ... Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 14 wins, Ford has 11 and Toyota has four. Ford has won only once in the past 12 years (Brad Keselowski, 2015). ... Hendrick Motorsports is the winningest team at the track with 11 victories. ... Chris Buescher is the only driver in the field who made his Cup debut at Auto Club Speedway (in 2015). ... Johnson (2002) and Kyle Busch (2005) are the only drivers in the field to have earned their first NASCAR Cup Series win at the track. ... Clint Bowyer has made the most starts (19) without a victory. ... Harvick, Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon are tied for most starts (26) at the track. ... Seven of the past 10 series races at ACS have had a caution come out within the last 15 laps of regulation. ... Four of the past six races have gone into overtime with the exceptions being Truex's win in 2018 and Kyle Busch's win last year.

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Next Race: Production Alliance Group 300

Auto Club Speedway

Saturday, 4 p.m. ET

TV: FS1, 3:30 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 300 miles (150 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 35), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 70), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 150)

2019 Winner: Cole Custer

What to Watch For: There have been five different winners in the past six races. ... No former winners are entered this week, guaranteeing a first-time Auto Club Speedway victor. ... Chase Briscoe leads Noah Gragson by seven points in the Xfinity Series championship. ... Ross Chastain will be driving in both the Xfinity and NASCAR Cup Series races, racing for the championship in the No. 10 Kaulig Racing and filling in for injured Cup driver Ryan Newman in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. ... Five drivers have scored multiple wins at the track. Kyle Busch has the most trophies (6) followed by Matt Kenseth (4), Greg Biffle (3), Joey Logano (3) and Kyle Larson (2). ... Busch, Logano and Larson have combined to win 11 of the past 14 races. ... The last Xfinity full-time driver to win at the track was Cole Custer in 2019. ... Austin Dillon won in 2016 leading only the last lap -- the only time that has happened in this race. It was a similar scene to Dillon's 2018 Daytona 500 triumph when he led only the checkered flag lap. ... Kyle Busch swept the Auto Club Speedway weekend races in (2013). ... The outside pole position is the winningest starting position on the grid with seven victories in 30 races. ...Kyle Busch holds the record for most wins from pole (3). Joey Logano is the only other competitor with multiple wins from pole (2). ... The first time a pole-winner won the race was in 2008 (Kyle Busch) -- the 17th of 30 races to date at Auto Club. ... Todd Bodine won the inaugural Xfinity Series race in 1997. His 28th-place starting position is still the farthest back a winner has started the race. ... Bodine's 15.903-second win over Steve Park in the 1997 inaugural race remains the largest margin of victory. ... Kyle Busch's .051-second win over Greg Biffle in 2010 marks the smallest margin of victory. ... Kyle Busch led 144 of 150 laps (96%) in winning the August, 2008 race from pole position - the most laps any winner has led. The next race - in February, 2009 - Busch led 143 laps and won. ... Most laps led by a driver that did not win was 133 of the scheduled 150 by Kyle Busch in 2016; he finished second. ... This facility has seen multiple winning streaks from manufacturers. Toyota holds the all-time best mark earning a record nine consecutive wins at Auto Club Speedway from 2008-13. Ford won seven straight from 2002-06. And Chevrolet won four straight races twice -- from 1998-2001 and from 2014-2017. ... Ford leads all manufacturers with 10 wins. Toyota and Chevrolet each have nine.

--Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media

Prize Pool:

1. $250,000

2. $100,000

3-4. $40,000

5-6. $15,000

7-8. $7,000

9-12. $4,000 -- Ninjas in Pyjamas, Team Vitality

13-16. $2,500 -- Cloud9, Renegades, TYLOO, Virtus.pro

--Field Level Media

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