2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 5: Auto Club

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Auto Club 400

By Richard Tix

Another week in the books and another new winner visiting Victory Lane. NASCAR is now a perfect five for five in regards to different winners so far to start the season off. Things will most likely level off, but it is fun to see different strategies playing a part in this weekly. Last week it was Newman staying out and clinching a win and this week it was Martin Truex Jr trying to do the same but falling to Kyle Larson.

Even though we have had a five different winners, the early season is starting to give us some clarity on early season story lines within teams. While Hendrick Motorsports seems to be struggling, Chase Elliott is thriving for the most part. Meanwhile JGR has had a slow start, but Martin Truex Jr -- also in a Toyota -- is on fire weekly. Then you have the Fords of Team Penske where all three -- yes, one is technically Wood Borthers -- are a threat each week to be running up front.

So, even though the winners have been different, many of the same drivers are bringing it week to week and really we could have had just two winners thus far because Larson has been that good. Meanwhile, we wait to see how long it is until Johnson, Kenseth, Earnhardt, and Hamlin get it going. Will they? I have no doubt that Jimmie and Chad will turn things around and have plenty of time to do so, but will they miss out on too many bonus playoff points while they right the ship?

One thing is for sure, we aren't short of things to watch for early this year so settle in and enjoy.

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 5 (Week 4)

1. Kyle Larson (LW-1)- 3, 2, 12, 2, 2, 2, and 1. Dating back to the end of last year, those are the finishing position of Larson in the last seven Cup races -- oh and that 12th was Daytona where he was pushing for the win but ran out of fuel....
2. Brad Keselowski (LW-2)- After and early spin, BK and the No. 2 team took a beat up car and fought back. Heck, late in the race they had a slim shot at still pulling out a win before finishing runner up to Larson.
3. Chase Elliott (LW-3)- Elliott has three straight races of an average running position of 4th, but that changed this week when he came in with a higher average....Of fifth... The No. 24 is one HMS car taht has speed, thy just need to close.
4. Martin Truex Jr (LW-7)- A few weeks after his Vegas win, Truex again was one of the best cars on the day and one of the only ones with a chance to beat Larson. Some gambling backfired late, but the No. 78 is on point right now.
5. Kyle Busch (LW-5)- Kyle finished up a strong top 5 finish at PIR with a top 10 at Auto Club. He and Truex are starting to come alive.
6. Joey Logano (LW-6)- JoLo started toward the rear of the field after not getting to qualify for the race while stuck in inspection. They bounced back with a strong top five.
7. Kevin Harvick (LW-4)- It looks like Harvick will be going through every situation possible early this year. Sunday it was bouncing back after early damage from a flat tire. His 13th was pretty impressive all things included.
8. Jamie McMurray (LW-8)- Aggressive and fast can describe JMac early this year. CGR has found something (maybe extra help from Chevy with SHR gone?) early on and Jamie has benefited.
9. Ryan Blaney (LW-9)- Blaney and Harvick have seemed to be the two guys who have gone through everything early this year, but kept it enough together to finish off some races. Blaney notched another top ten Sunday (9th).
10. Daniel Suarez (LW-NR)- Don't look now but Suarez has beck to back 7th place finishes which is an early season bonus. I still expect him to be inconsistent, but these finishes will help in the long run no doubt.
11. Denny Hamlin (LW-10)- DH hasn't been that great early this year, but he also hasn't been bad. Sunday at Auto Club was the same.
12. Clint Bowyer (LW-NR)- Welcome back to the top five Bowyer... Sunday ended a decent drought for Bowyer and top fives, next up, a win...Maybe..

Dropped Out: Jimmie Johnson (LW-11) and Ryan Newman (LW-12)

Just Missed: Erik Jones

2017 NASCAR Week 5: Auto Club

Auto Club 400

Auto Club Speedway

By Richard Tix

Is this the week that one of the Young Gun's of NASCAR finally gets it done? Last week Ryan Newman and the No. 31 team made a bold call to stay out late in the race and it paid off when the field was shaken up behind them. That call snapped a long win-less streak for Ryan Newman and RCR.

Now NASCAR stay's West one last week with it's final stop of the tour at Auto Club Speedway (Fontana). 2017 has brought an early season shake up by watching the Fords start out hot and two young kids trying to go toe to toe with them.

Those two drivers are Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott and both have had great starts to the newest season. Larson has three straight second place finishes and was running second in the Daytona 500 before running out of fuel on the last lap. Larson is also the current points leader, has scored a stage point in every single stage so far this year, and on the season has averaged a running position of 5.25. So, it's safe to say he has had a phenomenal start to 2017.

Elliott has been no slouch himself. Chase actually has a better average running position then Larson so far this year at 5th, which is crazy to think. Chase's only issue has been finishing the race off strong when other teams are switching up strategies. Yet, he sits 3rd in the standings as we head into a track that he ran well at as a rookie in 2016.

Last year Chase finished 6th sixth at Fontana which at the time was his highest finish of 2016. Larson has a second place finish in 2014, but in the nest two season's he ran into some tough luck. However, both drivers should run well at Fontana considering the track seems to fit both of them as drivers.

So, it's pretty easy to imagine just one week after Ryan Newman pulled off a shocker, to see one of these young guns finally win in 2017 (Larson's second career win or Elliott's first career win). That's not even mentioning Ryan Blaney who has been fast all year and could also be in the mix late in the race.

I think the story of the early season has really been how these young kids have been bringing it and been fast week to week. So, the storyline this weekend will be can one of them pull off a trip to Victory Lane?

**This section is just a quick look at some of Cup drivers latest finishes. This is not a tool for fantasy purposes and NBTW only is looking at end results. No deep statistic's are involved, but rather it is just a quick way to get ready for the race and get caught up on who has finished well at each track**

The Good

• Jimmie Johnson- Six career wins here at Auto Club for JJ and he got back on the map last year with his second win of 2016 here on his way to his 7th Cup Championship.
• Kyle Busch- Before last years rough finish (25th), Rowdy had two straight wins at Auto Club in races he participated in -- missed 2015 with his injury.
• Kevin Harvick- In his last eight races here he has a win, five top fives (including three second place finishes), and six top ten's.

The Middle

• Matt Kenseth- Kenseh hasn't won here since 2009. In the nine races after that 2009 win he has an average finish of 14.55 with only four top tens.

The Bad

• Aric Almirola- Nine career races withouth a single top ten. Aric only has two top 15's and two top 20's in his career as well which is where the real struggle is.
• Martin Turex Jr- Only nine top 20's in Martins 16 career starts here at Auto Club. In the No. 78 he also only has one top 10 -- three races -- which is more telling of his struggles here.
• Trevor Bayne- Last year Bayne qualified well here -- 7th -- but failed to finish as well -- 20th. However, last years 20th was his best finish in three tries, which isn't a good thing. 

About the Track: Auto Club

Track Stats

• Manufacturer wins here go Chevy 13, Ford 11, Toyota 2, and Dodge 1
• Until 2014 Jimmie Johnson was the only driver to win two times in a row here (2009 and 2010). Kyle Busch won back to back in 2014 and 2013
• Only Jimmie Johnson has won from the Pole: 2008 (26 total races)
• Most career wins here: Jimmie Johnson 6, Jeff Gordon 3, and Matt Kenseth 3
• Most Poles: Kurt Busch with 4
• Ken Schrader ran 17 races here without a top 10. Highest finish was 14th, twice.
• Johnson has the most career top 5's at Auto Club: 13
• Johnson has the most career top 10's with 16

Track Info

• Surface - Asphalt
• Length - 2 miles
• Banking
• Turns- 14 degrees
• Frontstretch- 11 degrees
• Backstretch- 3 degrees

2017 NASCAR Schedule: Auto Club

Auto Club 400

By Richard Tix

All Times are Eastern Time Zone (ET)

Friday March 24, 2017

• 1:30-2:55 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice- FS1
• 3-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series practice- FS1
• 5-5:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice- FS1
• 7:05 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying- FS1

Saturday March 25, 2017

• 11:30 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice- FS1
• 12:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying- FS1
• 2:30-3:20 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice- FS1
• 4 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series NXS 300 (150 laps)- FS1

Sunday March 26, 2017

• 3:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400 (200 laps)- FOX

2016 NASCAR Pit Road Week 5: Auto Club

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Auto Club 400

Robert Laberge/Getty Images

By Richard Tix

March 20, 2016. What an interesting, fantastic, and exciting day. NASCAR wrapped up it's West Coast swing at Auto Club Speedway and it went out with a bang. The Auto Club finish also marked our first NASCAR Cup racing break of 2016 as we head into Easter weekend.

Where to start? The race itself was just about perfect. Auto Club Speedway has produced some of the best racing on the schedule for the past 4-5 years without a doubt. I won't even let anyone argue that fact with me, it has just been that good. Auto Club makes the case to why NASCAR's tracks should never repave the track surface unless it is absolutely needed. The aging surfaces help give the track character, help develop more running lines, and make teams pay more attention to tire strategy.

Between a perfect track and an improved aero package that is giving early season life to NASCAR at every track the race was almost perfect from start to finish.

To start the race teams had some early tire issues more often then not. It seemed like a case of teams not listening to Goodyear's recommendations on air pressure. Teams will continually do this to test the limits and sometimes it doesn't work. It is just my hunch, but I think they were testing it out early and it failed.

The issues happened less and less as the race moved along, but the action on the track continued to heat up. Passing upon passing every lap. This packaged had already proved to help the passing on other tracks, but at a track like Fontana where many times groves can be found 3, 4 or even 5 wide it makes the action that much better. 

It wasn't just passing in the pack, but up front where leaders spared back and forth to take the front spot. By the end of the day we had 26 lead changes, 26!

The second to the last restart was by far some of the best racing of the season. Six different drivers were under a "blanket" going four wide. Guys like Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliott getting run's on the high side shooting from high to low to make a pass. I seriously think if you didn't enjoy it you might want to head to the doctor and check your pulse. 

PHOTO: AP / JOSE HUERTA

After about 5-7 laps of 4 wide battling the restart was finally settled. By the time the run was coming to a finish everyone could feel a tire problem coming. Guys were scrapping the wall and Ryan Blaney even had a tire go down (he made it to the pits without a caution). Then Kyle Busch had a tire go down and before he got to pit lane NASCAR threw a yellow.

It was the second time in the same amount of days that Kyle Busch had a tire issue in the closing laps that ruined his day.

At the time Kevin Harvick held the lead and was now in position to once again lead the most laps of the day but lose the trip to victory lane. Harvick and crew have had this happen more time's then are worth counting and sometimes it makes you think about how many more wins he should have had in the past two seasons with SHR.

Well, add another one to that list as he lost the lead on that last "overtime" restart. The restart battle wasn't near as good as the previous one, but it still made for a fun finish. In the end Jimmie "Superman" Johnson flew to the front on the restart and took his 6th Auto Club win and 77th career win to victory lane.

If the race wasn't enough, the after race should have put you in a evening overload. Drivers, team members, parodies, and wives took to twitter and set it on fire. It was exciting and entertaining to say the least. I won't get into detail, but you can go looking around at Cole Pearn, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kyle Busch (if you're not blocked), Amy Reiman, The Orange Cone, and Kevin Harvick to name a few. Not to mention if you're a basketball fan how amazing the tourney was.

In the end, we had short runs, long runs, pit stop troubles, tire problems, guys conserving tires, strategy, passing, falling, three lanes, five lanes, and heated battles for the lead and all throughout the field. We had just about everything fans have been asking for and want in a race.

NASCAR will carry the most momentum it has had through five races in a long time into Easter Break before heading to Martinsville after. One thing is for sure, no one will forget about NASCAR during the break.

*Auto Club 400 Results

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 5 (Week 4)

1. Jimmie Johnson (LW-3)- Leading at least 18 laps in four of five races so far and winning two of them, JJ has a hot start with this new aero package. Not good for other drivers, but at least they still have the Chase to be hopeful of. Finish: 1st
2. Kevin Harvick (LW-1)- How much tough luck can he have? Once again leading the most laps of the race and once again coming up short. He held himself very well after the race in adversity. Finish: 2nd
3. Kyle Busch (LW-2)- How unlucky can you be to have two tire issues in two days during the closing laps? Even if he was over driving (not saying he was or wasn't, I'm not in his car) its still crazy to think it happened about the same time. He gets the benefit this week (plus no one else stepped up enough to take his spot). Finish: 25th
4. Carl Edwards (LW-5)- Strong car all day. Edwards fought off a late tire issue and salvaged a nice finish anyways. Finish: 7th
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-4)- What a long day for Junior and Jr Nation. Most of his air time while struggling was for Batman v Superman, yet he salvaged the day and almost finished top 10. Finish: 11th
6. Denny Hamlin (LW-10)- Did anyone have a more up and down day then Denny? Struggling, penalties, and a comeback all sum up his day. What a way to fight through adversity when many (including myself) thought his day was about over. Finish: 3rd
7. Brad Keselowski (LW-10)- Another strong car like the 11 and 19, but another case of fighting through adversity. This one was a pit penalty. BK didn't seem to have a winning car anyways, but he made the best he could of the day and was in that front group under a "blanket" to finish the race. Finish: 9th
8. Joey Logano (LW-11)- Joey was strong all day but not quite winning strong. Then their is the Truex issue. Look, he didn't touch Martin. Martin was already rapidly falling. Yet, Joey still extended an apology over the radio and after the race. What else does he have to do? It was an aero thing and he got too close, it happens. Finish: 4th
9. Kurt Busch (LW-6)- Speaking of Joey, the same thing happened with Dale Junior and Kurt very early except Junior actually made contact with Busch. Yet, no twitter uproar? Oh, yeah because it was Dale. Move along. Anyways, tough break for Kurt as he got lose and slow and Junior had no where to go when he couldn't check up fast enough. Finish: 30th
10. Martin Truex Jr (LW- 7)- I really do like Truex, and I understand in the moment him being upset, but what Cole Pearn's says on Twitter after he should have seen the replay and noticed the #78 wasn't physically touched was a bit uncalled for, funny, but uncalled for. Martin was still very strong before the fall off that helped lead to the JoLo situation. Finish: 32nd
11. Austin Dillon (LW-8)- Austin took his hot run into Auto Club and then took the pole. But as many predicted, Kevin Harvick took it over by the middle of turns one and two and never looked back. It was a disappointing finish, but his quality start gives him a week of cushion in the rankings. Finish: 24th
12. Chase Elliott (LW-NR)- The back and forth for the 12th spot on the rankings keeps happening with the two best rookies of 2016. Chase already has three top 10's in five races and has really stood out. He spent most of the day in the top 10 on Sunday. All three races he has run in the top 15 92% or better of the time. He has an average running position of 9th, 13th, 8th, and 7th in his last four. If not for the last caution he would have had his first top 5. Finish: 6th

Dropped Out: Ryan Blaney (12th)

Just Missed: Jamie McMurray

2016 NASCAR Week 5 Preview: Auto Club

Auto Club 400

Auto Club Speedway

By Richard Tix

The 2016 season has yet to disappoint in the eyes of Behind the Wall. The racing action has gotten better as passing has increased and the drivers have truly had to work to win a race. Not only has the action as told by myself or other media been better, but the finishes that every fan see's has been phenomenal.

The season started with a 0.01 win by Denny Hamlin just ahead of Martin Truex Jr at the Daytona 500. Then we headed to Atlanta for the first low downforce aero package test of 2016 and the result was one of the best all around races of the season. Las Vegas continued to showcase the new package but didn't have the luster that Atlanta did, but still produced some fun storylines down the stretch. Lastly we got to witness another historic finish at Phoenix last weekend.

That finish came after a call by the No. 4 team to stay out and most of the rest of the pack going in and grabbing two fresh right side tires. The difference in strategy, as always, resulted in some fun on the restart. Except this time instead of just strategy, fans got to see it play out how it was all drawn up in a nail biting finish that left fans asking "who just won?"

The Phoenix result is why strategy in racing every week is a fun thing to watch and a big part of why I am a fan of racing. Not always will those strategies play out perfectly for the last second win with two drivers going nose to nose, but that is always the plan (well really the plan is to win with ease but what fun is that?). It is why all race long paying attention to the different ways to approach a race is a fascinating aspect of the day.

Too many fan's think a race is only exciting if we run four wide all race, but that just can't physically happen. Racing has always been about a driver who can wheel his car the best, a team that can put together the best car and find an edge, and a team that can do all the little things right and find the perfect strategy down the stretch. Sometimes those are the best finishes whether or not it happens to be 0.01 sec difference at the line or a driver with a full 5 sec win. However, when all those things come together we get a result like Phoenix. So, let that finish soak in but do not forget all the strategy and full race long work it took to get there.

**This section is just a quick look at some of Cup drivers latest finishes. This is not a tool for fantasy purposes and NBTW only is looking at end results. No deep statistic's are involved, but rather it is just a quick way to get ready for the race and get caught up on who has finished well at each track**

The Good

• Jimmie Johnson- It's been a few years since Fontana was JJ's track, but before 2012 he was the guy to beat here. From 2002-2012 JJ had five wins and 14 top 10's in 18 races.
• Kyle Busch- Kyle missed the 2015 race with his injury which gave way to Keselowski, but before that he had two straight wins (2013 and 2014). He also finished 2nd in 2012 and 3rd in 2011 to continue that streak out further. 
• Carl Edwards- 14 top 10's in 18 starts says most of it, but Carl Eadwards' is just consistent when it comes to Auto Club. In all of his starts here he has a driver rating of 97.1.

The Middle

• Kyle Larson- Larson has limited Cup number here, but both stops in his young career were decent ones despite the look of his 26th place finish last year. He actually ran 92.3% of last years race inside the top 15 and sat at an average position of 12th most the race. In 2014 as a rookie he finished 2nd which helped his season long hype. If you're a believe in an early season win for Larson, Fontana might be the place.

The Bad

• Joey Logano- JoLo has three top 10's here, but in between those he only has two other top 20;s in 9 career starts. His last three starts here have been much better overall, so he might jump right out of this category along with teammate BK.
• Brad Keselowski- Yes, the 2015 winner at Fontana. Before that win he had career finishes of 26th, 23rd, 18th, 26th, 26th, and 21st. He may have figured it out during his win last year, but both Penske guys have faltered down the stretch too much too look past here.
• Jamie McMurray- JMac actually has two poles here, but nothing to show for them. In fact, in 20 career starts he only has six career top 10's and only seven career top 15's. 

About the Track

Track Stats

• Manufacturer wins here go Chevy 12, Ford 11, Toyota 2, and Dodge 1
• Until 2014 Jimmie Johnson was the only driver to win two times in a row here (2009 and 2010). Kyle Busch won back to back in 2014 and 2013
• Only Jimmie Johnson has won from the Pole: 2008 (26 total races)
• Most career wins here: Jimmie Johnson 5, Jeff Gordon 3, and Matt Kenseth 3
• Most Poles: Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch tied with 3
• Ken Schrader ran 17 races here without a top 10. Highest finish was 14th, twice.
• Johnson has the most career top 5's at Auto Club: 12
• Johnson and Matt Kenseth are tied for the most career top 10's: 15

Track Info

• Surface
• Asphalt
• Length
• 2 miles
• Banking
• Turns- 14 degrees
• Frontstretch- 11 degrees
• Backstretch- 3 degrees

Auto Club Speedway
Race	Date	Cars	Winner(s)	St	Make / Model
1997-15	6/22/1997	42	Jeff Gordon	3	Chevrolet
1998-10	5/3/1998	43	Mark Martin	3	Ford
1999-10	5/2/1999	43	Jeff Gordon	5	Chevrolet
2000-10	4/30/2000	43	Jeremy Mayfield	24	Ford
2001-10	4/29/2001	43	Rusty Wallace	19	Ford
2002-10	4/28/2002	43	Jimmie Johnson	4	Chevrolet
2003-10	4/27/2003	43	Kurt Busch	16	Ford
2004-10	5/2/2004	43	Jeff Gordon	16	Chevrolet
2004-25	9/5/2004	43	Elliott Sadler	17	Ford
2005-02	2/27/2005	43	Greg Biffle	5	Ford
2005-25	9/4/2005	43	Kyle Busch	25	Chevrolet
2006-02	2/26/2006	43	Matt Kenseth	31	Ford
2006-25	9/3/2006	43	Kasey Kahne	9	Dodge
2007-02	2/25/2007	43	Matt Kenseth	25	Ford
2007-25	9/2/2007	43	Jimmie Johnson	2	Chevrolet
2008-02	2/25/2008	43	Carl Edwards	9	Ford
2008-25	8/31/2008	43	Jimmie Johnson	1	Chevrolet
2009-02	2/22/2009	43	Matt Kenseth	24	Ford
2009-30	10/11/2009	43	Jimmie Johnson	3	Chevrolet
2010-02	2/21/2010	43	Jimmie Johnson	7	Chevrolet
2010-30	10/10/2010	43	Tony Stewart	22	Chevrolet
2011-05	3/27/2011	43	Kevin Harvick	24	Chevrolet
2012-05	3/25/2012	43	Tony Stewart	9	Chevrolet
2013-05	3/24/2013	43	Kyle Busch	4	Toyota
2014-05	3/23/2014	43	Kyle Busch	14	Toyota
2015-05	3/22/2015	43	Brad Keselowski	8	Ford

Weekend Articles:

• TV Schedule
• Entry List
• Auto Club Stats
• March Madness Sweet 16
• Power Rankings