Storylines: Auto Club Speedway
Only two races remain in the “Race to the Chase,” with drivers battling to secure one of the 12 spots in NASCAR’s playoffs – the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
This week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits Auto Club Speedway (formerly California Speedway), for Sunday’s Pepsi 500. On Saturday, the NASCAR Nationwide Series will race at ACS, with the Camping World Service 300 presented by Coleman. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has an off-week.
Storylines for this weekend follow, starting with a look at Californians “in the garage” this weekend at Auto Club Speedway.
In The Garage – The Local Angles
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
AJ Allendinger (Los Gatos) – No. 84 driver
David Gilliland (Riverside) – No. 38 driver
Jeff Gordon (Vallejo) – No. 24 driver
Robby Gordon (Orange) – No. 7 driver
Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield) – No. 29 driver
Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon) – No. 48 driver
Casey Mears (Bakersfield) – No. 5 driver
Jimmy Elledge (Redding) – No. 84 crew chief
Scott Meesters (Hanford) – No. 9 engine tuner
John Smeltzer (Santa Cruz) – No. 24 engine tuner
Ron Liddell (Redding) – No. 29 engine tuner
J.D. Frey (Ferndale) – No. 42 mechanic
Charley McDonnel (Anderson) – No. 9 mechanic
Ronnie Hornaday III (Palmdale) – No. 10 mechanic
Andy Morgan (Roseville) – No. 96 mechanic
Todd Carmichael (Redding) – No. 19 mechanic
Melanie Hamilton (Oceanside) – No. 77 media relations
Roger Parkinson (San Diego) – No. 41 shock specialist
Luke Cunningham (Lodi) – No. 2 shock specialist
Dan Graves (Newcastle) – No. 5 tire specialist
Robby Maschhaupt (San Dimas) – No. 10 transporter driver
Rick Pennington (Oakland) – No. 9 catch can man
Clint Almquist (Blythe) – No. 07 catch can man
Clay Robinson (Simi Valley) – No. 24 front tire changer
Doug Newell (Oxnard) – No. 83 gas man
Mike Morrison (Redding) – No. 07 gas man
Rich Gutierrez (Yorba Linda) – No. 48 gas man
Jeff Patterson (Escondido) – No. 20 gas man
Gabe Barajas (Saugus) – No. 22 rear tire carrier
Don Schenkel (Long Beach) – No. 43 rear tire carrier
Tom Hubert (Cottonwood) – No. 22 rear tire changer
Chad Avrit (El Entro) – No. 84 rear tire changer
Jeremy West (Harbor City) – No. 48 rear tire changer
Daniel Mondragon (Monterrey) – No. 96 rear tire changer
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Bryan Clauson (Carmichael) – No. 40 driver
Jason Leffler (Long Beach) – No. 38 driver
Stanton Barrett (Bishop) – No. 30 driver
Burney Lamar (West Sacramento) – No. 05 driver
Travis Bryans (San Diego) – No. 2 engineer
Eric Wise (Riverside) – No. 27 catch can man
Nick DeFazio (Newport Beach) – N o. 12 spotter
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
Bonus Points = Boiling Points
All drivers making the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup will have their point totals reset to 5,000. They then will have 10 bonus points tacked on, for every race they won before the Chase.
The battle between Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards is intensifying weekly, thanks to the importance of bonus points given for pre-Chase victories; bonus-point totals determine “seedings” to start the Chase.
Busch and Edwards are 1-2 in series points. They’re also the first two drivers to clinch spots in the Chase. Busch has also clinched the top seed for the Chase, with 80 bonus points. Edwards will have the second seed, as he currently has 50 bonus points.
Edwards has closed the gap the last two weeks, with back-to-back victories at Michigan and, this past Saturday, at Bristol. Things are getting serious, evidenced by the post-race exchange of sheet metal by Edwards and Busch. Contact between the two late in the race allowed Edwards to pass and go on to win the event. Busch responded by ramming into Edwards post-race. Edwards answered that by spinning Busch out en route to Victory Lane.
Edwards has six victories this year – but only 50 bonus points because a rule infraction at Las Vegas negated the bonus points he won there.
The first of Edwards’ six wins came at Auto Club Speedway in February.
Clinching Chase Berths: Earnhardt, Johnson Have Best Shots This Week
Two down, 10 to go. Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards have already clinched spots in the 2008 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – only 10 spots remain.
Two more will likely be filled this weekend at ACS, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson both only need finishes of 40th to lock up a spot. Jeff Burton also “controls his own destiny” this weekend. Here are the clinch scenarios for those three drivers:
At California, Earnhardt can lose 154 points to 13th place and still clinch a spot. But, regardless of any other driver’s finish, Earnhardt can clinch if he finishes:
40th or better
42nd and leads at least one lap
43rd and leads the most laps
At California, Johnson can lose 152 points to 13th place and still clinch a spot. But, regardless of any other driver’s finish, Johnson can clinch if he finishes:
40th or better
41st and leads at least one lap
43rd and leads the most laps
At California, Burton can lose 78 points to 13th place and still clinch a spot. But, regardless of any other driver’s finish, Burton can clinch if he finishes:
15th or better
17th and leads at least one lap led
18th and leads the most laps led
Six other drivers can clinch this weekend as well, but do not control their own destiny. Unlike Johnson, Earnhardt and Burton, all six must increase their current points lead over 13th place in Sunday’s race
Below are those drivers who can mathematically reach the 196-point margin over 13th position this weekend:
Tony Stewart: Is 170 points ahead of 13th place and needs to pad his lead by 26 points.
Greg Biffle: Is 141 points ahead of 13th place and needs to pad his lead by 55 points.
Kevin Harvick: Is 129 points ahead of 13th place and needs to pad his lead by 67 points
Jeff Gordon: Is 108 points ahead of 13th place and needs to pad his lead by 88 points.
Matt Kenseth: Is 78 points ahead of 13th place and needs to pad his lead by 118 points.
Denny Hamlin: Is 57 points ahead of 13th place and needs to pad his lead by 139 points.
Clint Bowyer, currently 12th in the series standings, cannot clinch a Chase position at Auto Club Speedway under any scenario, assuming David Ragan starts Sunday’s race.
Bubble Boys: Six Drivers Separated By 107 Points
Two races remain until the Chase begins. This week, Clint Bowyer has the 12th and final potential Chase berth, but his position is precarious to say the least, merely 12 points ahead of 13th-place David Ragan and 56 ahead of 14th-place Kasey Kahne.
On the “up-side”of the bubble, Denny Hamlin is in 11th, only 45 ahead of Bowyer.
There you have it: only 101 points separating positions 11-14, only 56 separating 12th from 14th.
Milestone Marker: Burton to Run 500th Race This Weekend
Combining 16 years in the sport with an uncountable number of thoughtful quotes, Jeff Burton has become known as the “unofficial spokesman in the NASCAR garage.” This weekend, Burton celebrates 500 races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
The first 499 have been impressive. In his career, Burton has 20 wins, 114 top fives, 205 top 10s and has finished in the top 10 in points seven times.
NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
And Then There Were Two?
With nine races left, it looks like two drivers remain in the championship hunt. Leader Clint Bowyer is 122 points ahead of Brad Keselowski, who got his second win of the year Friday night at Bristol by taking advantage of a Bowyer miscue late in the race. Reigning champ Carl Edwards was second in the standings and closing fast on Bowyer, but finished 37th at Bristol. It was his second-worst finish of the year, and third-worst of his career. He’s now 241 points out of first.
But both Bowyer and Edwards have a good history at Auto Club Speedway – Edwards won this race in 2005 and Bowyer leads all series drivers with two poles, both in this event. Keselowski has yet to finish better than 32nd in his four races.
Combo Win A Rare Feat
Keselowski’s win at Bristol not only gave a series-only regular multiple wins in a season since two-time champion Martin Truex Jr. won six in 2005, but it was also the first time a series-only regular won a combination event since Truex won at New Hampshire in 2005.
Clauson’s Chance Comes At Home
Bryan Clauson is back in the No. 40 Dodge for the first time in four races. He was born in Carmichael, Calif. before moving to Indiana at age 10, and has shown tremendous improvement since his track debut in February when he finished 34th. Since then he has earned his first top-five finish and first pole. Sharing the remainder of the season with teammate Dario Franchitti, he’s in the mix for Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors where he’s third, 13 points behind leader Landon Cassill. He’ll make up ground on second-place Franchitti this weekend, who’s 12 points behind Cassill.
NNS Etc.
Jeff Burton is the defending race winner / Hamlin is the defending pole winner. … Roush Fenway Racing drivers have nine of the 15 wins at Auto Club Speedway. … No driver has won from the pole at California. … Cale Gale won his first career pole at Bristol, the fourth different Raybestos Rookie to win a pole this year. The series record for most different Raybestos Rookie pole winners is five in 1998.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES
Benson Building Cushion
Johnny Benson’s win streak ended at three following a fourth-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway last week. But his two closest pursuers, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Matt Crafton, had off-nights, Thus, Benson’s 119-point championship lead is the largest of the 2008 season.
It isn’t going to get any easier for Benson’s pursuers after the series takes a weekend off before heading to Gateway International Raceway on Sept. 6. Benson is the defending Gateway winner.
Chrissy Wallace Back Behind Wheel
Looking ahead to Gateway, St. Louis native Chrissy Wallace is slated to make her first NASCAR national series start at her “hometown track.” Her father, Mike, logged three consecutive top-10 finishes at the 1.25-mile track driving for Ken Schrader and Jimmy Smith. Her uncle Kenny finished 13th a year ago.
One Short Track To Go
With the Bristol Motor Speedway event complete, there is only one short track remaining on the truck series scheduled this season – Oct. 18 at Martinsville Speedway.
There have been five different winners this season in the series’ short-track events.
TRG Has ‘Sporting’ Chance
Part-time driver T.J. Bell has provided a mid-summer spark for TRG Racing – a sports car team that is becoming more and more comfortable in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Bell has logged top-10 finishes in TRG’s No. 7 Chevrolet two of the past three races complementing teammate Donny Lia’s victory earlier this year at Mansfield, Ohio.
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