Auto Club 400
 | |
_-_Speedway.svg.png) | |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Auto Club Speedway |
| Location | Fontana, California, United States |
| Corporate sponsor | Automobile Club of Southern California |
| First race | 1997 |
| Distance | 400 miles (643.737 km) |
| Laps | 200 |
| Previous names |
California 500 Presented by NAPA (1997–1999) NAPA Auto Parts 500 (2000–2002) Auto Club 500 (2003–2010) Auto Club 400 (2011–present) |
| Most wins (driver) |
Jeff Gordon Jimmie Johnson Matt Kenseth (3) |
| Most wins (team) | Roush Fenway Racing (7) |
| Most wins (manufacturer) | Ford (10) |
| Circuit information | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 2.0 mi (3.2 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
The Auto Club 400 is a 400-mile (643.737 km) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Prior to 2005, the race was held in late April or early May, and until 2010, the race was run at a length of 500 miles. When the NASCAR Realignment of 2005 was made, the race was moved to February and the week following the Daytona 500.[1] The February date stayed until the 2011 season when the date changed to March. After being pleased with the results of the shortening of the track's former fall race date, the Pepsi Max 400, from 500 to 400 miles Auto Club Speedway decided to do the same thing to its spring race.[2]
Jimmie Johnson is the defending winner of the event.
Past winners
| Year | Date | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Race distance | Race time | Average speed (mph) |
Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laps | Miles (km) | ||||||||
| 1997 | June 22 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | 500 (804.672) | 3:13:32 | 155.012 | Report |
| 1998 | May 3 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 250 | 500 (804.672) | 3:33:57 | 140.22 | Report |
| 1999 | May 2 | Jeff Gordon (2) | Hendrick Motorsports (2) | Chevrolet | 250 | 500 (804.672) | 3:19:38 | 150.276 | Report |
| 2000 | April 30 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske Racing | Ford | 250 | 500 (804.672) | 3:20:50 | 149.378 | Report |
| 2001 | April 29 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing (2) | Ford | 250 | 500 (804.672) | 3:29:37 | 143.118 | Report |
| 2002 | April 28 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports (3) | Chevrolet | 250 | 500 (804.672) | 3:19:53 | 150.088 | Report |
| 2003 | April 27 | Kurt Busch | Roush Racing (2) | Ford | 250 | 500 (804.672) | 3:34:07 | 140.111 | Report |
| 2004 | May 2 | Jeff Gordon (3) | Hendrick Motorsports (4) | Chevrolet | 250 | 500 (804.672) | 3:38:33 | 137.268 | Report |
| 2005 | February 27 | Greg Biffle | Roush Racing (3) | Ford | 250 | 500 (804.672) | 3:34:45 | 139.697 | Report |
| 2006 | February 26 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Racing (4) | Ford | 251* | 502 (807.89) | 3:23:43 | 147.852 | Report |
| 2007 | February 25 | Matt Kenseth (2) | Roush Fenway Racing (5) | Ford | 250 | 500 (804.672) | 3:36:41 | 138.451 | Report |
| 2008 | Feb 24/25* | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing (6) | Ford | 250 | 500 (804.672) | 3:46:04 | 132.704 | Report |
| 2009 | February 22 | Matt Kenseth (3) | Roush Fenway Racing (7) | Ford | 250 | 500 (804.672) | 3:40:51 | 135.839 | Report |
| 2010 | February 21 | Jimmie Johnson (2) | Hendrick Motorsports (5) | Chevrolet | 250 | 500 (804.672) | 3:31:24 | 141.911 | Report |
| 2011* | March 27 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 400 (643.737) | 2:39:06 | 150.849 | Report |
| 2012 | March 25 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 129* | 258 (415.21) | 1:36:39 | 160.166 | Report |
| 2013 | March 24 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | 400 (643.737) | 2:57:19 | 135.351 | Report |
| 2014 | March 23 | Kyle Busch (2) | Joe Gibbs Racing (2) | Toyota | 206* | 412 (663.05) | 3:05:53 | 132.987 | Report |
| 2015 | March 22 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske (3) | Ford | 209* | 418 (672.706) | 2:58:18 | 140.662 | Report |
| 2016 | March 20 | Jimmie Johnson (3) | Hendrick Motorsports (6) | Chevrolet | 205* | 410 (659.831) | 2:59:17 | 137.213 | Report |
- 2006, 2014, 2015, and 2016: Race extended due to a green–white–checker finish. The 2015 race took two attempts.
- 2008: Race started on Sunday but was finished on Monday due to rain.
- 2011: Race distance changed from 500 miles to 400. Kevin Harvick passed Jimmie Johnson on the last lap to win, the first last lap pass in ACS history.
- 2012: Race shortened due to rain.
Multiple winners (drivers)
| Wins | Driver | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Jeff Gordon | 1997, 1999, 2004 |
| Matt Kenseth | 2006, 2007, 2009 | |
| Jimmie Johnson | 2002, 2010, 2016 | |
| 2 | Kyle Busch | 2013, 2014 |
Multiple winners (teams)
| Wins | Team | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Roush Fenway Racing | 1998, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 |
| 6 | Hendrick Motorsports | 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2016 |
| 3 | Team Penske | 2000, 2001, 2015 |
| 2 | Joe Gibbs Racing | 2013, 2014 |
Manufacturer wins
| Wins | Manufacturer | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Ford | 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2015 |
| 8 | Chevrolet | 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016 |
| 2 | Toyota | 2013, 2014 |
History
- 1997: After nearly a decade, NASCAR came back to Southern California on June 22 with the inaugural California 500. The race featured 21 lead changes among a dozen different drivers. Jeff Gordon passed Mark Martin with 11 laps remaining and sped to victory. Terry Labonte took second, giving Hendrick Motorsports another 1-2 finish.
- 2002: There were ten drivers who failed to finish the race; with five of the drivers forcing to leave the race due to terminal crashes while five other drivers had engine issues. Nearly 10% of the 199-minute race was held under a caution flag and the average green flag run was approximately 38 laps. Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s unfortunate accident forced NASCAR to pass a regulation forcing drivers to take the ambulance ride to the infield care center every time they crashed; he did not admit to have this injury until mid-September. At the end, Jimmie Johnson holds off Kurt Busch to score his first career win.
- 2008: The race started on Sunday, completing only 87 laps with 7 yellow flags and 2 red flags. One red flag was caused on lap 21 during the first day when Casey Mears spun upon hitting water that had seeped up through cracks in the track, collided with Dale Earnhardt Jr., then got turned over on his roof by Sam Hornish Jr.. NASCAR postponed the remainder of the event to Monday due to a lengthy red flag for rain. The rain delay on Sunday also delayed the Stater Brothers 300 to Monday. Carl Edwards would go on to win the event, while he finished 5th in the Nationwide Series race.
- 2013: Kyle Busch won after Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin crashed fighting hard for the lead on the last lap. Busch also took the weekend sweep by winning the Nationwide race the day before. It is the first Fontana victory in the Sprint Cup Series both for Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota. From 2011-2013, Busch finished in a reverse order: 3rd (2011), 2nd (2012) and 1st (2013). The last lap crash between Logano and Hamlin sent Hamlin into the inside wall (without a SAFER Barrier) head-on. As a result, he suffered a compression fracture of his L1 vertebra in his back, which forced him to miss four races.
- 2014: Denny Hamlin missed the race when he came down with a sinus infection that impacted his vision about an hour before the race, necessitating Joe Gibbs Racing to hire Sam Hornish, Jr. to drive the car. The race was marred by a massive rash of tire failures, with over 20 tire failures happening in the race itself. Multiple drivers, like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Marcos Ambrose, and more, fell victim to tire failures and had to work their way back through the field to salvage a lead lap finish. A spin by Clint Bowyer with two laps to go set up a dramatic green-white-checkered finish. Over the second-to-last lap, the field went five wide, with Kurt Busch leading. Over the last lap, Kyle Busch and Nationwide race winner Kyle Larson overtook Kurt for the lead. A side-by-side battle for the lead between Busch and Larson nicknamed the "Kyle and Kyle Show" unfolded. Larson looked like he was going to win his first Sprint Cup race, but Busch cleared and moved in front of Larson out of turn 4 and took his second straight win at Auto Club. There were a race high 35 lead changes among 15 leaders.
Television broadcasters
References
- ↑ NASCAR announces schedule realignment for 2005 Cup season
- ↑ Pockrass, Bob (11 January 2011). "Auto Club Speedway race changed from 500 miles to 400 miles". Scene Daily. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
External links
| Previous race: Good Sam 500 |
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400 |
Next race: STP 500 |
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