March 16, 2018
Martin Truex Jr. wins second straight pole of the season at Fontana:With the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying field thinned significantly by inspection issues, Martin Truex Jr. won his second straight pole of the season in Friday’s knockout qualifying session at Auto Club Speedway.[More](3-16-2018)
Truex won the Busch pole for the Auto Club 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway with speed of 186.567mph for his second pole of 2018, first at Auto Club and 17th of his career. Truex has won one times from the 16 previous poles.
#18-Busch will start 2nd followed by #42-Larson, #20-Jones, #3-ADillon, #22-Logano, #41-Busch, #12-Blaney, #31-Newman, #4-Harvick.
#4-Harvick was fastest in the second round with a speed of 187.720mph, will start 10th.
#4-Harvick was also quickest in the first round with a speed of 188.744mph.
Driver(s) who will miss the race: none as 37 were entered for 40 spots
See round-by-round qualifying results on the Qualifying results page (pdf) and the complete starting lineup on the Starting Lineup page (pdf).(3-16-2018)
Auto Club Speedway – Qualifying Fast Facts:
Martin Truex Jr. won the Busch Pole Award for the 22nd Annual Auto Club 400 with a lap of 38.592 seconds, 186.567 mph.
This is his 17th pole in 446 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series races.
This is his second pole and third top-10 start in 2018.
This is his first pole in 18 races at Auto Club Speedway.
Kyle Busch (second) posted his third top-10 start of 2018 and his 12th in 20 races at Auto Club Speedway.
Kyle Larson (third) posted his third top-10 start at Auto Club Speedway. It is his fourth in five races this season.
Darrell Wallace Jr. (19th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Statistics)(3-16-2018)
Second Round of Qualifying for the Auto Club 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway is over, after 10 scheduled minutes.
#4-Harvick 187.720
#18-Busch 187.446
#42-Larson 187.057
#41-Busch 186.853
#12-Blaney 186.616
the rest of the top 12: 22 37 20 78 3 31 2
out of the top 12 and not advancing to round 3: 6 21 1 17 13 32 43 23 38 34 00
(3-16-2018)
First Round of Qualifying for the Auto Club 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway is over, after 15 scheduled minutes.
#4-Harvick 188.744
#42-Larson 188.516
#78-Truex 187.549
#21-Menard 187.359
#20-Jones 186.746
the rest of the top 24: 2 12 31 22 3 41 18 37 43 6 32 13 1 38 34 17 23 00 55
out of the top 24 and not advancing to round 2: 24 15 51 88 11 47 72 14 9 10 48 95 19
Drivers who will miss the race: none, 37 entered
(3-16-2018)
Friday Auto Club Speedway Notebook: There’s no quit in Jimmie Johnson; Comics are serious business to Ryan Blaney; Auto Club Speedway bites Daniel Suárez.[More](3-16-2018)
Darrell Wallace Jr. has embraced the challenge of his rookie season:Since a spectacular and celebrated runner-up finish in his season-opening Daytona 500 debut, Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. says he’s found a necessary balance between huge optimism and a big dose of confidence that comes with such a fantastic season start and the harsher reality of a steep, not unexpected rookie learning curve thereafter. Since his historic run at Daytona International Speedway last month, Wallace has had finishes of 32nd (at Atlanta), 21st (at Las Vegas) and 28th (at Phoenix) in the three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup races afterward. [More](3-16-2018)
Friday practice for the Auto Club 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway is over, after 50 scheduled minutes, the top-five, slowest and notes:
#4-Harvick 189.066
#14-Bowyer 188.211
#10-Almirola 187.936
#31-Newman 187.798
#42-Larson 187.744
most laps run: #38-Ragan
best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 2 drivers): #11-Hamlin 181.278
slowest: #55-Sorenson 170.628
notes: #19-Suarez wrecked and is now in a backup car. He will start at the rear of the field on Sunday.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Friday Practice speeds (pdf) (3-16-2018)
Monster Energy series sponsorship update: Optimism over Monster Energy’s chances of renewing with NASCAR has crept back into some industry execs close to the deal in recent days.[More](3-16-2018)
Phoenix overnight TV ratings UPDATE: Fox earned a 2.7 overnight rating for Sunday’s race at ISM Raceway.(3-12-2018)
UPDATE: Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix scored a 2.8 rating and 4.6 million viewers on FOX, down 15% in ratings and viewership from last year (3.3, 5.4M), down 30% and 31% respectively from 2016 (4.0, 6.6M), and the lowest rating and viewership in the history of the race (dates back to 2005).[More](3-16-2018)
Hemric paces final XFINITY practice: #21-Daniel Hemric was quickest in final practice at Auto Club Speedway with a speed of 178.829mph. #22-Joey Logano was second, followed by: #42-John Hunter Nemechek, #20-Christopher Bell, #9-Tyler Reddick, #00-Cole Custer, #7-Justin Allgaier, #1-Elliott Sadler, #60-Austin Cindric, and #3-Austin Dillon
See complete results on the Auto Cluby practice 2 speeds page (pdf).(3-16-2018)
Bell fastest in opening XFINITY practice: #20-Christopher Bell was fastest during opening practice at Auto Club Speedway with a speed of 178.664mph.
The rest of the top 10: #22-Joey Logano, #3-Austin Dillon, #21-Daniel Hemric, #9-Tyler Reddick, #24-Kaz Grala, #1-Elliott Sadler, #7-Justin Allgaier, #00-Cole Custer, and #18-Ryan Preece.
See complete results on the Auto Club practice 1 speeds page (pdf).(3-16-2018)
Auto Club Speedway XFINITY race will be the “Roseanne 300”: ABC’s iconic comedy series “Roseanne” has been named title sponsor for NASCAR’s Xfinity Series Race at Auto Club Speedway. The “Roseanne 300” will take place on Saturday, March 17. NASCAR fans will see Michael Fishman, who plays D.J. in the series, serve as Honorary Grand Marshal and give the command “Drivers, start your engines.” He will also participate in the post-race Gatorade Victory Lane Celebration following the race.[More](3-16-2018)
Darlington looking for the next “Lady in Black”: Darlington Raceway is looking for its next Lady in Black! The track Too Tough To Tame is now accepting applications for its Lady in Black position until April 2. The next Lady in Black will serve as a vital representative of Darlington Raceway, making appearances at various community and media events, parties and its annual Bojangles’ Southern 500 Labor Day race weekend on Sept. 1-2.[More](3-16-2018)
Lil Jon headlining infield party at Auto Club Speedway: World renowned DJ Lil Jon will get the Monster Energy Infield Party in full swing during Auto Club 400 Weekend at Auto Club Speedway. Saturday night from 7-9pm DJ Saint Clair, the former Australian television personality-turned-DJ who spins her electronic dance music in the LA-area, will warm up the crowd before Lil Jon takes stage from 9-11pm.[More](3-16-2018)
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