March 17, 2018
Saturday Auto Club Speedway Notebook: Aric Almirola’s Friday woes continue at Auto Club Speedway; NASCAR moves to strip advantages from non-qualifiers; Short Strokes.[More](3-17-2018)
Happy Hour (final) 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:
#18-Busch 185.668
#78-Truex 185.319
#48-Johnson 184.525
#4-Harvick 184.308
#2-Keselowski 184.280
best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 28 drivers): #4-Harvick 180.161
slowest: #55-Sorenson 169.296
notes: #9-Elliott, #10-Almirola, #11-Hamlin, #14-Bowyer, #24-Byron, #47-Almmendinger, #48-Johnson, #72-Whitt, #88-Bowman were penalized 15-minutes at the end of the session for failing inspection twice on Friday.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Happy Hour Practice speeds page (pdf) (3-17-2018)
Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Auto Club 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway have been made.
With the field downsized to 40 cars, two pit stalls (22,43) have been eliminated, are not in play and don’t count towards driving through more than three pit boxes.
One pit stall (42), Monster Energy Pit Box, has been eliminated, are not in play and don’t count towards driving through more than three pit boxes.
There is one vacant pit box (9) due to 39 cars entered and is in play and do count towards driving through more than three pit boxes
Pole winner #78-Truex chose pit stall 1, the first stall available [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole winner #18-Busch, took pit stall 2.
#43-Larson, who starts 3rd, took the12th stall, with an opening in front of it.
The final pit stall was taken by #41-Busch, who starts 7th.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on Jayski.com’s Pit Stall Selection chart.(3-17-2018)
First Saturday 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 186.075
#41-Busch 184.431
#9-Elliott 184.021
#42-Larson 183.908
#12-Blaney 183.861
best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 18 drivers): #4-Harvick 181.009
slowest: #51-Hill 171.875
notes: #51-Hill had a 15-minute practice hold for being late to inspection on Friday.
Practice was 10 minutes behind schedule due to weepers in the track after overnight rain.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Second Practice speeds page (pdf) (3-17-2018)
NASCAR increasing penalties for failing inspection: NASCAR will ramp up penalties for teams that fail prequalifying tech and don’t make a qualifying lap today in the Xfinity Series, a change that likely will come to the NASCAR Cup Series next week at Martinsville. Those who don’t make a qualifying lap because they don’t get through inspection will not only start at the rear of the field, they must serve a pass-through penalty — driving down pit road at pit-road speed — on the first green-flag lap after the green flag waves.[More](3-17-2018)
Kulwicki Driver Development Program announces 2018 drivers:Officials of the Kulwicki Driver Development Program (KDDP) announced today the seven drivers who will represent the organization during the 2018 racing season. These young racers will be helping keep the memory and legacy of 1992 NASCAR Cup Champion Alan Kulwicki alive, while also competing for the rich ($54,439) and prestigious annual Kulwicki Cup Championship.[More](3-17-2018)
Joey Logano spanks NASCAR Xfinity Series field at Fontana: The best measure of Joey Logano’s dominance in Saturday’s Roseanne 300 at Auto Club Speedway came during one of the rare instances when the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford didn’t have the lead. Off-cycle on pit stops late in the race, Logano chose to pit under caution on Lap 122 while most of the other contending cars stayed out on tires that had only six green-flag laps of use. Logano restarted 16th on Lap 125. By Lap 126 he was third. On Lap 127 Logano passed Justin Allgaier for second. One Lap later he sailed past Elliott Sadler for the lead.[More](3-17-2018)
Joey Logano wins Auto Club Speedway XFINITY race: #22-Joey Logano won the Roseanne 300 at Auto Club Speedway. He dominated the race, leading 139 of the 150 laps.
#7-Justin Allgiaer finished second, followed by #1-Elliott Sadler, #3-Austin Dillon, #21-Daniel Hemric, #00-Cole Custer, #9-Tyler Reddick, #2-Matt Tifft, #18-Ryan Preece, and #4-Ross Chastain.
Pole sitter #18-Christopher Bell spun once and was involved in an accident with #5-Michael Annett. He finished 21st.
There were 7 cautions for 32 laps and 6 lead changes among 5 leaders.
The average speed was 127.283mph.
Complete results are on the Auto Club race results page (pdf). (3-17-2018)
Race stage winners:
Stage 1 – lap 35 – Winner, #22-Joey Logano
Stage 2 – lap 70 – Winner, #22-Joey Logano
Stage 3 – lap 150 – Race winner, #22-Joey Logano
Auto Club XFINITY Race Fast Facts:
Joey Logano(i) won the 20th Annual Roseanne 300, his 29th victory in 172 NASCAR XFINITY Series races.
This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in 2018.
This is his third victory and 10th top-10 finish in ten races at Auto Club Speedway.
Justin Allgaier (second) posted his fifth top-10 finish in ten races at Auto Club Speedway. It is his fourth top-10 finish in 2018.
Elliott Sadler (third) posted his 10th top-10 finish in 14 races at Auto Club Speedway.
Tyler Reddick (seventh) was the highest finishing rookie.
Elliott Sadler leads the point standings by 4 points over Tyler Reddick.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(3-17-2018)
XFINITY Driver standings following Auto Club Speedway:
1) #1-Elliott Sadler, 199
2) #9-Tyler Reddick [1 win], 195, -4
3) #7-Justin Allgaier, 194, -5
4) #20-Christopher Bell, 172, -27
5) #21-Daniel Hemric, 169, -30
6) #00-Cole Custer, 144, -55
7) #23-Spencer Gallagher, 143, -56
8) #11-Ryan Truex, 140, -59
9) #19-Brandon Jones, 139, -60
10) #2-Matt Tifft, 132, -67
11) #16-Ryan Reed, 127, -72
12) #24-Kaz Grala, 119, -80
See complete owner and driver standings on the driver standings(pdf) and owner standings page (pdf).(3-17-2018)
Free Pass – Who got a lap back on each caution: (and their finish)
Caution 1: #39-Ryan Sieg, 20th
Caution 2: #78-McLeod, 22nd
Caution 3: #78-McLeod (2), ??
Caution 4: #78-McLeod (3), 22nd
Caution 5: #35-Labbe, 19th
Caution 6: #5-Annett, 18th
Caution 7: #0-Smithley, 23rd
(3-17-2018)
Bell on XFINITY pole at Auto Club: #20-Christopher Bell won the Busch pole for the Roseanne 300 at Auto Club Speedway with a speed of 181.059mph. #22-Joey Logano will start second. The rest of the top 10: #42-John Hunter Nemechek, #00-ColeCuster, #21-Daniel Hemric, #7-Justin Allgaier, #16-Ryan Reed, #18-Ryan Preece, #19-Brandon Jones, and #11-Ryan Truex.
Did Not Qualify: None.
The starting lineup is posted on the Auto Club starting lineup page (pdf).(3-17-2018)
Fans can get Bristol qualifying tickets with Food City purchases: For the price of a few cans of Bush’s Beans, race fans can experience a full day of on-track action at Bristol Motor Speedway. Between now and April 13, fans can get a Bush’s Beans Pole Day ticket for every two cans of Bush’s Beans products purchased at any Food City location.[More](3-17-2018)
A Thousand Horses headlines pre-race concert at Bristol: There’s a stampede coming to Bristol Motor Speedway as country and Southern rock group A Thousand Horses headlines the pre-race concert for the Food City 500 on Sunday, April 15. A Thousand Horses, whose sound is unique mix of muscular country, drawling rock, high gospel harmony, low-country blue and old school soul, will perform Sunday, April 15 on the backstretch prior to the 1:20 p.m. revamped driver introductions, where fans are now invited to vote on driver songs.[More](3-17-2018)
Talladega offering Kids VIP Experience: Talladega Superspeedway and Children’s of Alabama, a not-for-profit medical center that specializes in medical care for ill and injured children, announced today that the track’s Kids VIP programming will be known as the Kids VIP Experience Presented by Children’s of Alabama. Loaded with an array of family-friendly activities for children 12-and-under, the first Kids VIP Experience Presented by Children’s of Alabama of the season at Talladega will be prior to the running of the GEICO 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday, April 29.[More](3-17-2018)
Martinsville unveils new main gate : Martinsville Speedway has a new front door. The historic facility debuted a brand-new main gate on Friday, making the entry process a much more fan-friendly experience ahead of the STP 500 on March 25.[More](3-17-2018)
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