March 18, 2018
Sunday Auto Club Speedway Notebook: Cooler heads prevail after Harvick-Larson wreck; Kyle Busch disappointed with third-place run; Denny Hamlin scores another quiet top 10.[More](3-18-2018)
Martin Truex Jr. answers doubters with dominating win at Fontana:Martin Truex Jr. drove three things on Sunday afternoon at Auto Club Speedway. First, he drove the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota to a dominating victory in the Auto Club 400, the fifth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season. Second, he drove a time machine, turning back the clock to 2017 when his mastery of stage racing propelled him to his first series championship.[More](3-18-2018)
Martin Truex. Jr. won the Auto Club 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway. The win is his first win of 2018, first win at Auto Club and 16th career win.
#42-Larson finished 2nd followed by #18-Busch, #2-Keselowski, #22-Logano, #11-Hamlin, #20-Jones, #12-Blaney, #48-Johnson, and #3-Dillon.
Truex started from the pole, swept all three stages, and led 125 of the 200 laps.
There were 16 lead changes among 7 drivers and 5 cautions for 21 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 147.526mph.
See unofficial race results, awards, laps led, cautions and more at:
Unofficial Race Results (pdf)
Cumulative Report (pdf)
Penalty Report (pdf)
Race Fast Facts – Auto Club
Martin Truex Jr. won the 22nd Annual Auto Club 400, his 16th victory in 446 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and fourth top-10 finish in 2018.
This is his first victory and sixth top-10 finish in 18 races at Auto Club Speedway.
Kyle Larson (second) posted his third top-10 finish in five races at Auto Club Speedway. It is his third top-10 finish in 2018.
Kyle Busch (third) posted his 14th top-10 finish in 20 races at Auto Club Speedway.
William Byron (15th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Martin Truex Jr. leads the point standings by 9 points over Kyle Busch.
(NASCAR Integrated Sports Marketing)(3-18-2018)
2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Driver Chase Standings:
[after Auto Club, race 5 of 36]
#4-Kevin Harvick [3 wins – 2 can be used for playoffs], 170
#78-Martin Truex Jr. [1 win], 216
#3-Austin Dillon [1 win], 141
#18-Kyle Busch, 207, -9
#22-Joey Logano, 197, -19
#2-Brad Keselowski, 183, -33
#12-Ryan Blaney, 181, -35
#11-Denny Hamlin, 176, -40
#42-Kyle Larson, 174, -42
#14-Clint Bowyer, 155, -61
#10-Aric Almirola, 148, -68
#41-Kurt Busch, 144, -72
#20-Erik Jones, 132, -84
#31-Ryan Newman, 117, -99
#21-Paul Menard, 115, -101
#88-Alex Bowman, 115, -101
See the Unofficial Drivers Points Standings page (pdf) and Unofficial Owners Points Standings page (pdf)
Top-Ten Stage 2 Results (lap 120) of the Auto Club 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway (lap 120/200):
#78-Truex, 10pts, 1 playoff point
#2-Keselowski, 9pts
#18-Busch, 8pts
#11-Hamlin, 7pts
#20-Jones, 6pts
#22-Logano, 5pts
#48-Johnson, 4pts
#42-Larson, 3pts
#14-Bowyer, 2pts
#24-Byron, 1pt
Top-Ten Stage 1 Results (lap 60) of the Auto Club 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway (lap 60/200):
#78-Truex, 10pts, 1 playoff point
#18-Busch, 9pts
#22-Logano, 8pts
#22-Keselowski, 7pts
#48-Johnson 6pts
#42-Larson, 5pts
#41-Busch, 4pts
#20-Jones, 3pts
#14-Bowyer, 2pts
#11-Hamlin, 1pt
Lucky Dogs, drivers that got a lap during the cautions (and their finish):
Caution 1: #37-Buscher, 30th
Caution 2: #15-Chastain, 29th
Caution 3: #31-Newman, 21st
Caution 4: #21-Menard, 19th
Caution 5: #13-Dillon, 27th
Jimmie Johnson Foundation to offer grant opportunities totaling $125,000: Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson announced, on behalf of the Jimmie Johnson Foundation and Blue Bunny Ice Cream, the launch of the 2018 Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope campaign this morning at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.[More](3-18-2018)
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