March 18, 2016
- Austin Dillon wins Auto Club pole: #3-Austin Dillon won the Coors Light pole for the Auto Club 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway with speed of 188.482mph for his 1st pole of 2016, 1st at Auto Club and 2nd of his career. Dillon’s previous best starting spot at Auto Club was 20th in 2014. #11-Hamlin set the new track record of 188.511 in the 2nd round.
#4-Harvick is on the outside pole followed by #11-Hamlin, #31-Newman, #19-Edwards, #18-Busch, #6-Bayne, #24-Elliott, #22-Logano, #1-McMurray, #47-Allmendinger and #5-Kahne.
#5-Kahne failed to get to the start-finish line in time and got no time and will start 12th.
#2-Keselowski was fastest in the first round with a speed of 188.482mph and will start 15th.
#11-Hamlin topped the second round with a track record speed of 188.511mph.
Only 39 cars were entered so everyone made the race.
See round-by-round qualifying results on the Auto Club qualifying results page (pdf) and the complete starting lineup on the Auto Club Starting Lineup page (pdf).(3-18-2015)
- Auto Club Speedway – Qualifying Fast Facts:
#3-Austin Dillon won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 20th Annual Auto Club 400 with a lap of 38.200 seconds, 188.482 mph.
This is his second pole in 90 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his first pole and third top-10 start in 2016.
This is his first pole in three races at Auto Club Speedway.
#4-Kevin Harvick (second) posted his fourth top-10 start of 2016 and his eighth in 23 races at Auto Club Speedway.
#11-Denny Hamlin (third) posted his ninth top-10 start at Auto Club Speedway. It is his third in five races this season.
#24-Chase Elliott (eighth) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Statistics)(3-18-2016)
- Second Round of Qualifying for the Auto Club 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway is over after 10 scheduled minutes.
#11-Hamlin 188.511
#24-Elliott 188.506
#3-Dillon 188.437
#4-Harvick 188.353
#6-Bayne 188.034
the rest of the top 12: 1 22 19 18 47 31 5;
out of the top 12 and not advancing to the final round 3: 27 21 2 34 78 17 48 20 44 16 13 14
(3-18-2016)
- First Round of Qualifying for the Auto Club 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway is over, after 20 scheduled minutes.
#2-Keselowski 188.482 (new track record)
#24-Elliott 188.408
#4-Harvick 188.294
#11-Hamlin 188.280
#22-Logano 188.152
the rest of the top 24: 5 78 6 31 20 47 1 3 18 48 17 27 13 14 19 21 34 16 44;
out of the top 24 and not advancing to round 2: 43 41 88 7 15 95 10 42 83 38 23 30 46 32
Drivers who will miss the race: none as 39 cars entered for 40 spots
(3-18-2016)
- Coverage of Qualifying for the Auto Club 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway is scheduled for Friday, March 18, 2016 at 7:45pm/et.
Television (TV): FS1, 7:30pm/et
Radio: Live online at Motor Racing Network (MRN)
Scheduled Qualifying Re-Air: Saturday, March 19, 2016 at 8:30am/et
- Qualifying Order for the Auto Club 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway is posted. 39 cars/drivers are listed.
The first driver to be lined up on pit road will be #44-Scott.
The final driver lined up on pit road will be #78-Truex Jr..
The order is set by a random draw, how cars park on pit road before they qualify, held about an hour before the first practice.
After the first and second rounds, the cars line up by speed.
See the full qualifying order on Jayski.com’s Auto Club Qualifying Order Page (pdf).(3-18-2016)
- Friday Practice for the Auto Club 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway is over, after 85 scheduled minutes, the top-five, slowest and notes:
#3-Dillon 188.511
#78-Truex Jr. 188.432
#4-Harvick 188.304
#17-Stenhouse Jr. 188.289
#34-Buescher 187.823
slowest: #30-Josh Wise 179.073 and #32-Earnhardt 180.153
most laps run: #47-Allmendinger 19; #24-Elliott & #32-Earnhardt, 32
The top four drivers all ran faster then the track record of 188.245mph, set in Feb. 2005 by Kyle Busch.
See fastest speeds, laps run (No driver ran 10 consecutive laps during this practice) on the Auto Club Practice 1 Speeds page (pdf).(3-18-2016)
- Auto Club Pole Notes & Facts:
� Jimmie Johnson leads the series in average starting position at Auto Club Speedway with a 9.476.
� Joe Nemechek won the inaugural Coors Light pole (1997) with a speed of 183.015 mph (39.341 secs.).
� 16 drivers have poles at Auto Club Speedway, led by Kurt Busch with four.
� Denny Hamlin (2012, 2013), Kurt Busch (2006 sweep) and Jamie McMurray (2010 sweep) are the three drivers to win consecutive poles at Auto Club Speedway.
� Three active drivers have posted their first NSCS Coors Light pole at Auto Club Speedway: Carl Edwards (9/4/2005) and Joe Nemechek (6/22/1997). Kyle Busch won his first pole (2/27/05) and first series win (9/4/05) at ACS in 2005.
� California-native Jimmie Johnson became the first and only driver to win from the pole at Auto Club Speedway in 2008.
� Only two of the 26 (7.6%) ACS races have been won from the front row both by six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, fall of 2008 (pole); and the fall of 2007 (second-place).
� Nine of the 26 (34.6%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Auto Club Speedway have been won from a top-five starting position.
� 14 of the 26 (53.8%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Auto Club Speedway have been won from a top-10 starting position.
� Seven of the 26 (26.9%) races have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.
� The deepest in the field that a race winner has started was 31st, by Matt Kenseth in the spring of 2006.
� The most proficient starting position at ACS is pretty random. Three starting positions (third, ninth and 24th) have produced three winners each.
� Coors Light Pole Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather at ACS only once – 1999 event.
(NASCAR)
- Most Mentioned Drivers 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series:
Driver, Interviews, Interview Time, Mentions
#48-Johnson, 4, 0:02:40, 532
#4-Harvick, 3, 0:01:18, 434
#20-Kenseth, 3, 0:01:52, 312
#18-Busch, 5, 0:04:58, 306
#78-Truex, Jr., 3, 0:02:56, 301
#22-Logano, J., 2, 0:01:00, 291
#2-Keselowski, 2, 0:02:48, 283
#41-Busch, 0, 0:00:00, 264
#11-Hamlin, 1, 0:01:00, 244
#88-Earnhardt, Jr., 3, 0:02:35, 210
#19-Edwards, 3, 0:02:15, 166
#24-Elliott, 4, 0:01:58, 160
#3-Dillon, 4, 0:03:02, 109
#21-Blaney, 2, 0:01:10, 98
#42-Larson, 0, 0:00:00, 52
Statistics reflect all live race telecasts and replays of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season (through #3 Las Vegas).(Joyce Julius & Associates)(3-18-2016)
- What drivers are up in the standings over a year ago? down? Change is evident when the Sprint Cup series points standings is examined compared to this time last year. #41-Kurt Busch, #19-Carl Edwards and #3-Austin Dillon are among the drivers who have gained the most in the standings since last year, while #15-Clint Bowyer and #31-Ryan Newman are among those who have dropped the most. Here are the drivers who have gained the most in the standings compared to this time last year:
#41-Kurt Busch … gained 29 spots to fourth
#19-Carl Edwards … gained 16 spots to fifth
#3-Austin Dillon … gained 14 spots to eighth
#17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr. … gained nine spots to 18th
#11-Denny Hamlin … gained seven spots to sixth
Kurt Busch was suspended the first three races last year and was 33rd at this time in the points after running one race, thus the big turnaround. His younger brother, Kyle, had yet to race at this point last year after being injured in the season-opening Xfinity race at Daytona.
While those drivers have had better starts to the season, others have not fared as well.
#15-Clint Bowyer … lost 19 spots to 34th
#31-Ryan Newman … lost 17 spots to 25th
#47-A.J. Allmendinger … lost 15 spots to 20th
#27-Paul Menard … lost 15 spots to 26th
#13-Casey Mears … lost 15 spots to 27th
Bowyer is with HScott Motorsports this season before heading to Stewart-Haas Racing to take over Tony Stewart’s ride. Bowyer has not finished better than 22nd and has placed outside the top 30 in three races. Newman finished last at Phoenix after a melted bead caused a tire failure and sent him into the wall. Allmendinger has not finished better than 14th. Menard finished next-to-last at Phoenix after suffering a similar fate as Newman, his teammate. Mears has not finished better than 14th this season.(full article at NBC Sports)(3-18-2016)
- FVP on the hood for Menard..what is FVP? image: #27-Paul Menard’s Chevy will run a FVP / Menards scheme at Auto Club Speedway. FVP will also be featured on the hood of the #27 Chevy in one more race in 2016, at Kansas in October. Built on a commitment to quality and delivered with unmatched service, FVP has been the confident solution for customers nationwide since 2005. FVP products are engineered to provide OE quality that is equal or superior in performance to national brands at a competitive price. FVP offers batteries, radiators, condensers, hub assemblies, automotive filters, antifreeze, DEF, oil, ATF and automotive chemicals (RCR), see an image of the car on the #27 Team Schemes page (3-18-2016)
- Wood Brothers head to Auto Club Down One Man: Ryan Blaney and the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team head into Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway without the services of the team’s longest-serving road crew member other than those related to the Wood Brothers. Michael “Andretti” Smith tore his bicep muscle loose from his shoulder and fifty percent apart from his elbow while trying to hold a full can of gasoline out over the wall during a pit stop at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Smith was able to continue his role on the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew for the remainder of that race, since the remaining stops that day required only one can of fuel, which he was able to hand over to the gas man despite the injury and the pain. After consulting doctors, he decided to forego surgery and basically let his muscle reattach itself, although that will leave him with a slight bulge known as a “Popeye Muscle.” Doctors told Smith that with surgery he risked another tear that could cause him to lose some use of his wrist and fingers. He plans to return to the team after the Easter Break, at Martinsville Speedway, his home track. In the meantime, Jeffery Thousand and Wade Moore both from Team Penske are on loan to the team to fill in for Smith.(Wood Brothers Racing)(3-18-2016)
- 2016 Kulwicki Driver Development Program Lineup Announced: Officials of the Kulwicki Driver Development Program (KDDP) announced the seven drivers who will represent the organization during the 2016 racing season. The seven drivers hail from six states spread from coast to coast. They range from 18 to 24 years in age. The Kulwicki Cup competition goes from April 1 through Oct. 31. The contest’s points system is based on a combination of judging input from members of the advisory board and the drivers’ on-track performance. Drivers are given points for both their success in chasing checkered flags and for community engagement, program representation and social media activities. More info on the Driver Development News page.(3-18-2016)
- Final day to nominate for Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award: Time is running out to nominate a Champion for Children for The NASCAR Foundation’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award presented by Nationwide. The winner of The NASCAR Foundation’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award presented by Nationwide will receive a $100,000 donation for their charity and the three finalists will receive $25,000 donations. The nomination phase will end on March 18, 2016. The four finalists will be announced this summer and the winner will be announced on September 27 at The NASCAR Foundation Honors Gala in New York City. Nominations and more info nascar.com/award (3-18-2016)
- Austin Dillon fastest in XFINITY happy hour: #2-Austin Dillon was quickest during happy hour for the TREATMYCLOT.com 300 with a speed of 176.622mph. He was followed by: #18-Kyle Busch, #22-Ryan Blaney, #3-Ty Dillon, #42-Kyle Larson, #19-Daniel Suarez, #20-Erik Jones, #43-Jeb Burton, #28-Dakoda Armstrong, and #16-Ryan Reed. 40 drivers participated in the session.
See complete results on the Auto Club practice 2 speeds page (pdf).(3-18-2016)
- Kyle Busch fastest in first XFINITY practice: #18-Kyle Busch was fastest during opening practice at Auto Club Speedway with a speed of 177.327mph. #20_Erik Jones was second, followed by: #42-Kyle Larson, #1-Elliott Sadler, #2-Austin Dillon, #22-Ryan Blaney, #19-Daniel Suarez, #16-Ryan Reed, #3-Ty Dillon, and #7-Justin Allgaier. 38 drivers practiced during the session.
#7-Allgaier got into the wall during practice and will have to go to a backup car.
See complete results on the Auto Club practice 1 speeds page (pdf).(3-18-2016)
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