March 21, 2015
- Final practice for the Auto Club 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway is over after 55 scheduled minutes, the top five, slowest two and some notes:
#41-Busch 184.971
#27-Menard 183.885
#4-Harvick 183.220
#13-Mears 183.146
#48-Johnson 182.992
Most laps run: #41-Busch & #48-Johnson, 45
slowest:#26-Burton 175.966 & #32-Bliss 175.161.
notes: #55-Moffitt made light contact with the outside wall. Very little damage.
See fastest speeds, laps run, best 10 Consecutive Lap Average on the Auto Club practice 3 speeds page (pdf).(3-21-2015) - First Saturday practice for the Auto Club 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway is over, after 55 scheduled minutes, the top five, slowest two and some notes:
#41-Busch 187.115
#48-Johnson 184.247
#18-Ragan 184.237
#31-Newman 183.969
#33-Scott 183.960
Most laps run: #1-McMurray 46, #48-Johnson 39
slowest: #26-Burton 175.708 & #62-Gaughan 174.419
notes: #43-Almirola and #88-Earnhardt have made light contact with the wall. Just some sheetmetal damage for both.
See fastest speeds, laps run, best 10 Consecutive Lap Average on the Auto Club practice 2 speeds page (pdf).(3-21-2015) - Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Auto Club 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway have been made.
Pole sitter #41-Busch chose pit stall 1 [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole sitter #4-Harvick took pit stall 12a, with an opening in front of it.
#20-Kenseth, who starts 3rd took the 43rd and final pit stall
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on the Pit Stall Selection chart.(3-21-2015) - Sprint Cup purses down as NASCAR shifts money to XFINITY, Trucks: Sprint Cup Series teams appear to be racing for just a little bit less money in 2015 as NASCAR has quietly increased the purses for its two national developmental series while Sprint Cup purses have dropped by a tick this year. NASCAR Chairman Brian France said last year that NASCAR would consider giving Xfinity (formerly Nationwide) Series and Camping World Truck Series teams a bigger portion of the new television deal that went into effect this year. That is what NASCAR has done, although it won’t say by how much. It never announced the change, but it did confirm to ESPN.com that that was the case when asked about the change in the purses after the first four races.
In comparing the purses for the first four tracks to what the purses for those tracks’ races were last year, the only Sprint Cup race to have an increase in purse was the Daytona 500. It certainly wasn’t much of an increase at $24,408, virtually nothing (up 0.1 percent) when considering the purse was $19.8 million. The rest have gone down, none by more than $98,000 — the purses for the three races since Daytona have been between $5 million and $6.5 million — for an overall season drop of 0.2 percent for the first four races. Xfinity races, though, are up 9.1 percent with increases of $60,000 to $155,000 per race; Xfinity purses this year generally are $1.1 million-$1.5 million (the opener was $2.66 million). The truck race at Daytona was up 16.4 percent to $806,373, and that was for a 32-truck field instead of a 36-truck field. There was no Atlanta truck race last year with which to compare the earlier purse.(ESPN.com)(3-21-2015) - K&N Filters renews sponsorship of Pro Series: NASCAR announced it has reached a five-year agreement with K&N Filters to continue as the entitlement sponsor of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series through 2021. The renewed deal ensures that K&N Filters will own exclusive rights as the title sponsor for a total of 12-consecutive years. Additionally, K&N Filters acquires the designation as the “Official Automotive Filters of NASCAR.” The NASCAR K&N Pro Series is universally recognized in the racing industry as the top rung in NASCAR’s developmental ladder – notable alumni include Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick, both finalists in last year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, as well as rising stars like Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Darrell Wallace Jr. The series introduces NASCAR fans and industry stakeholders to the next generation of stars, and the diverse mix of short tracks, road courses and national series speedways appeals to a broad range of motorsports fans. The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will kick off the 2015 season at Kern County Raceway Park with the running of the NAPA Auto Parts 150 on March 28.(NASCAR)(3-21-2015)
- Visone RV partners with Go Green Racing: Visone RV returns to Go Green Racing as an associate sponsor for the remainder of the 2015 NSCS season. Visone RV, based in East Bernstadt, Kentucky has the world’s largest selection of new and used Motor Home parts. Visone also takes pride and pleasure in selling new and used RVs. Visone supplies RV/Motor home repair facilities across the country with a goal to always describe and disclose as much information to the best of their ability about all RV parts they sell.(Go Green Racing)(3-21-2015)
- Auto Club Speedway Notes & Facts – Saturday – drivers:
” 137 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club; 108 in more than one.
” Jeff Gordon leads the series in starts at Auto Club Speedway with 25.
” Joe Nemechek won the inaugural Coors Light pole (1997) with a speed of 183.015 mph (39.341 secs.).
” Jimmie Johnson leads the series in runner-up finishes at Auto Club Speedway with five; followed by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon with four.
” Jimmie Johnson leads the series in top-five finishes at Auto Club Speedway with 12; followed by Jeff Gordon (10), Matt Kenseth (nine), Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch (eight each).
” Matt Kenseth leads the series in top-10 finishes with 15; followed by Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards (14 each) and Tony Stewart (13).
” Jimmie Johnson leads the series in average finish at ACS with a 6.650.
” Jimmie Johnson (6.6), Carl Edwards (8.5) and Matt Kenseth (9.8) are the only three active drivers with an average finish in the top 10 at Auto Club Speedway.
” Greg Biffle (4/28/02) and J.J. Yeley (9/5/04) made their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career starts at Auto Club Speedway.
” Jimmie Johnson posted his first series career win at Auto Club Speedway on April 28, 2002.
” Jimmie Johnson (fall of 2009 – spring of 2010) and Kyle Busch (2013, 2014) are the only drivers to win consecutive races at Auto Club Speedway.
” 12 of the 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers who have won at Auto Club Speedway participated in at least two or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Jeff Gordon (1997 – inaugural event) and Jimmie Johnson (2002) are the only drivers to win at ACS in their first appearance.
” Tony Stewart competed at Auto Club Speedway 18 times before winning in the fall of 2010; the longest span of any the 14 winners. Only Stewart (18) and Kevin Harvick (17) have made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Auto Club Speedway.
” Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads all active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Auto Club Speedway without visiting Victory Lane at 22.
” Three reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions have gone on to win at Auto Club Speedway the following season: Tony Stewart (2012), Jeff Gordon (1999) and Jimmie Johnson – the only one to do it multiple times (2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010).
” Two drivers have won at Auto Club Speedway and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in the same season: Jeff Gordon (1997) and Jimmie Johnson (2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010).
” Two female drivers have competed at Auto Club Speedway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Shawna Robinson and Danica Patrick. **Note: Robinson first attempted to qualify for the race at ACS on 4/29/2001 but failed to make the event.
(NASCAR)(3-21-2015) - Harvick wins XFINITY race at Auto Club: #88-Kevin Harvick won the Drive4Clots.com 300 at Auto Club Speedway for his second XFINITY win of the year. He lead 100 of the 150 laps. #62-Brendan Gaughan finished second, followed by #20-Erik Jones, #9-Chase Elliott, #60-Chris Buescher, #2-Brian Scott, #42-Kyle Larson, #22-Brad Keselowski, #7-Regan Smith, and #1-Elliott Sadler.
There were 3 cautions for 12 laps and 13 lead changes among 8 leaders. Complete results are on the Auto Club race results page (pdf).
(3-21-2015) - Auto Club XFINITY Race Fast Facts:
Kevin Harvick won the 17th Annual Drive4Clots.com 300, his 46th victory in 319 NASCAR XFINITY Series races.
This is his second victory and third top-10 finish in 2015.
This is his first victory and 16th top-10 finish in 19 races at Auto Club Speedway.
Harvick has finished in the top 10 in 28 consecutive races. His last finish outside the top 10 was at Phoenix International Raceway on March 2, 2013, where he finished 33rd after an accident.
Brendan Gaughan (second) posted his fourth top-10 finish in eight races at Auto Club Speedway. It is his third top-10 finish in 2015.
Erik Jones (third) posted his first top-10 finish in one races at Auto Club Speedway.
Darrell Wallace Jr. (12th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Ty Dillon leads the point standings by 5 points over Chris Buescher.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(3-21-2015) - XFINITY Driver standings following Auto Club:
1) #3-Ty Dillon, 187
2) #60-Chris Buescher, 182, -5
3) #9-Chase Elliott, 172, -15
4) #16-Ryan Reed, 168, -19
5) #6-Darrell Wallace Jr. #, 165, -22
6) #62-Brendan Gaughan, 164, -23
7) #7-Regan Smith, 157, -30
8) #1-Elliott Sadler, 148, -39
9) #44-David Starr, 136, -51
10) #2-Brian Scott, 134, -53
See complete owner and driver standings on the driver standings(pdf) and owner standings page (pdf).(3-21-2015) - Jones on XFINITY pole at Auto Club: #20Erik Jones won the Coors Light pole for the Drive4Clots.com 300 at Auto Club Speedway with a speed of 178.288mph. #2-Brian Scott will start second. The rest of the top 10: #54-Denny Hamlin, #22-Brad Keselowski, #7-Regan Smith, #88-Kevin Harvick, #33-Austin Dillon, #62-Brendan Gaughan, #18-Daniel Suarez, and #1-Elliott Sadler. Did Not Qualify: none. The starting lineup is posted on the Auto Club starting lineup page (pdf).(3-21-2015)
- Auto Club XFINITY Qualifying Notes:
Erik Jones won the 21 Means 21 Pole Award for the 17th Annual Drive4Clots.com 300 with a lap of 40.384 seconds, 178.288 mph.
This is his first pole in eight NASCAR XFINITY Series races.
This is his fourth top-10 start in 2015.
Jones has two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series poles.
Brian Scott (second) posted his third top-10 start of 2015 and his fourth in eight races at Auto Club Speedway.
Denny Hamlin (third) posted his fifth top-10 start at Auto Club Speedway. It is his first in two races this season.
Daniel Suarez (ninth) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(3-21-2015) - Auto Club Speedway sold out: For the second straight year, Auto Club Speedway President Dave Allen announced that grandstand tickets for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 have been sold out. Those wishing to purchase standing room only tickets can still join the Auto Club 400 festivities by calling 1-800-944-RACE (7223). “All I can say to our great fans is Thank You,” said Speedway President Dave Allen. “Our fans have once again shown their passion for Auto Club Speedway and NASCAR. I’m sure the Auto Club 400 will once again be a great race.”(ACS)(3-21-2015)
- American Idol Finalists singing National Anthem in Fontana: The Top 11 finalists from AMERICAN IDOL XIV will sing the National Anthem and serve as Grand Marshals prior to the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400 race at the Auto Club Speedway on Sunday, March 22. The Top 11 Finalists include: Quentin Alexander, Clark Beckham, Joey Cook, Adanna Duru, Nick Fradiani, Jax, Tyanna Jones, Qaasim Middleton, Rayvon Owen, Daniel Seavey and Maddie Walker. Nashville’s music powerhouse and IDOL’s in-house mentor Scott Borchetta will join the Top 11 contestants to call the command as Grand Marshals. Borchetta is President and CEO of the Big Machine Label Group and one of the most successful forces in the music industry today.(Auto Club Speedway)(3-21-2015)
- Pocono extends partnership with Paciolan: Pocono Raceway, a sports and entertainment facility which hosts multiple motorsports events each year, including two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, extended its long-term partnership with Paciolan, an industry-leading provider of ticketing, marketing automation and fan management solutions to more than 500 live entertainment organizations. In conjunction with the extended partnership, Pocono Raceway will continue leveraging the company’s online ticketing and fan management solutions, and Marketing Automation platform powered by FanOne Marketing. Paciolan is a subsidiary of the Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment firm Comcast-Spectacor. The Raceway partners with Paciolan and other Comcast-Spectacor business units to bring a holistic approach to its business as well as continuity via seamless technological integrations, enabling its ticketing, marketing, sales and commercial rights to be housed under one family of companies. Additionally, Pocono Raceway continues to partner with Front Row Marketing Services, a subsidiary of Comcast-Spectacor and an industry leader in commercial rights sales, to drive sponsorship opportunities, manage commercial rights and drive sales opportunities.(Pocono Raceway)(3-21-2015)
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