March 24, 2012
- 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 #11-Hamlin chose pit stall 1 [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole sitter #18-Busch took pit stall 12A(13), the first pitstall in front of the start finish line.
#55-Martin, who starts 3rd took the 12th pit stall, the 1st stall with an opening behind it.
The 43rd and final pit stall was taken by #39-Newman, who starts 6th.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on the Pit Stall Selection chart.(3-24-2012) - Happy Hour practice for the Auto Club 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway is over, after 60 scheduled minutes, the top five fastest, slowest, notes:
#11-Hamlin 182.034 mph
#24-Gordon 181.360
#15-Bowyer 181.214
#1-McMurray 181.132
#18-Busch 181.050
slowest: #23-Riggs 173.837 & #19-Bliss 174.250
no speed listed: #30-Stremme
See fastest speeds, best ten-lap averages. laps run and more on the Auto Club Happy Hour Practice Speeds (pdf), no average speeds all laps and NOT changing back to the old way, just posting the pdf’s.(3-24-2012) - Saturday’s first practice for the Auto Club 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway is over, after 50 scheduled minutes, the top five fastest, slowest, notes:
#11-Hamlin 186.018 mph
#17-Kenseth 185.209
#39-Newman 184.928
#14-Stewart 184.554
#29-Havick 184.270
slowest: #23-Riggs 174.999 & #32-Schrader 176.199
See fastest speeds, best ten-lap averages. laps run and more on the Auto Club Practice 2 Speeds (pdf), no average speeds all laps and NOT changing back to the old way, just posting the pdf’s.(3-24-2012) - Robby Gordon scaling back: #7-Robby Gordon said he likely will not race at Martinsville Speedway next week after failing to qualify for the previous three Cup races. Gordon said he planned to race at Martinsville if he qualified Friday in California, but even if he had made the races at California and Martinsville, it was unlikely he would go to the next Cup race at Texas. Gordon said he will concentrate on marketing his Speed Energy drink as well as competing in off-road and monster truck events. He said the next Cup race for his team could be in June at the road course in Sonoma, CA. Gordon eventually hopes that sales of his energy drink can support a Cup racing program.(SceneDaily)(3-24-2012)
- Hermie Sadler in the #33 at Martinsville: During SPEED’s NASCAR Live on Saturday, John Roberts and Hermie Sadler mentioned that Sadler would run the #33 Richard Childress Racing Chevy in the Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway next weekend, April 1.(3-24-2012)
- Spring Break at the NASCAR HOF: Visitors can break out with spring fever and family fun at the NASCAR Hall of Fame during the second annual Spring Break from the Ordinary, Saturday, March 24 – Monday, April 9. With new special events and activities, Spring Break From the Ordinary offers students and their parents “Grade A” entertainment with scavenger hunts, racing simulator competitions, pit crew challenges, crafts, video game competitions plus more than 50 hands-on exhibits at the 150,000 square-foot entertainment facility. In a class by itself, Spring Break From the Ordinary features daily physical challenges and games for students (K-12). Each day during Spring Break From the Ordinary guests have a chance to compete in a number of high-octane activities and contests for prizes including NASCAR memorabilia, K’NEX building sets, Spin Master toy cars, NASCAR Hall of Fame Memberships and more. More info on the event and tickets at NASCARHall.com.(3-24-2012)
- Hamlin wins pole at Auto Club: #11-Denny Hamlin won the pole for the Auto Club 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway with a speed of 186.403mph for his 1st pole of 2012 which put him in the 2013 Shootout, 10th career pole, and 2nd pole at Auto Club Speedway. Hamlin is the fifth different pole sitter in the first five races of the season.
#18-Busch was 2nd fastest followed by #55-Martin, #5-Kahne, #16-Biffle, #39-Newman, #29-Harvick, #20-Logano, #14-Stewart and #48-Johnson.
The go-or-go homers who made the race (8): #30-Stremme, #26-Wise, #98-McDowell, #36-Blaney, #23-Riggs, #49-Yeley, #19-Bliss and #74-Sorenson.
The go-or-go homers who failed to qualify for the race (3): #7-Gordon, #87-Nemechek & #37-Hill.
See qualifying results, pole pregression, starting lineup on my Qualifying Results / Starting Lineup or the starting lineup on the Starting Lineup page (pdf).(3-23-2012) - Qualifying Fast Facts – Auto Club Speedway:
#11-Denny Hamlin won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 16th Annual Auto Club 400 with a lap of 38.626 seconds, 186.403 mph.
This is his 10th pole in 228 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his first pole and first top-10 start in 2012. He qualifies for next year’s Shootout at Daytona International Speedway.
This is his second pole in 12 races at Auto Club Speedway. Hamlin’s previous Sprint Cup pole here came on Oct. 11, 2009.
#18-Kyle Busch (second) posted his second top-10 start of 2012 and his eighth in 15 races at Auto Club Speedway.
#55-Mark Martin (third) posted his 11th top-10 start at Auto Club Speedway. It is his second in four races this season.
#26-Josh Wise (30th) was the fastest qualifying rookie. (NASCAR Statistics)(3-23-2012) - Gordon-Earnhardt Jr. are OK with each other after Bristol incident: from a Team Chevy Driver(s) Press Conference Transcript, in part. Both #24-Jeff Gordon and #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. were asked about the incident between them at Bristol Motor Speedway last week when the #88 got into the #24 which cut down a tire and crashed late in the race:
Q) DID YOU TALK OR TEXT WITH JEFF (GORDON) AT ALL ABOUT LAST WEEK (BRISTOL RACE)?
Earnhardt Jr,: “We talked and I feel pretty good about how that went. We should have no problem going forward. It was an unfortunate situation, especially for him. I’m sure it stings a little bit for him and the team. We will just see.”
Q) WHEN SOMETHING AS ‘FREAKY’ AS THAT HAPPENS, DO YOU LOOK BACK AT THE REPLAYS AND SEE WHAT IN THE WORLD DID THAT? BECAUSE YOU SAID THE CONTACT WAS NOT THAT MUCH.
Earnhardt Jr,: “It was just a freak situation and you kind of got to remember that, you know, and not really beat yourself up too much about it. Jeff (Gordon) has a good reputation in this sport. I’ve got a lot of respect and enjoy being his teammate. I’ve learned a lot from him even before we were teammates, just racing him over the years. He has been here a long time and I think we will be able to race each other without any problems. I think he respects me and I respect him. We will be able to move forward without any problems.”
Q) HAVE YOU SPOKEN WITH DALE EARNHARDT JR. FOLLOWING BRISTOL AND WHAT WAS THE CONVERSATION?:
Gordon: “You know, he reached out to me. It was just a strange situation that happened where we were racing hard, racing for position after a restart and he definitely got into me, but you could do that 100 times and go on about your business, but in this particular case the tailpipe just lined up perfectly on the left rear. Really to me that is the much bigger issue than the contact between me and Junior. I don’t understand why the tailpipes are even capable of getting to the left rear tire. If that happens at a big, fast speedway then that’s a much bigger incident than what that was. I’d like to see that addressed. We talked and I’ve got respect for Dale and I know he has that for me as well. We enjoy being teammates and we I think learned a little bit from that situation about when the time to race hard is and when it isn’t.”
Q) DO YOU LOOK BACK ON LAST WEEK AND WONDER WHY THAT HAD TO HAPPEN WITH YOUR TEAMMATE?:
Gordon: “Yeah, I mean when you’re at Bristol, especially on the restarts when there’s a big difference in the handling of cars at the beginning of a restart. Some guys’ cars take off good, some are better five laps into a run, some are better 25 laps into a run and my car was one of those cars that was better the longer that we went. Junior’s was pretty good on the short runs right then. To me, that’s when a lot of us would get side-by-side and I think that you’re always questioning why one person is racing you at that point as hard as they are. Sometimes you’re racing hard to protect the position because you think your car is going to come in and other times you’re racing hard because you know your car is really good right then and you want to get the position. That’s all it was. It didn’t have anything to do with teammates. We were just racing hard for position. I think it got a little bit more attention because it was teammates and for us, looking back on it and it makes our Tuesday meetings a little more interesting. I think if that’s for the win or for the position at the end of the race then hey, we get it. I think we both agreed that it wasn’t probably the best thing to do as teammates that early into a restart with 200 laps to go.”(Team Chevy)(3-24-2012) - Honorary Starter named for Auto Club 400: Kristy Swanson, best known for her role as Buffy in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer and currently appearing in USA Network’s American detective comedy-drama television series Psych, will serve as Honorary Starter for the Auto Club 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday, March 25. As Honorary Starter, Swanson will wave the green flag to get the Auto Club 400 underway. In addition to her acting skills, Swanson showed off her driving skills on Friday at Auto Club Speedway in the first-annual DRIVE4COPD Pro-Am Celebrity Racing Challenge to benefit the millions of Americans living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Swanson was the only female on the winning team which included Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner, X Games medalist Todd Potter, actor Bill Fichtner and NFL and reality star Hank Baskett. To purchase tickets to the Auto Club Speedway race weekend call 800-944-RACE (7223), log on to autoclubspeedway.com or visit the Auto Club Speedway Ticket Office.(Auto Club Speedway)(3-24-2012)
- Great Seats, Great Packages Remain at Martinsville: The Goody’s Fast Relief 500 is just a few days away, but it’s not too late to make sure you are on top of all the action at Martinsville Speedway on April 1. Tickets for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 remain available at low prices. Martinsville Speedway also has great family prices. Other great Martinsville ticket packages include: Jimmie Johnson Package, Kasey Kahne Package, Martinsville Speedway Fan Zone and Pre-Race Track Pass. More info on all tickets and ticket packages can be purchased by calling 877.RACE.TIX or online at www.martinsvillespeedway.com.(Martinsville Speedway)(3-24-2012)
- Infineon Raceway Breaks Guinness World Records Record: More than 70 cars convened at Infineon Raceway on Tuesday to break the Guinness World Records Record for Most Cars Performing Donuts Simultaneously. Seventy-five cars performed simultaneous donuts for more than 15 seconds, breaking the previous world record of 57 cars, which was set in Queensland, Australia, in 2010. Evidence of the claim was documented and will be sent to Guinness World Records for final verification. The cars were piloted by drifters from across Northern California who participate in the raceway’s weekly Sonoma Drift powered by NOS program. The program, which is in its second consecutive year, provides drifters a safe, legal and controlled environment in which to hone their skills.(Infineon Raceway)(3-24-2012)
- Hank Baskett named Honorary Starter for Royal Purple 300: NFL and reality star Hank Baskett will serve as Honorary Starter for the Royal Purple 300 NNS race at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday, March 24. As Honorary Starter, Baskett will wave the green flag to get the Royal Purple 300 underway. Baskett, who has played for three NFL teams including the Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts, is currently a free agent but he’s not lacking for work. Married to Playboy model Kendra Wilkinson since 2009, Basket has co-starred with his with his wife in the reality series “Kendra” on E! The event will be televised at 2:00pm PT on ESPN.(Auto Club Speedway PR)(3-24-2012)
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