Jimmie Johnson, the six-time Sprint Cup Series Champion, led only 25 laps but found away to finish in first at his hometown track in the 20th Annual Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The #48 Lowes sponsored Chevrolet changed it up Sunday and adorned the Superman logo to promote the Batman .vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice movie. With a dominating re-start in NASCAR’s version of overtime, Johnson shot out to the lead faster than a speeding bullet and never looked back.
“Awesome teamwork, boys!” Jimmie Johnson shouted on his radio after winning the 77th race of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career, breaking a tie with the legend Dale Earnhardt for seventh on the all-time victory list. “There’s nothing like winning at home.”
Jimmie Johnson’s performance was anything but spectacular as fellow competitor Kevin Harvick supplied most of the race’s punch. Harvick drove his #4 Freaky Fast Chevrolet to the front and did his best to stay there for the better part of the afternoon. The Stewart-Haas Racing stalwart led 142 of the 205 laps turned but struggled on re-starts which ultimately cost him the contest.
The Auto Club 400 was Harvick’s 20th second place finish since joining the Stewart-Hass Racing team. The second place finish allowed Harvick to maintain his 11 point lead in the overall standings over Jimmie Johnson
“We weren’t very good on restarts for four or five laps, unless we were all by ourselves,”said Harvick. “The No. 48 was able to hang with us, and we just weren’t able to drive it in like I needed to, just didn’t have the front tires turning and the back wouldn’t grip.
Austin Dillon and his #3 American Ethanol sponsored Chevrolet started on the pole position and showed top speeds throughout the weekend’s practices. His 24th place finish was a big let down as the young up and comer was expected to compete for his first Sprint Cup Series win. The grandson of Richard Childress, who Dillon races for, lost the lead half way through the first lap and didn’t see the front for the rest of the afternoon.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s stable of thoroughbreds performed admirably throughout the event once again. Martin Truex Jr led 21 laps before succumbing to tire wear and finishing in the back a lap down in 32nd. Carl Edwards led nine laps and raced in the front quarter of the field for most of the day. He finished in a respectable seventh.
Denny Hamlin raced his #11 Sports Clip Toyota to a satisfying third place finish and defending Sprint Cup Series Champion Kyle Busch had his #18 M&M 75 Toyota Camry was in contention all the way up to the last four laps when his tire blew. He finished 25th, five spots behind teammate Matt Kenseth and his #20 Dollar General hot-rod who battled back from a lap down after pit stop woes.
Penske Racing stand-out Joey Logano ripped off another top five performance finishing in fourth and Chase Elliott once again proved that he belongs racing with the big dogs. Elliott finished in the sixth spot and showed considerable moxie throughout the contest. Elliott’s teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. hung in there and relented to an 11th placement after trouble found him in the final pit under the yellow caused by Kyle Busch’s blown tire.
The Auto Club 400 took just under three hours to complete and the field averaged 137 miles an hour. Dale Earnhardt Jr won the 3M Hard Charger Award passing 49 competitors throughout the race. Kevin Harvick claimed the Mobil 1 Driver of the Race. The famed Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race Award went Hendrick Motorsports.
Final Results for the Auto Club 400:
- Jimmie Johnson
- Kevin Harvick
- Denny Hamlin
- Joey Logano
- Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
- Chase Elliott
- Carl Edwards
- A.J. Allmendinger
- Brad Keselowski
- Jamie McMurray
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
- Brian Scott
- Brian Vickers
- Ryan Newman
- Paul Menard
- Landon Cassill
- Casey Mears
- Clint Bowyer
- Matt Kenseth
- Trevor Bayne
- Aric Almirola
- David Ragan
- Regan Smith
- Austin Dillon
- Kyle Busch
- Cole Whitt
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Kasey Kahne
- Michael Annett
- Kurt Busch
- Michael McDowell
- Martin Truex, Jr.
- Chris Buescher
- Jeffrey Earnhardt
- Ryan Blaney
- Josh Wise
- Greg Biffle
- Danica Patrick
- Kyle Larson
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings as of 3/20/2016:
| Rank: | +/- | Drivers: | Points | Back | Starts | Poles | Win | Top-5 | Top-10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | — | Kevin Harvick | 195 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | $0 |
| 2 | +1 | Jimmie Johnson | 184 | -11 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | $0 |
| 3 | +2 | Carl Edwards | 171 | -24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | $0 |
| 4 | +2 | Denny Hamlin | 170 | -25 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | $0 |
| 5 | -3 | Kyle Busch | 170 | -25 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | $0 |
| 6 | +1 | Joey Logano | 165 | -30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | $0 |
| 7 | -3 | Kurt Busch | 148 | -47 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | $0 |
| 8 | +2 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 145 | -50 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | $0 |
| 9 | +2 | Brad Keselowski | 142 | -53 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | $0 |
| 10 | -2 | Austin Dillon | 139 | -56 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | $0 |
| 11 | -2 | Martin Truex Jr. | 127 | -68 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| 12 | +3 | Jamie McMurray | 125 | -70 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| 13 | — | Aric Almirola | 120 | -75 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 14 | +4 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 119 | -76 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| 15 | +1 | Matt Kenseth | 113 | -82 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| 16 | +5 | Chase Elliott | 110 | -85 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| 17 | -5 | Ryan Blaney | 110 | -85 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| 18 | -4 | Kasey Kahne | 109 | -86 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| 19 | +1 | Aj Allmendinger | 108 | -87 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| 20 | +5 | Ryan Newman | 95 | -100 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 21 | +1 | Trevor Bayne | 95 | -100 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 22 | +4 | Paul Menard | 91 | -104 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 23 | — | Regan Smith | 88 | -107 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| 24 | -7 | Kyle Larson | 87 | -108 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| 25 | +3 | Brian Scott | 85 | -110 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 26 | +1 | Casey Mears | 84 | -111 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 27 | -8 | Greg Biffle | 80 | -115 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 28 | +1 | Landon Cassill | 77 | -118 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 29 | -5 | Danica Patrick | 72 | -123 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 30 | +1 | David Ragan | 67 | -128 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 31 | +3 | Clint Bowyer | 66 | -129 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 32 | -2 | Michael McDowell | 61 | -134 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 33 | — | Matt Dibenedetto | 58 | -137 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 34 | -2 | Michael Annett | 57 | -138 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 35 | — | Chris Buescher | 49 | -146 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 36 | — | Brian Vickers | 48 | -147 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 37 | +2 | Cole Whitt | 27 | -168 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 38 | -1 | Josh Wise | 20 | -175 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 39 | +2 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | 18 | -177 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 40 | -2 | Michael Waltrip | 12 | -183 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 41 | -1 | Bobby Labonte | 11 | -184 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 42 | — | Robert Richardson Jr. | 3 | -192 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 43 | — | Ty Dillon | 0 | -195 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 44 | — | Joey Gase | 0 | -195 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 45 | — | David Gilliland | 0 | -195 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 46 | — | Reed Sorenson | 0 | -195 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
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