To the surprise of many, rain has held off at Auto Club Speedway and it appears that we’ll start the Auto Club 400 without any major delays. Will the stars and cars of the Sprint Cup Series run the full distance or are they racing to halfway?
Matt Kenseth has been the driver to beat at Fontana over the years, having won three times, most recently in 2009. With Roush showing improved horsepower in the early going, this race may favor the driver of the Roush-Fenway #17. Kenseth qualified in position 15 – solid by Kenseth standards.
His most common challenger at Auto Club Speedway has been Jimmie Johnson. Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus are riding an emotional high after having their NASCAR penalties reversed by a final appeals session on Tuesday. Johnson’s 25 lost points has been restored and the five-time champion now rests in 11th in the championship standings.
Like Kenseth, Johnson is also a multi-time winner at Fontana, most recently visiting victory lane in 2010. He has four victories overall and will start from the 10th position.
The race will be televised on FOX and with the action getting called by Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip. A starting lineup can be found after the jump and we’ll see you in the comments section.
See you there!
Starting Line Up by Row
16th Annual Auto Club 400
Provided by NASCAR Statistics – Fri, March 23, 2012 @ 08:46 PM Eastern
Track Race Record: Jeff Gordon 06/22/97 03:13:32 155.012
Row | Pos | Car | Driver | Team | Time | Speed |
1 | 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Express Toyota | 38.626 | 186.403 |
2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Interstate Batteries Toyota | 38.807 | 185.534 | |
2 | 3 | 55 | Mark Martin | Aaron’s Toyota | 38.807 | 185.534 |
4 | 16 | Greg Biffle | 3M Ford | 38.812 | 185.510 | |
3 | 5 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Quaker State Chevrolet | 38.812 | 185.510 |
6 | 39 | Ryan Newman | US ARMY Chevrolet | 38.850 | 185.328 | |
4 | 7 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Jimmy John’s Chevrolet | 38.877 | 185.199 |
8 | 20 | Joey Logano | Dollar General Toyota | 38.878 | 185.195 | |
5 | 9 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet | 38.880 | 185.185 |
10 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Lowe’s/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet | 38.893 | 185.123 | |
6 | 11 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | 5-hour Energy Toyota | 38.908 | 185.052 |
12 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Subway Ford | 38.919 | 185.000 | |
7 | 13 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | NAPA Auto Parts Toyota | 38.977 | 184.724 |
14 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet | 39.018 | 184.530 | |
8 | 15 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford EcoBoost Ford | 39.062 | 184.322 |
16 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Bass Pro Shops/Allstate Chevrolet | 39.116 | 184.068 | |
9 | 17 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Miller Lite Dodge | 39.121 | 184.044 |
18 | 10 | David Reutimann | Accell Construction Chevrolet | 39.149 | 183.913 | |
10 | 19 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Caterpillar Chevrolet | 39.185 | 183.744 |
20 | 30 | David Stremme | @TheNascarFans Toyota | 39.259 | 183.397 | |
11 | 21 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet | 39.263 | 183.379 |
22 | 78 | Regan Smith | Furniture Row/Farm American Chevrolet | 39.333 | 183.052 | |
12 | 23 | 51 | Kurt Busch | Phoenix Construction Services Inc. Chevrolet | 39.413 | 182.681 |
24 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Target Chevrolet | 39.439 | 182.560 | |
13 | 25 | 22 | AJ Allmendinger | Southern California AAA Dodge | 39.443 | 182.542 |
26 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Charter Toyota | 39.464 | 182.445 | |
14 | 27 | 27 | Paul Menard | Menards/CertainTeed Chevrolet | 39.481 | 182.366 |
28 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Medallion Financial Ford | 39.540 | 182.094 | |
15 | 29 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | DeWalt Ford | 39.559 | 182.007 |
30 | 26 | Josh Wise # | MDS Ford | 39.760 | 181.087 | |
16 | 31 | 83 | Landon Cassill | Burger King/Dr.Pepper Toyota | 39.812 | 180.850 |
32 | 98 | Michael McDowell | Curb Records Ford | 39.865 | 180.610 | |
17 | 33 | 13 | Casey Mears | GEICO Ford | 39.880 | 180.542 |
34 | 36 | Dave Blaney | Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet | 39.904 | 180.433 | |
18 | 35 | 23 | Scott Riggs | North TX Pipe Chevrolet | 39.921 | 180.356 |
36 | 49 | JJ Yeley | America Israel Racing Chevrolet | 39.934 | 180.297 | |
19 | 37 | 33 | Brendan Gaughan | South Point Casino Chevrolet | 40.087 | 179.609 |
38 | 34 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports Ford | 40.119 | 179.466 | |
20 | 39 | 19 | Mike Bliss(i) | TriStar Motorsports Toyota | 40.157 | 179.296 |
40 | 93 | Travis Kvapil | Burger King/Dr.Pepper Toyota | 40.254 | 178.864 | |
21 | 41 | 38 | David Gilliland | 1-800 LoanMart Ford | 40.313 | 178.602 |
42 | 32 | Ken Schrader | US Chrome/1 Less Than 2 Ltd. Ford | Owner Points | ||
22 | 43 | 74 | Reed Sorenson(i) | Turn One Racing Chevrolet | 40.194 | 179.131 |