NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Auto Club 400

Odds to Win Race

NASCAR heads out to the Auto Club Speedway on Sunday, when Sprint Cup drivers take their talents to Fontana. The Auto Club 400 has been a part of the series in the early part of the season since 1997 and last year was one of the best installments to date as there were 35 different lead changes between 15 different racers. In the end it was Kyle Busch who won the event for the second consecutive year with a race time of 3:05:53 on the two-mile, D-shaped oval track, but he once again will not be part of the field this week due to his injury. The track also features 14-degree banking and has seen four multiple time winners in the past with Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth winning three times as Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch have each won twice. Let’s look at the field and find some racers who could do well this weekend.

Jimmie Johnson - Although this seems like an obvious choice, he is worth noting as he has dominated at this track in the past with five wins and 12 top-fives in his 20 races. Only two of those came at this specific race (2002, 2010) as he has an average finish of 6.6 in this event; the best mark among racers who have run this Auto Club 400 more than once. He already earned his 71st win this year at Atlanta and is coming off a solid 11th-place finish in Phoenix, so he should be at the top of every list this week.

Kasey Kahne - Kahne has been one of the hottest racers in the series this year and has done no worse than 17th this season. Despite his strong start, he has been unable to grab his 18th career Sprint Cup Series win, with his best finish being a fourth last week in Phoenix. If there is a time to win this year it is now since he has won at this track once before and holds a driver rating of 91.5 behind 10 top-10 finishes in 18 attempts. Look for the 34-year-old to put up another big effort this week as he looks to move up the Sprint Cup rankings.

Martin Truex Jr. -Truex Jr. has been one of the most consistent drivers this year and has done no worse than eighth in the early part of the season. He has improved his standing from the pole in each of the races and last week jumped from a start of 15th to a finish of seventh at Phoenix. He is no stranger to this track either, racing here 14 times in the past, but only managing three top-10s in that time. He is not one of the bigger names in the game, but his recent run suggests that his lowly two career victories will have some company at some point this year.

Ryan Newman - Newman has posted some great results at Auto Club Speedway in the past with four top-five finishes over 20 career races, but has been unable to come in first when all is said and done. He is coming into this year’s installment of the race on the heels of consecutive third-place finishes at Phoenix and Las Vegas and is due for a win since his last one came back in 2013 at the Brickyard 400. The veteran is coming off his best Sprint Cup Series finish last year when he was the runner-up to Kevin Harvick and he should be able to ride his recent success to a top finish on Sunday.

Brendan Gaughan - Gaughan does not have anywhere as good of a career as most of the racers in this event with just four career top-10s in his 45 Sprint Cup races, but one of those finishes came here and he is running with a crew that has led Harvick to three top-seven performances at this speedway in the past. This may be a long shot, but Gaughan should be able to put up his best showing of the year so far this week.