Fantasy Racing Scouting Report – Auto Club
Auto Club Speedway Top Ten Starters
- Matt Kenseth
- Brad Keselowski
- Jimmie Johnson
- Kevin Harvick
- Clint Bowyer
- Jeff Gordon
- Joey Logano
- Marcos Ambrose
- Carl Edwards
- Tony Stewart
Auto Club Pre-race Notes
Denny Hamlin had a metal sliver in his eye and he was pulled from the event late on race morning. In his place Sam Hornish Jr. made his lone 2014 Sprint Cup start.
Joey Logano started in the rear of the field in a backup car.
Martin Truex Jr. started in the rear of the field in a backup car.
Paul Menard started in the rear of the field because of a driver change.
On Saturday before the race Penske cars had a lot of tire problems.
The pole sitter has only won this race once.
Kyle Larson won the Nationwide race the day before.
Race Notes
Matt Kenseth started on the pole and choose the outside lane to take the green.
Brad Keselowski who started in second led the first 9 laps.
On the first lap of the race Kevin Harvick was the first front runner to utilize the high-groove.
On lap #3 Clint Bowyer pulled off a slide job on Matt Kenseth and moved up to second. He had a good race car and many garage insiders considered the #15 the car to beat.
On lap #10 Clint Bowyer temporarily passed Keselowski and led a lap. After that Keselowski paced the field for the next 10 laps.
Running order on lap #12 : 2,15,24,4,48,55,18,20,99,88 … 31,14,47,41,1,42,16,5,9,17 … 43,22,13,3,27,78,51,98,38,7 ….,33,10,11
Jeff Gordon really liked his car.
On lap #19 while running in 3rd Kevin Harvick had a cut tire and brought out the first caution. He got some minor body damage on his left rear.
During the first caution Gordon who was running in 2nd was penalized for speeding on pit road. The penalty for that is restarting at the back of the field.
Running order on lap 26: 18,2,48,55,15,41,20,99,5,31 … 27,88,42,1,16,22,14,78,3,47 … 13,43,9,17,30,98,10,38,51,7 … 26,66,24,11,40,35,36,23
Around lap 31 in the turns Ryan Newman’s car could run on the apron. His car was a little loose.
Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski were racing neck to neck for the lead on lap 34. They had a 2.5 second lead over the pack.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a left front flat on lap 43 while he was running in 9th. It brought out a caution. He also got into the wall and got some right side damage.
Under the Dale Earnhardt Jr. caution Brad Keselowski had a flat tire. It caused his pit stop to be a little longer and it dropped him from 1st to 6th.
On the lap 48 restart 4 of the first 5 cars were Toyota’s.
Running order on lap 52: 48,55,15,18,2,31,20,5,1,24 … 41,22,99,14,4,42,27,16,47,30 …. 9,3,10,11,13,43,33,51,98,7
Kyle Busch described his car as amazing during restarts but over long runs it fell off.
On lap 57 Tony Stewart spun in turn #2 while he was running in 18th. As a result he dropped one lap down back to 43rd.
During the Stewart caution Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon didn’t pit because they claimed the red light on pit road was on. So they pitted the following lap and it dropped them outside the top 30 for the restart. Keselowski also stayed out earlier and he choose not to pit which as a result got him the lead. He dropped like a rock through the running order when the field went back to green.
In about two laps after the restart Keselowski almost fell outside the top fifteen. In about 10 laps he was back to 40th.
Running order on lap 65: 48,55,31,20,18,1,4,22,41,16 …. 27,5,42,47,99,3,9,43,33… 15,13,17,10,24,88,7,98,23,51 …. 78
On lap 70 Aric Almirola and Brian Scott got together on the front stretch. Almirola’s day was done after this incident. They were battling for 20th position.
Following the Almirola / Scott incident Ryan Newman choose not to pit. He lost about 10 positions in the first lap.
On lap 78 Kyle Larson reported that his car was good but it was a little tight in the center of both turns.
Running order on lap 80: 20,48,55,18,4,16,24,22,42,88 … 41,5,27,1,15,47,9,3,2 … 31,30,17
Joey Logano really liked his car.
On lap 86 Parker Kligerman lost control of his car and slammed into the wall.
On lap 88 Kyle Larson was penalized for speeding on pit road. He was running in the top ten at the time. As a result of the penalty he had to go to the back of the pack.
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