2017 Auto Club 400
The 2017 Auto Club 400 is a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on March 26, 2017, at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Contested over 202 laps, extended from 200 laps due to overtime, on the two-mile (3.2 km) D-shaped oval, it is the fifth race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 5 of 36 in the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series | |||
| Date | March 26, 2017 | ||
| Location | Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2 mi (3.22 km) | ||
| Distance | 202 laps, 404 mi (646.4 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 200 laps, 400 mi (640 km) | ||
| Average speed | 136.359 miles per hour (219.449 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Chip Ganassi Racing | ||
| Time | 38.493 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | |
| Laps | 110 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip | ||
| Nielsen Ratings |
2.9/6 (Overnight)[11] 3.2/6 (Final)[12] 5.2 million viewers[12] | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace | ||
| Turn Announcers | Dan Hubbard (1 & 2) and Kurt Becker (3 & 4) | ||
Report
Background
Auto Club Speedway (formerly California Speedway) is a 2 miles (3.2 km), low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, California which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It is also used for open wheel racing events. The racetrack is located near the former locations of Ontario Motor Speedway and Riverside International Raceway. The track is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation and is the only track owned by ISC to have naming rights sold. The speedway is served by the nearby Interstate 10 and Interstate 15 freeways as well as a Metrolink station located behind the backstretch.
Entry list
First practice
Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 38.081 seconds and a speed of 189.071 mph (304.280 km/h).[13]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 38.081 | 189.071 |
| 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 38.204 | 188.462 |
| 3 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 38.228 | 188.344 |
| Official first practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Kyle Larson scored the pole for the race with a time of 38.493 and a speed of 187.047 mph (301.023 km/h).[14] “It was an interesting qualifying for us,” Larson said. “I ran the bottom in Turns 3 and 4. I knew everybody was running the top in 3 and 4 and my plan was to go up there in the second round, but thought I maybe got through 1 and 2 okay enough to run the bottom. I knew the third round I was going to have to move up. Our Target Chevy was really good, really balanced up there. I was surprised."[15]
Qualifying results
Practice (post-qualifying)
Second practice
Erik Jones was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 38.451 seconds and a speed of 187.251 mph (301.351 km/h).[16]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 77 | Erik Jones (R) | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 38.451 | 187.251 |
| 2 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 38.535 | 186.843 |
| 3 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 38.558 | 186.732 |
| Official second practice results | ||||||
Final practice
Chase Elliott was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 38.404 seconds and a speed of 187.480 mph (301.720 km/h).[17]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 38.404 | 187.480 |
| 2 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 38.425 | 187.378 |
| 3 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 38.489 | 187.066 |
| Official final practice results | ||||||
Race
First stage
Kyle Larson led the field to the green flag at 3:50 p.m. On the initial start, Denny Hamlin spun his tires and forced Brad Keselowski to check up.[18] He backed into Ryan Newman – and Kevin Harvick, who was lined up behind Newman – and was turned up the track, damaging the left-rear quarter panel in the process.[19] Keselowski kept going, but got loose exiting Turn 4, with help from Jimmie Johnson, and spun through the frontstretch grass, bringing out the first caution of the race on the third lap.[20]
The race restarted on the eighth lap. Harvick made an unscheduled stop for damage on lap 23. A cycle of green flag stops started on lap 30 and resulted in Martin Truex Jr. cycling to the lead. Larson took it back exiting Turn 4 on lap 49, won the first stage and the second caution flew for the completion of the stage on lap 60. Truex exited pit road first. Ryan Blaney (removing equipment from the pit box) and Austin Dillon (speeding) restarted the race from the tail end of the field for pit road infractions.[21]
Second stage
The race restarted on lap 68. The second stage was only broken up by green flag stops on lap 91, which resulted in Truex retaining the lead. It ended with him winning the stage and the third caution flew on lap 120 for its completion.[21]
Final stage
The race restarted with 73 laps to go. Larson powered by Truex on the bottom in Turn 1 to retake the lead on the restart. For most of the stage, it was a repeat of the second stage. It was broken up with 49 to go when cars started pitting under green, Larson and Truex pitted together with 45 to go and Larson regained it with 37 to go. During the cycle, Kyle Busch led for a few laps, followed by Ty Dillon and Johnson was turned by Truex on pit road.[22] Gray Gaulding suffered a right-front tire blowout and slammed the wall in Turn 1, bringing out the fourth caution with 20 to go. Truex, who entered pit road under the caution second, left seventh after he "stopped too deep in the box."[23]
The race restarted with 16 to go. Exiting Turn 2 on the restart, Truex hooked the left-rear corner of Matt Kenseth, then sent him spinning down the track and into the inside retaining wall, bringing out the fifth caution.[24]
The race restarted with 11 to go. Two laps later, Corey LaJoie spun out in Turn 2, bringing out the sixth caution. Hamlin, taking the lead as a result, Truex and Jamie McMurray elected to stay out under the caution, while everyone else hit pit road.[21]
The race restarted with five to go. Larson quickly took second from Truex on the backstretch and had a run on Hamlin, but found himself boxed in by Truex to his left and the outside wall to his right. He made the pass for the lead exiting Turn 2 with three to go seconds before the seventh caution flew for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spinning out in Turn 2.[21]
Overtime
The race restarted in overtime with two to go and Larson drove on to score the victory.[25]
Post-race
Driver comments
In victory lane, Larson said of the final two restarts that he was "staying as calm as [he] could," but he was "frustrated" as well. "It seems like every time I get to the lead at the end of one of these things, the caution comes out and I've got to fight people off on restarts," he added. "Our Target Chevy was amazing all day. We were able to lead a lot of laps today. Truex was better than us that second stage by quite a bit. We were able to get the jump on him the following restart and led pretty much the rest of the distance. I had to fight them off there after the green flag stops (before the final caution), and that was a lot of fun. This is just amazing. We've been so good all year long, three seconds in a row. I've been watching all the TV like 'He doesn't know how to win,' but we knew how to win today, so that was good."[26]
"Great perseverance from this team," Keselowski said on pit road after rallying from a Lap 3 spin to finish runner-up. "I got out of the car and looked at the damage. It's torn to pieces. I feel lucky to finish second and curious what we could have done if we weren't torn up. Great day for us to persevere, despite adversity. You'll have that in a 36-race season, so proud of team for that."[27]
Clint Bowyer, who earned his first top-five finish since the 2015 Irwin Tools Night Race with a third-place finish, said his team is "getting closer. This is a good track for me. I wanted to win that damn thing, but to come home with a wild finish and everything that it was, we’ll take it.”[28]
Truex, who finished fourth after electing not to pit under the penultimate caution, said it was "not the situation we wanted to be in, but we thought more guys would stay out there. I think we only ran a few laps. It was definitely a disadvantage at the end and just really tight. Holding on for fourth was good for points.”[29]
Race results
Stage results
Stage 1 Laps: 60
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 77 | Erik Jones (R) | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage 2 Laps: 60
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 77 | Erik Jones (R) | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final stage results
Stage 3 Laps: 82
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 202 | 59 |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 202 | 36 |
| 3 | 17 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 202 | 46 |
| 4 | 4 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 202 | 52 |
| 5 | 35 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 202 | 39 |
| 6 | 8 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 202 | 43 |
| 7 | 10 | 19 | Daniel Suárez (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 202 | 30 |
| 8 | 9 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 202 | 39 |
| 9 | 19 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 202 | 30 |
| 10 | 13 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 202 | 43 |
| 11 | 11 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 202 | 26 |
| 12 | 14 | 77 | Erik Jones (R) | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 202 | 34 |
| 13 | 7 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 202 | 24 |
| 14 | 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 202 | 26 |
| 15 | 5 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 202 | 22 |
| 16 | 18 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 202 | 21 |
| 17 | 24 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 202 | 20 |
| 18 | 21 | 13 | Ty Dillon (R) | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 202 | 19 |
| 19 | 31 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 202 | 18 |
| 20 | 12 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 202 | 17 |
| 21 | 37 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 202 | 16 |
| 22 | 16 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 202 | 15 |
| 23 | 36 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 202 | 14 |
| 24 | 15 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 201 | 13 |
| 25 | 20 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 201 | 12 |
| 26 | 22 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 200 | 11 |
| 27 | 26 | 34 | Landon Cassill | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 200 | 10 |
| 28 | 23 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 9 |
| 29 | 38 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Fas Lane Racing | Ford | 200 | 8 |
| 30 | 30 | 83 | Corey LaJoie (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 200 | 7 |
| 31 | 27 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 199 | 6 |
| 32 | 28 | 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 199 | 5 |
| 33 | 25 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 198 | 4 |
| 34 | 29 | 15 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Toyota | 197 | 3 |
| 35 | 34 | 51 | Timmy Hill (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 193 | 0 |
| 36 | 6 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 184 | 1 |
| 37 | 39 | 23 | Gray Gaulding (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 173 | 1 |
| 38 | 33 | 55 | Derrike Cope | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 117 | 1 |
| 39 | 32 | 33 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group | Chevrolet | 99 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 8 among different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 7 for 29
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 2 hours, 57 minutes and 46 seconds
- Average speed: 136.359 miles per hour (219.449 km/h)
Media
Television
The race was the 17th race Fox Sports covered at the Auto Club Speedway. Mike Joy, three-time Auto Club winner Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip had call in the booth for the race. Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum will handle the pit road duties for the television side.
| Fox | |
|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Jeff Gordon Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip | Jamie Little Vince Welch Matt Yocum |
Radio
MRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and 2001 race winner Rusty Wallace called the race from the booth when the field was racing down the front stretch. Dan Hubbard called race from a billboard outside turn 2 when the field was racing through turns 1 and 2. Kurt Becker called the race from a billboard outside turn 3 when the field was racing through turns 3 and 4. Alex Hayden, Winston Kelley and Steve Post worked pit road for MRN.
| MRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Joe Moore Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Rusty Wallace | Turns 1 & 2: Dan Hubbard Turns 3 & 4: Kurt Becker | Alex Hayden Winston Kelley Steve Post |
Standings after the race
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References
- "2017 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 5, 2016. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
- "Auto Club Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
- "Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 20, 2017. Archived from the original on March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
- "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 24, 2017. Archived from the original on March 25, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
- "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 24, 2017. Archived from the original on March 25, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
- "Second Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 25, 2017. Archived from the original on March 26, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 25, 2017. Archived from the original on March 26, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- "Auto Club 400 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 26, 2017. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 27, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 29, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
- "Manufacturer standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 27, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 29, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
- Paulsen (March 27, 2017). "Overnights Down Yet Again For NASCAR, This Time at Fontana". SportsMediaWatch.com. Sports Media Watch. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
- Paulsen (March 28, 2017). "NASCAR Fontana Ratings Lowest Since At Least 1998". SportsMediaWatch.com. Sports Media Watch. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
- Spencer, Lee (March 24, 2017). "Larson tops lone Friday practice session, Johnson wrecks". Motorsport.com. Fontana, California: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
- Beacham, Greg (March 24, 2017). "Kyle Larson claims pole at Fontana, edging Denny Hamlin". Associated Press. Fontana, California: AP Sports. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 25, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
- Mayes, Robbie (March 24, 2017). "Larson Scores Second Career Pole". MRN.com. Fontana, California: Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on March 26, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- DeGroot, Nick (March 25, 2017). "Erik Jones leads second practice as Harvick finds the wall". Motorsport.com. Fontana, California: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- Spencer, Lee (March 25, 2017). "Chase Elliott tops action-packed final practice". Motorsport.com. Fontana, California: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- White, Tucker (March 27, 2017). "Keselowski rallies from spin to finish runner-up". SpeedwayMedia.com. Speedway Media. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
- Spencer, Lee (March 26, 2017). "Keselowski rebounds from early wreck to nearly win in California". Motorsport.com. Fontana, California: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
- Crandall, Kelly (March 26, 2017). "Keselowski's good breaks outweigh bad luck". Racer.com. Fontana, California: Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
- Engle, Greg (March 26, 2017). "The NASCAR Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway as it happened". CupScene.com. Cup Scene. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
- Peltz, James (March 26, 2017). "Jimmie Johnson can't quite pull off another comeback". Los Angeles Times. Fontana, California: Tronc. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
- James, Brant (March 26, 2017). "Kyle Larson breaks through, wins Auto Club 400 in Fontana". USA Today. Fontana, California: Gannett Company. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
- Brewster, Louis (March 27, 2017). "NASCAR to study Auto Club Speedway retaining wall placement after Matt Kenseth crash". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Fontana, California: Digital First Media. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
- Beacham, Greg (March 26, 2017). "Second to none: Kyle Larson hangs on to win at Fontana". Associated Press. Fontana, California: AP Sports. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- Spencer, Reid (March 26, 2017). "Larson breaks runner-up streak with win at Auto Club". NASCAR.com. Fontana, California: NASCAR Wire Service. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
- Cain, Holly (March 26, 2017). "Keselowski, No. 2 team persevere to second-place finish". NASCAR.com. Fontana, California: NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
- Haverlin, John (March 26, 2017). "BOWYER: "We're Getting Closer"". PopularSpeed.com. Fontana, California: POPULAR SPEED. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
- Spencer, Lee (March 26, 2017). "Truex falls short of victory with late-race gamble". Motorsport.com. Fontana, California: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
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Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 2017 season |
Next race: 2017 STP 500 |