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Auto Club 400

Auto Club Speedway at Fontana, CA
Sunday March 18, 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Fox
2 Mile D Shaped Oval
Weather : Partly Cloudy, High of 61°F

Previous Five Winners and Pole Sitters

Race	Race Winner	Pole Sitter
2017	Kyle Larson	Kyle Larson
2016	Jimmie Johnson	Austin Dillon
2015	Brad Keselowski	Kurt Busch
2014	Kyle Busch	Matt Kenseth
2013	Kyle Busch	Denny Hamlin

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returns to California this Sunday with the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. 37 cars are entered into the event. Can Kevin Harvick win his fourth Monster Energy Cup race in a row? Or will somebody else step up to take the checkered flag?

The Favorite

When a driver wins three races in a row, he is pretty hard to bet against. Especially when he is headed to his "home" track. This Sunday Kevin Harvick will attempt to be the first NASCAR driver to win four straight cup races since Jimmie Johnson achieved the feat in 2007.

Fontana hasn't been one of Harvick's better tracks in his career, but he has had some success here recently. He took the checkered flag here in 2011 and had back-to-back runner up finishes in 2015 and 2016. After making the switch to Ford last season he slipped to thirteenth place. The No. 4 team obviously has a better handle on finding speed with Ford this season, so a return to the front of the pack is to be expected. The more pressing question this week is who can defeat him?

Other Drivers to Watch

The two biggest threats to Harvick this week are the two Kyle's, Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson. Kyle Busch has been running pretty hot as well with consecutive second place finishes in Phoenix and Atlanta. He had the strongest car in Phoenix, but a pit road mishap on the last green flag pit stop caught up with him in the end. Busch also boasts an impressive career resume at Fontana. It is the site of his very first cup victory back in 2005. Overall he has 11 NASCAR series victories at this track (3 Cup, 6 Xfinity, 2 Truck). Busch is second place all time in cup victories and laps led at Fontana.

If Harvick wasn't striving for a fourth straight win, Kyle Larson would be considered the man to beat this week. NASCAR only has two 2 mile tracks (Fontana and Michigan) and Larson has won the last four Monster Energy Cup races run at these tracks. He led 54 laps at Phoenix last week before tire issues resulted in a spin out that took him out of contention for the win. Larson's No. 42 Camaro has been the fastest Chevrolet through four races this season.

Chase Elliott is still chasing his first Monster Energy Cup victory. Elliott rode a strong car in Phoenix to a third place finish. He is another driver who loves the 2 mile tracks. In ten career starts in Fontana and Michigan, Elliott has never finished outside of the top ten. A victory this week would see him join Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch as first time cup winners at Fontana.

Defending Monster Energy Cup champion Martin Truex Jr. finished fourth in the Auto Club 400 last year. Truex has been dominant on 1.5 mile cookie cutter tracks, but so far has failed to capture a checkered flag at a 2 mile track. Truex feels the cooler temperature forecasted for Sunday will give his No. 78 a better chance at winning since it should provide more grooves for the drivers to run.

The cars of Team Penske shouldn't be ignored this week. Brad Keselowski won this race in 2015 and finished in second last year. His teammate Joey Logano has a streak of three consecutive top ten finishes in Fontana, and his sponsor AAA Southern California would love to see his car in victory lane. Ryan Blaney, who drives a Team Penske car for the Wood Brothers, placed ninth last season in only his second career start at this track.

Clint Bowyer hasn't won a Monster Energy Cup race since 2012, but if he is going to return to the winner's circle this might just be the week to do it. Bowyer finished in third place last season at Fontana, and he is coming off a strong sixth place finish in Phoenix. It doesn't hurt his crew shares notes with Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick. A checkered flag for Bowyer could be looming on the horizon.

News Around the Track

Chase Elliot became the second driver this season to face stiff penalties from NASCAR when his No. 9 failed it's post race inspection after the race at Phoenix. NASCAR issued a L1 penalty, the highest they can deliver, for a violation in the rear suspension. Elliott will lose 25 driver's points, while Hendrick Motorsports will lose 25 owner's points. Additionally crew chief Alan Gustafson has been fined $50,000 and car chief Josh Kirk has been handed a two race suspension. Hendrick Motorsports is planning on filing an appeal. Kevin Harvick faced similar penalties when his No. 4 car failed a post race inspection after his victory in Las Vegas.

Lowe's announced this week they are dropping their sponsorship of Jimmie Johnson after the current season. Lowe's took a chance on sponsoring the rookie Johnson back in 2001. That chance has paid tremendous dividends, as Johnson went on to win a record tying seven NASCAR Cup championships. Most people saw this change coming after Lowe's biggest competitor Home Depot left NASCAR in 2014. Johnson is under contract to Hendrick Motorsports through 2020.

In happier news NASCAR gained a sponsorship when Anheuser-Busch announced their return of Busch beer as the sponsor of the Pole Position Award for NASCAR's three national series. Coor's had been the previous sponsor, but didn't renew for this season. Busch beer has been named the "official beer" of NASCAR. This means I'll be drinking unofficial Yuengling Lagers at the track this year.