Starting from 4th place Car 18 Kyle Busch Interstate Batteries Toyota won the 23rd Annual Auto Club 400, his 53rd win in 504 Monster Energy Cup Series races. This is his 2nd win & 5th Top 10 finish in 2019. This is his 4th win & 15th Top 10 finish in 22 races at Auto Club Speedway. This win was a great effort from Kyle Busch as he came back from a pit lane infraction & made his way through the field. Kyle Busch Made his NASCAR national series debut in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series in 2001 at Indianapolis Raceway Park driving for Roush Fenway Racing with crew chief Jeff Campey he started 23rd and finished ninth. Won his first NASCAR national series race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on May 14, 2004 at Richmond Raceway driving for Hendrick Motorsports with crew chief Lance McGrew. He won the event from the pole position. Number of different car/truck owners Kyle Busch has won a NASCAR national series race for – Joe Gibbs (131 wins).
2nd Place Car 22 Joey Logano AAA Southern California Ford, started from 5th place posted his 7th Top 10 finish in 14 races at Auto Club Speedway. It is his 4th Top 10 finish in 2019. 3rd Place Car 2 Brad Keselowski Wurth Ford, started from 13th place posted his 5th Top 10 finish in 12 races at Auto Club Speedway.
4th Place Car 4 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John’s Ford, started from 2nd place followed by 5th place Car 12 Ryan Blaney PPG Ford, started from 10th place. 6th Place Car 1 Kurt Busch Monster Energy Chevrolet, started from 21st place followed by 7th place Car 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota, started from 6th place. 8th Place Car 19 Martin Truex Jr Bass Pro Shops Toyota, started from 27th place followed by 9th place Car 10 Aric Almirola Farmer John Ford, started from 3rd place. Lastly in the Top 10 was Car 3 Austin Dillon Dow Coatings Chevrolet, in 10th place, started from pole. Ryan Preece (23rd) was the highest finishing rookie. Kyle Busch leads the point standings by 15 points over Joey Logano.
The race had 4 Cautions for 22 Laps: 1st Caution on lap 57 for #3 Debris Turn 1. 2nd Caution on lap 61 for #17, #19, #20, #42 Crash Turn 2 (Stage 1 Conclusion). 3rd Caution on lap 122 for Stage 2 Conclusion. 4th Caution on lap 165 for #43 Debris Turn 1.
The race had 18 Lead Changes among 9 drivers; A. Dillon 0; D. Hamlin 1-2; A. Almirola 3-9; D. Hamlin 10-12; K. Busch 13-30; W. Byron 31-33; K. Busch 34-56; D. Hamlin 57-59; K. Busch 60-69; J. Logano 70-71; K. Busch 72-122; B. Keselowski 123-160; K. Busch 161-165; R. Stenhouse Jr 166; R. Blaney 167-168; K. Busch 169; B. Keselowski 170-173; J. Logano 174; K. Busch 175-200.
Stages:
Stage 1 Top 10: 18, 22, 11, 4, 10, 20, 41, 48, 12, 8
Stage 2 Top 10: 18, 2, 12, 22, 10, 4, 20, 1, 11, 9
Monster Energy Cup Series Race Number 5
Race Results for the 23rd Annual Auto Club 400 – Sunday, March 17, 2019
Auto Club Speedway – Fontana, CA – 2. – Mile Paved. Total Race Length – 200 Laps – 400. Miles
Finish Start Car Driver Team Laps Status
| 1. 4. Car 18 Kyle Busch Interstate Batteries Toyota 200 Running |
| 2. 5. Car 22 Joey Logano AAA Southern California Ford 200 Running |
| 3. 13. Car 2 Brad Keselowski Wurth Ford 200 Running |
| 4. 2. Car 4 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John’s Ford 200 Running |
| 5. 10. Car 12 Ryan Blaney PPG Ford 200 Running |
| 6. 21. Car 1 Kurt Busch Monster Energy Chevrolet 200 Running |
| 7. 6. Car 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 200 Running |
| 8. 27. Car 19 Martin Truex Jr Bass Pro Shops Toyota 200 Running |
| 9. 3. Car 10 Aric Almirola Farmer John Ford 200 Running |
| 10. 1. Car 3 Austin Dillon Dow Coatings Chevrolet 200 Running |
| 11. 8. Car 9 Chase Elliott NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet 200 Running |
| 12. 15. Car 42 Kyle Larson Credit One Bank Chevrolet 200 Running |
| 13. 20. Car 41 Daniel Suarez Haas Automation Ford 200 Running |
| 14. 12. Car 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr Fastenal Ford 200 Running |
| 15. 22. Car 24 William Byron Axalta Chevrolet 200 Running |
| 16. 14. Car 37 Chris Buescher Kroger Flavor Fill Up Chevrolet 200 Running |
| 17. 11. Car 48 Jimmie Johnson Ally Chevrolet 200 Running |
| 18. 24. Car 95 Matt DiBenedetto Procore Toyota 200 Running |
| 19. 18. Car 20 Erik Jones Craftsman Toyota 200 Running |
| 20. 25. Car 21 Paul Menard Menards/MOEN Ford 200 Running |
| 21. 23. Car 88 Alex Bowman Nationwide Pet Insurance Chevrolet 200 Running |
| 22. 7. Car 6 Ryan Newman Performance Plus Motor Oil Ford 199 Running |
| 23. 26. Car 47 Ryan Preece # Kroger Flavor Fill Up Chevrolet 199 Running |
| 24. 29. Car 34 Michael McDowell Loves’s Travel Stops Ford 198 Running |
| 25. 19. Car 38 David Ragan MDS Trucking Ford 198 Running |
| 26. 32. Car 36 Matt Tifft # Surface Sunscreen/Tunity Ford 197 Running |
| 27. 16. Car 13 Ty Dillon GEICO Chevrolet 197 Running |
| 28. 31. Car 15 Ross Chastain(i) Southern California Chevy Dealers Chev. 195 Running |
| 29. 33. Car 00 Landon Cassill Manscaped Chevrolet 195 Running |
| 30. 28. Car 43 Bubba Wallace PlanBSales.com Chevrolet 194 Running |
| 31. 30. Car 32 Corey LaJoie Hartford Gold Group Ford 193 Running |
| 32. 34. Car 51 Cody Ware # Jacob Companies Chevrolet 192 Running |
| 33. 17. Car 8 Daniel Hemric # Liberty National Chevrolet 192 Running |
| 34. 35. Car 27 * Reed Sorenson RimRyderz Chevrolet 192 Running |
| 35. 38. Car 66 * Joey Gase(i) Nevada Donor Network Toyota 188 Running |
| 36. 37. Car 77 Garrett Smithley(i) Chevrolet 188 Running |
| 37. 36. Car 52 BJ McLeod(i) Mtel-One Ford 172 Running |
| 38. 9. Car 14 Clint Bowyer Rush Truck Centers/Haas Automation Ford 130 Overheating |
Race Comments: Prior to the start of the race, the following car(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reasons indicated: #36 (engine change) and #34 (twice failed inspection). Failed to Qualify: None. Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 47 Mins, 42 Secs. Average Speed: 143.113 MPH. Margin of Victory: 2.354 Seconds. Caution Flags: 4 for 22 laps. Lead Changes: 18 among 9 drivers.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: March 24, 2019 – Martinsville Speedway
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