Race #5 of 36 Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway March 18, 2018 @ 3:30pm EST on FOX Fontana, California
Paint Schemes Paint schemes for the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA on March 18, 2018.
Starting Grid Starting lineup for the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA on March 18, 2018.
Track Guide TRACK AND RACE DATA Track Size: Two-mile D-shaped oval Track Width: 75 feet wide with 15-foot apron Turns 1-2; 3-4: 14-degree banking Front Stretch: 11-degree banking; 3100 feet in length Back Straightaway: 3-degree banking; 2500 ft in length Garages: 3 garages with 100 spaces Composition: Asphalt track, pit lane & parking areas; concrete pit stalls Pit Road: 2200 feet in length with 44 individual pit areas Race Length: 200 laps (400 miles) Stage 1 & 2 Length: 60 laps (each) Final Stage Length: 80 laps Auto Club Speedway, formerly California Speedway, is a two-mile, low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, CA 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. Construction of the track, on the site of the former Kaiser Steel Mill, began in 1995 and was completed in late 1996. Grandstand capacity is 68,000 with 28 skyboxes and a total capacity of 122,000. In 2006, a fanzone was added behind the main grandstand. Lights were added to the speedway in 2004 with the addition of a second annual NASCAR weekend. Since 2011, the track has hosted only one NASCAR weekend. IndyCar returned to the track in 2012 with its season finale race (a 500-mile night race); the series previously ran a 400-mile race from 2002 to 2005.
FAST FACTS Did You Know? THE CAPTAIN Auto Club Speedway was developed by Roger Penske and opened in 1997. The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race here was won by Jeff Gordon, who won again here in 1999 and 2004. KID STUFF In 2005, Kyle Busch won at ACS, becoming the youngest Sprint Cup race winner in history at 20 years, 4 months and 2 days. Joey Logano eclipsed that record in 2009. BY THE NUMBERS There have been 27 NASCAR Sprint Cup races run at ACS. Jeff Gordon competed in the first 26 and has run the most laps here, 6,101. SUPERMAN STATS Jimmie Johnson, a native of El Cajon, Calif., holds the ACS track records for victories (5), top fives (12), top 10s (15), laps led (955), average start (9.476) and average finish (6.762). FIRST TIME IS A CHARM Johnson (2002) and Kyle Busch (2005) both won their first career Sprint Cup races here. LOCAL BOYS Eight of the 39 drivers entered in Sunday s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway are California natives: AJ Allmendinger, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Larson, Casey Mears, Cole Whitt, Matt DiBenedetto and Josh Wise all hail from the Golden State. I LL BE BACK The final scene of the second "Terminator" film was shot here in 1991. Star Arnold Schwarzenegger would later visit the track as governor of California. Other films that had scenes shot here include "Charlie s Angels" in 2000, " Herbie: Fully Loaded" in 2004 and "The Bucket List" in 2007. STEELY START Auto Club Speedway is located on a tract of land in Fontana, Calif., that was formerly home to a 1,000- employee Kaiser Steel Mill. The mill opened in 1942 and closed in 1983, with most of the machinery dismantled and shipped to China for reassembly. ONE HOT MESS After the Kaiser plant closed, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would designate the property a Superfund site. LUDICROUS SPEED The fastest official lap ever run here occurred in 2000, when Gil de Ferran wheeled one of Roger Penske s IndyCars to a speed of 241.426 miles per hour. Past Winners at Auto Club Speedway DATE WINNER MANUFACTURER 06/22/97 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 05/03/98 Mark Martin Ford 05/02/99 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 04/30/00 Jeremy Mayfield Ford 04/29/01 Rusty Wallace Ford 04/28/02 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 04/27/03 Kurt Busch Ford 05/02/04 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 09/05/04 Elliott Sadler Ford 02/27/05 Greg Biffle Ford 09/04/05 Kyle Busch Chevrolet 02/26/06 Matt Kenseth Ford 09/03/06 Kasey Kahne Dodge 02/25/07 Matt Kenseth Ford 09/02/07 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 02/25/08 Carl Edwards Ford 08/31/08 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 02/22/09 Matt Kenseth Ford 10/11/09 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 02/21/10 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 10/10/10 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 03/27/11 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 03/25/12 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 03/24/13 Kyle Busch Toyota 03/23/14 Kyle Busch Toyota 03/22/15 Brad Keselowski Ford 03/20/16 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 03/26/17 Kyle Larson Chevrolet The Rainbow Warrior Jeff Gordon won NASCAR s first race at what was then known as California Speedway in 1997. The #24 DuPont Refinishes Chevrolet finished ahead of Terry Labonte, Ricky Rudd, Ted Musgrave, Jimmy Spencer, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Green, Dale Jarrett, Ricky Craven, and Mark Martin to take the California 500 Presented by NAPA.