Auto Club 400 NASCAR Qualifications Format Renders A Stubbed Toe To Series

He was undefeated in each round of qualifying - @austindillon3 wins the #BuschPole! Image Credit: @ACSupdates (2019)

Auto Club 400 NASCAR Qualifications Format Renders A Stubbed Toe To Series

NASCAR fans who took Friday off from work were treated to a bone-headed display of over-reaching gamesmanship by all of the teams fielding the 38 cars (especially the top 12) set to participate in the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Southern California's only NASCAR race of the 2019 season.

NASCAR reset the template of what propels these custom made representations of stock cars that adhere to a formula designed to equalise the competition in the field and reduce the overall costs associated with the equipment needed to participate in a 41 race 2019 season. This 2019 reset effectively reduced the horsepower while increasing the downforce which has the effect of keeping the cars glued to the track at lower speeds. The other effect that, at some tracks has missed the prediction, effects competition is some felt this would increase "pack racing" where the lead car punches through the air having the cars behind the lead car work less hard to achieve full speed until a group of cars pull out and around the lead car, passing at a greater speed overall thus having an advantage of having ones car squarely in the pack for a higher average speed.

With this background knowledge, and having the qualifications for NASCAR be the fastest speed achieved by the top 12 previous fast times during the third qualification round/session shootout to set the field (as opposed to having each car take to the track for a singular three lap try at a top speed as how it is done in IndyCar at oval track races), all of the teams waited until the last minute or so to attempt to put in a lap to be scored.

Consequently, no team was able to actually register a lap time at a race speed before the time of Qualification 3 round ran out causing the race director staff at NASCAR to make the call that the order would be set from the fastest lap times set during Qualification 2 round.

Fans were never treated to the race off by the 38 drivers - and the top 12 who will compete in the Auto Club 400 to see who will start at the most coveted positions at the head of the "PACK" ... which is exactly why many who follow motorsports competition would never become an embedded fan of NASCAR, ever.

This type of tepid race management and competition thinking is a blight on what it means to actually be in competition as a professional pursuit. If this were the only time this type of strategy (lay in wait and reduce the damage) were employed, then Friday's odd call to use the times achieved in Qualification 2 round in order to fill the top 12 of the field would amount to a stubbed toe in the landscape of professional stock car racing ... but this points to a much larger problem - over regulated over management of a racing template placed on formula racing.

Here's what others are observing from this somewhat unusual NASCAR Race Control call to set the top 12 of the field on Qualification 2 round track times achieved.

STARTING ORDER FOR AUTO CLUB 400 >>>

Penske Racing #22 AAA Southern California Ford Mustang of Joey Logano being pushed from Tech with the snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains including Mt. Baldy in the background during Qualifications at Auto Club Speedway. Image Credit: Tom Stahler (2019)

This excerpted and edited from Crash.net -

Austin Dillon claims ACS pole after no one makes a time
By Josh Farmer

Austin Dillon takes pole in wacky qualifying session

Austin Dillon proved that you have to be lucky and good in qualifying for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at the Auto Club Speedway.

The driver of the No. 3 Dow Chemical Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing led the first two 10-minute qualifying session on his way to his fourth career Busch Pole award. NASCAR reverted to the Q2 times when no driver posted an official time in the five-minute pole shootout.

With drafting key to a fast lap at the 2.0-mile superspeedway, drivers hesitated to make runs in all three sessions. The final group was the most extreme with no one taking off until less than a minute to go, which was too late for anyone to cross the start/finish line in time to turn a lap.

Every session featured a last-minute dash with nearly all drivers waiting until just over a minute to go to attempt their qualifying lap. Kurt Busch was the only driver to break the trend in Q2 and logged a lap of 40.644 seconds by himself.

The rest of the field took their laps with just over a minute and 15 seconds to go. When it was all said and done, Dillon was the man on top being the only driver in the 39-second bracket (39.982s).

Dillon, who also won the pole at ACS in 2016, noted that finding an open hole in the pack made all the difference in session two.

“That goes back to round two with Andy Houston (Dillon’s spotter), getting us a hole,” said Dillon. “Our Dow car has been good the whole day, I felt that it was the fastest car here. It feels good to get that pole.

The pole is Dillon's the fourth of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career.
[Reference Here]

As the Monster Energy Cup cars of NASCAR line up at the pit end line waiting for a good time to take the track and set a time for Qualifying, it looks like the traffic on the I-10 during rush hour. Image Credit: Image Credit: @ACSupdates (2019)

This excerpted and edited from Racer -

Boos send a message about the current state of NASCAR qualifying
By Kelly Crandall

NASCAR will look to have “something different in the queue” by the time Monster Energy Cup Series drivers show up to qualify at Texas Motor Speedway in two weeks.

After all 12 drivers advancing to the third and final round of qualifying at Auto Club Speedway on Friday failed to post even a single qualifying lap, Scott Miller, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, suggested tweaks would have to be made.

Ultimately, the top 12 for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 were determined based on second-round speeds, giving RCR’s Austin Dillon the pole.

“I saw obviously what our fans don’t want,” said Miller outside the NASCAR hauler after an all but silent final qualifying session. “Having the fastest 12 cars wait until they couldn’t get a time posted on the board, making kind of a mockery out of qualifying, is not what our fans expect.

“It’s a little bit on us in that we hoped things would go better than that. It’s an exciting show when they’re all out there on the race track, but obviously, there’s work to do [with the format] on our part so things like that don’t happen. We want to provide our fans with what they deserve, and we and the teams didn’t do a very good job of that today. We’re all really disappointed.”

In both the first and second rounds of qualifying, drivers sat at the end of pit road until late in the session. Then, charging onto the track, drivers tried to position themselves where they felt would be best in line to get a draft.

No one wanted to be the driver pulling the line and in the final round, no one was willing to leave the pits first.

Texas will be the next time the series qualifies at a track where a draft could come into play. Next weekend, the series visits the Martinsville short track.

“We will definitely make some tweaks to [qualifying], not quite sure what,” said Miller. “We don’t want to go back to single-car qualifying. There may not be another way, but we want to exhaust every possibility before we [go back] because that’s not as much fun, not as much of a show as the group situation.

“We’ll try to figure out a way to adjust the group qualifying thing and not go back to single car; but we got some work to do on that.”

Chase Elliott acknowledged no one wanted to be first out on the big Fontana track today. The Hendrick Motorsports driver doesn’t know what the fix should be, but said it was certainly entertaining to see drivers drafting and battling to set up the right gap to benefit from in the first two rounds.

Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer, who will start second and ninth respectively, said the fans in the grandstands clearly voiced their displeasure.

“We got booed,” said Bowyer. “It’s disappointing for everybody involved. I don’t know — I saw this coming three weeks ago. I think we all did. Unfortunately, we are going to have to be reactive instead of proactive.

“It’s a learning process, the whole package is. Everybody knew that going in, and everybody has been patient, but I am a little bit out of patience now with Fridays.

“There is so much hard work and dedication by so many teams to go out there and build the fastest car known to mankind inside the walls of their organization, and it just doesn’t matter. That is not racing.

“I feel like we are capable, as an industry, of putting on a better show than this. I know [NASCAR] will take the right [steps] to correct things, but unfortunately, it took something like today to [force] adjustment.”

“I think the crowd booing tells the story,” said Harvick, who deferred to NASCAR about whether a change in the format is necessary. “We do the best that we can, though, to try to put ourselves in the best position; and it was just a handful today.”

Fifth-place qualifier Joey Logano said his No. 22 Team Penske team blew it in the final round, but so did everyone else.

“That’s the game,” he said.

Ryan Newman qualified seventh but was another driver unhappy about how qualifying has played out recently.

“I don’t think that was a very successful use of TV time for our sponsors,” he said. “I told you all back in Vegas that I am still a big fan of single-car qualifying. That is all I need to say, really. That is the way qualifying should be.

“The gamesmanship that goes on now, the lack of giving it 100 percent — that’s not what qualifying is all about.

“But that is the program that NASCAR set forth, the rules they laid down and the box they put us in. Shame on us for not getting a lap in today.”
[Reference Here]

BOOS, Shame, and a less than satisfying Fan Experience was what NASCAR treated the crowd gathered for the only race scheduled for one of the largest concentration of humans a series could have and engage with - at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

Toe stubbed in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time - thanks for nuttin', NASCAR.

... notes from The EDJE




TAGS: @ACSUpdates, Austin Dillon, Auto Club 400, Auto Club Speedway, Monster Energy Cup, NASCAR, No. 3 Dow Chemical Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing, The EDJE, Tom Stahler,

Luber-finer Joins Love’s on No. 34 for 2 Races

STATESVILLE, N.C. (October 23, 2018) – Love’s Travel Stops (Love’s) will introduce another new partner to its race program with Front Row Motorsports. Luber-finer® will be the co-primary sponsor of Michael McDowell’s No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford for two November races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The heavy-duty filter company will co-sponsor the Front Row Motorsports entry for events at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 4 and ISM Raceway (Phoenix, Ariz.) on Nov. 11. The two-race program is the company’s first motorsports marketing partnership. For more than 80 years, Luber-finer has manufactured heavy-duty and light-duty filters to provide protection for on-highway vehicles as well as for many off-road applications. The company has been a partner of Love’s Travel Stops since 2011. “Luber-finer has worked closely with Love’s for several years now,” said Layne Gobrogge, director of heavy duty marketing for Champion Laboratories. “During that time, we have been proactive in increasing our support to coincide with the company’s rapid expansion, especially during the past year with their acquisition of Speedco. This sponsorship represents our increased level of business with Love’s and the strength of our partnership. We’re proud to have our logo on the No. 34 car for these upcoming races.” Love’s Travel Stops is a long-time partner of Front Row Motorsports and has successfully used its NASCAR program to enhance business relationships with partners such as Luber-finer. “Love’s does an amazing job introducing new partners to the world of NASCAR and the business opportunities that come with it,” McDowell said. “We’re looking forward to having Luber-finer with us at Texas and Phoenix, and we hope it opens some doors to even more involvement in the future.” The AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway is scheduled to air Sunday, Nov. 4, on the NBC Sports Network. The Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 11, on NBC. For more information on Luber-finer heavy duty filtration products, visit www.luberfiner.com or call (800) 851-3641. You can also follow Luber-finer on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. About Love’s Travel Stops: Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores (Love’s) is the nation’s industry-leading travel stop network with more than 470 locations in 41 states. Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the company remains family-owned and operated and employs more than 22,000 people. Love’s provides professional truck drivers and motorists with 24-hour access to clean and safe places to purchase gasoline, diesel fuel, fresh coffee, restaurant offerings, and more. Love’s has more than 250 on-site Truck Tire Care centers and 53 Speedco locations, which is the largest oil change and preventative maintenance nationwide network on the road today. Love’s is committed to providing customers with “Clean Places, Friendly Faces” at every stop. To learn more, visit loves.com. About Luber-finer: For more than 80 years, Luber-finer has been providing filtration excellence for heavy duty on-highway vehicles, vocational and off-road equipment. Recognized as a global brand leader of dependable heavy duty filter product lines, Luber-finer combines product value with a commitment to reliable customer service. For more information, visit www.luberfiner.com. About Front Row Motorsports: Front Row Motorsports is a winning organization in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the premier division of NASCAR competition. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by Tennessean Bob Jenkins. FRM fields two full-time entries, the No. 34 of Michael McDowell and the No. 38 of David Ragan, from its Statesville, N.C., headquarters just outside of Charlotte. The team's partnership base includes organizations such as Ford Motor Company, Love's Travel Stops, K-LOVE Radio, 1000Bulbs.com and Shriners Hospitals for Children. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on Twitter at @Team_FRM and on Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Series Auto Club 400 2018 Gets Kicked Off With Dave Allen

Chip Ganassi Racing's Kyle Larson wins the 20th Anniversary celebration checkered flag of the Auto Club 400. Image Credit: Getty Images via ACS (2017)

The Monster Energy NASCAR Series Auto Club 400 2018 Gets Kicked Off With Dave Allen

Dave Allen serves as President of Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. In this role, Mr. Allen is responsible for the management and operations of the ISC facility including Auto Club Dragway.

Mr. Allen has been with the Speedway since 1999 after spending one year at Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca.  From 2002-2006, Mr. Allen served as Senior Director of Sales and Marketing.  In 2006, Mr. Allen was named Vice President of Sales and Marketing with oversight of all sponsorship, hospitality, suite and consumer sales.

Mr. Allen’s leadership skills have enabled the track to grow with the addition of new events. Today, California’s premier motorsports facility, hosts over 320 days of track activity including a quarter-mile championship dragstrip at Auto Club Dragway, full-service karting facilities and various racing schools and experiences. The track is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation (ISC).

BEGIN
Welcome, DAVE ALLEN, President Auto Club Speedway ...

After last year's Auto Club Speedway celebrating 20 years of racing with a ‘Track Reunion’ theme - NASCAR returns for it's only swing through the LA Basin marketplace in 2018. The Monster Energy NASCAR Series Auto Club 400 is scheduled for the weekend beginning with the Fan Fest Hauler Parade on Thursday, March 15 and concludes with the race being run with the Green Flag dropping at 12:30pm PT.

Auto Club Speedway is one of the fastest tracks on the NASCAR circuit and the oval has aged to perfection for incredible 4 to 5-wide racing, at times. Fans attending Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400 race weekend can park free of charge, making race weekend an incredible value full of fun and entertainment.


1)
Auto Club Speedway, again, is one of the fastest tracks on the NASCAR circuit - over the most recent years, the racing has improved in a steady progression ... beginning with race stage points enhancements - How do you see the Monster Energy NASCAR Series Auto Club 400 play out over last year?

2)
Tell us a little bit on how the 20th year reunion went and how is this going to go forward into this year?

3)
Overall, given what you have seen last year, what has the viewership & attendance been like? Give us a feel what that has been like?

4)
Event Weekend schedule - what do fans need to be looking for? I've noticed in a brief review of the schedule it really has some nice high-points, what do you see as some of the most important pieces that fans should be looking for?

----

The NASCAR Auto Club 400 is scheduled for Sunday, March 18, 2018 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

Schedule Overview: 

Thursday, March 15: FanFest and NASCAR Hauler Parade
? Free Community Event
? Gates open at 5:00 pm / Event ends at 8 p.m. 
? Hauler Parade at 6:45 pm
? NASCAR Driver Appearances – Q&A

Friday, March 16: NASCAR Qualifying Day and 5.11 Tactical Pole Day
? General admission tickets are $20.00. Kids under 12 are free with a Lefty’s Kids Club membership with paid adult general admission ticket.
Gates open at 10:30 am
? Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying at 4:15 pm 
? Walk of Fame Ceremony: 2017 Auto Club 400 Winner - Kyle Larson at 10 a.m. outside Gate B 

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series leader and Elk Grove, Calif. native Kyle Larson (No. 42, Target Chevrolet) made Auto Club Speedway home sweet home this weekend in 2017 and atoned for runner-up finishes in each of his previous three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts by pulling into victory lane at the 21st Annual Auto Club 400. Image Credit: Getty Images via ACS (2017)

Saturday, March 17: NASCAR Xfinity 300 race
** General admission tickets start at $30.00. Kids under 12 are free with a Lefty’s Kids Club membership with paid adult general admission ticket.
** Gates open at 9:00 am 
** NXS 300 starts at 2:00 pm
** National Anthem and Pre-Race Concert: Temecula Road

Sunday, March 18:  Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400 
** Tickets start at $50.00
** Gates open at 7:00 am
** Auto Club 400 starts at 12:30 pm 
** Grand Marshals: The Cast from Super Trooper 2
** National Anthem: Grammy-nominated hitmaker Cassadee Pope 

Cassadee Blake Pope is an American singer, songwriter, and musician whio took part in the third season of The Voice and became the first female winner on December 18, 2012. Her debut solo country album, Frame by Frame, was released on October 8, 2013 to a top 10 Billboard 200 charting. It debuted at No. 1 on Top Country Albums, with 43,000 copies sold in its first week. Pope and her duet partner Chris Young were nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for their hit song "Think of You", making her first contestant from The Voice to receive a Grammy nomination. When it comes to Pope's influences - Natalie Imbruglia's Left of the Middle and old Shania Twain, Michelle Branch, Avril, Blink 182 … "I’m kind of all over the board." And then more recently I’m into the new Blake Shelton album, Not Gonna Lie, Hunter Hayes, and Taylor Swift. Pope also mentions Martina McBride as one of her influences. Image Credit: ACS (2018)

Preview YouTube Auto Club 400 >>>
----

Jimmy Johnson participates in a Q&A while standing next to the surfboard Richter's Trophy. Image Credit: ACS (2017)

** Tickets for the Auto Club 400 start at $50
** Extended special packages for fans through March 9
** Q&A Session with Six-Time Auto Club 400 winner – Jimmie Johnson includes a ticket to the Auto Club 400, pre-race pit pass and more! Only  $118
** Q&A Session with Chase Elliott – 2-day ticket package includes tix to Auto Club 400 and NXS 300 Only $69.00 
** Drivers Meeting Red Carpet: Get an up-close view of your favorite NASCAR Drivers as they walk down the red carpet to the Drivers Meeting. Plus, Tix to the Auto Club 400 – only $99.50

** To purchase tickets, call 800-944-RACE (7223) or visit ? www.autoclubspeedway.com 

Chase Elliott is scheduled to participate in a fan Q&A session on race day. Image Credit: ACS (2017)

5)
I am aware that winning drivers get to have their hand and footprints placed in cement - are you going to have this ceremony for Chip Ganassi Racing's Kyle Larson?
ENDS

... notes from The EDJE



TAGS: Auto Club 400, Auto Club Speedway, NASCAR, Monster Energy, @JimmieJohnson,  @NASCAR, #NASCARThrowback, #ACSLove, @KyleLarsonRacin @ChaseElliott, #PitPass, #AutoClub400, @CassadeePope, The EDJE

Justin Allgaier wins the DC Solar 200 at PIR

PHOENIX – Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet, may have run the race of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday's DC Solar 200. Not only did he take home the victory at Phoenix Raceway in dominant fashion by leading 85 of the 200 laps, but he also won $100,000 in the first NASCAR XFINITY Series Dash 4 Cash race of the 2017 season.

"Last year was tough," said Allgaier, 30, who averaged 91.013 mph. "We had really good runs all year and were never able to get to Victory Lane, but these guys fought hard, like the same group of guys that we had last year.  These guys didn't give up, the pit crew did awesome; they gave me great pit stops. I knew it was going to come down to a short run at the end and I knew we had the car. We just needed a restart at the end, and we got that."

This was Allgaier's 18th start at Phoenix Raceway and first win. His previous best finish in the Valley of the Sun was second place in 2012. He had four top-5s and eight top 10s going into Saturday's race.

The race featured fresh faces at the front of the field, as Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regulars with five or more years of experience are ineligible for Dash 4 Cash races, which were designed to showcase the talents of XFINITY series regulars and make them more familiar to race fans. This meant powerhouses like Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano could not run. But there were five younger Cup drivers in the race, including Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford, who finished second, and Erik Jones, driver of the No. 20 Reser's Main St Bistro Toyota, who was third.

"I thought the Discount Tire Ford Mustang was really good on long runs," said Blaney, 23, who finished second by just 0.741 of a second. "Unfortunately, we didn’t get any of those at the end. The No. 7 was spectacular on short runs, so it just kind of played into his hands. We had a shot at it, just not quite enough. This team is getting really close (to victory)."

In addition to Allgaier, the four Dash 4 Cash finalists today included William Byron, driver of the No. 9 Axalta/Ameristar Chevrolet, Elliott Sadler, driver of the No. 1 OneMain Financial Chevrolet and Tyler Reddick, driver of the No. 42 Broken Bow Records Chevrolet. The four finalists were determined as they were the top qualifiers following the first two stages of the race.

Three of the four full-time JR Motorsport drivers finished in the top five. Allgaier was accompanied by William Byron, driver of the No. 9 Axalta/Ameristar Chevrolet, who won the pole and finished fourth and Elliott Sadler, driver of the No. 1 OneMain Financial Chevrolet, who finished fifth. The other JR Motorsports entry, Michael Annett, driver of the No. 5 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, finished ninth.

  

Allgaier had to endure many late restarts before claiming victory, including an incident involving No. 2 Austin Dillon, No. 00 Cole Custer and No. 39 Ryan Sieg. Contact between Custer and Dillon triggered the wreck, and Dillon retaliated under caution. He was subsequently parked by NASCAR.

There were nine total cautions, including two for the end of the first two stages. 

Tomorrow's feature event -- the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Camping World 500 -- gets the green flag at 12:30 p.m., local time.

About Phoenix Raceway

Since 1964, Phoenix Raceway has been the premier motorsports venue in the Southwest. Founded as an open-wheel racing mecca, Phoenix Raceway is proud to once again host the Phoenix Grand Prix Verizon IndyCar Series race under the lights on April 29. Phoenix is the only track in the West to feature two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series weekends a year, beginning with the Camping World 500 race weekend in March 17-19. The schedule is anchored by the upcoming Can-Am 500 race weekend on Nov. 10-12, the semifinal race in NASCAR’s Playoffs after which the field is reduced to the final four championship contenders. For more information, visitwww.PhoenixRaceway.com.

Story Courtesy: Aimee Dulebohn of PIR.

JOEY LOGANO CLAIMS POLE POSITION FOR CAMPING WORLD 500

PHOENIX – Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, continued his hot streak in the desert at Phoenix Raceway on Friday’s Gatorade Pole Day. The 26-year-old followed up his win in last November's Can-Am 500 by turning in the fastest lap in qualifying to capture pole position for Sunday's Camping World 500.

"The guys did a great job on our Shell Pennzoil Ford," said Logano. "When we were going down the front straightaway, I thought I had a pretty good one and two, I was able to hook the bottom, pretty good there. I didn’t think it was going to be quite good enough, but I pushed as hard as I could. Sometimes you overdrive it a little bit and you still can make some heat. I’m proud of this team, proud of our Ford Front Row, so it’s a pretty special deal. Time to race now."

This is Logano's first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pole at Phoenix Raceway and his fourth overall at Phoenix - he has started first in XFINITY series races in 2010, 2012 and 2015. Logano won Gatorade Pole Day by touring the legendary one-mile oval with a lap of 137.321 mph. He will be joined on the front row by Ryan Blaney, driver of the Wood Brother’s No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford. Blaney's second-best qualifying performance today was his career best in NASCAR's top series.

"I thought we had a lot of speed all day, which is really nice," Blaney said, "It’s nice to have good starts the past two weeks, we’ve been third and second this week. We’re creeping up on it. I really wanted the pole. I’ve never been a great qualifier, so it’s something we’ve been working on as a team, I think we’ve got a really fast Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion, and the other side is pretty good as well. It’s nice to be out in Phoenix. I’ve always liked this place, so it’s going to be a good race Sunday."

Rounding out the top five were No. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 42 Kyle Larson and No. 1 Jamie McMurray. Logano's Penske teammate, Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford, qualified sixth in the second Team Penske entry. (Editor's note: PIR used to belong to Roger Penske, and it was under Roger's ownership that the track became the world class facility, and became a great source of economic growth for the Avondale area. Stay tuned for news about the new remodel of this great Raceway). DW

The three-stage, knock-out style qualifying format saw Kyle Larson win the first round as the field was trimmed to 24 competitors, while Logano won the second stage as the eligible group for the pole was reduced to 12.

  

Blaney also had a strong showing in NASCAR XFINITY Series action leading up to Saturday's DC Solar 200. Driving Team Penske's No. 22 Discount Tire Ford, Blaney posted the top-two times in all three practices for Saturday's featured event, including the fastest time in the second session. Erik Jones, driver of the No. 20 Reser's Main St. Bistro Toyota, was fastest in the first session, and Brendan Gaughan, driver of the No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet, was quickest in final practice.

Saturday's action features NASCAR XFINITY Series qualifying at 10:05 a.m. and the DC Solar 200 at 1 p.m. Sunday's Camping World 500 gets under way at 12:30 pm. (Editor's note: Discount Tire is based here in Scottsdale, Arizona and is by far the "BEST" Tire Store chain in the US). DW

About Phoenix Raceway

Since 1964, Phoenix Raceway has been the premier motorsports venue in the Southwest. Founded as an open-wheel racing mecca, Phoenix Raceway is proud to once again host the Phoenix Grand Prix Verizon IndyCar Series race under the lights on April 29. Phoenix is the only track in the West to feature two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series weekends a year, beginning with the Camping World 500 race weekend in March 17-19. The schedule is anchored by the upcoming Can-Am 500 race weekend on Nov. 10-12, the semifinal race in NASCAR’s Playoffs after which the field is reduced to the final four championship contenders. For more information, visitwww.PhoenixRaceway.com.

Press release courtesy : Aimee Dulebohn of PIR.

RACING LEGENDS REUNITE AT AUTO CLUB 400

FONTANA, Calif. (March 13, 2017) – Roger Penske, Richard Petty, Michael Waltrip, and Rusty Wallace are reuniting for a “Legends Q&A” session to share their racing stories and memorable moments prior to the start of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400 on Sunday, March 26. Moderated by Jamie Little, NASCAR on FOX Pit Reporter, the Legends Q&A session is open to all ticket holders and scheduled from 9:40 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. on the main stage in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Fan Zone.

“These racing legends have so many great stories,” said Dave Allen, President of Auto Club Speedway. “We are honored to have them as our special guests and can’t wait to share this unique experience with our fans.”

The Legendary Panel includes:

·       Roger Penske: A true visionary and accomplished racing legend that built and created Auto Club Speedway, a world-class motorsports facility in the heart of Southern California.

·       Richard Petty: While he never raced at Auto Club Speedway, “The King” has raced at the former Riverside International Raceway and Ontario Speedway. NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty is the most decorated driver in the history of NASCAR racing, winning a record number 200 career races and seven NASCAR Cup championships.

·       Michael Waltrip: The two-time Daytona 500 winner, racing commentator and part-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Driver, Waltrip made his track debut at Auto Club Speedway in 1997.

·       Rusty Wallace: His 2001 NASCAR Cup victory at Auto Club Speedway was a memorable moment as he held off Jeff Gordon for the win. The NASCAR Hall of Famer is a retired American racing driver and a former NASCAR Cup Champion. 

Auto Club Speedway celebrates its 20^th Anniversary Reunion at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Auto Club 400 race weekend - March 24-26. With a race ticket, fans have access to 20^th Anniversary celebrations in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Fan Zone including the special Q&A, historic show cars on display, and musical entertainment.

To purchase tickets or upgrade ticket packages to NASCAR’s Auto Club 400 Weekend at Auto Club Speedway, call 1-800-944-RACE (7223), shop online at www.autoclubspeedway.com.  

(News Release Courtesy: Hillary Angel of ACS)

Keselowski and Busch to be Honored at Auto Club Speedway Walk of Fame.

NASCAR DRIVERS, BRAD KESELOWSKI AND KYLE BUSCH, TO BE HONORED AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY’S WALK OF FAME

What:           Brad Keselowski, winner of the 2015 NASCAR Auto Club 400, and Kyle Busch, winner of the 2014 Auto Club 400, will be inducted into the Speedway’s Walk of Fame.

Ticket holders are welcome to watch the Walk of Fame Induction Ceremony.

When:          Friday, March 18, 2016

                    9:40 a.m. – Kyle Busch

                    1:00 p.m. – Brad Keselowski

Where:         Auto Club Speedway

Outside the O’Reilly Auto Parts Fan Zone at Gate B

                    9300 Cherry Ave. Fontana, CA 92335

                  1-800-944-RACE (7223)

                    www.autoclubspeedway.com

Info:             To purchase tickets to NASCAR Auto Club 400 race weekend, call 800-944-RACE (7223), or visit www.autoclubspeedway.com

About Auto Club Speedway:
Located 50 miles east of Los Angeles in Fontana, Auto Club Speedway is California’s premier motorsports facility, hosting over 320 days of track activity each year including the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400 weekend March 18-20, 2016.  The two-mile D-shaped oval is one of the fastest tracks on the circuit.  The Speedway is also home to numerous movies, television and commercial productions, photo shoots, new car testing, club racing and a variety of racing schools. For more information on events at Auto Club Speedway call 1-800-944-RACE (7223) or visit www.autoclubspeedway.com.

Two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Races in 2018 at LVMS.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway will hold a pair of aces next year as the 1.5-mile superspeedway doubles down with a second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race for the 2018 season and beyond.

The speedway made the announcement at a joint news conference with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority at Cashman Center Wednesday, just two days before the green flag drops on its 2017 NASCAR weekend. LVMS will host the new Monster Energy Cup race beginning in the fall of 2018 in addition to its customary March NASCAR weekend.

LVMS also will welcome a second NASCAR Xfinity Series race beginning in the fall of 2018 and an additional NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race beginning in the spring of 2018, meaning both of the speedway's NASCAR weekends will include races from each of NASCAR's top three series - the Camping World Truck Series, Xfinity Series and Monster Energy Cup Series.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway will become the first facility on the NASCAR schedule to host two annual event weekends with all three national touring series. Official race dates will be announced later by NASCAR as part of the full 2018 schedules.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for Speedway Motorsports and Las Vegas Motor Speedway to create a NASCAR spectacle worthy of the greatest racing in the world and the Entertainment Capital of the World," said Speedway Motorsports, Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Marcus Smith.

"It's taken a tremendous amount of work to make this happen, and we are very thankful to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and NASCAR for their support in our endeavor to create a triple-header NASCAR weekend in such a world-class destination."

In 2018, Speedway Motorsports (NYSE: TRK) will realign the September Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races from New Hampshire Motor Speedway and the September NASCAR Xfinity Series race from Kentucky Speedway to create the two triple-header weekends in Las Vegas.

"Fans and tourism officials in New Hampshire and Kentucky should know that we are still very committed to creating motorsports entertainment in those regions," Smith added.

"We will work hard to make sure the July NASCAR race weekends that we will continue to host in New Hampshire and Kentucky are bigger and better than ever before for our fans, sponsors and stakeholders."

LVMS first hosted a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in 1996, added a NASCAR Xfinity Series race in 1997 and will host its 20th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event, the Kobalt 400, this Sunday. The first race held at the 1.5-mile oval was the Indy Racing League's Las Vegas 500K in 1996.

"We're honored that NASCAR has entrusted us with a second NASCAR weekend," LVMS President Chris Powell said. "We've pursued a second NASCAR premier-series race weekend for quite some time, so this news is monumental for everyone at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as well as everyone in our wonderful city."

"Las Vegas and Las Vegas Motor Speedway have become great destinations for NASCAR fans," NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O'Donnell said. "The experience is unique to any other in our sport. We look forward to having NASCAR racing there for two race weekends in 2018."

The addition of a second NASCAR weekend in Las Vegas will be a big boost for the "Entertainment Capital of the World," and the news was welcomed by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Board of Directors at a meeting earlier today.

"We have outstanding support from the LVCVA and other Las Vegas leaders, and we're supremely confident that we'll host two top-notch race weekends," Powell said. "Today's news will create lasting memories for our fans and will provide immeasurable economic impact for Southern Nevada."

"Over the years, Las Vegas has become a major sports city as a popular destination for a variety of championship and professional sports events, and today we are proud to add a second NASCAR Cup race to that roster. Las Vegas, NASCAR and Las Vegas Motor Speedway have developed a strong and successful partnership, and we are certain this second race will prove to be another great success," said Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

"Last year's March race attracted more than 115,000 fans, with more than 96,000 coming from out of town, and generated nearly $140 million in economic impact. We have worked with LVMS and NASCAR for years to bring a second Cup race to Las Vegas, and now we are committed to making the fall race just as successful for all of us."

"Las Vegas is the ideal destination for a second NASCAR Cup race, and this addition will delight the thousands of fans who love visiting Southern Nevada to watch their favorite drivers in action," said Lawrence Weekly, chairman of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board and Clark County commissioner. "As a city, we are uniquely positioned to provide sports fans with a top-notch experience, and our energy and passion are the perfect complement to NASCAR."

LVMS's 2017 NASCAR Weekend begins with the Stratosphere Pole Day on Friday, March 10 with Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying beginning at 4:45 p.m. (PST). The Xfinity Series Boyd Gaming 300 takes place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 11, and the weekend's racing culminates on Sunday, March 12, with the Kobalt 400 at 12:30 p.m.

For tickets to all 2017 LVMS events, fans should call 1-800-644-4444 or log on to LVMS.com.

Press release courtesy Neal Reid of LVMS.

KAITLIN OLSON, STAR OF FOX’S HIT ‘THE MICK’ WILL LEAD THE FIELD TO START AUTO CLUB 400

KAITLIN OLSON, STAR OF FOX’S HIT ‘THE MICK’ WILL LEAD THE FIELD TO START AUTO CLUB 400.

FONTANA, Calif. (March 6, 2017) – Auto Club Speedway announced today that Kaitlin Olson, star of FOX’s hit comedy, THE MICK, will be behind the wheel of the Official NASCAR 2017 Toyota Camry Pace Car as she leads the field before the start of the Auto Club 400 airing Sunday, March 26, at 12:30 p.m. PT/3:30 p.m. ET, on FOX. 

As the official pace car driver, Olson will lead the top Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers to the green flag to kick off the Auto Club 400.

THE MICK, airing Tuesdays (8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX and has been renewed for a second season. Olson also stars on the critically acclaimed cult hit “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” which entered its 11th season in January 2016.  Additionally, Olson was seen in Pixar Animation’s “Finding Dory,” in which she voiced the role of “Destiny,” a whale shark that taught “Dory” to speak whale. 

Olson also appeared in FOX’s hit feature comedy, “The Heat,” opposite Melissa McCarthy and Academy Award winner Sandra Bullock, and directed by Paul Feig. Additional feature credits include Universal’s romantic comedy, “Leap Year,” with five-time Academy Award nominee Amy Adams; and the festival darling “Weather Girl,” alongside Jane Lynch and Mark Harmon.

To see Olson during pre-race ceremonies and drive the Toyota Camry Pace Car, purchase tickets by calling 800-944-RACE (7223) or visit www.autoclubspeedway.com. (Story and Photo Courtesy ACS)

Jimmie Johnson gets 6th Plaque at ACS Walk of Fame.

HOMETOWN HERO, AUTO CLUB 400 WINNER JIMMIE JOHNSON TO GET RECORD 6th PLAQUE ON AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY’S WALK OF FAME

What:  El Cajon, Calif. native Jimmie Johnson, winner of the 2016 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400, will be inducted into the Speedway’s Walk of Fame.

Johnson won his first NASCAR Cup race in his career at Auto Club Speedway in 2002, and grabbed his other four wins on Auto Club Speedway’s two-mile oval in a six-race stretch from 2007-10. His five runner-up finishes at ACS are also a record.

Ticket holders are welcome to watch the Walk of Fame Induction Ceremony.

When:             Friday, March 24, 2017

                        9:20 a.m. – 9:50 a.m. PT

Where:            Auto Club Speedway 

Outside the O’Reilly Auto Parts Fan Zone at Gate B

                        9300 Cherry Ave. Fontana, CA 92335

                        1-800-944-RACE (7223)

                        www.autoclubspeedway.com

Press release courtesy of ACS.

RICHARD PETTY “THE KING” PUTS ICING ON CAKE FOR

RICHARD PETTY “THE KING” PUTS ICING ON CAKE FOR
NASCAR AUTO CLUB 400 FANS
Auto Club Speedway Announces Richard Petty Ticket Package 

FONTANA, Calif. (Feb. 8, 2017) – Richard Petty is giving Southern California race fans a birthday present!  To celebrate the NASCAR Hall of Fame driver and owner’s upcoming 80th Birthday, race fans can purchase a Richard Petty Ticket Package that includes a Q&A at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400 race weekend – March 25-26, 2017.  The first 80 ticket packages purchased will receive an exclusive autograph session with “The King.”

 “We are both celebrating major milestones and this is a definitely a one-of-a-kind experience for fans,” said Dave Allen, President of Auto Club Speedway. “This is our first time offering a ticket package with ‘The King’. We know it will be very popular.” 

Richard Petty’s 80^th Birthday Ticket Package is $99.00 and must be purchased before March 10. 

Reserved ticket to the Auto Club 400 – Sunday

GA ticket to the NXS 300 – Saturday

Pre-Race Pit Pass

Q&A on race weekend for ticket purchases. The first 80 purchased also receive an autograph session.

$10 donation to the Petty Family Foundation/Victory Junction

To purchase the Richard Petty 80^th Birthday ticket package and tickets to NASCAR’s Auto Club 400 Weekend at Auto Club Speedway, call 1-800-944-RACE (7223), shop online at www.autoclubspeedway.com, or stop by the Auto Club Speedway ticket office at 9300 Cherry Ave. in Fontana. Ticket office hours are Monday – Friday from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.  

About Auto Club Speedway:
Located 50 miles east of Los Angeles in Fontana, Auto Club Speedway is California’s premier motorsports facility, hosting over 320 days of track activity each year including the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400 weekend, March 24-26, 2017. The two-mile D-shaped oval is one of the fastest tracks on the circuit.  The Speedway is also home to numerous movies, television and commercial productions, photo shoots, new car testing, club racing and a variety of racing schools. For more information on events at Auto Club Speedway call 1-800-944-RACE (7223) or visit www.autoclubspeedway.com.

Press Release courtesy, Hillary Angel

Interview - Dave Allen President Of Auto Club Speedway Before Auto Club 400

Interview - Dave Allen President Of Auto Club Speedway Before Auto Club 400

Dave Allen serves as President of Auto Club Speedway.

Allen, 41, a 17-year veteran in the sports marketing industry, is responsible for all operations of Auto Club Speedway and Auto Club Dragway.

He was named president of the Speedway in December, 2014. Allen has served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Speedway since 2006. As Vice President, Allen oversaw the marketing, sales and ticketing departments.

From his early childhood karting days at Laguna Seca to Crew Chief of a World of Outlaws Sprint car team to his rise as the President of Auto Club Speedway, Dave Allen has grown up in the motorsports world and is a race fan at heart. Coming from a racing family, Allen has seen the sport grow from both the competition side and the business side and has applied his knowledge and know-how to move up motorsports’ executive ladder.

Welcome, DAVE ALLEN, President Auto Club Speedway ...

We find ourselves at the beginning of a NASCAR season that has seen some changes in the aerodynamics to a lower downforce set up in the hopes of increasing the competition on the track.

1)
Auto Club Speedway is one of the fastest tracks on the NASCAR circuit - over the most recent years, the racing, especially NASCAR Racing, has improved in a steady progression ... How do you see a race play out with this lower downforce set up?

2)
Today, we are presently experiencing a second round of El Nino weather activity - what are the weather forecasts telling you as to what to expect for the Auto Club 400 activities between March 17th when the transporter roll in and set up, to the race itself on March 20th?

3)
What kind of questions are you hearing from NASCAR on FOX and what do you think they are expecting from the races at Auto Club Speedway?

4)
Starting with St. Patrick's day, March 17th and working through the event weekend, what should fans look for?

The NASCAR Auto Club 400 is scheduled for Sunday, March 20, 2016 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

Weekend Schedule:

Thursday, March 17: St. Paddy’s Day FanFest presented by Bubba Burger and NASCAR Sprint Cup Hauler Parade

Friday, March 18: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying: 4:30 p.m. PT.

Saturday, March 19: NASCAR Xfinity Race: 1 p.m. PT  on FS1.

Sunday, March 20: NASCAR Sprint Cup Auto Club 400: 12:30 PT on FOX.

----

Tickets for the Auto Club 400 start at $41.

After March 11– tickets start at $46.

To purchase call 800-944-RACE or visit www.autoclubspeedway.com

The Auto Club 400 race is NASCAR’S only stop in Southern California and is a part of the NASCAR Goes West campaign.

Fans attending the Auto Club 400 weekend can park free of charge, making race weekend an incredible value full of fun and entertainment.

5)
I am aware that winning IndyCar drivers get to have their hand and footprints placed in cement - are you going to have this ceremony for these NASCAR drivers?
ENDS

... notes from The EDJE


TAGS: Auto Club Speedway, ACS,  NASCAR, Xfinity, Sprint Cup, St. Paddy’s Day FanFest, Bubba Burger, NASCAR Sprint Cup Hauler Parade, FOX Sports, The EDJE

Post #MAVTv500 & #CokeZero400 Superspeedway Event Observations

Ryan Briscoe has a moment of personal conversation with his helmet as he prepares to be a competitive factor in the MAVTv500 superspeedway five-hundred mile race held at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday June 27th. Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2015)

Post #MAVTv500 & #CokeZero400 Superspeedway Event Observations 

This was NOT a good week for ‪#‎NASCAR‬. Last week they ask fans not to fly the ‪#‎ConfederateFlag‬ and we see more Rebel Flags at Daytona International Speedway than we have seen in years.

They pull the hard cards of the crew guys who should have been celebrated as heroes for rushing to help Austin Dillon after his crashand have to explain they just wanted to talk to them, they will not fine them at all.

Subway is the presenting sponsor of the Xfinity Series race and is at Daytona ... this week Jared, the face of Subway advertising, had his home raided as part of a child pornography investigation.

But all of this serves as a distraction to the real issue at hand - Pack Racing.

Pole sitter Dale Earnhardt Jr. held off the pack (a very good view of the definition of "pack racing") to win the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.  Earnhardt led 96 laps en route to his second win of the season.  Jimmie Johnson finished second, while Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch completed the top-five. Image Credit: NASCAR via RiverBender.com

This weekend's heavily promoted race on NBC at Daytona, the Coke Zero 400, was delayed from its normal broadcast window and pushed way past midnight on the West coast was won by Dale Earnhart Jr. in a journeyman display of restrictor plate, raceline control, superspeedway PACK RACING.

If it were not for a couple of incredibly hairy Pack Racing crashes where everyone survived and about three spectators (it could have been a lot worse) were injured due to debris from a car flying into the catch fence ... the race was a total bore as are most NASCAR oval racing restrictor plate events.

The week before, a race that was also on a NBC broadcasting property (NBCSN), but not heavily promoted, the Verizon IndyCar Series held a race at Auto Club speedway.

The MAVTv500 would have been a good news event for the series if the race was able to draw spectators because the racing was anything but just a pack of cars playing "Follow The Leader" behind a very experienced driver/tactician. The product on the track and the lack of spectators attending the event show a dichotomy of efforts between the teams and drivers versus the Verizon IndyCar Series (VICS) management.

The product is the best it may be in years from top teams to the bottom of the points paying order ... this may be the most professional and talented to ever be assembled - the VICS management, however, may be the second worse ever (2015 explained here) with the worst management team being the last years of the Tony George regime, many of whom occupy positions in this current management team.

No.5 Ryan Briscoe (L) and eventual MAVTv500 winner No.15 Graham Rahal approach the Auto Club Speedway Start/Finish line side-by-side as a sparse crowd witnesses one of the best, most competitive races held in the annuals of open-wheel racing - world record 83 changes for the lead. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2015)

This reaction to the MAVTv500 was posted by a friend of a longtime NASCAR fan on Facebook - this reaction has to see the light of day:

Geoff Gray (posted to facebook timeline)

One of my best and oldest friends came to visit us for the fourth of July weekend. He is a good ole boy NASCAR fan from Arkansas. We got to having a drink or two with dinner and he asked me what all this "business" was regarding "those crying tea and crumpet" Indycar whiners ... I told him that I had recorded the race so just sit back and watch. His response was the NASCAR fan typical "Why would I want to watch follow the leader IndyCar racing?" crap but I was able to convinced him regardless...

To say the least , from the drop of the green flag he was transfixed ... after 20 laps he was cheering and had already decided on a driver he wanted to see win ... Merican of course ... by the end of the race he was on his feet cheering on the race like a true fanatic. And then .... yup ... the after race whining began ... the Wheldon name was slung about wrecklessly as though there were even some semblance to that tragic day at all. 

Then my friend pointed out, most astutely pointed out, that:

(1) This not even remotely "pack racing" like them-thar "restrictor races" as there were rarely any one following or side by side for any length of time at all! In fact most of the time they were jumping out of line to actually pass one another!

(2) Don't these guys get paid a lot of money to do just that?

(3) Why wasn't there anyone there in them grandstands?

(4) Was it because it was a 500 mile race scheduled to run in the middle of the desert in the middle of summer?!?!?

(5) Who the hell was officiating when that fuel buckeye got ripped off .... Ain't that a penalty? It ain't like Rahal couldn't have made the time up ... hell, that crazy Brisco guy got a "drive through" and damn near won ifn' he didn't get wrecked!!!

(6) By the way ... I kinda like that Brisco guy ... he was Mr Spectacular and didn't cry boo after the race ... now that's a driver ... he oughta' drive NASCAR!

At the end of evening my good friend said to me " That was probably one of the best races I ever saw ... Maybe the best ... Ya'll got a good thang goin' there if they keep on drivin' like that and the management would shut those clowns up"! "Yup ya got a good thang goin there ... just dont tell anybody" ...
ENDS

Long Time Coming: Rahal, Andretti Names Share Podium Again: Drivers with two of the most recognizable surnames in IndyCar racing shared the podium following the exciting MAVTv500 at Auto Club Speedway on June 27, when Graham Rahal won and Marco Andretti finished third (Tony Kanaan in P2). Surprisingly, it's the first time in their Indy car careers that the two - who each now drive for teams owned by their fathers - have celebrated together in Victory Circle. The last meeting on the podium for a Rahal and an Andretti was Sept. 1, 1996, in the Molson Indy Vancouver street-course event. Marco's father, Michael, won that day and Graham's dad, Bobby, finished second. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2015)

Inside the box score - MAVTv500: Numbers to note following the MAVTv500 at the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway oval - the 11th round of the Verizon Indy Car Series season:

6 - Positions gained by Stefano Coletti in the final 25 laps of the race (18th to 12th). ... Podium finishes in his last seven starts at Auto Club Speedway by Tony Kanaan, who was the race runner-up.

7.77 - Average running position of winner Graham Rahal for the 250 laps.

14 - Drivers who led at least one lap, the most to lead a race at Auto Club Speedway since November 2001, when a track-record 19 drivers led.

18 - Positions improved by Rahal (19th to first), most of any of the 23 starters.

21 - Indy car wins for cars owned by Bobby Rahal, who won 24 times as a driver.

74 - Top-three career finishes by Kanaan, tying Rick Mears for 13th on the all-time Indy car list.

76 - Laps in which rookie Sage Karam improved his position, most of any driver.

80 - Lead changes in the race, an Indy car record. The previous was 73 at Auto Club Speedway in November 2001.

124 - Starts between Indy car victories for Graham Rahal, the longest streak between wins by an Indy car driver. The previous record was 97 starts between wins held by Johnny Rutherford.

244 - Consecutive starts by Kanaan, extending his all-time record.

2,537 - Total on-track passes for position. Kanaan had 204 (in 250 laps), most of any driver.

3,173 - Total on-track passes. Of the 6,248 total on-track passes this season, 51 percent occurred in the MAVTV 500.
(ht: VICS)

As the Verizon IndyCar Series heads to race on "the oldest speedway in the world" known as the Milwaukee Mile, let's hope that the attendance gap closes up so that folks can actually witness competitive open-wheel racing on a flat oval venue and come away with the appreciation for the toughest competition in motorsport. NBCSN Race Broadcast - Sunday, July 12, 2015 - 5:00pm ET.

Regardless, it is still time for a change in management to one that actually has someone who drove a car in competition as opposed to a committee of people who occupy Race Control who make most of their decisions, post race, in a vacuum of direct competitive track knowledge driving in open-wheel cars.

... notes from The EDJE


TAGS: #MAVTv500, @ACSUpdates, Auto Club Speedway, Brian Barnhart, Country Club, Derrick Walker, Mark Miles, MAVTV 500, Race Control, The EDJE, Verizon IndyCar Series, NASCAR, Coke Zero 400, Daytona, Pack Racing