NASCAR Cup Series

Joey Logano was forced to a backup car late in the day Saturday after a flat left front tire forced the No. 22 Ford Fusion into the wall during Happy Hour practice at Auto Club Speedway. Logano, talked about the incident and what it means for tomorrow.

When Brian Vickers hits the track for the race on Sunday, he won't just be racing for a good finish - he'll be raising awareness about blood clots. Vickers will be driving a special No. 55 TREATMYCLOT.com/Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota in the Auto Club 500 this weekend.

Furniture Row Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was forced to a backup Chevrolet after damaging his primary car in Saturday's first Sprint Cup practice at Auto Club Speedway. The incident was triggered when the left-rear tire went flat as Truex was going into Turn 1 on the 2-mile oval.

There are some instances where it is actually difficult to pick a definitive favorite to win the race. This is not the case with the Auto Club 400. Jimmie Johnson has won four of the last 10 races at his home track, and five overall including his first victory back in 2002.

Denny Hamlin had an eventful final corner at Auto Club Speedway last season, to say the least. Him and Joey Logano – who had a dispute the week before at Bristol – battled the entire white flag lap for the win, but eventually touched putting Hamlin into the inside wall, Logano into the outside wall, and sending Kyle Busch to victory lane.

Ryan Newman’s short tenure with Richard Childress Racing has been acceptable, and while winning a race would almost guarantee them a Chase berth, the No. 31 team continues to bank on consistent finishes and reliable results to be granted a spot in this year’s Chase – however, they’re holding a free and loose attitude heading to Auto Club Speedway this weekend.

“It was good, obviously. We unloaded and had some really good speed. We worked on race trim a little bit. It wasn’t driving quite like we hoped, but we did have some really good speed and that translated into qualifying trim. Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) did a really good job the last two weeks of making good adjustments through the round and making it how we needed it for the last one.

“Yeah, we’re all working hard in different areas to try to find speed. These rules are far different, but we know that we’ve got great bodies on the race cars and great Hendrick power and once we get all the ingredients put together I think we’ll see a parade of Hendrick cars out there at some point.

Kenseth conquered Knockout Qualifying and drove his No. 20 Dollar General Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to first place at Auto Club Speedway, earning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Coors Light Pole Award with a speed of 187.315 mph. It was his 12th career pole and his first pole at this track.

Matt Kenseth and Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) won the pole for this Sunday's Auto Club 400. It is the 2003 series champion's 12th career pole and his first at this speedway. For JGR, it will be their 74th time leading the field to the green flag. Brad Keselowski will start alongside; the fourth week in succession that he's qualified 2nd or higher.