NASCAR Cup Series

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.

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing - Are you looking forward to this weekend’s race at Auto Club Speedway? “I’m looking forward to coming to this track. This track has a lot of tire wear, which is typically good for us and it’s a track where we can move around."

Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Subway Ford Fusion, is fresh off a victory last weekend at Bristol, and now is in position to change strategy, having all but locked himself into the 2014 Chase. Edwards spoke about what the win means for the rest of the season, and how it impacts the 99 team this weekend in California.

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed what he likes about Auto Club Speedway, the challenges at Martinsville, his chances for a win, and more

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S “SPRING IS CALLING” CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Auto Club Speedway and discussed not having a victory thus far in the season, racing at his home track and many other topics.