There are days when we don't even discuss the tire as we focus on the racing. Then there's days like this past Sunday at Auto Club Speedway when the tire becomes the discussion. Many drivers had a problem with the tires throughout the course of the race.
I must admit I was rather surprised to learn that The Great Gonzo, of Muppets fame, was named to be the Grand Marshall for the Auto Club 400. I found myself asking: "seriously? A Muppet puppet is going to give the command to start engines?
Okay, everyone from Goodyear engineers, NASCAR officials, crew chiefs, car chiefs, drivers, the media and the fans have had some time to digest the issue of tire wear that was presented during last Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the Auto Club Speedway.
When it comes to watching NASCAR racing at the Auto Club Speedway, sometimes you have to be patient and wait until the waning laps of the event in order to witness the drama unfold.
Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) reassured their dominance in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Sunday at Fontana after team owner, Tony Stewart finished fifth and first-year SHR driver Kurt Busch placed third.
Tires, man. That was the story of the race at Fontana. If one was conservative in their set up, like those owned by Joe Gibbs, all was well. If not…well, they blew it.
The craziness started before the green flag flew to get today’s Auto Club 400 from Auto Club Speedway underway. J.D. Gibbs announced about 30 minutes prior to the command to fire engines that Denny Hamlin wouldn’t race due to a sinus infection that affected his vision.
Patrick Staropoli concluded all murmurs about him winning the PEAK Stock Car Dream Challenge was a fluke, and further ended any discussion of him not capable of performing well.
The 23-year-old Hocevar from Portage, Michigan, capped off a triple-header weekend of competing at the World Center of Racing by nearly winning the Daytona 500 prior to a final lap spin.
The 25-year-old Wallace from Mobile, Alabama, led a race-high 40 of 200 laps and won the second stage before being shuffled to 10th place in his ninth Daytona 500 start.
The 2020 Cup Series champion from Dawsonville, Georgia, was leading on the final lap and with the finish of the 2026 Daytona 500 in sight before he wrecked and ended up in fourth place.
The two-time O'Reilly Auto Parts Series champion from Corning, California, executed two crossover moves and dodged a final-lap multi-car wreck to become the 44th competitor to win the Great American Race.
