From three-wide racing to the splitter-challenging bumps, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 17th annual Auto Club 400 in Fontana, California.
Joe Gibbs Racing has released a statement stating that Denny Hamlin will miss six weeks due to a L1 Compression Fracture to his back following his crash on the last lap at Auto Club Speedway.
Earnhardt posted his third top-5 result of the year with the runner-up in the Auto Club 400 and took over the top spot in the Sprint Cup point standings. He leads Brad Keselowski by 12.
With all due respects to college basketball's annual super tournament, that takes weeks to complete, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series displayed their own version of "March Madness", at the Auto Club Speedway, that contained far more excitement and it only took two hours, 57 minutes and 19 seconds, during the course of a single Sunday afternoon, to complete.
All last year, folks commented that the racing in NASCAR’s top series was boring. Most of them pointed to the late-race action at Martinsville Speedway last April. On Sunday, at near 200 mph, they saw more of the same. This time it was Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin, fresh off a dustup at Bristol Motor Speedway where both drivers pointed fingers.
Last week I wrote that California wasn't your daddy's NASCAR venue. I was wrong. It turned out to be not only your daddy's but your grandpappy's as well. Both would have loved what they saw, be it from a 1953, 1983, or 2013 perspective.
There are as many opinions as there are fans as to whether or not Joey Logano is at fault for the late-race wreck on Sunday at Fontana that sent driver Denny Hamlin to the hospital.
The rollercoaster ride Brian Vickers has been on over the past few seasons in NASCAR is quite incredible. Vickers has experienced remarkable lows over the past few years including getting ousted out of his Red Bull Racing ride after the team closed their operations as well as getting sidelined due to a medical problem in 2010.
Joe Gibbs Racing has released that driver Denny Hamlin has suffered a L1 Compression Fracture to his back following his wreck on the last lap of the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway.
Chris Buescher, driver of the No. 17 RFK Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse, will be making the 400th start of his NASCAR Cup Series career this weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
Anthony Alfredo and Parker Retzlaff will continue to pilot the Nos. 96 and 99 Chevrolet entries, respectively, for the 2027 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season amid a breakout year in 2026.
This race marks a significant milestone for Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing as driver Chris Buescher makes his 400th Career Start after leading 53 laps this past weekend in Talladega.
