2017 Auto Club 400
2017 Auto Club 400
The 2017 Auto Club 400 is a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race being held on March 26, 2017, at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Contested over two hundred laps on the two-mile (Three.Two km) D-shaped oval, it is the fifth race of the two thousand seventeen Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
Five.Two million viewers [12]
Contents
Background Edit
Auto Club Speedway (formerly California Speedway) is a two miles (Trio.Two km), low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, California which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It is also used for open wheel racing events. The racetrack is located near the former locations of Ontario Motor Speedway and Riverside International Raceway. The track is possessed and operated by International Speedway Corporation and is the only track wielded by ISC to have naming rights sold. The speedway is served by the nearby Interstate ten and Interstate fifteen freeways as well as a Metrolink station located behind the backstretch.
Entry list Edit
Kyle Larson was the fastest in the very first practice session with a time of 38.081 seconds and a speed of 189.071 mph (304.280 km/h). [13]
Kyle Larson scored the pole for the race with a time of 38.493 and a speed of 187.047 mph (301.023 km/h). [14] “It was an interesting qualifying for us,” Larson said. “I ran the bottom in Turns three and Four. I knew everybody was running the top in three and four and my plan was to go up there in the 2nd round, but thought I maybe got through one and two okay enough to run the bottom. I knew the third round I was going to have to stir up. Our Target Chevy was indeed good, indeed balanced up there. I was astonished.” [15]
Qualifying results Edit
2nd practice Edit
Erik Jones was the fastest in the 2nd practice session with a time of 38.451 seconds and a speed of 187.251 mph (301.351 km/h). [16]
Final practice Edit
Pursue Elliott was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 38.404 seconds and a speed of 187.480 mph (301.720 km/h). [17]
Very first stage Edit
Kyle Larson led the field to the green flag at Trio:50 p.m. On the initial commence, Denny Hamlin spun his tires and compelled Brad Keselowski to check up. [Eighteen] He backed into Ryan Newman – and Kevin Harvick, who was lined up behind Newman – and was turned up the track, hurting the left-rear quarter panel in the process. [Nineteen] Keselowski kept going, but got liberate exiting Turn Four, with help from Jimmie Johnson, and spun through the frontstretch grass, bringing out the very first caution of the race on the third lap. [20]
The race restarted on the eighth lap. Harvick made an unscheduled stop for harm on lap 23. A cycle of green flag stops commenced on lap thirty and resulted in Martin Truex Jr. cycling to the lead. Larson took it back exiting Turn four on lap 49, won the very first stage and the 2nd caution flew for the completion of the stage on lap 60. Truex exited pit road very first. Ryan Blaney (removing equipment from the pit box) and Austin Dillon (speeding) restarted the race from the tail end of the field for pit road infractions. [21]
2nd stage Edit
The race restarted on lap 68. The 2nd stage was only cracked up by green flag stops on lap 91, which resulted in Truex retaining the lead. It ended with him winning the stage and the third caution flew on lap one hundred twenty for its completion. [21]
Final stage Edit
The race restarted with seventy three laps to go. Larson powered by Truex on the bottom in Turn one to retake the lead on the restart. For most of the stage, it was a repeat of the 2nd stage. It was cracked up with forty nine to go when cars embarked pitting under green, Larson and Truex pitted together with forty five to go and Larson regained it with thirty seven to go. During the cycle, Kyle Busch led for a few laps, followed by Ty Dillon and Johnson was turned by Truex on pit road. [22] Gray Gaulding suffered a right-front tire blowout and slammed the wall in Turn 1, bringing out the fourth caution with twenty to go. Truex, who entered pit road under the caution 2nd, left seventh after he “stopped too deep in the box.” [23]
The race restarted with sixteen to go. Exiting Turn two on the restart, Truex hooked the left-rear corner of Matt Kenseth, then sent him spinning down the track and into the inwards retaining wall, bringing out the fifth caution. [24]
The race restarted with eleven to go. Two laps later, Corey LaJoie spun out in Turn Two, bringing out the sixth caution. Hamlin, taking the lead as a result, Truex and Jamie McMurray elected to stay out under the caution, while everyone else hit pit road. [21]
The race restarted with five to go. Larson quickly took 2nd from Truex on the backstretch and had a run on Hamlin, but found himself boxed in by Truex to his left and the outside wall to his right. He made the pass for the lead exiting Turn two with three to go seconds before the seventh caution flew for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spinning out in Turn Two. [21]
Overtime Edit
The race restarted in overtime with two to go and Larson drove on to score the victory. [25]
Post-race Edit
Driver comments Edit
In victory lane, Larson said of the final two restarts that he was “staying as quiet as [he] could,” but he was “frustrated” as well. “It seems like every time I get to the lead at the end of one of these things, the caution comes out and I’ve got to fight people off on restarts,” he added. “Our Target Chevy was amazing all day. We were able to lead a lot of laps today. Truex was better than us that 2nd stage by fairly a bit. We were able to get the hop on him the following restart and led pretty much the rest of the distance. I had to fight them off there after the green flag stops (before the final caution), and that was a lot of joy. This is just amazing. We’ve been so good all year long, three seconds in a row. I’ve been watching all the TV like ‘He doesn’t know how to win,’ but we knew how to win today, so that was good.” [26]
“Good perseverance from this team,” Keselowski said on pit road after rallying from a Lap three spin to finish runner-up. “I got out of the car and looked at the harm. It’s ripped to lumps. I feel fortunate to finish 2nd and nosey what we could have done if we weren’t ripped up. Superb day for us to persevere, despite adversity. You’ll have that in a 36-race season, so proud of team for that.” [27]
Clint Bowyer, who earned his very first top-five finish since the two thousand fifteen Irwin Contraptions Night Race with a third-place finish, said his team is “getting closer. This is a good track for me. I dreamed to win that damn thing, but to come home with a wild finish and everything that it was, we’ll take it.” [28]
Truex, who finished fourth after electing not to pit under the penultimate caution, said it was “not the situation we dreamed to be in, but we thought more guys would stay out there. I think we only ran a few laps. It was undoubtedly a disadvantage at the end and just truly taut. Holding on for fourth was good for points.” [29]
