The 2013 Auto Club 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on March 24, 2013 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, United States. Contested over 200 laps on the 2 mile (3.2 km) asphalt D-shaped oval, it was the fifth race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series championship. Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing won the race, his first of the season, and the first Sprint Cup win at Auto Club for Joe Gibbs, completing a weekend sweep, while Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished second and Joey Logano finished third.
Report[]
Background[]
The track, Auto Club Speedway, is a four-turn superspeedway that is Template:Convert long.[1] The track's turns are banked from fourteen degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at eleven degrees. Unlike the front stretch, the backstraightaway is banked at three degrees.[1] The track has a seating capacity of 92,100 people.[1] The race consists of 200 laps, which is equivalent to a race distance of Template:Convert.[1]
Before the race, Brad Keselowski was leading the Drivers' Championship with 166 points, while Dale Earnhardt, Jr. stood in second with 157 points. Jimmie Johnson followed in the third position, 23 points ahead of Clint Bowyer and 25 points ahead of Greg Biffle in fourth and fifth. Denny Hamlin, with 125, was one point ahead of Kasey Kahne and Carl Edwards, as Paul Menard was three points ahead of Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. in tenth and eleventh. Joey Logano completed the first twelve positions with 104 points.[2] The defending winner of the race was Tony Stewart, who won the race in 2012.[3]
Practice and qualifying[]
Three practice sessions are were held before the race. The first session, held on March 22, 2013, was 60 minutes long. The second and third were held on March 23, and were 55 and 50 minutes long.[4] During the first practice session, Bowyer was quickest with a time of 38.832, ahead of Hamlin and A. J. Allmendinger in second and third. Kyle Busch followed in the fourth position, ahead of Logano in fifth.[5]
In the Saturday morning session, Biffle was quickest, ahead of Allmendinger and Busch in second and third. Hamlin and Kurt Busch followed in the fourth and fifth positions.[6] Bowyer, Mark Martin, Earnhardt, Jr., Martin Truex, Jr., andLogano rounded out the first ten positions.[6] In the final practice session for the race, Martin was quickest with a time of 39.269 seconds.[7] Bowyer followed in second, ahead of Matt Kenseth and Johnson in third and fourth.[7] Keselowski, who was eighteenth quickest in second practice,[6] managed fifth.[7]
During qualifying, forty-three cars were entered, meaning all of the cars were able to start because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure.[8] Hamlin clinched his twelfth career pole position, with a time of 38.410 seconds.[9] After his qualifying run, Hamlin commented,“Honestly, I think our car was really fast. I knew, talking to a few people in my motor home... it’s cocky to say, but I said, ‘Man, I can almost guarantee a pole, if we have a late draw.’ When they told me we were third, I was like, ‘OK. Well, just never mind. Forget that."[10] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Biffle.[9] Keselowski qualified third, Kyle Busch took fourth, and Kenseth started fifth.[9] Logano, Truex, Jr., Tony Stewart, Martin, and Kurt Busch completed the first ten positions on the grid.[9]
Race[]
Results[]
Qualifying[]
Race results[]
Standings after the race[]
Template:Col-start | valign="top" style="width:25%;" |
- Drivers' Championship standings
| Pos | Driver | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| File:1uparrow green.svg 1 | 1 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | 199 |
| File:1downarrow red.svg 1 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | 187 |
| File:1rightarrow.png | 3 | Jimmie Johnson | 183 |
| File:1uparrow green.svg 4 | 4 | Carl Edwards | 164 |
| File:1rightarrow.png | 5 | Greg Biffle | 164 |
| File:1uparrow green.svg 4 | 6 | Kyle Busch | 163 |
| File:1rightarrow.png | 7 | Kasey Kahne | 159 |
| File:1uparrow green.svg 1 | 8 | Paul Menard | 154 |
| File:1uparrow green.svg 3 | 9 | Joey Logano | 146 |
| File:1downarrow red.svg 4 | 10 | Denny Hamlin | 145 |
| File:1uparrow green.svg 2 | 11 | Matt Kenseth | 141 |
| File:1downarrow red.svg 1 | 12 | Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. | 139 |
| valign="top" style="width:25%;" |
- Manufacturers' Championship standings
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| File:1rightarrow.png | 1 | Chevrolet | 36 |
| File:1rightarrow.png | 2 | Toyota | 34 |
| File:1rightarrow.png | 3 | Ford | 25 |
- Note: Only the first twelve positions are included for the driver standings.
|}
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Auto Club Speedway Track Facts". Auto Club Speedway. Retrieved on March 22, 2013.
- ↑ "Pre-race Drivers' Championship Standings". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN. Retrieved on March 22, 2013.
- ↑ "2012 Auto Club 400". Racing-reference.info. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved on March 22, 2013.
- ↑ "Auto Club 400 Practice/Qualifying Times". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN. Retrieved on March 24, 2013.
- ↑ "2013 NSCS Auto Club 400 First Practice Session Speeds". Catchfence. Citizen Journalist Media Corps (March 22, 2013). Retrieved on March 24, 2013.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Auto Club 400 2nd Practice Speeds". Motor Racing Network (March 23, 2013). Retrieved on March 25, 2013.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Auto Club 400 Final Practice Speeds". Motor Racing Network (March 23, 2013). Retrieved on March 25, 2013.
- ↑ "Entry List: Auto Club 400". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN. Retrieved on March 25, 2013.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 "Auto Club 400 Starting Grid". Motor Racing Network. Retrieved on March 25, 2013.
- ↑ "Hamlin Wins Third Sprint Cup Pole at Fontana". NASCAR (March 22, 2013). Retrieved on March 25, 2013.