2016 Auto Club Speedway, Auto Club 400

Another great finish this week at Phoenix saw Kevin Harvick hold off Carl Edwards by .01 seconds to pick up his first win of the season and get himself qualified for the Chase. This was Kevin’s sixth win in his last eight starts at here which is another amazing feat.

AUTO CLUB 400

This week the series stays out west as the drivers and their teams head to Fontana, CA and Auto Club Speedway for the running of the Auto Club 400. This track is a two-mile D-shaped oval that is very similar to Michigan International Speedway. Neither tires nor engines should be a factor this weekend for the drivers, although fuel mileage could come into play late in this race.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie leads all drivers in wins with five, laps led at 955, and top five finishes with twelve at Auto Club Speedway. Add to that, this team has looked good on the mile-and-a-half tracks so far this season and you have the recipe for another win for the 48 team this weekend. Jimmie will be the first repeat winner of the season if he can get his car to victory lane once again this weekend.

Matt Kenseth: Matt has won three races at Auto Club Speedway and has finished in the top ten in fifteen of his twenty-three starts here. He also runs extremely well at Michigan which is almost identical to this track. Matt has had a few problems on the track during the early part of this season, but this is one of those tracks where he can turn his luck around in a hurry.

Kyle Busch: Kyle also has three wins here and has won the last two races here that he has run. He missed this race last season while recovering from injuries suffered in a crash at Daytona. He has also finished in the top three in his last four starts here and has looked very good every week this season. He will be one of the favorites heading into the race this weekend.

Carl Edwards: Carl came oh so close to winning his first race of the season last week and he is one of the most consistent drivers at this track. In eighteen starts here Carl has one win, eight top five, and fourteen top ten finishes. I think we are going to see a lot of long, green flag runs this week and this team knows how to be patient and set up the car so it gets better as a run goes on.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin has won one race at this track and he has finished in the top ten in six of his last eight starts here. This team is fast every week and now that they have a win under their belt this season they can relax a little bit. Then again, I don’t think that Kevin ever relaxes in a race car. He is always looking to win every race he enters and that strategy won’t change this weekend.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale is still looking for his first win at this track, but he has run well here the past five years finishing no worse that twelfth in those five starts. This team has looked strong every week this year and this weekend should be no different. Dale can run the high line that he likes this weekend which will give him a lot of speed and momentum coming out of the corners and that is how he likes to attack this track.

Kurt Busch: Kurt has sat on the pole at this track a record four times during his career. He also has one win and twelve top ten finishes in his twenty-starts at this track. In addition he has finished in the top ten in seven of his last nine starts here. This team has been fast all season and remains fast when they are out front. If they get stuck in traffic they seem to struggle to pass people, so they need to figure this part out and then they will start picking up some wins this season.

Joey Logano: Joey has been fast all year so far, but he hasn’t found his way to victory lane yet. I think this team will be a contender this weekend as they really do well on this type of track. So far Joey has stayed on everyone’s good side this year and has raced everyone cleanly. I think he is maturing as a driver and this can only help him on the track each week.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin hasn’t run consistently well here during his career with only four top ten finishes in fifteen starts. This team is always good on the mile-and-a-half tracks, so I don’t know why they don’t run better here every race. I won’t put him on my roster this week because there are better places to use his starts, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he came away with a top five finish either.

Austin Dillon: Austin has had a great start to his season and this weekend he is at another track where he should run well. He has only started two races at this track in his young career and has finished 12th and 16th in those races. I think he will come away with his first top ten finish at this track and continue to run well throughout the season.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Jimmie Johnson
• Kyle Busch

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Carl Edwards
• Austin Dillon
• Kasey Kahne
• Jamie McMurray

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Brian Vickers
• Chase Elliott

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Kyle Busch
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4. Matt Kenseth
5. Carl Edwards

Dark Horse: Chase Elliott

Stay Away From: Aric Almirola

Big 18: Joey Logano