Once again we saw a race this past week where there were only three cars within ten seconds of the winner. This to me isn’t an exciting race to watch. It seems that once a car gets back in traffic the new bigger spoiler just catches too much air and there really is no way for drivers to run down those ahead of them after the first few laps on new tires.
AUTO CLUB 400
So, we are going to stay out west once again this week as the drivers and crews head to the Auto Club Speedway
for the running of the Auto Club 400. This is a 2-mile low banked D-shaped track in Fontana, CA. I’m looking for the Ford power to come out on top once again this week as we will see racing with the new aero package once again.
Brad Keselowski
I am going to pick Brad to win once again this week. The Penske teams have been the most impressive with the new aero package so far this season and I will stick with them until another team steps up and wins a race. Brad has finished in the top ten in his last four starts here with one win and three top five finishes in that stretch.
Joey Logano
Brad’s teammate has also been very good at this track the past four years too. He has four top seven finishes in those races while looking for his first win here. The Penske teams with the Ford power under the hood seem to be the way to go right now.
Martin Truex Jr.
Martin has been pretty good so far this season with the new package and the Toyota drivers are closer to the Ford’s for speed and power than the Chevrolet group. Martin came close to winning at Atlanta, but right now I don’t know if there is enough power on the long straightaways we are going to see this weekend. We will learn a lot in this race about drafting again.
Kyle Busch
Kyle has been good this season too with the new aero package. Just doesn’t seem to have it quite figured out, but they are very close to winning a race. He should run towards the front of the pack most of the day. He has five top five finishes in his last seven starts here including two wins in those races.
Kyle Larson: Kyle has only run five races here, but in those five races he has one win and two runner-up finishes. He has been very impressive on the two-mile tracks the past few seasons. Now we will find out how much power the Chevrolet’s really possess on this long track. He will most likely be the top finisher for this manufacturer this week.
Ryan Blaney: This will be Ryan’s fourth race at this track in the series and he finished in the top ten in each of his last two starts. Once again the Penske teams seem to be the ones to beat so far this season on the intermediate tracks and this is the type of track where it is wide enough to go three wide through the turns and Ryan isn’t afraid to do that.
Kevin Harvick
Kevin is always running up towards the front of the pack with his Stewart-Haas team. A native of California, Kevin would love to win at this track for the second time in his career. He has finished in the top ten in six of his last ten races at the Auto Club Speedway.
Aric Almirola
Aric has been very good in every race so far this year and this is the type of track where he excels. Even though he has never led a lap or finished in the top ten at this track, I think he is going to run towards the front of the pack once again in this race. This team is looking like they might be legitimate contenders this year.
Eric Jones: Although he has only run two races at this track, Eric has done very well finishing twelfth in his first start and then seventh last season. This team is going to be looking to rebound after a rough week at Phoenix where he had a tire go down early in the race that ruined his whole day. This should be a good track for them.
Chase Elliott: Chase has only run three races at this track and finished in the top ten in his first two. I really don’t know what to expect from the Hendrick teams at this point in the season. I think I am still going to stay away from all of these teams at this point of the season and see if they can make some improvement as we get deeper into the schedule.
DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
Driver Group Game Group A
- Brad Keselowski
- Martin Truex Jr.
Driver Group Game Group B
- Aric Almirola
- Ryan Blaney
- Eric Jones
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Driver Group Game Group C
- Chris Buescher
- Matt Dibenedetto
MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
- Brad Keselowski
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Joey Logano
- Kyle Busch
- Ryan Blaney
Dark Horse: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Stay Away From: Jimmie Johnson
Big 18: Ryan Blaney
34 replies on “2019 Auto Club Speedway, Auto Club 400”
Jeff what do you think about the 1 at Cali? He is definantly making the 1 car look better than J Mac was? I was thinking the
18 19 22 42 12 & 1? Already used the 2 & 4 twice in 4 races…
I like the 10 better here.
Better than the 1? The rest look o.k.?
Better than the 1 and the rest look ok.
Is the aero package like Atlanta or Vegas?
It is the new package, so something like both of those tracks.
Thoughts on the 11?
I like Denny on the short tracks much better than on the intermediate tracks.
Why DiBenedetto over Hemric or D. Wallace? Hemric has shown speed and Wallace finished 20th last year at this track.
Wallace will never be an upper tier driver and hasn’t shown anything besides his run at Daytona last season. Hemric should only get better as the year goes on and Dibenedetto is running very well so far.
18-2 my oick
19
Do you like the 10 over the 42?
I do like the Ford’s over the Chevrolet’s, so yes.
18-2-19-22-4-42-12-1-14 my pick!
10
why stay away from #48,outstanding at this track,chip on his shoulder,coming back from problems at end of races and needs to prove something.this is the first year in his career where i actually watch for him(not that he cares)chevy has been having their problems but,i am actually pulling for him
The way he ran the first two intermediate track races they are a long way from being contenders on this type of track.
Should I avoid Newman now that his crew chief has been ejected ? If so, which driver should I replace him with based on today’s qualifying results?
It was his car chief that got ejected, not the crew chief. This hasn’t been a big deal in the past and shouldn’t be this weekend either.
12,20,9, 1, or 42;
11,88,41,24, or 21;
13,43,38,34,47, or 36?
Any changes to your top 5 after qual/practices?
Thanks!
20, 88, 47. I am sticking with my top 5.
Would you take the Harvick and Keslowski or Keslowski and Truex. I looking for stage points!
I like Keselowski and Truex.
Kez, almirola, Johnson, Buescher
Bench: Busch, Busch. Stenhouse, Dillon
Any changes?
I like Stenhouse over Johnson. Otherwise I would roll with what you have.
After all practices, quality what would be my best team for DGG?
18, or 19
12, 41, 20, 11 pick two
8 or 37
Thanks for your help!!
19, 20, 41, 8
Who would you go with,
2, 19
10, 17, 12, 20
37. 94
Thanks
2, 10, 17, and the 37 seeing there is no 94
I meant 95, sorry
Still going with the 37 then.
Who do you like Buescher or Suarez?
Suarez