2009 Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway

2009 Auto Club 500:

The 2009 Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway is the first non-restrictor plate race of the year. Welcome to the first "normal" race of the 2009 season. The Daytona 500 is quite a show but the racing there doesn't resemble the majority of racing on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule.

Tickets:

Speedway ticket office (800) 944-7223 or 1-800-PITSHOP

Buy online from TicketsNow (direct link )

The Track:

California'a Auto Club Speedway is a fast and wide two mile "D" oval with 14 degrees of banking in the turns and 11 degrees in the front D. Due to the wide racing surface most races in California have very few cautions. As a result many Sprint Cup races have come down to fuel mileage battles.

Race Distance:

250 laps = 500 miles

The Big Picture:

This is just week two of the season so it is possible for teams to make huge gains (or losses) in the points. Based on his win last week Matt Kenseth leads the points heading into California.

The top twelve:

1. Matt Kenseth
2. Kevin Harvick -20
3. A.J. Allmendinger -25
4. Clint Bowyer -30
5. Elliott Sadler -30
6. David Ragan -40
7. Tony Stewart -43
8. Michael Waltrip -44
9. Reed Sorenson -52
10. Martin Truex Jr. -55
11. Kurt Busch -56
12. Jeff Gordon -61

Storylines:

NASCAR continues to push back the start times to better accomodate the west coast fans. The Auto Club 500 will start a full two hours later in 2009 than in did in 2008.

I am torn on these late afternoon starts. It does allow me the day to still get something accomplished before the race starts. However these later races regularly run well into the evening and the later start time leaves less cushion in case of weather.

The problem isn't just California. Later start times have been an epidemic across the schedule. There are very few, if any, 1pm Eastern races on the schedule anymore.

Media Coverage:

TV: Fox Sunday February 22th 5:00PM Eastern.

Radio: MRN and Sirius XM Channel 128

Actual Race: 6:00PM Eastern

Fast Last Year:

2008 Polesitter: None (weather)

2008 Winner: Carl Edwards

Previously...:

Weather was the story here in 2008. The race started late because of rain and after a couple of weather related cautions NASCAR threw the red flag on lap 87. NASCAR tried until 2am to get the rest of the race in but finally gave in to finishing it on Monday.

When the race resumed on Monday Carl Edwards dominated the last 50 laps and claimed the win.

Predictions:

The Roush Fenway Fords dominated this event for the last four years. Last year Carl Edwards picked up the win while Matt Kenseth won this race in 2006 and again in 2007. Before that his teammate Greg Biffle won this race in 2005.

Carl Edwards won here last year to kick off a very strong intermediate track program in 2008. Carl Edwards has to be considered a favorite again this season in California.

For my backup this week I am going with another big name from 2008 to show strength again. Kyle Busch had the best car last week in Daytona before being caught up in someone elses frustration. Kyle will likely rebound with a strong effort in California.