Qualifying
Ford drivers had ruled qualifying in recent weeks but not so in California as the top five were all Chevrolet and Toyota.
Juan Montoya took the pole in his Chevrolet while second and third were the Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano started their Joe Gibbs Toyotas second and third. Regan Smith and Tony Stewart rounded out the top five in their Chevys.
Drop Of The Green
This race started with a long green flag run. The first caution didn't fly until lap 75 when nearly half of the scheduled 200 laps were already complete.
Juan Montoya, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch took turns at the front in the early going.
Storylines
Auto Club Speedway in California is famous for long green flag runs and fuel mileage races which can seem a bit boring.
The 2011 Auto Club 400 saw the long green flag runs as expected. The race was interrupted only four times by the yellow flag. However, the finish was anything but boring.
Chasing The Checkers
Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson had checked out on the field before the final caution of the day. They got the green with nine laps to go. Kyle Busch restarted on the outside with Johnson on the bottom.
Kyle got a strong restart and pulled away by five carlengths. Johnson reeled him in and caught him with four laps to go while Kevin Harvick started to close in third.
Jimmie Johnson took the lead with three laps to go. Harvick passed Kyle for second and the three were nose-to-tail when the white flag flew.
Harvick gave Jimmie Johnson a nudge down the backstretch and took a look on the high side in turn three. Harvick made it stick on the top, passed Johnson on the outside in the final turn and then held on all the way to the checkered flag to claim Victory in 2011 Auto Club 400.
Top Ten
- Kevin Harvick
- Jimmie Johnson
- Kyle Busch
- Matt Kenseth
- Ryan Newman
- Carl Edwards
- Clint Bowyer
- Brian Vickers
- Kasey Kahne
- Juan Montoya
The Points
Carl Edwards was only one point behind coming into the Auto Club 400 and finished well ahead of Kurt Busch who ended up outside the top ten. Carl is the new leader as winner Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth move into the top ten.
The Unofficial 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings:
- Carl Edwards
- Ryan Newman -9
- Kurt Busch -10
- Kyle Busch -11
- Jimmie Johnson -14
- Tony Stewart -17
- Paul Menard -23
- Juan Pablo Montoya -26
- Kevin Harvick -30
- Matt Kenseth -30
- Kasey Kahne -30
