2010 Auto Club 500: Difference between revisions
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The track, [[Auto Club Speedway]], is one of six [[superspeedway]]s to hold [[NASCAR]] races, the others being [[Daytona International Speedway]], [[Michigan International Speedway]], [[Indianapolis Motor Speedway]], [[Pocono Raceway]] and [[Talladega Superspeedway]].<ref name="tacksnascar">{{cite web|title=NASCAR Race Tracks|url=http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/|accessdate=14 August 2010|location=nascar.com}}</ref> The standard track at Auto Club Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is {{convert|2|mi|km}} long.<ref name="autotrack">{{cite web|title=NASCAR Tracks — The Auto Club Speedway|url=http://www.speedway-guide.com/auto-club-speedway.html|publisher=www.speedway-guide.com|accessdate=14 August 2010}}</ref> The track's turns are banked at fourteen [[Degree (angle)|degrees]], while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at eleven degrees.<ref name=autotrack /> |
The track, [[Auto Club Speedway]], is one of six [[superspeedway]]s to hold [[NASCAR]] races, the others being [[Daytona International Speedway]], [[Michigan International Speedway]], [[Indianapolis Motor Speedway]], [[Pocono Raceway]] and [[Talladega Superspeedway]].<ref name="tacksnascar">{{cite web|title=NASCAR Race Tracks|url=http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/|accessdate=14 August 2010|location=nascar.com}}</ref> The standard track at Auto Club Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is {{convert|2|mi|km}} long.<ref name="autotrack">{{cite web|title=NASCAR Tracks — The Auto Club Speedway|url=http://www.speedway-guide.com/auto-club-speedway.html|publisher=www.speedway-guide.com|accessdate=14 August 2010}}</ref> The track's turns are banked at fourteen [[Degree (angle)|degrees]], while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at eleven degrees.<ref name=autotrack /> |
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Before the race, [[Jamie McMurray]] led the [[List of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions|Drivers' Championship]] with 190 points, and [[Dale Earnhardt, Jr.]] stood in second with 175 points. [[Greg Biffle]] was third in the Drivers' Championship with 170 points |
Before the race, [[Jamie McMurray]] led the [[List of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions|Drivers' Championship]] with 190 points, and [[Dale Earnhardt, Jr.]] stood in second with 175 points. [[Greg Biffle]] was third in the Drivers' Championship with 170 points, [[Clint Bowyer]] was fourth with 165 points, and [[Kevin Harvick]] was in fifth with 156 points.<ref name="driver">{{cite web|title=Driver's Championship Classification|url=http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2010/1/data/standings_official.html|location=NASCAR.com|accessdate=August 14, 2010}}</ref> In the [[NASCAR Manufacturers' Championship|Manufacturers' Championship]], Chevrolet was leading with nine points, three points ahead of their rival Ford. Toyota, with four points, was one point ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.<ref name="manufacturer">{{cite web|title=Manufactures' Championship Classification|url=http://www.jayski.com/stats/2010/manu2010.htm|location=Jaski.com|accessdate=August 14, 2010}}</ref> |
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===Practices and qualifying=== |
===Practices and qualifying=== |
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Revision as of 20:59, 16 August 2010
| Race details[1][2][3][4] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 36 in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
| File:AutoClub500Logo.jpg | |||
| Date | February 21, 2010 | ||
| Official name | Auto Club 500 | ||
| Location | Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, California | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.0 mi (3.23 km) | ||
| Distance | 250 laps, 500 mi (804.7 km) | ||
| Weather | Sunny with a daytime high around 62; wind out of the ENE at 3 mph. There was a zero percent chance of precipitation. | ||
| Average speed | 142 miles per hour (229 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | ||
| Time | 39.185 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 101 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox Broadcasting Company | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds | ||
The 2010 Auto Club 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on February 21, 2010 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Contested over 250 laps, it was the second race of the 2010 Sprint Cup Series season. The race was won by Jimmie Johnson for the Hendrick Motorsports team. Kevin Harvick finished second, and Jeff Burton, who started fourteenth, clinched third.
Pole position driver Jamie McMurray maintained his lead into the first corner, but Juan Pablo Montoya, who had started in the second position on the grid, took the lead before the first lap was over. Afterward, Johnson became the leader, and would eventually lead to the race high of 101 laps. During the final pit stops, Johnson was on pit lane as the caution flag came out. Burton, who led the race during Johnson's pit stop, did not pass Johnson to put him a lap down. Therefore, Johnson retained the first position upon the completion of his pit stop. On the final lap, Harvick was gaining on Johnson, but Johnson maintained his position to win his first race of the season.
There were six caution flags and twenty-eight lead changes among fourteen different drivers throughout the course of the race. The result moved Johnson up twenty-three spots to tenth in the Drivers' Championship, 78 points behind of leader Kevin Harvick and one ahead of Kyle Busch. Chevrolet maintained its lead in the Manufacturers' Championship, eight points points ahead of Toyota and nine ahead of Ford, with thirty-four races remaining in the season.
Report
Background
The track, Auto Club Speedway, is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the others being Daytona International Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway.[5] The standard track at Auto Club Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2 miles (3.2 km) long.[6] The track's turns are banked at fourteen degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at eleven degrees.[6]
Before the race, Jamie McMurray led the Drivers' Championship with 190 points, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. stood in second with 175 points. Greg Biffle was third in the Drivers' Championship with 170 points, Clint Bowyer was fourth with 165 points, and Kevin Harvick was in fifth with 156 points.[7] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with nine points, three points ahead of their rival Ford. Toyota, with four points, was one point ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.[8]
Practices and qualifying
Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—one on Friday, and two on Saturday.[9] In the first practice session, the fastest drivers were Mark Martin, Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jeff Burton, and Clint Bowyer.[10] During the second practice session, the fastest were Jimmie Johnson, Martin, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, and Greg Biffle.[11] In the final practice session on Saturday, the fastest ones were Martin, Bowyer, Johnson, McMurray, and Jeff Gordon.[12]
During qualifying, forty-six cars were entered, but only forty-three were able to race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure.[13] Jamie McMurray clinched the pole position with a time of 39.185.[14] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Montoya.[14] Bowyer quified third, Kasey Kahne took fourth, and Dave Blaney started fifth.[14] The three drivers that did not qualify were Casey Mears, Johnny Sauter, and Terry Cook.[14]
Race summary
The race, the second out of a total of thirty-six in the season, began at 3 p.m. EST and was televised live in the United States on Fox.[1] Pre-race ceremonies began with Motor Racing Outreach's Jeff Hamilton giving the invocation; then Katharine McPhee, season five American Idol runner-up, performed the national anthem. Actor Andy Garcia gave the traditional command, "Gentlemen Start Your Engines!" Before the race, Denny Hamlin moved to the back because his team changed engines since qualifying.[15] At 3:19 p.m. EST polesitter Jamie McMurray led the 43-car field to the green flag, but Juan Pablo Montoya passed him during the first lap to lead lap 1. On lap 29, Jimmie Johnson passed Montoya for the lead.[16] Between around laps 35 to 40 teams did green flag pit stops (a pit stop while high speed racing continues); Johnson kept the lead after the stops.
On lap 57, the first caution period came out because of debris. The restart was on lap 61 with Johnson the leader. Kevin Harvick, on lap 61, passed Johnson for the lead. The second caution came out on lap 92 because Kasey Kahne collided with Montoya. On lap 97, Johnson brought the field to the green flag.[15]
On lap 98, though, Mark Martin passed Johnson, but was passed back after two laps. On lap 133, several pit stops were under way. Then, on lap 140, the third caution came out because Montoya collided with the turn one wall from an engine failure. On lap 145, the green flag waved with Jeff Gordon as the leader. The fourth caution, caused by the blown engine of Ryan Newman, came out on lap 147.[16] On the restart, Gordon led the field to the green flag. Gordon, who did not restart fast enough, was passed by both Jeff Burton and Kyle Busch on lap 154. On lap 155, Kyle Bush passed Burton for the lead. Then, on lap 165, Burton returned the favor by passing Busch for the lead. During the laps afterward, there were several pit stops, but on lap 192 the fifth caution came out because of light rain moving through the area; the leader at the time was Denny Hamlin.[15][9]
During the restart, on lap 199, Burton brought the field to the green flag. The race experienced a green flag run after the restart, which lasted until Brad Keselowski collided with the turn 4 wall that brought out the sixth caution. The restart was on lap 229 with Jimmie Johnson the leader. After the restart on lap 229, Jimmie Johnson increased his lead over Kevin Harvick, but with fewer than ten laps to go Harvick started catching Johnson. On lap 248, Burton caught Harvick and Johnson. Jimmie Johnson held off both Harvick and Burton to win his first race of 2010.[15][17][9]
Post-race
"They're really good, but they're really, really lucky, too. Jimmie is a good friend mine, but there's no denying how lucky they are. They have a golden horseshoe stuck up their ass."
Kevin Harvick, speaking after the race.[18]
Jimmie Johnson appeared in victory lane after his victory lap to start celebrating his first win of the season, and his fifth at Auto Club Speedway. Following his win, he added, "No way around it, we got lucky." We were able to just beat the 31 car [leader Jeff Burton] to the scoring line by about half a car length or we would have been a lap down."[18]
Although Burton was leading near the end of the race, the caution came out as Johnson was exiting pit lane. It gave Burton a chance to put Johnson a lap down, but Johnson entered the track ahead of Burton.[18] In the subsequent press conference, Johnson said, "Fortunate came our way. I’m not going to lie. The fact that we were on pit row gave us track position, and I drove my butt off."[19] Johnson expressed his enjoyment of winning the race stating:
"Today was a great race for NASCAR and a great race for this track. I know it got spread out some, but there [was] some really good racing from what I saw. Yes, today we got a huge gift. But I was running fourth or fifth at the time [of the last caution], so it's not like we totally backed into this thing. And I still had to hold Kevin off."[18]
Burton, who finished eighth, stated, "We weren't slowing each other down. I ran the low line and Kevin ran the high line. But I got looser and Kevin got better at the end. The 29 by far had the best car."[18] Harvick, who finished second, said, "When he moved up I got tight and caught the wall a little bit. If he doesn't move up, he gets passed pretty easily. He did what he's supposed to do to take the line away. He did exactly what he had to do."[18] The race result left Kevin Harvick leading the Driver's Championship with 331 points.[20] Clint Bowyer, who finished third, was second on 312, eight points ahead of Greg Biffle and ten ahead of Jamie McMurray.[20] Jeff Burton was fifth with 300 points.[20] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet maintained their lead with 18 points.[8] Toyota moved to second with 10 points.[8] Ford followed with 9 points, two points ahead of Dodge in fourth.[8]
Race results
Qualifying
Race Results
Standings after the race
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
- ^ a b "Sprint Cup Series Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
- ^ Spencer, Reid (19 February 2010). "McMurray maintains torrid pace with Fontana pole". Sporting News.com. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
- ^ a b "Race Information". Fox Sports.com. 21 February 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- ^ Peltz, Jim (22 February 2010). "Jimmie Johnson's victory at Fontana is NASCAR business as usual". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
- ^ "NASCAR Race Tracks". nascar.com. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
- ^ a b "NASCAR Tracks — The Auto Club Speedway". www.speedway-guide.com. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
- ^ "Driver's Championship Classification". NASCAR.com. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Manufactures' Championship Classification". Jaski.com. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Race Review". Jaski.com. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
- ^ "Practice 1 Results". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- ^ "Practice 2 Results". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- ^ "Practice 3 Results". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- ^ "Qualifying Order". NASCAR.com. Retrieved June 19, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Qualifying Results". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Race Summary". NASCAR.com. 21 February 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- ^ a b "Race Rewind". nascar.com. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
- ^ "Jimmie Johnson Wins Auto Club 500". Auto Club Speedway.com. 21 February 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f "Timely pit stop turning point for JJ". ESPN. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
- ^ "Fortunate Timing of Pit Stop Helps Johnson Secure Victory". New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Point Standing". NASCAR.com. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
- ^ "Official Race Results". Sporting News. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
- ^ "Results (2)". NASCAR.com. Retrieved June 22, 2010.