# 2013 Auto Club 400

The 2013 Auto Club 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on March 24, 2013, at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, United States. Contested over 200 laps on the 2-mile (3.2 km) asphalt D-shaped oval, it was the fifth race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series championship. Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing won the race, his first of the season, and the first Sprint Cup win at Auto Club for Joe Gibbs, completing a weekend sweep, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second. Joey Logano, Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five.

## Report
### Background

Auto Club Speedway was a four-turn superspeedway that was 2 miles (3.2 km) long. The track's turns were banked from fourteen degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, was banked at eleven degrees. Unlike the front stretch, the backstraightaway was banked at three degrees. The track had a seating capacity of 92,100 people. The race consisted of 200 laps, which is equivalent to a race distance of 400 miles (640 km).
Before the race, Brad Keselowski was leading the Drivers' Championship with 166 points, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. stood in second with 157 points. Jimmie Johnson followed in the third position, 23 points ahead of Clint Bowyer and 25 points ahead of Greg Biffle in fourth and fifth. Denny Hamlin, with 125, was one point ahead of Kasey Kahne and Carl Edwards, as Paul Menard was three points ahead of Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in tenth and eleventh. Joey Logano completed the first twelve positions with 104 points. The defending winner of the race was Tony Stewart, who won the race in 2012.

### Entry list

(R) - Denotes rookie driver.
(i) - Denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Sponsor |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Penske Racing | Ford | Miller Lite |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Farmers Insurance |
| 7 | Dave Blaney | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | SANY |
| 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | Mac Tools |
| 10 | Danica Patrick (R) | Stewart–Haas Racing | Chevrolet | GoDaddy.com |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | FedEx Express |
| 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Ford | GEICO |
| 14 | Tony Stewart | Stewart–Haas Racing | Chevrolet | Rush Truck Centers / Mobil 1 |
| 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | NAPA Filters |
| 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 3M Window Film |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (R) | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | NOS Energy Drink |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Interstate Batteries |
| 19 | Mike Bliss (i) | Humphrey Smith Racing | Toyota | G-Oil / Plinker Tactical / Doubletree |
| 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Dollar General |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Penske Racing | Ford | AAA Southern California |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Drive to End Hunger |
| 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | CertainTeed / Menards |
| 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Jimmy John's |
| 30 | David Stremme | Swan Racing | Toyota | Swan Energy / Lean1 |
| 31 | Jeff Burton | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Caterpillar |
| 32 | Timmy Hill (R) | FAS Lane Racing | Ford | OXY Water |
| 33 | Landon Cassill (i) | Circle Sport | Chevrolet | Little Joe's Autos / Precon Marine |
| 34 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | Front Row Motorsports |
| 35 | Josh Wise (i) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | MDS Transport |
| 36 | J. J. Yeley | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | Accell Construction |
| 38 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | Long John Silver's |
| 39 | Ryan Newman | Stewart–Haas Racing | Chevrolet | WIX Filters |
| 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | Target |
| 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | Farmland |
| 44 | Scott Riggs | Xxxtreme Motorsports | Ford | No Label Watches |
| 47 | Bobby Labonte | JTG Daugherty Racing | Toyota | Charter |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Lowe's / Jimmie Johnson Foundation |
| 51 | A. J. Allmendinger | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | Phoenix Construction |
| 55 | Mark Martin | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | Aaron's Dream Machine |
| 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts |
| 78 | Kurt Busch | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | Furniture Row / Serta |
| 83 | David Reutimann | BK Racing | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper |
| 87 | Joe Nemechek (i) | NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing | Toyota | Maddie's Place |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | National Guard |
| 93 | Travis Kvapil | BK Racing | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper |
| 98 | Michael McDowell | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | Phil Parsons Racing |
| 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | Subway |
| Official entry list |||||

### Practice and qualifying

Three practice sessions were held before the race. The first session, held on March 22, 2013, was 60 minutes long. The second and third were held on March 23, and were 55 and 50 minutes long. During the first practice session, Bowyer was quickest with a time of 38.832, ahead of Hamlin and A. J. Allmendinger in second and third. Kyle Busch followed in the fourth position, ahead of Logano in fifth.
In the Saturday morning session, Biffle was quickest, ahead of Allmendinger and Busch in second and third. Hamlin and Kurt Busch followed in the fourth and fifth positions. Bowyer, Mark Martin, Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., and Logano rounded out the first ten positions. In the final practice session for the race, Martin was quickest with a time of 39.269 seconds. Bowyer followed in second, ahead of Matt Kenseth and Johnson in third and fourth. Keselowski, who was eighteenth quickest in second practice, managed fifth.
During qualifying, forty-three cars were entered, meaning all of the cars were able to start because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure. Hamlin clinched his twelfth career pole position, with a time of 38.410 seconds. After his qualifying run, Hamlin commented,“Honestly, I think our car was really fast. I knew, talking to a few people in my motor home... it’s cocky to say, but I said, ‘Man, I can almost guarantee a pole, if we have a late draw.’ When they told me we were third, I was like, ‘OK. Well, just never mind. Forget that." He was joined on the front row of the grid by Biffle. Keselowski qualified third, Kyle Busch took fourth, and Kenseth started fifth. Logano, Truex Jr., Tony Stewart, Martin, and Kurt Busch completed the first ten positions on the grid.

### Race

With seven laps to go, Joey Logano took the lead after a brief duel with former teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. Hamlin and Logano had been involved in an incident the previous race at Bristol, with the sentiments carrying over to this race. Hamlin chased Logano down and the two were side-by-side for most of the final lap, but Logano attempted to block Hamlin in the final turn and was sent up into the outside wall, while Hamlin came off the banking and smashed head-on into the inside concrete retaining wall, allowing Busch to pass both cars on the high side and take the win.
Although Hamlin climbed out of the car right after the crash, he immediately collapsed and lied on the track. He was airlifted to the hospital as a precaution. It was announced the next day that Hamlin had suffered a massive L1 compression fracture, or a collapsed vertebra, likely because the area where his car hit the wall was lacking a SAFER barrier. The resulting injuries forced Hamlin to miss the next four races. Mark Martin filled in for Hamlin at Martinsville while Brian Vickers filled in at Texas, Kansas, and Richmond. Hamlin did not start another race until Talladega in May, although the team arranged for Vickers to take over at the first caution flag pit stop. Hamlin did not return full-time to his race car until the following week at Darlington.
In response to the accident, for 2014, Auto Club Speedway installed an additional 1,000 foot SAFER barrier along the wall where Hamlin's car had impacted.
Following the finish, Logano was also involved in an altercation with Stewart after a blocking move made by Logano on Stewart during the final restart. Stewart ended with a 22nd-place finish following the incident. Stewart went on to confront Logano in the pit lane and who had to be restrained by crews from Danica Patrick's team after Logano threw a water bottle at Stewart.

## Results
### Qualifying

| Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 38.410 | 187.451 |
| 2 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 38.458 | 187.217 |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Penske Racing | Ford | 38.472 | 187.149 |
| 4 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 38.476 | 187.130 |
| 5 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 38.567 | 186.688 |
| 6 | 22 | Joey Logano | Penske Racing | Ford | 38.603 | 186.514 |
| 7 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 38.653 | 186.273 |
| 8 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 38.738 | 185.864 |
| 9 | 55 | Mark Martin | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 38.753 | 185.792 |
| 10 | 78 | Kurt Busch | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 38.777 | 185.677 |
| 11 | 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Ford | 38.886 | 185.157 |
| 12 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 38.901 | 185.085 |
| 13 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 38.945 | 184.876 |
| 14 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 38.979 | 184.715 |
| 15 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 38.998 | 184.625 |
| 16 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 39.051 | 184.374 |
| 17 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 39.081 | 184.233 |
| 18 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 39.121 | 184.044 |
| 19 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 39.128 | 184.011 |
| 20 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 39.133 | 183.988 |
| 21 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 39.162 | 183.852 |
| 22 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 39.194 | 183.702 |
| 23 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 39.195 | 183.697 |
| 24 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 39.222 | 183.570 |
| 25 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | JTG Daugherty Racing | Toyota | 39.291 | 183.248 |
| 26 | 51 | A. J. Allmendinger | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 39.320 | 183.113 |
| 27 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 39.340 | 183.020 |
| 28 | 83 | David Reutimann | BK Racing | Toyota | 39.382 | 182.825 |
| 29 | 7 | Dave Blaney | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 39.418 | 182.658 |
| 30 | 35 | Josh Wise | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 39.422 | 182.639 |
| 31 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 39.448 | 182.519 |
| 32 | 30 | David Stremme | Swan Racing | Toyota | 39.458 | 182.473 |
| 33 | 93 | Travis Kvapil | BK Racing | Toyota | 39.465 | 182.440 |
| 34 | 38 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 39.671 | 181.493 |
| 35 | 98 | Michael McDowell | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | 39.760 | 181.087 |
| 36 | 33 | Landon Cassill | Circle Sport | Chevrolet | 39.760 | 181.087 |
| 37 | 36 | J. J. Yeley | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 39.955 | 180.203 |
| 38 | 44 | Scott Riggs | XXXtreme Motorsports | Ford | 40.038 | 179.829 |
| 39 | 32 | Timmy Hill | FAS Lane Racing | Ford | 40.118 | 179.471 |
| 40 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 40.155 | 179.305 |
| 41 | 19 | Mike Bliss | Humphrey Smith Racing | Toyota | 40.369 | 178.355 |
| 42 | 34 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 40.492 | 177.813 |
| 43 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing | Toyota | 40.645 | 177.144 |
| Source: |||||||

### Race results

| Pos | Grid | Car | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| 1 | 4 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | 48 |
| 2 | 15 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 42 |
| 3 | 6 | 22 | Joey Logano | Penske Racing | Ford | 200 | 42 |
| 4 | 24 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush-Fenway Racing | Ford | 200 | 40 |
| 5 | 10 | 78 | Kurt Busch | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 39 |
| 6 | 2 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush-Fenway Racing | Ford | 200 | 38 |
| 7 | 5 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | 38 |
| 8 | 27 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 36 |
| 9 | 16 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 35 |
| 10 | 20 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 34 |
| 11 | 19 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 33 |
| 12 | 18 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 32 |
| 13 | 14 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 32 |
| 14 | 23 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 200 | 30 |
| 15 | 11 | 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Ford | 200 | 29 |
| 16 | 26 | 51 | A. J. Allmendinger | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 28 |
| 17 | 22 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 27 |
| 18 | 7 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 200 | 26 |
| 19 | 17 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 25 |
| 20 | 34 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush-Fenway Racing | Ford | 200 | 24 |
| 21 | 29 | 7 | Dave Blaney | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 23 |
| 22 | 8 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 23 |
| 23 | 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Penske Racing | Ford | 200 | 21 |
| 24 | 42 | 34 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 200 | 21 |
| 25 | 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 199 | 20 |
| 26 | 40 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 199 | 18 |
| 27 | 37 | 36 | J. J. Yeley | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 199 | 17 |
| 28 | 25 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | JTG Daugherty Racing | Toyota | 198 | 16 |
| 29 | 34 | 38 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 198 | 15 |
| 30 | 36 | 33 | Landon Cassill | Circle Sport | Chevrolet | 194 | 14 |
| 31 | 32 | 30 | David Stremme | Swan Racing Company | Toyota | 193 | 13 |
| 32 | 43 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing | Toyota | 193 | 0 |
| 33 | 28 | 83 | David Reutimann | BK Racing | Toyota | 192 | 11 |
| 34 | 33 | 93 | Travis Kvapil | BK Racing | Toyota | 188 | 11 |
| 35 | 13 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 184 | 9 |
| 36 | 21 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 182 | 8 |
| 37 | 9 | 55 | Mark Martin | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 179 | 7 |
| 38 | 12 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 169 | 6 |
| 39 | 39 | 32 | Timmy Hill | FAS Lane Racing | Ford | 108 | 5 |
| 40 | 30 | 35 | Josh Wise | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 103 | 0 |
| 41 | 38 | 44 | Scott Riggs | XXXtreme Motorsports | Ford | 66 | 3 |
| 42 | 35 | 98 | Michael McDowell | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | 60 | 2 |
| 43 | 41 | 19 | Mike Bliss | Humphrey Smith Racing | Toyota | 44 | 0 |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 199 |
| 1 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | 187 |
| | 3 | Jimmie Johnson | 183 |
| 4 | 4 | Carl Edwards | 164 |
| | 5 | Greg Biffle | 164 |
| 4 | 6 | Kyle Busch | 163 |
| | 7 | Kasey Kahne | 159 |
| 1 | 8 | Paul Menard | 154 |
| 3 | 9 | Joey Logano | 146 |
| 4 | 10 | Denny Hamlin | 145 |
| 2 | 11 | Matt Kenseth | 141 |
| 1 | 12 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 139 |
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Chevrolet | 36 |
| 2 | Toyota | 34 |
| 3 | Ford | 25 |