Auto Club 400

The **Auto Club 400** is a 400-mile (643.737 km) Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Prior to 2005, the race was held in late April or early May, and until 2010, the race was run at a length of 500 miles. When the NASCAR Realignment of 2005 was made, the race was moved to February and the week following the Daytona 500. The February date stayed until the 2011 season when the date changed to March. After being pleased with the results of the shortening of the track's former fall race date, the Pepsi Max 400, from 500 to 400 miles Auto Club Speedway decided to do the same thing to its spring race.

Martin Truex Jr. is the defending winner of the event.

## Past winners

* **2006, and 2014–2017:** Race extended due to a NASCAR Overtime finish.. The 2015 race took two attempts.
* **2008:** Race started on Sunday but was finished on Monday due to rain.
* **2011:** Race distance changed from 500 miles to 400. Kevin Harvick passed Jimmie Johnson on the last lap to win, the first last lap pass in ACS history.
* **2012:** Race shortened due to rain.

### Multiple winners (teams)

 6
 3
 2

### Manufacturer wins

 9
 3

## History

* **1997:** After nearly a decade, NASCAR came back to Southern California on June 22 with the inaugural California 500. The race featured 21 lead changes among a dozen different drivers. Jeff Gordon passed Mark Martin with 11 laps remaining and sped to victory. Terry Labonte took second, giving Hendrick Motorsports another 1-2 finish.
* **2000:** Jeremy Mayfield scores a win for Penske Racing South, his second of his career, during the post race celebration, Mayfield jumped on the roof of the car and dented it, leaving the car to be too short and penalizing Mayfield championship points. After that, the NASCAR Sanctioning Body strictly allows jumping on the roof in celebration but it has been done since then numerous times.
* **2001:** On what would have been Dale Earnhardt's 50th birthday, the race was ran with Rusty Wallace holding off Jeff Gordon at the end. During the celebration, Rusty had a **3** flag to fly around the track in the reverse direction. In 1993, Earnhardt and Wallace ran in reverse to hold Alan Kulwicki and Davey Allison flag's at the last race in Atlanta that year. After Dale's death, Rusty was the last driver of that group of four drivers to race.
* **2002:** There were ten drivers who failed to finish the race; with five of the drivers forcing to leave the race due to terminal crashes while five other drivers had engine issues. Nearly 10% of the 199-minute race was held under a caution flag and the average green flag run was approximately 38 laps. Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s unfortunate accident forced NASCAR to pass a regulation forcing drivers to take the ambulance ride to the infield care center every time they crashed; he did not admit to have this injury until mid-September. At the end, Jimmie Johnson holds off Kurt Busch to score his first career win.
* **2008:** The race started on Sunday, completing only 87 laps with 7 yellow flags and 2 red flags. One red flag was caused on lap 21 during the first day when Casey Mears spun upon hitting water that had seeped up through cracks in the track, collided with Dale Earnhardt Jr., then got turned over on his roof by Sam Hornish Jr.. NASCAR postponed the remainder of the event to Monday due to a lengthy red flag for rain. The rain delay on Sunday also delayed the Stater Brothers 300 to Monday. Carl Edwards would go on to win the event, while he finished 5th in the Nationwide Series race. The Cup Race was postponed at 2 AM ET on Monday and resumed at 1 PM ET the same day. The Nationwide Series Race was held shortly after 5 PM ET on Monday.
* **2013:** Kyle Busch won after Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin crashed fighting hard for the lead on the last lap. Busch also took the weekend sweep by winning the Nationwide race the day before. It is the first Fontana victory in the NASCAR Cup Series both for Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota. From 2011-2013, Busch finished in a reverse order: 3rd (2011), 2nd (2012) and 1st (2013). The last lap crash between Logano and Hamlin sent Hamlin into the inside wall (without a SAFER Barrier) head-on. As a result, he suffered a compression fracture of his L1 vertebra in his back, which forced him to miss four races.
* **2014:** Denny Hamlin missed the race when he came down with a sinus infection that impacted his vision about an hour before the race, necessitating Joe Gibbs Racing to hire Sam Hornish, Jr. to drive the car. The race was marred by a massive rash of tire failures, with over 20 tire failures happening in the race itself. Multiple drivers, like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Marcos Ambrose, and more, fell victim to tire failures and had to work their way back through the field to salvage a lead lap finish. A spin by Clint Bowyer with two laps to go set up a dramatic green-white-checkered finish. Over the second-to-last lap, the field went five wide, with Kurt Busch leading. Over the last lap, Kyle Busch and Nationwide race winner Kyle Larson overtook Kurt for the lead. A side-by-side battle for the lead between Busch and Larson nicknamed the "Kyle and Kyle Show" unfolded. Larson looked like he was going to win his first Cup race, but Busch cleared and moved in front of Larson out of turn 4 and took his second straight win at Auto Club. There were a race high 35 lead changes among 15 leaders.
* **2016:** After a late race caution, Jimmie Johnson pulls out of the crowd to hold of leaders Kevin Harvick, and Denny Hamlin to claim his 77th career win in the Superman car, passing Dale Earnhardt in career wins. Johnson would later win his 7th Championship, tying Earnhardt and Richard Petty in most career championships.

## References

1. ↑ NASCAR announces schedule realignment for 2005 Cup season Retrieved on March 27, 2018.
2. ↑ Template:Cite web

## External links

* Ratings For NASCAR From Fontana Since 1999

## Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

### Current races

* Daytona
* Atlanta
* Las Vegas
* Phoenix
* **California**
* Martinsville
* Texas
* Bristol
* Richmond
* Talladega
* Dover
* Kansas
* Charlotte
* Pocono
* Michigan
* Sonoma
* Chicagoland
* Daytona
* Kentucky
* New Hampshire
* Pocono
* Watkins Glen
* Michigan
* Bristol
* Darlington
* Indianapolis
* *Playoffs:* Las Vegas
* Richmond
* Charlotte
* Dover
* Talladega
* Kansas
* Martinsville
* Texas
* Phoenix
* Homestead

### Exhibition races

* Advance Auto Parts Clash
* Can-Am Duels
* Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race