Larson Sweeps Fontana With Win in the Auto Club 400

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FONTANA, CA – RIS – After finishing second in the last three races, Kyle Larson finally broke through by winning the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup race at Auto Club Speedway.  It did take overtime to win the Auto Club 400, but he streaked away after getting past Denny Hamlin and won going away.  It was his first victory of the season and second career win.  It was a weekend sweep for Larson who won the Xfinity race on Saturday, the pole for this race and, of course, the win.

Larson persevered through four late restarts to win on Sunday, adding his win to his overall Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series points lead.

"This is just amazing," Larson said. "We have been so good all year long, three seconds in a row. I've been watching all the TV, like, 'He doesn't know how to win.' But we knew how to win today, so that was good."

Faced with the late drama and jockeying typical to the five-wide asphalt on Fontana's bumpy 2-mile track, Larson was persistent and tenacious. After surging up from fourth to first with four new tires before the final caution, he made one last outstanding restart and cruised through two overtime laps to win.

Brad Keselowski was second, and Clint Bowyer came in third for his best finish since June 2015 and his first top-five finish in 52 races. Martin Truex Jr. was fourth after challenging Larson aggressively, and Joey Logano roared up to fifth.

Larson is only the second driver in Fontana history to win from the pole, joining six-time race champion Jimmie Johnson, who did it in 2008. Johnson finished 21st after starting near the back in his backup car.

Larson also became just the fourth driver to sweep a weekend at Fontana. The 24-year-old prodigy added a win at Fontana to his other career victory on a sister tack at Michigan International Speedway, ironically designed by Roger Penske’s company.

"He's on a really nice roll, and it takes everything," said Keselowski, who surged into second after two outstanding late restarts. "This is a sport of speed, execution and luck, and when you're on a roll like that, you've got all three on your side."

Johnson, Keselowski and Phoenix winner Ryan Newman all sustained minor damage early on, but Larson was fast from the start.

Larson won the first stage of 60 laps, earning his first stage victory of the season, but lost his lead after getting too close to the wall on pit road. Truex won the second stage, but Larson slipped past him to reclaim the lead on the first lap of the final stage.

The leaders pitted under caution with 20 laps to go, but Truex had his first slow stop all day and slipped five spots down the field to seventh. Larson won the race off pit road and had a fine restart, but Matt Kenseth slid hard into the wall moments later after minor contact with Truex.

Kenseth failed to finish for the third time in five races this season.

After the restart with 12 laps to go, Larson flew past Kyle Busch and built a decent cushion — only to slow again when Cory LaJoie spun out. Larson pitted for tires along with most of the field, while only Hamlin, Truex and McMurray stayed out. That proved to be a critical turning point in the race.

Larson barely got back into the lead before Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun on contact from Roush Fenway Racing teammate Trevor Bayne to force the fourth caution, necessitating overtime. Larson had no problem hanging on.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 16th in his landmark 600th NASCAR start, becoming just the 25th driver to hit the mark. He had to start from the back due to a tire change and never challenged for the lead.

Unofficial Race Results for the 21St Annual Auto Club 400 - Auto Club Speedway - Total Race Length - 202 Laps - 404 Miles

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms, Laps, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 1, Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Chevrolet, 202, 1, 2, 7, 110, 6, 59, Running
2) 3, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Wurth Ford, 202, , 10, , , , 36, Running
3) 17, Clint Bowyer, No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford, 202, 6, 4, , , , 46, Running
4) 4, Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota, 202, 2, 1, 4, 73, 1, 52, Running
5) 35, Joey Logano, No. 22 AAA Southern California Ford, 202, 7, 8, 1, 1, , 39, Running
6) 8, Jamie McMurray, No. 1 McDonald's Chevrolet, 202, 4, 6, , , , 43, Running
7) 10, Daniel Suarez, No. 19 Subway Toyota, 202, , , , , , 30, Running
8) 9, Kyle Busch, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, 202, 5, 7, 1, 7, , 39, Running
9) 19, Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, 202, 9, , , , , 30, Running
10) 13, Chase Elliott, No. 24 NAPA Chevrolet, 202, 3, 3, 2, 4, , 43, Running
11) 11, Austin Dillon, No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet, 202, , , , , , 26, Running
12) 14, Erik Jones #, No. 77 Toyota Service Centers Toyota, 202, 8, 5, , , , 34, Running
13) 7, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Beer Ford, 202, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 2, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota, 202, 10, 9, 1, 4, , 26, Running
15) 5, Ryan Newman, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, 202, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 18, Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet, 202, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 24, AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Kroger ClickList Chevrolet, 202, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 21, Ty Dillon #, No. 13 Twisted Tea Chevrolet, 202, , , 1, 1, , 19, Running
19) 31, Aric Almirola, No. 43 Smithfield Ford, 202, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 12, Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, 202, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 37, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, 202, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 16, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Fastenal 50th Anniversary Ford, 202, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 36, Trevor Bayne, No. 6 AdvoCare Ford, 202, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 15, Kurt Busch, No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford, 201, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 20, Chris Buescher, No. 37 Bush's Beans Chevrolet, 201, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 22, Danica Patrick, No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford, 200, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 26, Landon Cassill, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 200, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 23, Paul Menard, No. 27 Jack Links/Menards Chevrolet, 200, , , 1, 2, , 9, Running
29) 38, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 32 Can-Am/Kappa Ford, 200, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 30, * Corey LaJoie #, No. 83 Bubba Burger Toyota, 200, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 27, David Ragan, No. 38 Camping World/Good Sam Ford, 199, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 28, Cole Whitt, No. 72 Southern California Chevy Dealers Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 5, Running
33) 25, Michael McDowell, No. 95 LFR Woodie Chevrolet, 198, , , , , , 4, Running
34) 29, Reed Sorenson, No. 15 VIPRacingExperience.com Toyota, 197, , , , , , 3, Running
35) 34, * Timmy Hill(i), No. 51 Bubba Burger Chevrolet, 193, , , , , , 0, Running
36) 6, Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Peak Toyota, 184, , , , , , 1, Accident
37) 39, Gray Gaulding #, No. 23 SunFrog.com Toyota, 173, , , , , , 1, Accident
38) 33, * Derrike Cope, No. 55  Chevrolet, 117, , , , , , 1, Running
39) 32, Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 33 K1Speed Chevrolet, 99, , , , , , 1, Engine
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series; # = Rookie; * = non-franchise team

Time of Race: 02 Hrs, 57 Mins, 46 Secs.
Average Speed: 136.359 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.779 Seconds
Race Comments: Kyle Larson won the Auto Club 400, his second victory in 116 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races. Prior to the green flag to start the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: Nos. No. 88, No. 27 (Unapproved Tire Change), No. 38 (Backup Car), No. 33 (Transmission Change).
Seven cautions for 29 laps: Laps: 5-7 (No. 2, 48 Incident Turn 4 [None]); 62-67 (Stage 1 Conclusion [2]); 122-127 (Stage 2 Conclusion [13]); 181-184 (No. 23 Incident Turn 1 [24]); 186-189 (No. 20, 78 Incident Turn 2 [19]); 193-195 (No. 83 Incident Turn 2 [4]); 198-200 (No. 5, 6, 17 Incident Turn 2 [48]).
Lead Changes: 17 among 8 drivers: K. Larson 1-5; P. Menard 6-7; K. Larson 8-32; C. Elliott 33-34; J. Logano 35; M. Truex Jr. 36-47; K. Larson 48-63; M. Truex Jr. 64-90; C. Elliott 91-92; M. Truex Jr. 93-122; K. Larson 123; M. Truex Jr. 124-127; K. Larson 128-155; Kyle Busch 156-162; T. Dillon No.  163; K. Larson 164-192; D. Hamlin 193-196; K. Larson 197-202.
American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Kyle Larson, No. 42 
Coors Light Pole Award: Kyle Larson, No. 42 187.047 mph
Ingersoll Rand Power Move: Daniel Suarez, No. 19 15 positions
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Hendrick Engines, No. 42 
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: Kyle Larson, No. 42 
Moog Go the Extra Mile: Brad Keselowski, No. 2 -0.331 secs
Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap: Kyle Larson, No. 42 
Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Daniel Suarez, No. 19