Auto Club of Southern California Preview
March 21, 2013
THE RACE
The Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway (2-mile oval, Fontana, Calif.)
Sunday, March 24, 3:00 pm ET
THE CARS
The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion
The No. 22 Auto Club of Southern California Ford Fusion
THE NEWS AND NOTES
· SUPER START: Brad Keselowski is the only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to start the season with four top-five finishes in the first four races. The last driver to start the year with five-consecutive top-five finishes also drove the “Blue Deuce.” Rusty Wallace accomplished the feat in 1998.
· POINTS LEADER: Thanks to his consistent start to the season, Keselowski has taken command the points lead for the first time since leaving Homestead-Miami Speedway last November with the 2012 series championship.
· HOLLYWOOD: Prior to this weekend’s race in the Inland Empire area of California, Keselowski will take part in a media tour of L.A., highlighted by an appearance on the hit TV show “American Idol” and a trip to see the Los Angeles Clippers/Philadelphia 76ers game on Wednesday night.
· SPEED IS KING: Keselowski ranks first in two NASCAR Loop Data categories that are key to producing fast laps – Fastest Driver on Restarts and Fastest Driver Late In A Run. He also has the second-most number of Fastest Laps Run so far this season.
· TV STAR: While in California this weekend, Logano will try his hand at being a TV star. On Saturday, he’ll be in the ESPN booth for the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Fontana, where he is the defending race winner. Then, on Monday, Logano will film an episode of Disney XD’s top-rated show “Lab Rats,” where he will play himself in an upcoming episode.
· SWAT TRAINING: Logano and several members of the No. 22 Auto Club team will take part in a Shell “Fuel for Success” program that will see he and the team will go through several SWAT exercises along with local SWAT members in front of local high school kids. The program will take place on Thursday at Colton High School in Colton, Calif. at 11am PT.
· TOP 12 IN POINTS: Despite some bad luck all year long, Logano finds himself 12th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, just 11 points outside of the top-10, and 20 points outside of the top-six.
· POINTS LEADER x2: Tab Boyd, Logano’s spotter in the Sprint Cup Series, finds himself as the spotting “points leader” in two of the three NASCAR national series divisions. Boyd also spots for Penske Racing Nationwide Series driver Sam Hornish, who leads the Nationwide Series point standings, as well as Johnny Sauter in the Craftsman Truck Series, who leads the points in that series.
The Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway (2-mile oval, Fontana, Calif.)
Sunday, March 24, 3:00 pm ET
THE CARS
The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion
The No. 22 Auto Club of Southern California Ford Fusion
THE NEWS AND NOTES
· SUPER START: Brad Keselowski is the only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to start the season with four top-five finishes in the first four races. The last driver to start the year with five-consecutive top-five finishes also drove the “Blue Deuce.” Rusty Wallace accomplished the feat in 1998.
· POINTS LEADER: Thanks to his consistent start to the season, Keselowski has taken command the points lead for the first time since leaving Homestead-Miami Speedway last November with the 2012 series championship.
· HOLLYWOOD: Prior to this weekend’s race in the Inland Empire area of California, Keselowski will take part in a media tour of L.A., highlighted by an appearance on the hit TV show “American Idol” and a trip to see the Los Angeles Clippers/Philadelphia 76ers game on Wednesday night.
· SPEED IS KING: Keselowski ranks first in two NASCAR Loop Data categories that are key to producing fast laps – Fastest Driver on Restarts and Fastest Driver Late In A Run. He also has the second-most number of Fastest Laps Run so far this season.
· TV STAR: While in California this weekend, Logano will try his hand at being a TV star. On Saturday, he’ll be in the ESPN booth for the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Fontana, where he is the defending race winner. Then, on Monday, Logano will film an episode of Disney XD’s top-rated show “Lab Rats,” where he will play himself in an upcoming episode.
· SWAT TRAINING: Logano and several members of the No. 22 Auto Club team will take part in a Shell “Fuel for Success” program that will see he and the team will go through several SWAT exercises along with local SWAT members in front of local high school kids. The program will take place on Thursday at Colton High School in Colton, Calif. at 11am PT.
· TOP 12 IN POINTS: Despite some bad luck all year long, Logano finds himself 12th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, just 11 points outside of the top-10, and 20 points outside of the top-six.
· POINTS LEADER x2: Tab Boyd, Logano’s spotter in the Sprint Cup Series, finds himself as the spotting “points leader” in two of the three NASCAR national series divisions. Boyd also spots for Penske Racing Nationwide Series driver Sam Hornish, who leads the Nationwide Series point standings, as well as Johnny Sauter in the Craftsman Truck Series, who leads the points in that series.