Busch aims to finish one spot higher
FONTANA, Calif. – A streaking driver could be the favorite in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway.
Kevin Harvick, who has won three races in a row? Maybe, but the other streaker is Kyle Busch, who has back-toback runner-up finishes and probably is staying up late at night wondering how to gain that other position.
Busch was second at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and second last weekend at ISM Raceway near Phoenix despite leading a race-high 128 laps. A late-race pit miscue — Busch’s car fell off the jack — prevented him from challenging Harvick down the stretch.
Busch has strong numbers at the 2-mile track in Fontana. He has won there three times, and he’s second only to seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson in several statistical categories among drivers who have made at least three starts — average finish
(10.1), laps led (611) and laps in the top 15
(3,382).
Auto Club Speedway also was the site of Busch’s first Cup victory in September 2005.
The track, Busch said, is one of the series’ most challenging.
“That place is tough,” he said. “It’s really a hard racetrack to get a hold of, especially when it’s hot and the sun is out. There are two completely different types of racing when you run the top versus the bottom groove. You can run from the top to the bottom but, when you run the bottom, you really feel like you’re puttering around the racetrack. You feel like you aren’t making up any time on the bottom. But when you are running the top groove, you feel like you’re getting the job done. The guys who run the bottom have a little bit more patience and handle it better than the guys who are on the gas on top.”
Busch and Harvick drive for the two top teams coming out of Arizona. Both Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing put all four of their drivers in the top 10 of the Phoenix finish order.
Beyond those groups, Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing should be a top threat this weekend. He won last year’s Auto Club race, leading 110 of the 202 laps.
Key drivers looking for their first win at Fontana are defending series champion Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano.