Reigning champ Truex Jr. rules at Auto Club 400

FONTANA – Martin Truex Jr. held his breath as the laps wound down at the Auto Club 400 on Sunday.

After all, late-race caution periods that bunch up the field have been commonplace at the Fontana race, and that was the last thing that Truex _ who was cruising toward victory – needed to see out the window of his No. 78 Toyota.

He needn’t have worried as the race stayed green and Truex, the reigning champion in NASCAR’S top-level Monster Energy Cup Series, won by nearly 12 seconds over second-place Kyle Larson, who won the race last year.

It was Truex’s first Cup victory at the two-mile Auto Club Speedway, and he accomplished it in dominating fashion, winning from the pole position and leading 125 of the race’s 200 laps.

Kyle Busch was third, Brad Keselowski finished fourth and Joey Logano, Keselowski’s teammate at Team Penske, was fifth. Only 10 cars in the 37-car field finished on the lead lap.

“To get our first California win is unbelievable,” Truex said. “I feel like we’ve been close.

“I knew we really had a good race car after the first adjustment of the race,” said Truex, a 37-year-old New Jersey native who drives for the Furniture Row Racing team with Toyota engines built in Costa Mesa.

“The thing just came alive,” he said. “From there, it was just about managing my tires and being smart. Once we got some clean air” by being in front of the field, the car “was unbelievable,” he said.

Although Truex was on the pole, all eyes were focused on Kevin Harvick, who was attempting to win his fourth consecutive Cup race. It wasn’t to be.

Harvick started 10th and soon was battling side-by-side with Larson for third. But on lap 38, as the pair started down the back straightaway, Harvick’s No. 4 Ford veered left and struck the side of Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet.

Harvick’s car then slammed into the outside wall and suffered major damage. He was able to continue after repairs but finished 35th, nine laps down to the leaders.

“I was just trying to get a little too much there,” said Harvick, who was coming off consecutive wins at Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix. “I don’t know that it’s his fault,” he said of Larson.

“I went down to side-draft (Larson) and he was coming up Martin Truex Jr. celebrates after sinning the Auto Club 400 on Sunday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.