Here are my picks for the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway, on March 22, at 3:30 pm ET on FOX
Contenders
Kurt Busch– Jamie McMurray said it best on twitter in saying,
“The 41 and 4 are in another league right now”.
After a strong showing last week Kurt is on the right track and has been fast all weekend. Look for him and teammate Kevin Harvick to battle it out this weekend.
Kyle Larson– Larson is a guy who can find speed by being able to race two grooves and adjust throughout the race. Winning is first Xfinity series race here last year, wouldn’t it be something to see him pull his first Sprint Cup race a year later?
Here are my Preview and Fantasy Picks for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 8, 2015. Watch the action at 3:30 pm ET on FOX.
Favorites
Jimmie Johnson – Fastest in the last two practices, and coming off a win last week. Chad Knaus also seems to have this aero package nailed down. All I have to say is watch out…
Kevin Harvick – Hard to count him out anywhere with how dominant he was last year. He was a bad restart away from giving Johnson a race for the end last week. He has also been fast all weekend.
Joey Logano – Joey will be very fast and will lead the first chunk of the race as he seems to do from week to week. Reason he is not higher is because Todd Gordon was out done last weekend and failed to respond to track conditions like the Nos. 48, 4 and even the No. 2 did.
Dale Earnhardt Jr – Had a very fast car here last year and has said throughout the weekend that he has liked the car. Whenever he has a car he is comfortable with, it is very common to see him out front. Expect another top-five this weekend.
Austin Dillon, driver of the #33 Rheem Chevrolet, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR XFINITY Series Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 7, 2015 Photo – Hallowell/Getty Images
Austin Dillon, driver of the #33 Rheem Chevrolet, leads Ryan Blaney, driver of the #22 Discount Tire Ford, during the NASCAR XFINITY Series Boyd Gaming 300 Photo – Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
Austin Dillon, driver of the #33 Rheem Chevrolet, celebrates with a burn-out after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Photo – Chris Trotman/Getty Images
Austin Dillon, driver of the #33 Rheem Chevrolet, celebrates with a burn-out after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Photo – Chris Trotman/Getty Images
Austin Dillon, driver of the #33 Rheem Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Photo – Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
Austin Dillon, driver of the #33 Rheem Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Photo – Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
As dominant as Austin Dillon was in Saturday’s Boyd Gaming 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he had to give his utmost effort in the closing laps to hold off charging Ryan Blaney for the victory.
Dillon led 183 of the 200 laps at the 1.5-mile speedway, but Blaney had a tire advantage at the end of the race, thanks to a late pit stop after his car snapped loose and knocked Erik Jones into the outside wall at the exit from Turn 4.
After restarting fifth with 21 laps left, Blaney charged to the front, making up a deficit of more than 1.5 seconds and forcing Dillon to block him repeatedly during the last three laps. Blaney ran out of room in the final corner, his No. 22 Ford turning sideways and tagging the outside wall as Dillon crossed the finish line with an advantage of .664 seconds.
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 57th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 22, 2015 Photo – Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 57th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 22, 2015 Photo – Chris Trotman/Getty Images
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 57th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 22, 2015 Photo – Chris Graytham/Getty Images
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, poses with the The Harley J. Earl Trophy in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 57th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 22, 2015 Photo – Chris Trotman/Getty Images
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, applies the winner’s decal in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 57th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 22, 2015 Photo- Chris Trotman/Getty Images
The record will reflect that Joey Logano won Sunday’s 57th Daytona 500 under caution, when a multicar wreck on the backstretch forced NASCAR to wave the yellow flag as Logano led the field into the final corner on the second lap of a green-white-checkered-flag finish.
But the notation of that final caution does no justice to the memory of a race that produced some of the most scintillating restrictor-plate racing in the history of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Continue reading →