The 2015 Auto Club 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on March 22, 2015, at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Contested over 209 laps – extended from 200 laps, due to a green–white–checker finish – on the D-shaped oval, it was the fifth race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Brad Keselowski won the race – his 17th career victory – while Kevin Harvick extended his top two finish streak to eight races with a runner-up finish. Kurt Busch, Paul Menard and Ryan Newman rounded out the top five.
Busch won the pole for the race and led a race high of 65 laps; he lost the lead on the final lap and was passed by Keselowski and Harvick. The race had 19 lead changes among nine different drivers, as well as seven caution flag periods for 31 laps. Recording Team Penske's second NASCAR win at the track, Keselowski moved into fifth place in the points standings, which were led by Harvick; he left Fontana with a 28-point lead over Joey Logano. Chevrolet left with a 16-point lead over Ford in the manufacturers' standings.
The Auto Club 400 was carried by Fox Sports on the broadcast Fox network for the American television audience. The radio broadcast of the race was carried by the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
Report
Background
Auto Club Speedway (previously California Speedway) was a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, California which hosted NASCAR racing annually from 1997 to 2023. It was also used for open wheel racing events. The racetrack was located near the former locations of Ontario Motor Speedway and Riverside International Raceway. The track was owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation and was the only track owned by ISC to have its naming rights sold. The speedway was served by the nearby Interstate 10 and Interstate 15 freeways as well as a Metrolink station located behind the backstretch.
Kevin Harvick entered Auto Club with a 22-point lead over Joey Logano following his win the week before at Phoenix. Martin Truex Jr. entered 27 points back in third. Kasey Kahne entered 50 points back in fourth, with A. J. Allmendinger a further 5 points behind, in fifth.
Changes to qualifying
Starting at Auto Club Speedway – and taking effect in all three national touring series – drivers will no longer back out of their pit stalls when qualifying begins. Instead, they will now be parked with the nose of the car facing toward the track.
Entry list Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski (PC3) Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick (PC1) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Tony Stewart (PC4) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 David Ragan Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Matt Kenseth (PC6) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 24 Jeff Gordon (PC7) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29 Reed Sorenson RAB Racing Toyota 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Mike Bliss (i) Go FAS Racing Ford 33 Brian Scott (i) Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 34 Chris Buescher (i) Front Row Motorsports Ford 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 41 Kurt Busch (PC5) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 44 Travis Kvapil (i) Team XTREME Racing Chevrolet 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson (PC2) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 55 Brett Moffitt (R) Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 62 Brendan Gaughan (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing FordOfficial initial entry listOfficial updated entry list Key Meaning (R) Rookie (i) Ineligible for points (PC#) Past champions provisional
First practice Kurt Busch was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 38.556 seconds and a speed of . Greg Biffle scraped the wall exiting turn 4 in the opening minutes of the session, causing cosmetic damage to his car. Carl Edwards, however, went to a backup car for the race after crashing his car on the exit of turn 4. Edwards joked that his car "went from a 12-inch to a six-inch sub real quick", referring to the sponsors of his car for the race, fast food franchise Subway. He also stated that he "tried to save it...that was not the right decision". Since the change took place prior to qualifying, Edwards is not mandated to start from the rear on Sunday, provided he does not change engines.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 41 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 38.556 186.741 2 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 38.838 185.385 3 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 38.881 185.180Official first practice results
Qualifying
Kurt Busch won the pole with a time of 38.889 seconds and a speed of , taking his first pole position since the 2013 Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. His teammate Kevin Harvick started next to him on the front row. Harvick stated that "hopefully, [they] can keep it up this week", referring to his ongoing seven-race streak of Top 2 finishes, while also stating that he "didn't get to run where [he] wanted to run there were three cars on the apron down there where [he] wanted to be that had finished their lap". Reed Sorenson and Travis Kvapil both failed to qualify for the race. Brett Moffitt went to a backup car following damage sustained in qualifying and as a result, he started from the rear.
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 38.979 38.911 38.889 2 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 38.905 39.080 38.909 3 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 38.791 39.104 38.926 4 18 David Ragan Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39.022 39.029 38.943 5 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 39.033 39.197 39.059 6 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39.048 39.000 39.081 7 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39.374 39.017 39.112 8 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 39.131 39.084 39.117 9 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 39.299 39.141 39.189 10 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 39.442 39.196 39.257 11 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 39.260 39.251 39.262 12 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 39.464 39.235 39.280 13 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 39.344 39.275 — 14 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39.097 39.289 — 15 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39.420 39.349 — 16 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 39.431 39.365 — 17 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39.211 39.377 — 18 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 39.432 39.395 — 19 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39.375 39.399 — 20 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 39.559 39.464 — 21 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 39.377 39.486 — 22 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 39.551 39.530 — 23 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 39.576 39.604 — 24 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 39.586 39.912 — 25 33 Brian Scott (i) Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 39.611 — — 26 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 39.642 — — 27 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 39.657 — — 28 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 39.684 — — 29 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 39.693 — — 30 55 Brett Moffitt (R) Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 39.731 — — 31 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 39.780 — — 32 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 39.876 — — 33 34 Chris Buescher (i) Front Row Motorsports Ford 39.888 — — 34 26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 39.995 — — 35 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 40.050 — — 36 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 40.153 — — 37 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 40.212 — — 38 62 Brendan Gaughan (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 40.312 — — 39 32 Mike Bliss (i) Go FAS Racing Ford 40.375 — — 40 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 40.501 — — 41 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 40.798 — — 42 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 40.886 — — 43 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 41.041 — —Failed to qualify 44 44 Travis Kvapil (i) Team XTREME Racing Chevrolet 40.431 — — 45 29 Reed Sorenson RAB Racing Toyota 40.706 — —Official qualifying results
Practice (post-qualifying)
Second practice Kurt Busch was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 38.479 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 38.479 187.115 2 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 39.078 184.247 3 18 David Ragan Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39.080 184.237Official second practice results
Final practice Kurt Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 38.925 and a speed of , completing a sweep of the weekend's practice sessions and qualifying.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 38.925 184.971 2 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 39.155 183.885 3 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 39.297 183.220Official final practice results
Race
First-half
Start As the cars were rolling off pit road, Jeff Gordon's crew swapped out something in his car, but rejoined the starting lineup with no issues. The race was scheduled to start at 3:46 p.m., but started six minutes later when Kurt Busch led the field to the green flag. The field spread out to use up about five lanes in the opening laps. Eventually, Kevin Harvick reeled in his teammate to take the lead on lap seven. Early in the race, A. J. Allmendinger began reporting that he was losing the engine of his car, while Martin Truex Jr. did likewise. Harvick was unable to pull away from Busch who began reeling him in until Busch was slowed down by the lapped car of Jeb Burton. The first caution of the race flew on lap 23 when David Ragan got turned by an aerodynamic push from Gordon's car in turn 4. Gordon had been saying on the radio that he would turn Ragan if he had to, stating over his in-car radio to "let him know it's the bumper". Alex Bowman stayed out to lead a lap before pitting and handed the lead to Matt Kenseth.
Restart from caution 1 and green flag stops The race restarted on lap 28. Kenseth held the lead for five laps before yielding to teammate Denny Hamlin on lap 33. A cycle of green flag stops began on lap 60. Hamlin pitted on lap 62 and handed the lead to Jeff Gordon. He pitted on lap 63 and the lead cycled back to Hamlin. Ragan and Matt DiBenedetto served drive-through penalties for uncontrolled tires on pit road, while Alex Bowman also served a drive-through for speeding.
By lap 83, more than half the field were at least one lap down, before the second caution of the race flew on lap 86 for debris in turn 3. After the culmination of the next round of stops, Kenseth exited pit road with the lead.
Second-half
Caution at halfway