The 2020 Auto Club 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on March 1, 2020, at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Contested over 200 laps on the D-shaped oval, it was the third race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.
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.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Quin Houff (R) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 6 Ross Chastain (i) Roush Fenway Racing Ford 8 Tyler Reddick (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 Brennan Poole (R) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 38 John Hunter Nemechek (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Cole Custer (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Garrett Smithley Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 52 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 53 Joey Gase (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 77 Reed Sorenson Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Christopher Bell (R) Leavine Family Racing Toyota 96 Daniel Suárez Gaunt Brothers Racing ToyotaOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice Alex Bowman was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 40.125 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 40.125 179.439 2 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 40.517 177.703 3 8 Tyler Reddick (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 40.539 177.607Official first practice results
Final practice Alex Bowman was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 40.764 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 40.764 176.626 2 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 40.866 176.186 3 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 40.868 176.177Official final practice results
Qualifying
Clint Bowyer scored the pole for the race with a time of 40.086 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 114 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 40.086 248 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 40.093 388 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 40.143 41 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 40.233 54 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 40.250 610 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 40.280 722 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 40.284 834 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 40.304 942 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 40.341 1047 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 40.351 1117 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 40.367 1221 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 40.428 139 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 40.485 1443 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 40.487 152 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 40.491 1612 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 40.503 1718 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 40.516 1841 Cole Custer (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 40.519 198 Tyler Reddick (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 40.583 2037 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 40.587 2124 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 40.610 2295 Christopher Bell (R) Leavine Family Racing Toyota 40.698 2338 John Hunter Nemechek (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 40.699 2413 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 40.738 253 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 40.750 2632 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 40.761 276 Ross Chastain (i) Roush Fenway Racing Ford 40.783 2811 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 40.790 2920 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 40.955 3052 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 41.484 3196 Daniel Suárez Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 41.511 3215 Brennan Poole (R) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 41.819 3377 Reed Sorenson Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 41.975 3453 Joey Gase (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 42.375 3500 Quin Houff (R) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 42.657 3651 Garrett Smithley Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 42.842 3766 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 43.729 3819 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 0.000Official qualifying results
Race
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 60
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 102 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 93 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 84 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 75 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 66 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 57 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 48 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 39 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 210 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 60
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 102 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 93 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 84 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 75 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 66 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 57 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 80
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 3 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 592 17 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 403 4 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 200 404 13 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 405 15 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 200 446 28 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 347 2 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 468 6 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 200 369 5 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 200 2910 29 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 2911 19 8 Tyler Reddick (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 2612 7 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 200 2913 12 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 200 2714 38 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 2915 21 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 2216 11 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 200 2117 27 6 Ross Chastain (i) Roush Fenway Racing Ford 200 018 18 41 Cole Custer (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 199 1919 16 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 199 3720 10 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 199 1721 9 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 199 1622 8 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 199 1523 1 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 199 1424 25 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 199 1325 23 38 John Hunter Nemechek (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 199 1226 24 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 199 1127 14 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 198 1028 31 96 Daniel Suárez Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 198 929 26 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 197 830 20 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 197 731 30 52 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 197 032 32 15 Brennan Poole (R) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 195 533 34 53 Joey Gase (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 193 034 36 51 Garrett Smithley Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 193 335 35 00 Quin Houff (R) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 192 236 33 77 Reed Sorenson Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 191 137 37 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 184 038 22 95 Christopher Bell (R) Leavine Family Racing Toyota 80 1Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 16 among 8 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 3 for 13 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 2 hours, 37 minutes and 7 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television The race was the 20th race Fox Sports covered at the Auto Club Speedway. Mike Joy and three-time Auto Club winner Jeff Gordon called the race in the booth for Fox. Jamie Little, Regan Smith, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum handled the pit road duties for the television side. Larry McReynolds and Jamie McMurray provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.
FoxBooth announcersPit reportersIn-race analysts Lap-by-lap: Mike JoyColor-commentator: Jeff Gordon Jamie LittleRegan SmithVince WelchMatt Yocum Larry McReynoldsJamie McMurray
Radio MRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and 2001 race winner Rusty Wallace called the race from the booth when the field raced their way down the front stretch. Dan Hubbard called the race from a billboard outside turn 2 when the field raced their way through turns 1 and 2 & Kyle Rickey called the race from a billboard outside turn 3 when the field raced their way through turns 3 and 4. Kim Coon, Steve Post and Dillon Welch had the pit road duties for MRN.
MRNBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Rusty Wallace Turns 1 & 2: Dan HubbardTurns 3 & 4: Kyle Rickey Kim CoonSteve PostDillon Welch
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Ryan Blaney 122 2 Joey Logano 111 (–11) 11 3 Alex Bowman 110 (–12) 1 4 Kevin Harvick 110 (–12) 6 5 Jimmie Johnson 106 (–16) 6 Chase Elliott 105 (–17) 2 7 Denny Hamlin 94 (–28) 2 8 Matt DiBenedetto 87 (–35) 5 9 Kyle Larson 86 (–36) 7 10 Aric Almirola 84 (–38) 3 11 Chris Buescher 82 (–40) 7 12 Brad Keselowski 82 (–40) 3 13 Martin Truex Jr. 79 (–43) 7 14 Austin Dillon 76 (–46) 10 15 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 73 (–49) 3 16 Clint Bowyer 70 (–52)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Ford 107 2 Chevrolet 104 (–3) 3 Toyota 97 (–10)
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
References