NSCS Recap: Johnson dominates at Fontana to grab Chase lead
By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(October 11, 2009)

FONTANA, CALIF.— Jimmie Johnson called his shot.

For months, the three-time defending Sprint Cup champion has been saying the addition of Auto Club Speedway to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup was a gift to his No. 48 team.

PHOTO CREDIT: CIA STOCK PHOTO

In Sunday’s Pepsi 500, Johnson proved it—and grabbed the points lead from Mark Martin in the process. Johnson’s win also left runner-up Jeff Gordon conceding that his Hendrick Motorsports teammate is in a class by himself.

After the sun came out on Lap 66 of 250, Johnson was unbeatable, and not even a succession of late restarts could derail his effort.

Continue reading “Race Recap: Johnson Grabs 16th Chase Race Win”

RACE RECAP | CALIFORNIA
10 Kevin Harvick
9 Clint Bowyer
8 Kurt Busch
7 David Ragan
6 Carl Edwards
5 Tony Stewart recovered from pit road speeding and a lap down
4 Mark Martin loses the points lead
3 Juan Pablo Montoya led a ton of laps again
2 Jeff Gordon moves to 5th in points

VICTORY LANE

1 Jimmie Johnson picks up his 5th win of the season, and 4th at California. The three time consecutive champion is now the points leader once again by 12 over Mark Martin. It’s Jimmie’s 16th Chase Race win of his career.

Continue reading “Jimmie Johnson continues post season dominance”

NNS Recap: Logano Overcomes Obstacles For Auto Club Speedway Win

FONTANA, Calif. (Oct. 10, 2009) — Resurrecting his hopes after sustaining early damage to his No. 20 Toyota, polesitter Joey Logano won Saturday’s Copart 300, an event he described as “the most fun race I’ve ever had in my life.”

For others, particularly NASCAR Nationwide Series points leader Kyle Busch and his relief driver, Denny Hamlin, the race at two-mile Auto Club Speedway was anything but a barrel of laughs.

Taking over for Busch after 39 laps — because Busch had a case of the flu that wouldn’t let up — Hamlin collided with Greg Biffle off Turn 4 while fighting for the lead on Lap 141 and exited the race with an irreparable car.

Continue reading “Joey Logano wins thriller in Fontana”

(by row)
Denny Hamlin Greg Biffle
Jimmie Johnson Juan Pablo Montoya
Martin Truex Jr. Joey Logano #
Kevin Harvick Clint Bowyer
Mark Martin Jeff Gordon
Carl Edwards A J Allmendinger
Joe Nemechek David Stremme
Max Papis # Casey Mears
Matt Kenseth Jeff Burton
Kyle Busch Tony Stewart
Scott Speed # Sam Hornish Jr.
Mike Bliss Kurt Busch
Kasey Kahne Regan Smith
Marcos Ambrose Reed Sorenson
Jamie McMurray David Gilliland
David Ragan Brian Vickers
Dave Blaney Michael Waltrip
Bobby Labonte Ryan Newman
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Robby Gordon
Elliott Sadler John Andretti
Paul Menard David Reutimann
Michael McDowell

Many think that most of the drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series are from the east coast of the country, but what many don’t know is California also has quite the contingent of natives behind the wheel.

Of the seven drivers from California, two are vying for the championship this season, four-time series champion Jeff Gordon who hails from Vallejo, Calif. and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, three-time series champion Jimmie Johnson who grew up in El Cajon, Calif.

Another set of teammates, Kevin Harvick (No 29 SHELL/Pennzoil Chevrolet) and Casey Mears (No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet) for Richard Childress Racing are both from Bakersfield, Calif.

Continue reading “Lots of California native drivers head home”