Auto Club Speedway

Purchase a special $99 ticket to the March 27^th Auto Club 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race and receive:

• A lower reserved grandstand seat in rows 15-23 (upgrades available for an additional cost)
• Pre-race Pit Pass
• Parking
• Admission to the NFFF hospitality pavilion (includes food and select beverages)
• Special guest appearances in the hospitality pavilion
• Commemorative ACS/NFFF navy blue event t-shirt
• Donation to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation
• (Offer expires March 25, 2011 or while supplies last)

Congress created the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to lead a nationwide effort to honor America’s fallen firefighters. Since 1992, the non-profit Foundation has developed and expanded programs that fulfill that mandate. Its mission is to honor and remember America’s fallen fire heroes and to provide resources to assist their survivors in rebuilding their lives.

Each October, the Foundation sponsors the official national tribute to all firefighters who died in the line of duty during the previous year. Thousands attend the weekend activities held at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The weekend features special programs for survivors and coworkers along with moving public ceremonies.

Call 909-429-5037 or visit www.autoclubspeedway.com/nfff for more information on the special NFFF package.

About Auto Club Speedway

Look for some amazing racing when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to Auto Club Speedway for the Auto Club 400 on March 27.  During the Pepsi MAX 400 in October, drivers, media and spectators proclaimed that race as possibly the best ever at Auto Club Speedway- five-wide racing at over 200 mph on the NASCAR circuit!  For tickets call 800-944-RACE (7223) or visit www.autoclubspeedway.com for more information.

- Auto Club Speedway, Press Release

2011 Auto Club Logo

Changing the mileage from 500 to 400 for Auto Club Speedway’s October event along with double file restarts resulted in an action-packed three hours that media, drivers and fans called “the best race ever at Auto Club Speedway.”  With that feedback, ACS officials announced today that the Auto Club 500 will now be the Auto Club 400.  The race will take place on Sunday, March 27 beginning at noon (PT) on FOX.

October’s “gem” resulted in a Tony Stewart victory by 0.466 seconds over Clint Bowyer – one of the closest races ever recorded at the Southern California facility.  The intense side-by-side racing elicited rave reviews from everyone, including Stewart who said, “The restarts early in the race were out of control.  We were five wide!”

Others agreed with Stewart wholeheartedly:

Motor Racing Network: “Simply put, Sunday’s race was the best Sprint Cup Series race ever at the two-mile Southern California track.”

Motor Sports Weekly News: “Fans that stayed home this time or didn’t tune in on TV missed what just might have been the best race this track has ever put on.”

Clint Bowyer: “They say you’re only as good as your last race.  Well, for this place, that was a hell of a race.”

“It’s impossible to ignore the on track excitement we experienced at Auto Club Speedway in October, as a result of NASCAR reducing the Chase race from 500 to 400 miles,” said ACS President Gillian Zucker.  “We’re confident the newly remileaged Auto Club 400 will continue the momentum we have been experiencing and that March’s race will be the most exciting ever at Auto Club Speedway.”

In response to the mileage change and the excitement that it likely will produce, Auto Club Speedway is offering several ways to see the 5-wide excitement of NASCAR at Southern California’s premier motorsports facility.

Auto Club Members Section – Save Up to 50%!

§  Turn 1 seating

§  Upper Reserved (Sections 77-91, Rows 24-48) – Adults $50, Kids (12 and under) $25

§  Lower Reserved (Sections 69-91, Rows 11- 23) – Adults $30, Kids (12 and under) $15

§  Seating now located closer to the start/finish line than previous years

While supplies last

Free Pit Pass Offer – Save $55!

§  Purchase a $75 Upper Reserved (rows 24-33) ticket and receive a free pre-race pit pass

§  Seating now located in higher rows than previous years

Expires February 25, 2011

Save $10 on NNS 300 race

§  Save $10 on any ticket for the NNS 300 race on Saturday, March 26, 2011

Call 1-800-944-RACE or visit www.autoclubspeedway.com to get tickets to what will no doubt be another “gem” at Auto Club Speedway.

About Auto Club Speedway

Look for some amazing racing when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to Auto Club Speedway for the Auto Club 400 on March 27.  During the Pepsi MAX 400 in October, drivers, media and spectators proclaimed that race as possibly the best ever at Auto Club Speedway- five-wide racing at over 200 mph on the NASCAR circuit!  For tickets call 800-944-RACE (7223) or visit www.autoclubspeedway.com for more information.

- Auto Club Speedway, Press Release

Auto Club Speedway

Auto Club Speedway’s “Holiday Package” includes a grandstand ticket (rows 11-14) to the Auto Club 500 on March 27, a weekend pit pass to get an up close look as teams prepare for their Golden State debut and a certificate for a hot lap in the Auto Club Speedway car at a date to be determined – all for just $49 (a savings of over $40).

Tickets prices range from $35 to $105.

To purchase tickets to Southern California’s Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway, visit www.autoclubspeedway.com or call 800-944-RACE (7223).

About Auto Club Speedway

In 2011 look for some amazing racing when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to Auto Club Speedway for the Auto Club 500 on March 27. During the Pepsi MAX 400 in October, drivers, media and spectators proclaimed that race as possibly the best ever at Auto Club Speedway- the only place to find five-wide racing on the NASCAR circuit! Come see what that enthusiasm brings in 2011. For tickets call 800-944-RACE (7223) or visit www.autoclubspeedway.com for more information.

- Auto Club Speedway, Press Release

Auto Club Speedway

The Auto Club Speedway No. 10 Chevrolet Impala showcar and display, along with Auto Club Speedway representatives, will be on-site at Gate 7 behind the Bryan Grandstands in the Phoenix International Raceway Midway offering exclusive Auto Club 500 ticket packages available for purchase only at the ACS display in the Phoenix International Raceway Midway and include:

• Garage Tour Pack – $165 per person

o   Three days of action at Auto Club Speedway (NASCAR Qualifying Day on Friday, March 25, the NNS race on Saturday, March 26 and the Auto Club 500 NSCS race on Sunday, March 27)

o   One Friday general admission ticket and one Saturday and Sunday ticket in the Reserved Club Area, Rows 24-48.

o   Garage tour

o   PURCHASE AT PIR and receive a Pre-Race Pit Pass

• Infield RV Package - $400

o   Reserved Infield RV Space

o   2 infield wristbands

Rod Stewart Official Merchandise

o   PURCHASE AT PIR and get 50% off additional wristbands

• Buy a Sunday ticket and get a Saturday general admission ticket or Pre-Race Pit Pass for FREE

o   Sunday ticket value at $55 or higher

o   PURCHASE AT PIR and receive a Saturday general admission ticket or Pre-Race Pit Pass for FREE

Fans who visit the ACS display and purchase four or more tickets will receive a free gift. These offers expire at the drop of the green flag on Sunday Nov. 14, 2010.  For more information on these exclusive Auto Club 500 ticket packages call 909-429-5134.

# # #

About Auto Club Speedway

In 2011 look for some amazing racing when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to Auto Club Speedway for the Auto Club 500 on March 27.  During the Pepsi MAX 400 in October, drivers, media and spectators proclaimed that race as possibly the best ever at Auto Club Speedway- the only place to find five-wide racing on the NASCAR circuit!  Come see what that enthusiasm brings in 2011.  For tickets call 800-944-RACE (7223) or visit www.autoclubspeedway.com for more information.

- Auto Club Speedway, Press Release

~ Fans now allowed to bring in backpacks, 14” x 14” x 14”soft-sided coolers to events ~

Auto Club Speedway

To highlight the new fan-friendly policy that allows race fans visiting Auto Club Speedway to utilize lightweight backpacks or daypacks similar to those used by school students, over the next several weeks leading up to the Auto Club 500, Auto Club Speedway will offer fans the opportunity to win tickets for a personal tour of the NASCAR Garages given by Speedway President Gillian Zucker the morning of the Auto Club 500 on Sunday, March 27, 2011.

Here’s how fans can win the “What’s in Your Backpack?” contest:

• Starting Wednesday, Nov. 10 thru Sunday, March 13, Auto Club Speedway will randomly post on its social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter and MySpace) the following question to NASCAR drivers, executives and others, “If you are going to a race, what’s the ONE thing you’d definitely put in your backpack?”

• Fans have 24-hours to guess the answer and post their response on any of Auto Club Speedway’s social networking pages:

o    Facebook (www.facebook.com/autoclubspeedway)

o    Twitter (http://twitter.com/acsupdates)

o    MySpace (www.myspace.com/autoclubspeedway)

• Auto Club Speedway will post the answer and if more than one fan guesses correctly, Auto Club Speedway will randomly choose a winner for the personal tour of the NASCAR Garages with Auto Club Speedway President Gillian Zucker.  Winners will be contacted within the week and announced on ACS’s social media outlets.

In addition to carrying a backpack through the Auto Club Speedway gates, race fans will also be able to carry in soft-sided coolers that measure approximately 14 x 14 x 14 inches – three times the size previously permitted.

While Auto Club Speedway remains dedicated to offering a full day of entertainment and fun at a fantastic family value, fan safety remains a top priority.  All items will be subject to a thorough and complete search by security personnel prior to entering the ticket gates.  In addition, there will be sufficient personnel on hand to ensure our guests may proceed through the gates quickly and get to their seats in a reasonable amount of time.

Those that plan on taking advantage of the new fan amenities, look for some amazing racing when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to Auto Club Speedway for the Auto Club 500 on March 27, 2011.  The last race held on Oct. 10, the Pepsi MAX 400, was proclaimed by drivers, media and spectators as possibly the best ever at Auto Club Speedway.  Come see what that enthusiasm brings in 2011.  For tickets call 800-944-RACE (7223) or visit www.autoclubspeedway.com for more information.

- Auto Club Speedway, Press Release

No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet (Jeff Gordon) - Photo Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR

Gordon’s crew, a five-time winner in the Tissot competition last year, had another outstanding performance as the team’s DuPont Chevrolet spent the least amount of time on pit road during the 250-lap, 500-mile race at Auto Club Speedway.

“It’s good to see the No. 24 team being recognized even though we did not have the finish we would have liked in California,” said Steve Letarte, crew chief of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet. “The addition of new team members and the re-dedication of existing No. 24 team personnel during the offseason have led to solid stops so far in 2010.”

Gordon’s over-the-wall crew consists of: Clay Robinson (front-tire changer), Mike Houston (front-tire carrier), Joe Slingerland (rear-tire changer), Matt Ver Meer (rear-tire carrier), Jeff Cook (jackman), Caleb Hurd (gasman), Jamie Frady (catch can), Colin Fambrough (back-up tire changer) and Andy Kruep (eighth man). The team’s pit crew coach is Greg Morin.

The winning pit crew in each Sprint Cup race will earn $5,000 and a Tissot V8 Quartz Chronograph watch. The team with the most Tissot Pit Road Precision Award wins at the completion of the 36-race schedule will receive a $105,000 bonus plus Tissot watches for the over-the-wall crew members and driver.

Tissot has been the official watch and timekeeper of NASCAR since 2006. The company is also the official timekeeper for a number of other sports, including the MotoGP World Championship, the Ice Hockey World Championship and the Cycling World Championship.

- DMF Communications for Tissot Pit Road Precision Award, Press Release

Quaker State Racing

“Auto Club Speedway is one of the most demanding tracks on a race engine,” says Jeff Andrews, director of engine operations for Hendrick Motorsports.  “With Quaker State motor oil under the hood, we can do our absolute best, and knowing the motor oil will hold up in the most stressful conditions allows us to push the motor oil as far as we can.”

The win was the 48^th career victory for Johnson and his fifth victory at the track closest to his hometown, El Cajon, Calif.  The victory also vaulted him 23 positions in the standings to 12^th after two races of the 36-race 2010 season.

The Quaker State-Hendrick relationship has grown over the years into a championship-winning technical team, which has now helped Johnson start 2010 with tremendous confidence as he eyes his fifth straight NSCS championship.  Quaker State engineers work diligently with Hendrick Motorsports throughout the season to analyze and adjust the motor oil formulations provided in order to maximize on-track success.

Quaker State has enjoyed an unprecedented level of success under the hood of Hendrick Motorsports car. With 14 years and more than seven million on track miles, Quaker State’s technical relationship with Hendrick Motorsports has resulted in an unparalleled number of racing triumphs, including 141 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins, 101 poles and eight NSCS championships.

“The No. 48 crew never ceases to amaze us, and the entire Quaker State team is honored to be a part of another momentous victory,” said Luis Guimaraes, general manager, Americas, Shell Lubricants. “All of us at Quaker State would like to congratulate Jimmie Johnson and everyone who was a part of the No. 48 car’s success in capturing the first win of the 2010 season.”

The complete lineup of durable Quaker State motor oils are formulated to deliver outstanding friction-related wear protection to help engines deliver optimal performance in any driving condition. For additional information, please visit www.QuakerState.com.

About Quaker State

Quaker State brand products are manufactured by Shell Lubricants.  The term ‘Shell Lubricants’ collectively refers to the companies of Royal Dutch Shell plc that are engaged in the lubricants business. Shell Lubricants companies lead the lubricants industry, supplying 13% of global lubricants volume.^a The companies manufacture and blend products for use in applications ranging from consumer motor oil and food processing oils to heavy industrial lubricants and commercial transport oils. The Shell Lubricants portfolio of top-quality brands includes Pennzoil^®, Quaker State^®, FormulaShell^®, Shell TELLUS^®, Shell CASSIDA^®, Shell RIMULA^®, Shell ROTELLA^® T, Shell SPIRAX^®,  a portfolio of leading car care brands and Jiffy Lube^® lubrication services.

^aKline & Company, “Competitive Intelligence for the Global Lubricants Industry, 2008 – 2018.”

2010 NSCS Robby Gordon - Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR

Charlotte, N.C.

Not long after Sunday’s 250-lap race began, Gordon called in to his crew to report a tight handling condition on his Camry.  The California native was struggling to navigate the Warner Music Nashville / Whitney Duncan Toyota around the turns on the 2.0-mile oval.  There was a long green-flag run at the beginning of the race. With no cautions in sight, the field began making green-flag pit stops on Lap 37.  By lap 38, Gordon was on pit road for fresh tires, fuel, an air pressure adjustment and a chassis adjustment.

While the adjustments did not help the Warner Music Nashville / Whitney Duncan Camry as much as Gordon needed, they were a change in the right direction.  Gordon returned to pit road during the next two caution periods on Lap 57 and Lap 92 in order to continue working on the handling of the No. 7 Camry.

Shortly after the fifth caution period of the day, Gordon called in to the crew on Lap 204 with urgency in his voice to report major overheating.  Gordon knew he would have to bring his Camry down pit road to be inspected by his crew.  The team worked quickly to check the grill for debris and remove tape from the nose of the Warner Music Nashville / Whitney Duncan Camry.

During the sixth caution of the day, Gordon was once again forced to come down pit road for the team to address the overheating problem.  During the stop, the team hooked Gordon’s car up to the cool down unit.  Gordon quickly returned to the track to avoid losing another lap to the leaders.  While the trip to pit road did help cool the Warner Music Nashville / Whitney Duncan Camry, it did not cool Gordon’s engine enough.

On Lap 230, just one lap after the restart and a mere 20 laps from the end of the race, Gordon called into his crew to relay that the engine had blown.  Gordon was able to make it back around the 2.0-mile oval without requiring NASCAR to display the caution flag.  When the checkered flag waved to end the 250-lap event, Gordon was scored in the 33^rd position.

“Today was just a frustrating day,” said Gordon.  “We struggled early with the handling on the No. 7 then we started to overheat. After looking at the car more thoroughly, we had some debris in our radiator that caused the motor to blow.  We did everything we could to avoid having the motor blow up by coming down pit road to pull tape and then using the cool down unit. But with so much green flag racing, it was easy for anyone to blow their motor.  We weren’t the only team to have an engine failure, but that still doesn’t mean it is ok.   Our team has put a lot of work into preparing for the 2010 season; now we just need a little bit of luck to find success this season.”

Next weekend the Sprint Cup Series travels to Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the return of the No. 7 Monster Energy Toyota Camry.  FOX will air a live television broadcast of the event beginning at 3:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 28.  Meanwhile, MRN and SIRIUS Satellite Radio both provide live radio coverage of the race.  Qualifying for the race will be aired on SPEED Channel beginning at 6:30 p.m. EST on Friday, February 26^th.  For news and updates, please visit ROBBYGORDON.COM, BAMRACING.COM, or PLANETROBBY.COM.

- Robby Gordon Motorsports/BAM Racing, Press Release

NSCS Red Bull Racing Teams No. 82 & No. 83

+ RED BULL: BACK-TO-BACK IN SOCAL

Maybe someday one of these gambles will pay off. Until then, Scott Speed enjoyed perhaps the best performance of his two-year Sprint Cup career.

Driver No. 82 finished 11th in Sunday’s Auto Club 500 — Speed’s best nonrestrictor plate finish in 42 Sprint Cup starts. Right on Speed’s tail was teammate and No. 83 driver Brian Vickers, who finished 12th.

“If you take the whole weekend … we really did close to 100 percent,” Speed said.

Speed’s No. 82 Red Bull Toyota was 20th in the opening practice at Auto Speedway and 10th in the final session. He qualified 13th and fought handling issues in the first half of the race as either sun showered the 2-mile track or clouds covered it.

It wasn’t until 100 laps remained when Speed radioed that his car handled the best it had all day. As ominous clouds approached near the 200-lap mark, crew chief Jimmy Elledge kept Speed on the track during a light rain shower. He led three laps, and the team had hopes that the skies would open up. They didn’t, and Speed eventually pitted for much-needed fuel and tires.

The gamble was reminiscent of a week earlier at Daytona, when Elledge, with dicey drafting and the potential for the Daytona surface to again break apart, kept Speed out on old tires to lead 12 laps late in the race. A timely caution never waved, and Speed finished 19th in the Daytona 500.

“I would have laughed my ass off if we would have won that race under rain,” Speed said. “We put ourselves in the best position every single time the rain was coming.”

The restart came with 50 laps to go with Speed in 19th. He charged to 10th, saying the car was the “most consistent and balanced it’s been.” The money stop came with 25 laps remaining, and a flawless effort by the No. 82 crew helped Speed maintain track position.

Speed, in a spirited duel with Vickers, held that track position and finished 11th to score back-to-back top-20 finishes for the first time in his career.

“Awesome weekend. I can’t say enough,” Speed said. “I didn’t think we would run as good as we did. We legitimately ran in the top 10 for the last half of the race … once we got track position. For this being the beginning of my second year here pretty much — I’m really, really happy.”

Vickers’ No. 83 Red Bull Toyota was one of the race’s strongest cars. After starting 23rd, he was running seventh only 30 laps in and stayed there until he encountered a tight-handling car back in traffic after the No. 83 took four tires and other front-runners took two during a series of stops at lap 142.

Vickers led three laps during the next round of green-flag pit stops, staying out as long as he could with the threat of rain. He, too, was hoping for a weather-related caution and pitted to return to track in 19th. One more stop helped ease the car’s loose condition as Vickers worked his way back to his rightful place near the top 10.

He finished 12th for his second top 15 of the season and ninth top 20 in 13 starts at Auto Club Speedway.

“We had a good car. I think we had a top-five car,” Vickers said. “A couple of times — just pit strategy, two (tires) or four got us off base. The one time we stayed out because it was raining, we kept running and everybody shortpitted. They should have thrown the caution because it was raining pretty hard, and they didn’t. And we lost a lot of ground with everybody shortpitting. They had new tires. That pretty much got us behind the rest of the day.”

Entering Sunday’s race at Las Vegas, Vickers ranks 14th in points. Speed sits 15th — the highest he’s been in his Sprint Cup career.

+ UP NEXT

Shelby American 400, Sunday, Feb. 28, Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

- Red Bull Racing Team, Press Release

—————–

The biggest issue turned out to be the strange press conference Gillian Zucker called in the middle of the 500 (mentioned here) to discuss the track’s consistently mediocre attendances and rumors that one of its dates will be switched to Kansas Speedway. Zucker is using the economy as her argument about poor attendances and also claiming increased interest from “our Hispanic fan base” and alleged growth in the youth market, yet none of this seems believable. There simply is no evidence of any statistically relevant popularity for the sport in the southern California demographic (it is a mistake being repeated by the NFL with the building of a new LA-area stadium and the prospective move of the Jacksonville Jaguars, all despite zero evidence of local desire for a team there) and the mistake made in the sport’s investiture into Ontario Motor Speedway has been repeated – the sport maintaining a strong presence in a market that really doesn’t want it. Combined with the dubious financing of the Ontario track, it wound up ruining it and ending its competitive life after 1980.

Zucker insists she will fight to keep two dates at Fontana; I doubt she’d need to bother, for the track likely to be dropped of at least one date is Martinsville. It is a short track, and as such is outdated and possessing limited seating capacity. It also has a recent history of struggling to sell out its Winston Cup races, an indication that demographic is drying up the way those around Darlington and Rockingham either got smaller or dried up altogether. Moreover it makes scheduling sense for Kansas to get the spring date presently owned by Martinsville as opposed to either of Fontana’s dates.

The racing was okay in spots at Fontana but Zucker’s desire to bank it up retains viability here.

————————–

The California 500 showed that Hendrick Motorsports is still on top, RCR is much stronger now than it was in 2009, and everyone else is just along for the ride.

Despite the front row start for Ganassi-Earnhardt’s Chevys, it was Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick who controlled the race, even as the EGR cars and others such as Jeff Gordon fell back or fell out. Harvick’s bid for the win died when he whacked the wall out of Four after erasing a big gap, which made for the more interesting final laps the track has seen in awhile.

Yet for all of Hendrick’s continuing success, the pet project of making Dale Junior a winner blew up yet again, this time when he broke an axle out of a late pitstop. As with his runner-up in the 2009 Winston 500, momentum has not come about for him.

————————-

And yet more coverage came to a rookie driver who started in the bottom 13 of the Busch/Nationwide 300-miler at Fontana and stayed there all race. The more Danica Patrick races, the more clueless she proves herself to be. Clueless rookies are not the exception in racing but Patrick has displayed a lack of grasp of fundamentals to a degree that is frankly surprising. She continues to get cut slack in the media and the Danica myth of bringing in more fans and more sponsorships to the sport is holding up despite all evidence to the contrary.

What is being displayed in stock cars is the reality of a soft-porn model who decided to become a racecar driver, who used the fact of her gender and her soft-porn displays to get where she is in racing, and who has received opportunities rare in racing yet does less with more on a consistent basis.

The sooner this farce ends and NASCAR is rid of Danica Patrick, the better.

———————-

The bottom line is thus that Fontana proved to be just another unmemorable weekend. With Fontana’s wrap the series hits Vegas next week. If the form chart of this week holds up then the Brian France Redemption Tour will have hit some potholes worse than what was filled in at Daytona.

2010 NSCS Mike Bliss - Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR

“The race definitely ended good for us,” said Bliss.  “We were up and down today, but we finished strong.  Auto Club Speedway is always a tough track, and it was nice to have a solid finish after struggling last week in the Daytona 500.  Since we were out early last week, this was really our first full outing together as a team.  I felt really good about the effort and overall things went well.  We beat some really good cars today so that tells you that the #36 Chevy was pretty strong.”

Bliss started the race 17^th after a strong qualifying run on Thursday.  The 17^th place starting position was the highest starting position in Tommy Baldwin Racing’s brief Sprint Cup history. The 22^nd place finish also marks the highest finish for Tommy Baldwin Racing at the Auto Club Speedway, beating the previous top finish of 36th, last year in the 2009 Auto Club 500.  With the solid finish, the team now sits 34^th in the Sprint Cup Series point standings after two races.

Mike Bliss and Tommy Baldwin Racing head to Las Vegas next weekend for the Shelby American on Sunday February 28^th.  The No. 36 Chevy will carry a special Kim Kardashian Fragrance paint scheme for the race that will air at 3pm EST on FOX.

- Tommy Baldwin Racing, Press Release

No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet (Ryan Newman) - Photo Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR

Engine troubles spoiled a solid top-10 run for Ryan Newman in Sunday’s Auto Club 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. Newman had been a fixture among the top-12 for much of the afternoon before an engine failure relegated the driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) to a 36^th-place finish.

“We just lost an engine,” Newman said. “We had a really good car with the Haas Automation Chevrolet, but it just grenaded, basically. I couldn’t tell you what happened, but it was big and there was smoke and that was the end of our day.”

Just a couple of laps before Newman’s engine expired, the No. 39 was at the front of the field, restarting the 250-lap race in second-place. However, Newman didn’t get the restart he had hoped for as he spun the tires and fell back through the field. When he crossed the start/finish line the next time on lap 147, Newman was posted in 16^th-place. He circled the track one more time and had just passed the flagstand on lap 148,when smoke billowed from the No. 39 Chevrolet. Newman came over the radio and reported he had lost an engine and was no longer under power.

“I got a horrible restart,” Newman said. “I spun my tires on the restart, but didn’t over-rev it or anything. The next lap, it just blew up.”

It was an especially disappointing day for Newman and the No. 39 team as they were enjoying a strong run at Auto Club Speedway, the home track for the team’s Oxnard Calif.-based co-owner and sponsor Haas Automation, the largest CNC machine tool builder in the western world.

Newman started the race in 18^th-place, but he was quickly able to move into the top-12 where he spent much of the race’s first 90 laps.

A slightly loose racecar had been Newman’s biggest issue during the course of the race, but his pit crew had been able to improve those handling issues with air pressure and track bar adjustments. Crew chief Tony Gibson’s calls and the team’s diligent efforts in the pits paid off, and by lap 97 Newman moved into ninth-place. He ran solidly in the top-10 until his final restart on lap 146.

“We had a really good car,” Newman said. “The car was good all day long. We were mixing it up, and that is really the most competitive I’ve been here in a long time. We were working forward every run the entire race. We showed what we are capable of out there on a couple of those long runs.

“I think we’ve made some big improvements as a team, and what we were doing out there today shows that. We feel like we’ve made some big gains as a team. This just is not how I wanted to end the race.”

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala for SHR, finished ninth. It was Stewart’s first top-10 of the 2010 Sprint Cup season and his 10^th top-10 in 18 career Sprint Cup starts at Fontana.

Stewart continues to lead the SHR driver lineup in the championship point race, as his ninth-place finish bumped him six spots to 17^th in the standings where he is 96 points behind series leader Kevin Harvick. Newman lost two spots to fall to 36^th in the standings, 215 markers arrears Harvick.

Four-time and reigning Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson beat Harvick by 1.523 seconds to win the Auto Club 500 and score the 48^th victory of his Sprint Cup career, his first of the season and his fifth at Fontana. Johnson has now won four of the last six races at the Southern California track.

Finishing third was Jeff Burton, while Mark Martin and Joey Logano rounded out the top-five. Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Clint Bowyer, Stewart and Greg Biffle comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were six caution periods for 30 laps, with 10 drivers failing to finish the 500-mile race.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the February 28 Shelby American at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  The race begins at 3 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 2 p.m.

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing, Press Release

2010 NSCS Auto Club 500 Jimmie Johnson in Victory Lane - Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

It is the 48^th career victory for Johnson and his fifth victory at the track closest to his hometown, El Cajon, Calif.  The victory vaulted him 23 positions in the standings to 12^th after two races of the 36-race 2010 season.

Team Chevy drivers claimed four of the top-five finishing positions and six of the top-10 spots.  It is the ninth win for Chevrolet at Auto Club Speedway in 20 NSCS events at the track.

Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Impala, finished second. Starting sixth, Harvick led three times for a total of 27 laps and now leads the NSCS standings.

Jeff Burton brought the No. 31 Caterpillar Impala to the checkered flag in the third position. He led three times for a total of 46 laps. Burton is now fifth in the standings following today’s race.

Mark Martin, No. 5 GoDaddy.com Impala, finished fourth and holds the sixth position in the standings. He led twice for a total of five laps.

Clint Bowyer, No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Impala, finished eighth after leading once for two laps.  Bowyer sits second in the standings heading into race three next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Two-time NSCS champion Tony Stewart brought the No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Impala across the line in ninth place.  He is currently 17^th in the standings.

Pole sitter and Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Impala, finished 17^th and now sits fourth in points.

Joey Logano (Toyota) completed the top-five finishers.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

AUTO CLUB 500

AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY

TEAM CHEVY POST RACE PRESS CONF TRANSCRIPTS

FEBRUARY 21, 2010

JIMMIE JOHNSON and CHAD KNAUS, NO. 48 IMPALA – Winners Post Race Press Conference Transcript:

KERRY THARP:  We’re joined by race winner Jimmie Johnson.  This is Jimmie’s 48th career win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.  That ties him with Herb Thomas for 12th on the all‑time list already.  His fifth win at Auto Club Speedway.

Jimmie, certainly a great move you made coming off pit road, grabbed the lead at lap 227 and never relinquished it.  Talk about those last few laps.  You had the 29 and 31 breathing down your neck.

JIMMIE JOHNSON:  The deal on pit road, we got lucky.  We were in our pit box and the caution came out.  We were able to just beat the 31 car off of pit road where the scoring line is at the end of pit road.  You know, certainly got lucky.  We were running third or fourth or fifth at the time, so it’s not like we totally backed into this thing.

We got a really nice gift with the way things worked out, then it was kind of up to me to hang onto it.

I got away from the 29 and 31 and thought I was going to be able to motor off, have a nice smooth ride till the end.  I started losing the handling on the car a little bit.  The 29 was really coming on.  All I could do was kind of change my line of what he was running because I hadn’t really run there yet over the course of the race, and I started working my way higher in turns three and four, trying to find some more grip and anything to help myself out.  I guess he got into the fence at one point, did some damage to his car.

Great race.  I think today was a great race for NASCAR, great race on this racetrack.  I know it’s big and spread out from time to time, but in every situation I was in, there was a lot of great racing going on.

KERRY THARP:  Thank you, Jimmie.  We have Chad Knaus, winning crew chief for the No. 48 team.  Chad, talk about today’s win.  Sometimes you got to be lucky, like Jimmie said, but the talent shows up.

CHAD KNAUS:  I got to say, this is a first.  I’ve never seen a little dog in the media center before (laughter).  That’s funny.

KERRY THARP:  Might ask the first question.  We’ll see.

CHAD KNAUS:  It was neat.  We did have a little bit of good fortune coming down pit road when the 12 car spun out.  When that opportunity arises, that’s when you have to have the team that’s capable of reacting.  Our guys executed a great pit stop right there.  We made some significant changes to the car and were able to beat the 31 car out of the pits.

That proves the quality of the pit crew that we’ve got.  The heads up by Jimmie to not panic and do what he needed to do.  Obviously it was a close thing, but we felt confident we could get out there in front of those guys.

We led I don’t know how many laps.  I believe a bunch.

KERRY THARP:  I believe 110.

CHAD KNAUS:  We lead a bunch of the race so it was obvious we had a fast racecar.  We just had to try to get back some of that track position that we had lost during that two‑tire debacle.  It was a great day for the Lowe’s Chevrolet.  Jimmie did a fantastic job of driving the racecar.  It’s on to Vegas.

KERRY THARP:  We’ll take questions now for Jimmie or Chad.

Q. In early days in Daytona, they called the weather down there Bill France weather.  Kevin Harvick came in here and said you have a lucky horseshoe up your butt, using another word.  You’ve been able to turn adversity into victory so many times.  Talk about that.

JIMMIE JOHNSON:  About a horseshoe in my ass?  Is that what you’re asking (laughter)?

No, you know, yes, we were lucky today.  But you don’t get lucky and win four championships and 48 races.  Things went our way today with the pit stop.  But I had to go out there and hold Kevin off, 31, all that kind of thing.

I’m not discrediting the fact we were handed a huge gift when we were on pit road and the caution came out.  It is what it is, and we’ve had plenty of races go the other way on us.  From how consistent we’ve been from the first races we’ve been in from eight seasons ago till now, it’s ’cause we’re a good race team.

Q. How difficult was or how important was track position out there?  I think maybe early in the race you had a little bit slower pit stop than you wanted.  When you got out there, could you work through traffic?

CHAD KNAUS:  It was weird.  Early in the race, I felt like we could maneuver through traffic pretty well.  As the race progressed, for whatever reason, I don’t know if it was the rubber laying down on the racetrack, what the situation was, we couldn’t seem to make it happen.

Track position is king here.  It always has been.  Anytime you go to any of these mile‑and‑a‑half, two‑mile racetracks, it’s very important to have good track position.

Typically we have a car that’s capable of making its way back up through there.  Today we weren’t able to pull that off.  I messed up when I did that two‑tire call midway through the race.  Shouldn’t have done that.  Should have just stuck with four tires.  I think we would have rallied our way up through there pretty quickly.  Instead on two tires, we were kind of stuck.  Car got tight.  Lesson learned there, especially for the fall.

But, you know, it’s the way it is.

JIMMIE JOHNSON:  I think Chad told me that last run we were 9/10ths of a second faster than we were the run before on stickers.  It was all because of track position.  It makes that big of a difference.

Q. While everybody is talking about the good fortune you had today, apparently we seem to forget the bad luck you had last week.  How important was it for you to bounce back from that as quick as you did today?

JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Yeah, I mean, I can’t say it was really on my mind.  I don’t know about you, Chad.  I guess I was thinking big picture in the points and knew that 35th wasn’t a good position to be in.

But the races are so different that I couldn’t put a lot of weight in what failed in the performance of the race, the performance of how we ran in Daytona because it’s so different here.  It was more of a small aspect of, Well, hate being in a hole this early points‑wise, but we’ll just roll on.  It wasn’t as much of a mind game as you would think.

Now, if we finished 35th here today, that would be a different story.

Q. Also talk a little bit about the symmetry of getting your first victory here and your 48th victory here with the 48.

JIMMIE JOHNSON:  So weird how things work out.  Look at the first win, then this win.  We come back here with the foundation paint scheme on the car and have won a bunch.  There’s just something with this track, being in California for me.  I wish I could explain it.  But it’s nice to come out here.  I always love racing in my home state, being this close to the San Diego area where I grew up is really cool.  To keep taking trophies out of here, there’s nothing better.

Q. Jimmie, would you replay how that caution broke in your favor?

JIMMIE JOHNSON:  So we were in our pit box, doing the pit stop.  The caution came out.  We completed our pit stop, then left pit road.  Where we were positioned on pit road, we had to beat the leader to the scoring line at the end of the pit lane.  We got there just about the same time and beat him by a car length or half a car length or something.

I think the 18 was in the pits, and the leader of the race passed him a few seconds before the 18 was able to get that line.  That’s why we were able to be on the lead lap still.  Then everybody pitted and we were the leader.

Q. Chad, everybody talks all the time about how this place is tough on engines.  When you saw Gordon have his problems, were you concerned at all it might be a Hendrick issue?  Why is this place so tough on engines?

CHAD KNAUS:  Yeah, we were pretty nervous actually because Jimmie made a couple of comments that he felt like the engine was just a little bit down on power.  Then when the 14 had their engine and the 24 had a miss, then it cleared up, then it came back, I guess they ended up with a miss, we were pretty concerned.

But this track is so difficult because it’s not really the amount of rpm you turn, it’s the amount of rpm you turn for the duration that you turn it.  You’re on throttle for so long here.  Especially once you start to move up the racetrack, your minimum rpm drops considerably, you carry a sustained rpm all the way down the straightaways.  Obviously with the fluctuation with ambient temperature, track temperature and air quality today, that played a contributing factor in that.  That racetrack is really, really tough on engines.  Plus you have to realize it’s 500 miles.  It’s a grueling place.

I honestly don’t know what happened to the 24 and the 14 yet.  I’ll have to talk to Jeff Andrews and Scott and find out what happened there.

Q. Jimmie, are there a lot of friends of yours or fans who make this trip to Fontana and don’t follow you the rest of the year as much just because of proximity?  Do you sense a different crowd here, different level of support?

JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Oh, yeah, without a doubt.  Some of my friends I grew up with come out to the race.  It’s tough to get passes for everyone.  I can’t get everyone passes and see ‘em all, but I know they’re all here.  Get text messages from ‘em.

Some different friends that live in L.A. that have access to passes and things like that come in and hang out.  I think our pit box, pit area, was pretty full of friends.  I know they’re all waiting at the motorhome with a cold beer for me right now.  Look forward to getting over there and celebrating a little bit with them.

Q. Jimmie, what do you do to usually prepare for these races?  What is your race strategy?

JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Strategy‑wise, you know, Chad and the engineers do a lot to understand trends and cautions, you know, the way races play out.  Then again, it’s just statistics that are showing that.  It’s difficult to really base a lot on that.  I leave a lot of that to them.

I just really focus on doing my job, make sure I’m well‑rested, well‑hydrated, energy is up, in shape, do a very good job of explaining what I feel in the car.

Without having data acquisitions on the car, I’m responsible for telling them what’s going on, good and bad.  I just really have to work on my communication skills and then being sensitive enough to understand what the car’s doing.

Q. Chad, in the movie 24/7, you made a reference to seeing familiar numbers in common day place, referring to the fact this is the fifth win for Jimmie Johnson.

CHAD KNAUS:  It’s all in the numbers, man.  It’s all in the numbers.  We’ve been saying that for years.  It gets out of hand from time to time.  We’ll be sending a text message and you’ll look at it, it’s 5:48.  Hey, it’s 5:48.  You throw that out there to Jimmie, he’ll throw it back.  I think I sent him one the other day 8:48.  It’s kind of neat.  I think actually in that show it was 5:48 in the morning as we were driving down.  We got our fifth win for the 48 car.  We’re hoping the numbers all work in our favor.  It’s a fun game if nothing else.

We don’t believe a heck of a lot in luck.  But, you know, if it’s out there, we’ll take it.

Q. Non‑restrictor plate race.  Richard Childress Racing had three cars that were incredibly fast out there.  Do you notice things like that after a race when you go back?  Is it a concern, the gap is shrinking?

CHAD KNAUS:  Yeah, absolutely.  We always pay attention to how the competition is running.  We took notice of that last year.  We knew that those guys were coming on strong towards the end of last year.  They found some significant gains in the horsepower area.  That’s obvious.  They definitely found some gains in the handling of their cars.  We’re doing everything we can at Hendrick Motorsports to continually evolve what it is we’ve got.

We’re typically relatively slow in our change.  If you watch the 48 car, we don’t make big, big changes.  There’s a lot that we could do to try to make the cars better.  But to go out there and make wholesale changes to come out to this race that we just won the year before would be foolish.  So we put a little salt, a little pepper, mix the ingredients up a little bit and try to get a little better slowly.

I would have rather come out here and finished top 10 than come out here with some unproven commodity and finished 20th.  We’re okay.  We’ve got some more left.

Q. Chad, what else do you take away from today’s race?  Everybody talks about this is the first regular‑season race.  What else stood out other than the RCR cars?  And, Jimmie, I think somebody made the comment that your race uniform only has you listed as the three‑time champion.  Is that an old uniform?

JIMMIE JOHNSON:  I’ll find out.  It does.  It’s an old uniform.

CHAD KNAUS:  Hand me down.

JIMMIE JOHNSON:  It was in the closet.  I put the last one on in the class set.

CHAD KNAUS:  That is awesome.  That would have been Kristine Curley’s job to get the right fire suit, by the way (laughter).

You know, honestly, we obviously learn every time we go to the racetrack and try to make our packages better.  We’ve got a new car going to Las Vegas that’s got some new things we’re excited about.  Every race is a learning opportunity.  You know, if we go away from any race and we don’t learn something, it’s our own fault.  We know that the Childress cars are running a little bit better.  There was somebody else running pretty good, I made note of, I forget.  Should have taken better notes.

JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Hope I have all the right sponsors on this uniform.

CHAD KNAUS:  I don’t know if you do.

Yes, we learned a lot and we’re excited about Las Vegas.  Thanks.

Q. You’re a California guy.  You figured out everything else about this place.  I’m sure you noticed that the stands were a little bit sparse today.  Do you have any thoughts on why and what it’s going to take to turn this place around?

CHAD KNAUS:  Global warming.  It was too cold (laughter).

JIMMIE JOHNSON:  I don’t know.  I mean, attendance and viewership has been obviously a hot topic.  I don’t know what else we can do in the garage area to make it more entertaining.  I mean, the cars are as equal as they’ve ever been.  The racing has been awesome.  If you look at the Daytona 500, that’s the best plate race I’ve been a part of in a long, long time.

Today I felt like there was a lot of great racing for the lead, which typically you don’t see.  So I don’t know.  I don’t know why people are doing different things.  It’s not only our sport, but all sports.  Then when you turn the television on, people aren’t watching TV as much anymore.  I don’t have the answer.  I wish I knew.  I wish we all knew.  Because we have one helluva racing series and put on a great show.  Our drivers are more accessible than any other sport.  The fans have more involvement.  The sponsors get a better bang for their buck here than anywhere else.  We have everything here.  I just don’t know why it’s declining.

Is there an attendance number?  Are we speaking correctly it was down on attendance?

KERRY THARP:  I haven’t seen the figure.

JIMMIE JOHNSON:  I’d hate to say we had a lower attendance than before and we actually didn’t.  But that’s my two cents.  I don’t know why.

Q. Jimmie, take us through the sequence where Harvick tried to pass you high there down toward the end.  What did you see?  What are you hearing?  Are you sensing he’s going to go one way?

JIMMIE JOHNSON:  The laps beforehand, got away from me and the 31 by running the bottom of three and four.  That was where he was a large part of the race when I was racing with him.  So I really stayed on the bottom and tried to make it work as long as I could.

Then I heard from my spotter that he had moved up.  Nothing really happened for a lap or two.  And then he really started making gains up top.  At that point I was in panic mode and I needed to find a different lane, so I started working my way up the track more and more and more.  When he finally got to me, I heard he was at the top of the track.  I still didn’t get all the way up to the top.  I left him a lane at the top.  I was in steps trying to get higher and find out if there was more grip up there.  I guess he got into the wall off of four.

I was just trying to go where he was running because clearly he was faster than me running there.  Then I thought also if I’m on the outside and he gets next to me on the inside, you have a few more options on the outside in the closing laps than you do on the bottom.  So I figured if he’s gonna pass me, I’ll give him the bottom and let him have that opportunity.  I would have my best chance to win at that point.

Q. What’s on your list of accomplishments?  What else would you like to accomplish besides five wins here?

JIMMIE JOHNSON:  For me there’s a few tracks on the series that have given me a hard time.  The track in Sonoma.  A road course race in general is something I want to win at.  Plate stuff I feel like I’m doing better.  It’s taken me a while to learn the COT and plate racing.  I feel like winning one of the duels, making right adjustments for myself.  So I want to do better on the plate tracks.

But when you come to the short tracks and mile‑and‑a‑half, two‑mile tracks, we’ve been really, really strong on those.  You know, not to be corny, but just keep winning.  It’s great to win the big races.  I’m here to win races.  I love winning races.  The only way you win championships is by winning races.  If we’re winning races, we’re going to win a championship.

KERRY THARP:  Chad, Jimmie, congratulations.  Good luck at Las Vegas.  Thank you.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 SHELL-PENNZOIL IMPALA – Finished 2^nd

JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR IMPALA – Finished 3rd

KERRY THARP:  Let’s roll into our post‑race press conference for today’s race.  Joining us right now is Jeff Burton.  He finishes third in today’s race.  He drives the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.

Strong afternoon for RCR out there, Jeff.  I believe y’all have three of the top five in points right now.  Talk about your run out there today.

JEFF BURTON:  Well, obviously we ran really well the second half of the race.  The first half of the race we struggled a little bit with handling.

But they kept working, making it better.  Then I got busted for speeding on pit road.  That turned our day around right there.  I don’t know why.  But we took off after that.  Had to start last and got up to sixth quickly.  That’s as quirk as I’ve seen anybody pass on this racetrack in a long time.

There in the end, you know, when the caution came out, I slowed down.  The 48 beat us out.  Then they got a break there, but they did a really good job of making their car good when it needed to be good.  They definitely got a break, but they executed on it.  That’s what they do so well.

We gave up a spot on pit road.  I don’t know if I get in a little easy.  Got to go back and examine that.  Lost a spot there to Kevin on pit road.  Again, I don’t know if that was my fault or if we were just a little slow.  But we were too loose there at the end.  Couldn’t stay on the gas like I needed to.

KERRY THARP:  Joining us right now is our race runner‑up, Kevin Harvick.  He drives the No. 29 Shell‑Pennzoil Chevrolet for RCR Racing.  Kevin is now our points leader in the Sprint Cup Series.

Kevin, talk about your run out there today.  You certainly had a lot of car, put on a good show good for us.

KEVIN HARVICK:  Well, I mean, to start the year off good is always a good thing, especially the way we started last year wasn’t spectacular.

But today, you know, I don’t know, I mean, I was running the top there, and Jimmie saw me coming and he just moved up.  I got tight, just scrubbed the wall, knocked the right front fender, and that was it for me.

Just a great day.  We got a speeding penalty early.  The car was good enough to come back through the field.  Put ourself back in contention in the end.  Just came up one short.  Good day and a lot of fun today.

KERRY THARP:  We’ll take questions now for either Kevin or Jeff.

Q. Jeff, when Jimmie was in the pits and you were coming around, the yellow comes out, were you aware those guys had pitted already?  Did you know all of that was going on or were you conscious of that?

JEFF BURTON:  I knew people were on pit road.  There’s a fine line between slowing down and not slowing down.  I don’t know where that line is.  I came around as quick as I thought I could without NASCAR getting upset at me.

You know, I don’t know.  If I’d have come around probably 2/10ths of a second quicker, we would have had him a lap down.  Nonetheless, I did what I thought was right.  You know, I didn’t just stop.  I carried speed around.  They ask you to slow down.  You can’t run down there wide open or they’ll get you for that.

You know, I don’t know.  I don’t know what the right thing to do there is.  I’ll go back and spend some time with them and ask them their opinion.  If I could carry more speed the next time, I certainly will.

Q. You were both confident coming in this year with the changes in the organization.  Did you expect to be this good this soon?

JEFF BURTON:  We felt good about what happened in the fall, over the winter.  Until you start racing, you don’t know where you are honestly.  You feel good about it.  I had quite a bit of confidence coming in.

But until everybody gets out here and they’re going to give somebody a trophy, you don’t really know where you stand.  I expected to run well.

I think the 29 has had a shot to win both races, for sure.  We weren’t quite as good as they were at Daytona.  Today at times they were better than us; at times we were better than them.  I think the 29 by far, the first two races of the year, has been the best car.

KEVIN HARVICK:  He pretty much said it.

Q. Jeff, you and Kevin battled there for several laps on the last segment.  Do you feel if you could have gotten by Kevin, you could have caught Jimmie and maybe won it or do you feel if things had gone different between the two of you there, he gained some time while you guys were side‑by‑side, so if that had gone differently, do you think things could have turned out differently?

JEFF BURTON:  I think we would have had a chance to run him down.  I thought Kevin and us, we ran the same speed.  I kept running the bottom because if he slipped, I could get the spot.  But me running the bottom, him running the top, we weren’t slowing each other up.  Just the way he was running his fastest line, I was running my fastest line.  Wasn’t like we were slowing each other up.

I think when we were doing that, we were running him down.  And then we got a little bit looser.  Kevin looked like he got better.  When he did, I thought he was going to win the race.  Kevin, in retrospect, had a better chance to win than we did because he got up there and we didn’t.

If things would have been different, I don’t know.  But they weren’t different, they were what they were.  I thought in retrospect Kevin had the best shot to win.

Q. Kevin, to have the best car the first two races, as Jeff said, is that a hollow title or something to look at positively?

KEVIN HARVICK:  I mean, it’s just what we’re supposed to do.  That’s just how ‑‑ I think that’s just how it’s supposed to be.  That’s what we get paid to do.  We get paid to go out and drive the car as hard as we can, and we’re supposed to run up front.  That’s what everybody pays to be on our cars and what we work for.

With the three of us running good, it pushes us to fine tune our stuff and really get the best out of our cars week in and week out.

There’s no hollow title.  We’re happy we have a shot.  He just keep building on those things.  It leaves that sour taste in your mouth when you don’t win and you want to go back and win again.

Right now it’s just everybody’s very motivated, letting our cars talk for us.

Q. The one guy who catches the lucky break and gets off pit road happens to be the guy who won four straight championships.  Does that stick in your craw a little bit?

KEVIN HARVICK:  They’re really good, but they’re really, really lucky, too.  I mean, Jimmie is a good friend of mine, but there’s no way of getting around how lucky they are.  You don’t win four championships and do all the things they’ve done.

They did a good job today in winning the race, but they have a golden horseshoe stuck up their ass.  I mean, there’s no way to get around that.

Q. You closed in on Jimmie on the high side.  Did you have a feeling he was going to make you make the pass on the low said?

KEVIN HARVICK:  When he moved up the first time, I got tight.  Caught the wall there just enough to knock the right front fender in.  You know, if he doesn’t move up, he’s gonna get passed pretty easily.  He moved up and did what he was supposed to do to take that line away.  The front took off of my car, just able to get that much out of the car.  He was able to drive off.  So he did exactly what he had to do.

Q. In spite of how well you’ve run, do you know where you guys need to improve?  Is it something obvious?

KEVIN HARVICK:  I think, in my opinion, you always need to get better.  You need to constantly work on everything to keep going forward.  You know, we worked hard to get to this point.  But you can’t stop.  We don’t need to get behind again.  We need to work to progress forward before everybody else.

I think, in my opinion, that’s going to be the thing that will be the most challenging for us.  It’s not catching up.  We did that.  It’s just getting in front of everybody else.

JEFF BURTON:  Spoilers.  We got to start working on spoilers.  That’s going to be a big change.  You know, everybody has what they have for the next two weeks.  When the spoiler comes, you better be ready.  Like Kevin said, if we get behind, you won’t catch back up anytime soon.

We did that all last year.  So that’s where I think the whole garage is working right now.

KERRY THARP:  Kevin, Jeff, thank you very much.  Good race out there.  See you next week.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

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- Team Chevy, Press Release

Auto Club 500 logo

Johnson is no stranger to entering Gatorade Victory Lane at Auto Club Speedway.  In 15 races at Auto Club Speedway, the El Cajon, Calif. native has won five times.  The victory moved Johnson into a tie for 12^th on the all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win list with NASCAR pioneer Herb Thomas.

The biggest break of the day for Johnson came on lap 225 as he entered pit road in 16^th position just prior to the race’s final caution flag. But he was able to exit as the leader, gaining 15 places to take back the lead and ultimately win the race.  He led 110 of the 250 total laps during the race.

“Today fortune came our way.  We hit pit road and the caution came out and gave us track position. We lost the handle in the second half of the race.  We were making gains coming back but a lot of other guys were ahead of us and knew it would be tough to pass them.  I’m not going to lie, the fact that we were on pit road gave us track position and I drove my butt off.”

Harvick nearly caught Johnson with three laps to go but brushed up against the wall ending his chances at victory.

“I was running the top there, and Jimmie saw me coming and he just moved up.  I got tight, just scrubbed the wall, knocked the right front fender, and that was it for me.”

Rounding out the top five were Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet), his seventh top-10 finish at Auto Club Speedway, Mark Martin (No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet) and Joey Logano (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota).

After two races, Harvick holds a slim series points lead over second-place Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet) and third-place Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford).

Kevin Conway (No. 37, Extenze Ford) was the highest finishing rookie on the day with a 31^st-place finish.

NASCAR returns back to Auto Club Speedway for the Pepsi Max 400 as the fourth race in the Chase for NASCAR Sprint Cup on Sunday, October 10, 2010.  For more information or to purchase tickets call 800-944-RACE (7223), or visit www.autoclubspeedway.com.

- Auto Club Speedway, Press Release

Max Papis

Fontana, CA (February 21, 2010)

When Papis arrived in Fontana on Friday for practice and qualifying, he paced the garage area as if he had been there before.  He was comfortable and exhibited confidence as he approached his opening practice session in the #13 GEICO Toyota Camry.  It was just a few months ago that Papis and the GEICO Racing team made their debut in So Cal, where Papis recorded a 35th place finish after starting 15th on October 11th.

Papis and the #13 GEICO Camry wasted little time in making themselves at home.  At the close of the opening practice session, they sat 28th on the speed charts, and third among the ten ‘go or go home’ entries.  Qualifying also went well, that is until the car got loose between turns three and four, causing Papis to lose valuable time.  Until then he was projected to start between 15th and 18th, but the loose condition instead found Papis and the GEICO Camry qualifying 35th.  Due to a rule that applies to ‘go or go home’ cars, Papis was relegated to the rear of the field where he rolled off the starting grid in the 43rd position.

Cloudy skies and cool temperatures greeted the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Sunday.  Rain also flirted closely with the facility before departing after just a small amount of drizzle.  There was no delay and the race went green on schedule.

When the green flag waved over the field, Papis and the #13 GEICO Camry quickly caught fire, picking up five spots before he got to turn one. Jumping from 43rd to 38th on the opening lap is not something that a fan would have seen Papis do a year ago.  It was progress in its purest form; it was visible.

With his spotter Jason Jarrett and crew chief Bootie Barker guiding him around the 2.5-mile D-shaped oval, Papis’ poise was evident, as he approached the Top 20 before being ordered down pit road for a scheduled green flag pit stop on Lap 41.  The Germain Racing pit crew quickly replaced four tires and filled his tank with Sunoco fuel before returning the GEICO Camry to the racing surface.

Rain would set in late in the race and Lap 193 found the field under caution.  Papis was in the 31st position and reported to Barker that, “The car is better than it’s been all race.  I can actually make the corner.”  Once the rained cleared and action resumed, Papis continued his solid effort.

When the checkered flag was displayed in Fontana after 250 laps of racing, Papis and the #13 GEICO Camry notched a 28th place finish; picking up 15 spots from their 43rd starting position.  The results were a vast improvement from his October 2009 appearance in Fontana where Papis started 15th and finished 35th in his first-ever race at the track.  Rather than going backwards, Papis and the #13 GEICO Camry pushed forward and achieved the progress for which they are looking.

“It was a good weekend for the GEICO Racing team and I think we’re all seeing the progress here,” Papis said.  “I felt much more comfortable coming here for the second time and I think that’s something fans will see as this season wears on and we start going back to tracks that we raced at last year.  The pit crew did a great job today of getting me on and off pit road and of course Bootie (crew chief) and Jason (spotter) were once again of great help.”  He continued, “I’m looking forward to getting back to Las Vegas next week because that’s where we made our Sprint Cup Series debut a year ago in the #13 GEICO Camry.  It’s a special place to us and we really want to do well for GEICO and for all the fans that show us such great support.”

Papis and the Germain Racing team will continue their West Coast road trip when they pack up the #13 GEICO Camry and head just a few hours away to Las Vegas, NV.

Papis and the #13 GEICO Camry will hit the track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the opening practice session on Friday, February 26th, at 3:00 PM (ET), followed by qualifying at 6:40 PM (ET).

The Shelby American 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is on Sunday, February 28th, and it will be televised live on FOX beginning at 3:00 PM (ET), while the Performance Racing Network (PRN) will carry the live radio broadcast.

To learn more about the GEICO Racing program, please visit: www.geicogarage.com

You can also follow GEICO Racing on Twitter: www.twitter.com/geicoracing

- Player Management International, Inc., for GEICO Racing, Press Release