Date: March 23, 2014
Event: Auto Club 400 (Round 5 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. (2-mile oval)
Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing in a green-white-checkered finish (Toyota)
SHR Finish:
Kurt Busch (Started 17th, Finished 3rd / Running, completed 206 of 206 laps)
Tony Stewart (Started 10th, Finished 5th / Running, completed 206 of 206 laps)
Danica Patrick (Started 27th, Finished 14th / Running, completed 206 of 206 laps)
Kevin Harvick (Started 4th, Finished 36th / Running, completed 204 of 206 laps)
SHR Points:
Tony Stewart (17th with 127 points, 59 out of first)
Kurt Busch (24th with 99 points, 87 out of first)
Kevin Harvick (25th with 97 points, 89 out of first)
Danica Patrick (27th with 92 points, 94 out of first)
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Sunday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., by finishing third in the Auto Club 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
Busch started 17th and led two laps around the 2-mile oval before scoring his first top-five of the 2014 season. It was Busch’s sixth top-five in 21 career Sprint Cup starts at Fontana and his 101st top-five in 476 career Sprint Cup starts. The strong showing came at the home track for Haas Automation, as the largest CNC machine tool builder in the western world is located just 100 miles west of Auto Club Speedway in Oxnard, Calif.
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR, started 10th and finished fifth to give the three-time Sprint Cup champion back-to-back top-five results, as Stewart finished fourth last week at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. The top-five run at Fontana was Stewart’s seventh in 23 career Sprint Cup starts at the Southern California racetrack. It was also his 181st top-five in 526 career Sprint Cup starts.
Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy/Get Found Chevrolet SS for SHR, started 27th and finished 14th. It was Patrick’s 51st career Sprint Cup start and her second at Fontana.
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS for SHR, started fourth and finished two laps down in 36th after two flat tires forced him to make unscheduled pit stops.
Kyle Busch won the Auto Club 400 for the second straight time to score his 29th career Sprint Cup victory, his first of the season and his third at Fontana.
Kyle Larson finished .214 of a second behind Kyle Busch in the runner-up spot, while Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Stewart rounded out the top-five. Jamie McMurray, Brian Vickers, A.J. Allmendinger, Paul Menard and Carl Edwards comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were nine caution periods for 42 laps, with two drivers failing to finish the 206-lap race, which was extended six laps by a green-white-checkered finish.
With round five of 36 complete, Stewart leads the SHR contingent in the championship point standings. He is 17th with 127 points, 59 behind new series leader Carl Edwards. Kurt Busch is 24th with 99 points, 87 out of first. Harvick is 25th with 97 points, 89 out of first. Patrick is 27th with 92 points, 94 out of first.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the STP 500 on Sunday, March 30 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The race starts at 1 p.m. EDT, with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its prerace show at 12:30 p.m.
