2011 Auto Club 400

Report

Background

Auto Club Speedway (previously California Speedway) was a superspeedway located in Fontana, California which hosted NASCAR racing annually from 1997 to 2023. The standard track at Auto Club Speedway featured four turns and was 2 mi long. The track's turns were banked at fourteen degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, was banked at eleven degrees. The back stretch had 3 degrees of banking. The racetrack had seats for 92,100 spectators.

Before the race, Kurt Busch was leading the Drivers' Championship with 150 points, one point ahead of Carl Edwards in second. Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman followed in third and fourth with 138 points, two ahead of Paul Menard and five ahead of Kyle Busch in fifth and sixth. Jimmie Johnson, with 130, was in the seventh position ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the first ten positions with 123 points. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Ford was first with 27 points, two ahead of Toyota and five ahead of Chevrolet. Dodge was in the fourth positions with 14 points. Jimmie Johnson was the race's defending winner from 2010.

Practice and qualifying

Three practice sessions were held before the race; the first on Friday, which lasted only 45 minutes after a rain delay. The second and third were both on Saturday afternoon, and lasted 45 and 60 minutes long. David Reutimann was quickest with a time of 38.680 seconds in the first session, 0.263 seconds faster than Denny Hamlin. Greg Biffle was just off Hamlin's pace, followed by Brad Keselowski, Jamie McMurray, and Kasey Kahne. Montoya was seventh, still within a second of Reutimann's time.

Forty-three cars were entered for qualifying. Montoya clinched the sixth pole position of his career, with a time of 38.992 seconds. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Hamlin.

In the second practice session, Kevin Harvick was fastest with a time of 39.747 seconds, more than six hundredths of a second quicker than second-placed Hamlin. Edwards took third place, ahead of Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Stewart. In the third and final practice, Ragan was quickest with a time of 39.785 seconds. Stewart followed in second, ahead of Edwards and Martin. Gordon remained fifth quickest from the second session, with a time of 39.929 seconds. Kyle Busch, Bowyer, Menard, Trevor Bayne, and Burton rounded out the first ten positions.

Race

The race, the fifth in the season, began a 3:00 p.m. EST and was televised live in the United States on Fox. Motor Racing Outreach's Jeff Hamilton began pre-race ceremonies, by giving the invocation. Next, Zanzibar Records recording artist Richard Marx performed the national anthem, and Actor Christian Slater gave the command for drivers to start their engines.

Results

Qualifying

Race results

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings

;Manufacturers' Championship standings

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for the driver standings.

References

References

1. "Sprint Cup Series Schedule".
2. "The Auto Club 400". Rotoworld.com.
3. "NASCAR Race Tracks".
4. "NASCAR Tracks—The Auto Club Speedway". Auto Club Speedway.
5. "Pre-race Drivers' Championship Standings". Nascar.Com.
6. "Jayski's® NASCAR Silly Season Site – 2011 Manufacturers Championship Standings". Jayski.com.
7. (2010-02-28). "2010 Auto Club 500". Racing-Reference.info.
8. "NASCAR - CUP: Rain Delay at ACS".
9. "Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site – Sprint Cup Race Info / Rundown Page". ESPN Internet Ventures.
10. "Practice One Speeds". NASCAR Media Group.
11. "Qualifying Entry List". Nascar.Com.
12. (2011-03-25). "Race Official Lineup". Nascar.Com.
13. "NASCAR - CUP: Montoya on Pole at Auto Club Speedway".
14. "Practice Two Timing and Scoring". Nascar.Com.
15. "Practice Three Timing and Scoring". Nascar.Com.
16. "Race Summary".
17. (2011-03-27). "2011 Official Race Results : Auto Club 400". Nascar.Com.
18. (2011-03-27). "Auto Club 400 Race Results". [[International Speedway Corporation]].