2019 Auto Club 400

2019 Auto Club 400

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Race 5 of 36 in the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Track map of the speedway at Auto Club Speedway AKA California Speedway
Date	March 17, 2019 (2019-03-17)
Location	Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California
Course	Permanent racing facility 2 mi (3.22 km)
Distance	200 laps, 400 mi (640 km)
Average speed	143.113 miles per hour (230.318 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing
Time	39.982
Most laps led
Driver	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps	134
Winner
No. 18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network	Fox
Announcers	Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip
Nielsen Ratings	4.178 million[10]
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN
Booth Announcers	Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and Rusty Wallace
Turn Announcers	Dan Hubbard (1 & 2) and Kurt Becker (3 & 4)

The 2019 Auto Club 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on March 17, 2019, at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Contested over 200 laps on the two-mile (3.2 km) D-shaped oval, it was the fifth race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. The race was won by Kyle Busch, his 200th win across all three of NASCAR's national divisions.

Auto Club Speedway (previously California Speedway) was a two-mile (3.2 km), 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.

Jimmie Johnson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 40.137 seconds and a speed of 179.386 mph (288.694 km/h).^[11]

Austin Dillon scored the pole for the race with a time of 39.982 and a speed of 180.081 mph (289.812 km/h) after no drivers completed a lap in the final round of qualifying.^[12]

Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 40.940 seconds and a speed of 175.867 mph (283.031 km/h).^[13]

Brad Keselowski was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 40.759 seconds and a speed of 176.648 mph (284.287 km/h).^[14]

Stage One Laps: 60

Stage Two Laps: 60

Stage Three Laps: 80

• Lead changes: 18 among 9 different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 4 for 22
• Red flags: 0
• Time of race: 2 hours, 47 minutes and 42 seconds
• Average speed: 143.113 miles per hour (230.318 km/h)

The race was the 19th race Fox Sports covered at the Auto Club Speedway. Mike Joy, three-time Auto Club winner Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip called the race in the booth for Fox. Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum handled the pit road duties for the television side.

MRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcasted 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. Kyle Rickey called the race from a billboard outside turn 2 when the field raced their way through turns 1 and 2 & Dan Hubbard called the race from a billboard outside turn 3 when the field raced their way through turns 3 and 4. Winston Kelley, Steve Post and Dillon Welch had the pit road duties for MRN.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Kyle Busch 237 2 Joey Logano 222 (–15) 3 Kevin Harvick 213 (–24) 4 Denny Hamlin 205 (–32) 3 5 Brad Keselowski 176 (–61) 1 6 Aric Almirola 174 (–63) 2 7 Martin Truex Jr. 169 (–68) 2 8 Kyle Larson 163 (–74) 9 Kurt Busch 160 (–77) 2 10 Ryan Blaney 155 (–82) 1 11 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 146 (–91) 1 12 Chase Elliott 135 (–102) 1 13 Erik Jones 133 (–104) 1 14 Jimmie Johnson 121 (–116) 4 15 Clint Bowyer 119 (–118) 16 Alex Bowman 110 (–127) Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Toyota 189 2 Ford 182 (–7) 3 Chevrolet 159 (–30) Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.