Auto Club 400

 

Kyle Busch wins as Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano crash.

Lap 199: Denny Hamlin is high, Joey Logano is low. Logano and Hamlin touch - and Kyle Busch shoots past both.

Lap 198: Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano are battling hard for the win.

Lap 196: Joey Logano is still fighting to hold off Denny Hamlin.

Lap 195: Dale Earnhardt Jr. moves to fourth. Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin are still battling at the front.

Lap 194: Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin are fighting for the lead. Who will take it?

Lap 193: Kyle Busch holds off Joey Logano and then Denny Hamlin comes around him and into second. With Kyle Busch high, Denny Hamlin slides in between he and Joey Logano, who moves past them both.

Lap 193: Joey Logano and Kyle Busch in battle for the lead.

Lap 192: Kevin Harvick into the back of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 190: Joey Logano and Kurt Busch are fighting hard for second. Kyle Busch has escaped the battle, for now, and holds the lead.

Lap 189: Kurt Busch is into the fight. Kyle Busch. Kyle Busch is trying to hold off Joey Logano and Kurt Busch goes down onto the apron.

Lap 188: RESTART: Kyle Busch and Joey Logano lead the field to the green. And they are three and four wide all over the track.

Lap 187: Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards among those pitting. The first eight remain on the track. Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray remain on the track.

CAUTION 8: Lap 184: Clint Bowyer spins. He was running 10th, but now his car is filled with smoke and sitting in the grass.

Lap 183: No one is backing down as the laps wind down. Drivers are on the apron, three wide and racing hard throughout the field.

Lap 182: Marcos Ambrose car is smoking and dumping fuel on the track.

Lap 182: Kyle Busch continues to hold the edge over Joey Logano.

Lap 181: Kyle Busch has the lead. Joey Logano is second .

Lap 180: On the restart, Kyle Busch tries to pull away, but Joey Logano tries to go high and then has to fall in behind him. Tony Stewart is running low. Kasey Kahne is all over Joey Logano, but cannot get past him.

Lap 180: Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart and Joey Logano lead the field on the restart.

Radio chatter on Lap 179: Crew chief Darian Grubb: "You got to come back in. We have to put a lugnut on it." Denny Hamlin: "We have to start at the tail end of all these cars?" Grubb: 10-4.

Lap 179: Denny Hamlin has a missing lug nut and will have to return to pit road.

Lap 178: On the restart, it will be Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick leading the field.

Lap 177: Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. pit.

CAUTION 7: Lap 176: Mark Martin spins into Turn 2. Davio Gilliland also has some damage.

Radio chatter on Lap 175: Jimmie Johnson is very quiet on the radio. He has not been a factor most of the day. He is currently 20th.

Lap 174: Kevin Harvick slow to get going on the restart, but they are three wide for position near the front.

RESTART: Lap 174: Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne lead the field on the restart.

Radio chatter on Lap 173: Dale Earnhardt Jr. warns his spotter TJ Majors the bottom line is "going to be bad."

Radio chatter on Lap 173: Joey Logano's crew told him that Kyle Busch has alternator issues.

Radio chatter on Lap 173: Crew chief Dave Rogers: "You told me to remind you about that 22 on the restart."

Radio chatter on Lap 172: Joey  Logano's crew told him the right front was losing air.

Lap 171: Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle, Paul Menard, Casey Mears, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth, Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola, Jeff Burton, Jamie McMurray and David Ragan pit. 

Radio chatter on Lap 170: Crew chief Steve Letarte tells Dale Earnhardt Jr.: "I want you to pit no matter what they do."

CAUTION: Lap 170: Debris on frontstretch. There's a bumper cover on the track from Marcos Ambrose's car after he had a tire go down.

Radio chatter on Lap 168: Crew chief Dave Rogers: "Plenty of gas in the car, you are the leader."

Lap 168: After pit sequence, Kyle Busch is the leader.

Lap 168: Jimmie Johnson among those pitting.

Lap 167: Leader Kyle Busch pits. Kevin Harvick also pits.

Lap 166: Denny Hamlin, David Ragan, Ryan Newman among those pitting.

Radio chatter on Lap 165: Crew chief Steve Letarte tells Junior great job coming in early.

Lap 165: Joey Logano pits.

Lap 164: Tony Stewart pits, takes four tires.

Lap 163: Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards among those pitting.

PENALTY: Mark Martin speeding on pit road.

Lap 161: Danica Patrick, Brad Keselowski among those pitting.

Lap 160: Dale Earnhardt Jr. pits. Everyone should have one more stop. Earnhardt takes four tires. Bobby Labonte, Martin Truex Jr. and Mark Martin pit. 

Radio chatter on Lap 159: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is still concerned with his tire. He says they'll have to pit soon.

Radio chatter on Lap 159: Temperatures are skyrocketing on Joey Logano's car.

Lap 158: Denny Hamlin passes Tony Stewart for fourth. 

Radio chatter on Lap 157: Dale Earnhardt Jr.: "(Expletive) right rear." He is currently 13th.

Lap 156: Joey Logano's attempt to get back into the battle for the lead is temporarily thwarted. He's currently almost three seconds behind Busch.

Radio chatter on Lap 154: Crew chief Dave Rogers asked Kyle Busch if he is running his air conditioning. Busch answers "negative."

Lap 153: Kevin Harvick, in second, continues to be fastest on the track. But he's not making up much ground on leader Kyle Busch.

Lap 151: Kevin Harvick, in second, is the fastest car on the track. He is half a second behind Kyle Busch.

Radio chatter on Lap 149: Tony Stewart's water is up to 250.

Lap 149: Watch out -- there's a familiar pair making noise now. Joey Logano is up to third, taking the position from Tony Stewart.

Lap 148: Kevin Harvick moves to second, getting past Tony Stewart for the spot.

Lap 147: He's back: Kyle Busch takes the lead.

Lap 146: Here he comes: Kyle Busch trails Tony Stewart by just a tenth of a second.

Lap 144: Kyle Busch is closing the gap on Tony Stewart. He trails by less than half a second.

Lap 143: Juan Pablo Montoya pits.

Lap 142: The two drivers who have been dominant for much of the race are moving back into contention. Kyle Busch is second, while Joey Logano is fourth.

Radio chatter on Lap 141: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is complaining of a "loose" condition. He has dropped to 17th.

Lap 140: Tony Stewart with two fresh tires is already feeling the heat - Kyle Busch is up to second.

Lap 138: Kyle Busch is still fast, making up ground on those who gambled for two tires.

Lap 137: Kyle Busch is wasting no time - he's up to fourth now.

Lap 136: Tony Stewart holds the lead through the restart. He's followed by Clint Bowyer and now Kevin Harvick, who has chasing the leaders all day.

RESTART: Lap 135: Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer lead the field to green. Kyle Busch restarts 10th. He actually had to go to a backup battery and lost spots.

Lap 132: Leaders pit. Tony Stewart, David Ragan, Clint Bowyer, Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth each opt for two-tire changes and will lead the field to the green.

Radio chatter on Lap 130: Denny Hamlin is having handling issues, particularly in Turn 3 ... says he almost wrecked.

CAUTION 5: Lap 130: Marcos Ambrose has a tire go down and there is debris on the track.

Lap 126: Greg Biffle, recently off contact with Matt Kenseth while fighting for position, is using the track to his advantage. He's running on the apron in a desperate bid to make up ground on the leaders. Biffle is running fourth.

Lap 124: Joey Logano looks strong at the front. Behind him are drivers trying to rally quickly from the back.

Lap 122: Joey Logano is out front and moving away from most of the competition.

Lap 121: RESTART: Joey Logano challenges Kyle Busch from the drop off the flag and will take the lead, at least briefly. Kyle Busch looks to the inside and Logano cuts him off, forcing Busch to back off and give up ground.

Lap 120: Brad Keselowski, Juan Pablo Montoya, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon top off for fuel.

Lap 120: Kyle Busch will lead the field on the restart. Joey Logano is second, followed by Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards. Logano has been tough on restarts today.

Radio chatter on Lap 119: Dale Earnhardt Jr.: "Oh man," after dropping from third to 22nd on stop. "Shake it off, we’ll do everything we can right here and get it better."

Lap 118: Kyle Busch wins the race off pit road.

Lap 117: Pit stops. Kyle Busch takes four tires and fuel with air-pressure adjustment to tires and track bar adjustment.

Lap 117: Leaders are pitting again. Kyle Busch and Joey Logano lead the field down pit road. Matt Kenseth, who just pitted, earns the free pass.

Radio chatter on Lap 116: Denny Hamlin said he got really loose on that last run.

CAUTION 4: Lap 116: Joe Nemechek hits the wall. Debris from the car is littering the track.

Lap 114: Matt Kenseth gives up 11th to pit as he is afraid he has a tire going down.

Radio chatter on Lap 114: Matt Kenseth, after contact with Greg Biffle: "I rolled over and let him go my entire life. ... it's not like I was going to hold him up."

Lap 113: Kyle Busch now has a lead of more than a second.

Lap 110: Drivers are really having to work for position now. Contact is becoming more common throughout the field.

Radio chatter on Lap 109: Spotter Tab Boyd tells Joey Logano to take it easy on his stuff. "Don't lean on it." Logano's water temperature is 260.

Lap 107: Kyle Busch is once more running the fastest laps on the track. Still, he's not completely pulling away from Joey Logano.

Lap 105: Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are the top three in the race.

Lap 103: Paul Menard pits with a right rear flat tire.

Lap 102: AJ Allmendinger is in the top 15 for the first time today. He ran in the top five in all three practices.

Radio chatter on Lap 98: Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he's snug on new tires.

Lap 97: Kyle Busch continues to be the fastest on the track. He's followed by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin.

Lap 96: Kyle Busch is the leader.

Lap 95: RESTART: Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch lead the field to the green flag. Kyle Busch is staying right alongside him, then moving ahead into Turn 3. 

Lap 94: PENALTY: Brad Keselowski for speeding on pit road; will restart at the tail end of the longest line. He asks his team if they were able to fix the earlier damage.

Lap 94: Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex Jr. and Jamie McMurray lead the field.

Lap 94: Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski pit again.

Lap 93: Denny Hamlin wins the race off pit road, taking the lead.

Lap 93: Leaders pit. Kyle Busch gets four tires. Joey Logano gets a track bar and air pressure adjustment. Jeff Gordon has an extended stop as the team repairs the right side of the car.

Radio chatter on Lap 92: Kyle Busch says car is solid on the bottom and he's fighting it on top.

Lap 92: Crews are on the wall awaiting cars for pit stops. Hamlin's team plans a track bar adjustment and four tires.

Radio chatter on Lap 91: Denny Hamlin asks the crew to help him on entry. He says that the last change helped 50 percent.

CAUTION 3: Lap 91. Debris.

Lap 89: Jeff Gordon bounced off the wall.

Lap 88: While Joey Logano is staying close to Kyle Busch, not many others are. Denny Hamlin is third, 8.024 seconds back. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is fourth, but he's 13.172 seconds behind the leaders.

Lap 86: Kyle Busch continues to set the pace at Auto Club Speedway. He's led 43 laps today.

Lap 85: Joey Logano and Kyle Busch are running different lines on the track. Which one will work best?

Lap 84: Joey Logano is back in the mix for the lead. He's caught Kyle Busch now.

Radio chatter on Lap 82: Crew chief Steve Letarte described the No. 88 car as "average" to MRN reporter Steve Post. When fourth-place is average, that's not too bad.

Lap 82: Tony Stewart is easing his way to the front still - he's up to sixth.

Lap 81: Michael McDowell out of race; vibration.

Lap 80: Kyle Busch isn't exactly running away from Joey Logano now. He's only holding a half-second lead after the round of stops.

Lap 80: Tony Stewart is up to seventh.

Lap 79: Tony Stewart, ninth after being the last among the leaders to pit, is the fastest on the track.

Lap 78: Danica Patrick pits again for four tires.

Lap 76: Kyle Busch moves back into the lead after the pit sequence. Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth round out the top five.

Lap 75: Tony Stewart pits, completing the cycle among the leaders. Four tires and a chassis adjustment for Tony Stewart.

Lap 74: Ryan Newman pits. J.J. Yeley pits.

Lap 73: Kevin Harvick serves his pass-through penalty.

Lap 73: Scott Riggs to the garage.

Lap 73: Tony Stewart has yet to pit and is leading.

Lap 72: PENALTY: Kevin Harvick speeding exiting pit road, will also serve pass-through penalty.

Lap 71: Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards among those pitting. Kurt Busch serves his pit-road penalty.

Lap 71: PENALTY: Kurt Busch, speeding entering pit road.

Lap 70: Jamie McMurray, Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Kyle Busch,
Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth among those pitting.

Radio chatter on Lap 69: Denny Hamlin says he needs a little more grip on the entry and exit.

Lap 69: Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Brad Keselowski among those pitting.

Lap 68: Leader Joey Logano pits. Dale Earnhardt Jr. pits now, as does Martin Truex Jr.

Radio chatter on Lap 67: Three laps away from pitting for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 66: Kyle Busch now trails Joey Logano by less than a second.

Lap 63: This could become quite a close race at the front soon. Kyle Busch is fast and continues to close in on Joey Logano.

Lap 61: Kyle Busch continues to be the fastest on the track. He's cutting about a tenth off Joey Logano's lead about every couple of laps.

Lap 60: Joey Logano is enjoying his run at the front, but Kyle Busch is slowly starting to cut into his lead. It's now at 1.9 seconds.

Lap 58: Here he comes. Five-time Auto Club Speedway race winner Jimmie Johnson moves into 12th.

Lap 57: Dale Earnhardt Jr. moves up to eighth. Crew chief Steve Letarte says "Great job, great patience. You're better than all those guys in front of you. You'll get them one at a time."

Lap 55: Brad Keselowski and Clint Bowyer are picking up speed - they both just moved up a spot, Keselowski to 11th, Bowyer to 12th.

Lap 54: Kevin Harvick is back to third again - and just ran the fastest lap on the track.

Lap 53: Tony Stewart, the most recent winner at the track, moves to fifth.

Lap 51: Danica Patrick is the last driver on the lead lap, running 35th. Brad Keselowski is back into the top 15 again after starting at the rear of the field. 

Lap 50: Racing at the front certainly seems to help drivers. Joey Logano is now almost two-and-a-half seconds in front of Kyle Busch.

Lap 49: Matt Kenseth surges past Kevin Harvick for fourth, now.

Lap 48: Kevin Harvick is continuing to make his move toward the front.

Lap 46: Kasey Kahne appears to have gotten the tear-off off his grille. What an odd day he's having so far.

Lap 45: Kasey Kahne has a tear-off on his grille.

Lap 44: Joey Logano takes the lead from Kyle Busch.

Lap 44: Kevin Harvick has slipped into third, easing past Denny Hamlin on the restart. Joey Logano settles for second to Kyle Busch at the line, but he's still fighting to the inside.

RESTART: Lap 43: Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin bring the field to the green. Joey Logano makes a huge move to the inside and is challenging for the lead.

Radio chatter on Lap 42: Kyle Busch: Keep me posted on the 29. He goes to the wall first. Let me know when he hits it.

Lap 41: PENALTY: Clint Bowyer: too many men over the wall. He'll drop to the tail end of the field.

Lap 40: Cars of several drivers have undergone repairs after hitting the wall after sliding through the oil, including those of Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch and Mark Martin.

Radio chatter on Lap 40: Denny Hamlin's spotter says Kyle Busch wants him to pull up to Busch's car and see if there are problems with the rear of the car.

Lap 39: Several leaders are pitting. Brad Keselowski, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Danica Patrick, Ryan Newman, Marcos Ambrose, Aric Almirola, Juan Pablo Montoya, AJ Allmendinger, Bobby Labonte among those pitting. Several cars are having work on the right side.

Radio chatter on Lap 38: Dale Earnhardt Jr. says his car is handling better. Clint Bowyer brushed the wall, apparently in the oil from Hill's car.

Lap 38: Timmy Hill heads to the garage. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Brad Keselowski and Mark Martin are the top 10.

CAUTION: Lap 37 - Timmy Hill's engine fails.

Lap 36: Jeff Gordon and Greg Biffle make contact coming off Turn 4. Drivers are still battling hard for spots.

Lap 35: Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick lead the field now. They're still side by side throughout the field in the battle for spots.

RESTART - Lap 34: Kyle Busch will lead the field back to the green flag. Everyone is battling for position and getting down low on the apron in the battle for spots right now.

Radio chatter on Lap 32: Clint Bowyer tells his crew that the tires on the No. 29 of Kevin Harvick looked low at the start of the race.

Can Tony Stewart win today? NASCAR on FOX weighs in.

Lap 31: Who wins the race off pit road? Kyle Busch. He opted for four tires and fuel, but no changes. Denny Hamlin's team went with one round of wedge in his car. Tony Stewart's team made a track bar and wedge adjustment.

Lap 30: Leaders will pit during the caution. Heading into the pits, it's Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin.

Lap 29: Caution is out for David Stremme's spin off Turn 2. There's debris in Turn 4.

CAUTION!

Lap 27: Kevin Harvick is trying to get into the mix. He's up to fourth - and just ran the fastest lap on the track.

Radio chatter on Lap 26: Crew chief Dave Rogers tells Kyle Busch to "back it down" no one can touch him. Busch has a 3.9-second lead over Denny Hamlin, who overtook second from Matt Kenseth.

Radio chatter on Lap 25: Crew chief Dave Rogers tells Kyle Busch that "the only thing coming is the 11 (of Denny Hamlin)."

Lap 24: Carl Edwards has passed Tony Stewart for 13th.

Lap 23: How are the drivers that had to drop to the rear faring now? Brad Keselowski is up to 15th; Greg Biffle is up to 19th.

Lap 21: Clint Bowyer, in fourth, is the fastest car on the track now.

Radio chatter on Lap 20: Crew chief Dave Rogers tells Kyle Busch that "the 20 car in your mirror is a little free off," referring to second-running Matt Kenseth. Busch says he tried the bottom lane early but had to move up.

Lap 19: Kurt Busch is on the move and into the top five. He looked strong at Bristol last week, too, late in the race.

Lap 18: Denny Hamlin continues to control third; Joey Logano has drifted back to seventh.

Lap 17: They're getting aggressive at Auto Club Speedway. Top drivers are shifting positions throughout the top 10.

Lap 15: Kyle Busch is back where he's becoming accustomed to being - at front and pulling away. Teammate Matt Kenseth continues to be his lone competition.

Lap 14: Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano are battling for third. There's extra attention on that pair today after their dustup at Bristol, followed by a brief Twitter war.

Radio chatter on Lap 12: Joey Logano has something on the grille, told Denny Hamlin's spotter that he's going to back up to them.

Lap 11: Kyle Busch takes the lead from teammate Matt Kenseth.

Lap 9: Kyle Busch is running high to challenge teammate Matt Kenseth for the lead.

Radio chatter on Lap 8: Kyle Busch:  "Very tight center-exit, very tight."

Lap 7: Joey Logano moves past Denny Hamlin - cleanly - for third. Have they moved past their feud? Denny Hamlin said that he expects no retaliation from Logano.

Radio chatter on Lap 4: Spotter Brett Griffin tells Clint Bowyer: "No one is any higher than the middle (lane)"

Radio chatter on Lap 4: Dale Earnhardt Jr.: "Loose in loose off."

Lap 3: Could this be a Joe Gibbs Racing day? The trio has shown strength all season - now they are continuing to lead the field at Auto Club Speedway. Kenseth, who already has a Cup win, is up front with Hamlin, who Busch, who won the Nationwide race on Saturday, and Hamlin, who started from the pole position, in pursuit.

Lap 1: Matt Kenseth continues to show his strength this season. He leads teammate's Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch across the line.

BOOGITY BOOGITY BOOGITY: Racing is under way at Auto Club Speedway.

Prerace radio chatter: Crew chief Tony Gibson tells Danica Patrick: "We're not going to give up until the very end...we know the grip is going to go away."

Prerace radio chatter: Expect Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch to swap spots at the start.

What were drivers thinking about right before the race? Michael Waltrip takes a stroll and lets you know.

Prerace radio chatter: Spotter Joey Meier announced to Brad Keselowski's team that Timmy Hill is making his debut in the No. 32.

Greg Biffle and Brad Keselowski will drop to the rear of the field at the start because of engine changes. The pair qualified in the second and third spots, respectively.

3:15 p.m. ET: Drivers are on the track for pace laps. It's almost time for the race to get going.

3:08 p.m. ET: Engines are fired at Auto Club Speedway.

3 p.m. ET: NASCAR fans are ready for the national anthem - race time is almost here!

So who has the most wins at Auto Club Speedway? Jimmie Johnson, who hails from El Cajon, Calif. Johnson has five victories at the track in 18 starts. He has 14 top-10 finishes, 12 of them top fives, with an average finish of 5.389 at the track. He has led 851 previous laps at the track.

Although he has led 73 laps at Auto Club Speedway, polesitter Denny Hamlin has never won a Cup race at Auto Club Speedway. He is making his third start from the pole position at the track and has four top-10 finishes, one of them a top five, in 12 previous starts. He has an average finish of 18.5 at the track. Hamlin enters the race sixth in the standings, 41 points behind leader Brad Keselowski.

Jimmie Johnson found himself especially busy this morning since he was at a track in his home state of California. See his early start to the day here.

Which pit strategy will be the most popular today? Check it out and see.

Welcome to the FOXSports.com coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway.

Race coverage is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. ET, with the green flag shortly after 3 p.m. ET.

Denny Hamlin will lead the field to the green today. For the full lineup, check here. After contact, a verbal war of words and a Twitter spat at and following the race at Bristol, Hamlin softened his tone at Auto Club Speedway. It was a tact encouraged by Jeff Hammond earlier in the week in his column. Is the feud over?

Miss any of the action at Auto Club Speedway this week? Catch up with it all here.