2013 Auto Club 400

February 2025 NAS Auto Club 400 https://www.espn.com/racing/schedule/_/year/2013 Sprint Cup Series Schedule ESPN March 18, 2013http://www.rotoworld.com/articles/nas/42821/229/auto-club-400 Auto Club 400 NBC Sports Rotoworld.com March 20, 2013 March 22, 2013 Brown, Brian https://web.archive.org/web/20130322071740/http://www.rotoworld.com/articles/nas/42821/229/auto-club-400 March 22, 2013 dead 2013 03 24 2013 5 36 Auto Club Speedway (formerly California Speedway) - Speedway.svg 200px Track map of the speedway at Auto Club Speedway AKA California Speedway Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, California, United States 2 3.2 200 400 643.7 Clear with a temperature around 73 F; wind out of the SW at 9 mph. 135.351 mph km/h on Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing 38.410 seconds Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing 125 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Fox Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds 4.7/10(8.002 million viewers) The 2013 Auto Club 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on March 24, 2013, at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, United States. Contested over 200 laps on the 2-mile (3.2 km) asphalt D-shaped oval, it was the fifth race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series championship. Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing won the race, his first of the season, and the first Sprint Cup win at Auto Club for Joe Gibbs, completing a weekend sweep, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second. Joey Logano, Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five. Report Background thumb|left|Auto Club Speedway, the track where the race was held. Auto Club Speedway was a four-turn superspeedway that was 2 mi km long.Auto Club Speedway Track Facts http://www.autoclubspeedway.com/Track-Info/Track-Facts.aspx Auto Club Speedway March 22, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20100924055442/http://www.autoclubspeedway.com/Track-Info/Track-Facts.aspx 2010-09-24 dead The track's turns were banked from fourteen degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, was banked at eleven degrees. Unlike the front stretch, the backstraightaway was banked at three degrees. The track had a seating capacity of 92,100 people. The race consisted of 200 laps, which is equivalent to a race distance of 400 mi. Before the race, Brad Keselowski was leading the Drivers' Championship with 166 points, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. stood in second with 157 points. Jimmie Johnson followed in the third position, 23 points ahead of Clint Bowyer and 25 points ahead of Greg Biffle in fourth and fifth. Denny Hamlin, with 125, was one point ahead of Kasey Kahne and Carl Edwards, as Paul Menard was three points ahead of Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in tenth and eleventh. Joey Logano completed the first twelve positions with 104 points.http://www.jayski.com/stats/2013/pdfs/04bms2013points.pdf Pre-race Drivers' Championship Standings ESPN Jayski's Silly Season Site March 22, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130418021011/http://www.jayski.com/stats/2013/pdfs/04bms2013points.pdf April 18, 2013 dead The defending winner of the race was Tony Stewart, who won the race in 2012.2012 Auto Club 400 http://racing-reference.info/race/2012_Auto_Club_400/W Racing-reference.info USA Today Sports Media Group March 22, 2013 Entry list (R) - Denotes rookie driver. (i) - Denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points. No. Car numberDriverTeamManufacturer1Jamie McMurrayEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet2Brad KeselowskiPenske RacingFord5Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet7Dave BlaneyTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet9Marcos AmbroseRichard Petty MotorsportsFord10Danica Patrick (R)Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota13Casey MearsGermain RacingFord14Tony StewartStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet15Clint BowyerMichael Waltrip RacingToyota16Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord17Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (R)Roush Fenway RacingFord18Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota19Mike Bliss (i)Humphrey Smith RacingToyota20Matt KensethJoe Gibbs RacingToyota22Joey LoganoPenske RacingFord24Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet27Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet29Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet30David StremmeSwan RacingToyota31Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet32Timmy Hill (R)FAS Lane RacingFord33Landon Cassill (i)Circle SportChevrolet34David RaganFront Row MotorsportsFord35Josh Wise (i)Front Row MotorsportsFord36J. J. YeleyTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet38David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord39Ryan NewmanStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet42Juan Pablo MontoyaEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet43Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord44Scott RiggsXxxtreme MotorsportsFord47Bobby LabonteJTG Daugherty RacingToyota48Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet51A. J. AllmendingerPhoenix RacingChevrolet55Mark MartinMichael Waltrip RacingToyota56Martin Truex Jr.Michael Waltrip RacingToyota78Kurt BuschFurniture Row RacingChevrolet83David ReutimannBK RacingToyota87Joe Nemechek (i)NEMCO-Jay Robinson RacingToyota88Dale Earnhardt Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet93Travis KvapilBK RacingToyota98Michael McDowellPhil Parsons RacingFord99Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFordOfficial entry list Practice and qualifying thumb|200px|right|Denny Hamlin won the pole position, the twelfth of his career Three practice sessions were held before the race. The first session, held on March 22, 2013, was 60 minutes long. The second and third were held on March 23, and were 55 and 50 minutes long.http://www.jayski.com/news/races/2013/story/_/page/05-Auto-Club-2013-NASCAR-Race-Info#prac Auto Club 400 Practice/Qualifying Times ESPN Jayski's Silly Season Site March 24, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130322031449/http://www.jayski.com/news/races/2013/story/_/page/05-Auto-Club-2013-NASCAR-Race-Info#prac March 22, 2013 dead During the first practice session, Bowyer was quickest with a time of 38.832, ahead of Hamlin and A. J. Allmendinger in second and third. Kyle Busch followed in the fourth position, ahead of Logano in fifth.http://www.catchfence.com/2013/sprintcup/03/22/2013-nscs-auto-club-400-first-practice-session-speeds/ 2013 NSCS Auto Club 400 First Practice Session Speeds Citizen Journalist Media Corps Catchfence March 22, 2013 March 24, 2013 In the Saturday morning session, Biffle was quickest, ahead of Allmendinger and Busch in second and third. Hamlin and Kurt Busch followed in the fourth and fifth positions.http://www.motorracingnetwork.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Additional-Statistics/2013/03/Auto-Club-400-2nd-Practice-Speeds.aspx https://archive.today/20130411092240/http://www.motorracingnetwork.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Additional-Statistics/2013/03/Auto-Club-400-2nd-Practice-Speeds.aspx dead April 11, 2013 Auto Club 400 2nd Practice Speeds Motor Racing Network March 23, 2013 March 25, 2013 Bowyer, Mark Martin, Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., and Logano rounded out the first ten positions. In the final practice session for the race, Martin was quickest with a time of 39.269 seconds.http://www.motorracingnetwork.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Additional-Statistics/2013/03/Auto-Club-400-Final-Practice-Speeds.aspx Auto Club 400 Final Practice Speeds Motor Racing Network March 23, 2013 March 25, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130327105813/http://www.motorracingnetwork.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Additional-Statistics/2013/03/Auto-Club-400-Final-Practice-Speeds.aspx March 27, 2013 dead Bowyer followed in second, ahead of Matt Kenseth and Johnson in third and fourth. Keselowski, who was eighteenth quickest in second practice, managed fifth. During qualifying, forty-three cars were entered, meaning all of the cars were able to start because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure.http://www.jayski.com/stats/2013/pdfs/05acs2013entry.pdf Entry List: Auto Club 400 ESPN Jayski's Silly Season Site March 25, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130402075014/http://www.jayski.com/stats/2013/pdfs/05acs2013entry.pdf April 2, 2013 dead Hamlin clinched his twelfth career pole position, with a time of 38.410 seconds.http://www.motorracingnetwork.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Season-Stats/Statistics.aspx?SubSeriesID=1&YearID=42&RaceID=6038&StatType=Qualifying Auto Club 400 Starting Grid Motor Racing Network March 25, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130328161038/http://www.motorracingnetwork.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Season-Stats/Statistics.aspx?SubSeriesID=1&YearID=42&RaceID=6038&StatType=Qualifying March 28, 2013 dead After his qualifying run, Hamlin commented,“Honestly, I think our car was really fast. I knew, talking to a few people in my motor home... it’s cocky to say, but I said, ‘Man, I can almost guarantee a pole, if we have a late draw.’ When they told me we were third, I was like, ‘OK. Well, just never mind. Forget that."http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2013/03/22/pole-fontana-race-auto-club-400.html Hamlin Wins Third Sprint Cup Pole at Fontana NASCAR March 22, 2013 March 25, 2013 He was joined on the front row of the grid by Biffle. Keselowski qualified third, Kyle Busch took fourth, and Kenseth started fifth. Logano, Truex Jr., Tony Stewart, Martin, and Kurt Busch completed the first ten positions on the grid. Race With seven laps to go, Joey Logano took the lead after a brief duel with former teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. Hamlin and Logano had been involved in an incident the previous race at Bristol, with the sentiments carrying over to this race.Ryan Nate Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin continue feud at Bristol https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nascar/2013/03/17/joey-logano-denny-hamlin-feud-twitter-bristol/1994959/ USA Today USA Today 27 August 2014 Bristol, Tennessee March 17, 2013 Hamlin chased Logano down and the two were side-by-side for most of the final lap, but Logano attempted to block Hamlin in the final turn and was sent up into the outside wall, while Hamlin came off the banking and smashed head-on into the inside concrete retaining wall, allowing Busch to pass both cars on the high side and take the win.Pockrass Bob Denny Hamlin injured after last-lap crash with Joey Logano at California http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2013-03-24/nascar-california-denny-hamlin-injury-update-joey-logano-wreck-kyle-busch-wins Sporting News Sporting News 27 August 2014 Fontana, California March 24, 2013 2014-08-27 https://web.archive.org/web/20140827164824/http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2013-03-24/nascar-california-denny-hamlin-injury-update-joey-logano-wreck-kyle-busch-wins dead Although Hamlin climbed out of the car right after the crash, he immediately collapsed and lied on the track. He was airlifted to the hospital as a precaution. It was announced the next day that Hamlin had suffered a massive L1 compression fracture, or a collapsed vertebra, likely because the area where his car hit the wall was lacking a SAFER barrier.Bruce Kenny http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2013/03/25/denny-hamlin-wreck-video-back-injury-update.html Hamlin suffers L1 compression fracture NASCAR March 25, 2013 March 25, 2013 March 28, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130328034609/http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2013/03/25/denny-hamlin-wreck-video-back-injury-update.html dead The resulting injuries forced Hamlin to miss the next four races. Mark Martin filled in for Hamlin at MartinsvillePockrass Bob Denny Hamlin still upset with Joey Logano, says rival wrecked him intentionally http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2013-04-03/denny-hamlin-joey-logano-feud-crash-injury-update-text-messages Sporting News Sporting News 27 August 2014 Huntersville, North Carolina April 3, 2013 2014-08-27 https://web.archive.org/web/20140827164606/http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2013-04-03/denny-hamlin-joey-logano-feud-crash-injury-update-text-messages dead while Brian Vickers filled in at Texas, Kansas, and Richmond. Hamlin did not start another race until Talladega in May, although the team arranged for Vickers to take over at the first caution flag pit stop. Hamlin did not return full-time to his race car until the following week at Darlington. In response to the accident, for 2014, Auto Club Speedway installed an additional 1,000 foot SAFER barrier along the wall where Hamlin's car had impacted.Caraviello David SAFER BARRIER ADDED IN AREA OF HAMLIN CRASH http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2014/3/18/sprint-cup-series-safer-barrier-denny-hamlin-auto-club-speedway.html nascar.com NASCAR 9 November 2014 March 18, 2014 Following the finish, Logano was also involved in an altercation with Stewart after a blocking move made by Logano on Stewart during the final restart. Stewart ended with a 22nd-place finish following the incident. Stewart went on to confront Logano in the pit lane and who had to be restrained by crews from Danica Patrick's team after Logano threw a water bottle at Stewart. Results Qualifying Grid No. Car number Driver Team Manufacturer Time Time in seconds Speed Speed in MPH 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 38.410 187.451 2 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 38.458 187.217 3 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Ford 38.472 187.149 4 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 38.476 187.130 5 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 38.567 186.688 6 22 Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford 38.603 186.514 7 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 38.653 186.273 8 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet 38.738 185.864 9 55 Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 38.753 185.792 10 78 Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 38.777 185.677 11 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 38.886 185.157 12 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 38.901 185.085 13 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 38.945 184.876 14 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 38.979 184.715 15 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 38.998 184.625 16 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39.051 184.374 17 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 39.081 184.233 18 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39.121 184.044 19 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39.128 184.011 20 39 Ryan Newman Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 39.133 183.988 21 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 39.162 183.852 22 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 39.194 183.702 23 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 39.195 183.697 24 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 39.222 183.570 25 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 39.291 183.248 26 51 A. J. Allmendinger Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 39.320 183.113 27 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 39.340 183.020 28 83 David Reutimann BK Racing Toyota 39.382 182.825 29 7 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 39.418 182.658 30 35 Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 39.422 182.639 31 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 39.448 182.519 32 30 David Stremme Swan Racing Toyota 39.458 182.473 33 93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 39.465 182.440 34 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 39.671 181.493 35 98 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford 39.760 181.087 36 33 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 39.760 181.087 37 36 J. J. Yeley Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 39.955 180.203 38 44 Scott Riggs XXXtreme Motorsports Ford 40.038 179.829 39 32 Timmy Hill FAS Lane Racing Ford 40.118 179.471 40 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 40.155 179.305 41 19 Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Racing Toyota 40.369 178.355 42 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 40.492 177.813 43 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing Toyota 40.645 177.144Source: 2013 Auto Club 400 qualifying results https://www.racing-reference.info/qual-results/2013-05/W 2025-09-17 Racing-Reference en-US Race results thumb|Kyle Busch won the race. Pos Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points 1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 48 2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 42 3 22 Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford 200 42 4 99 Carl Edwards Roush-Fenway Racing Ford 200 40 5 78 Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 200 39 6 16 Greg Biffle Roush-Fenway Racing Ford 200 38 7 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 38 8 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 36 9 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 35 10 39 Ryan Newman Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 200 34 11 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 33 12 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 32 13 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 32 14 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 200 30 15 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 200 29 16 51 A. J. Allmendinger Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 200 28 17 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 27 18 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 200 26 19 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 200 25 20 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush-Fenway Racing Ford 200 24 21 7 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 200 23 22 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 200 23 23 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Ford 200 21 24 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 200 21 25 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 199 20 26 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 199 18 27 36 J. J. Yeley Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 199 17 28 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 198 16 29 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 198 15 30 33 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 194 14 31 30 David Stremme Swan Racing Company Toyota 193 13 32 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing Toyota 193 0 33 83 David Reutimann BK Racing Toyota 192 11 34 93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 188 11 35 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 184 9 36 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 182 8 37 55 Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 179 7 38 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 169 6 39 32 Timmy Hill FAS Lane Racing Ford 108 5 40 35 Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 103 0 41 44 Scott Riggs XXXtreme Motorsports Ford 66 3 42 98 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford 60 2 43 19 Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Racing Toyota 44 0Source:2013 Auto Club 400 Race Results https://www.racing-reference.info/race-results/ 2025-09-17 Racing-Reference en-US Standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points10px 1 1Dale Earnhardt Jr.19910px 1 2Brad Keselowski18710px 3Jimmie Johnson18310px 4 4Carl Edwards16410px 5Greg Biffle164 Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points10px 1Chevrolet3610px 2Toyota3410px 3Ford25 Note: Only the first twelve positions are included for the driver standings. References Sprint Cup Series 2013 2013 Food City 500 2013 STP Gas Booster 500 collapsed Auto Club 400 Auto Club 400 Auto Club 400 Category:NASCAR races at Auto Club Speedway