California Native Kyle Larson the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet held off a charging Austin Dillon by .195 seconds at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., securing his first victory of the season, his second at the 2-mile track and the 17th of his career.
Fontana, California. The NASCAR Cup Series locates east of Los Angeles for the Wise Power 400 hosted by Fontana Auto Club Speedway is California’s premier motorsports facility, The two-mile D-shaped oval is one of the fastest tracks on the NASCAR circuit and starts the annual NASCAR west coast swing residency.
Wise Power 500 – Recap :
In a race that featured 12 cautions for 59 laps, Larson, who started from the rear of the field because of unapproved adjustments to his Camaro, took the lead from Joey Logano on Lap 167 of 200 and held it for 27 of the final 34 circuits on the way to the victory
Tyler Reddick owned the first and second stages in dominate performance. To his dismay, Tyler suffered a left rear tire issue while leading on Lap 152. The aftermath collected and eliminated Hendricks’ driver William Byron also from a prosperous finish.
Kyle Larson’s victory was eluded at the expense of teammate Chase Elliott, who fell two laps down after being slammed to the wall on Lap 33 which eventual led to a spin out in Turn 2 five laps later.
Kyle Larson and Joey Logano were Velcro for the lead on the front stretch, when Chase Elliott recovered and attempted a massive run from behind them, which he attempted to take the outside of both.
Elliott’s attempt to overtake the leader was contested by Larson, sending his teammate into the safety barrier wall, ending Elliott’s quest for the checkers.
Elliott’s eventual spin-out final caution invited a four-lap sprint to the finish.
A complimentary bump-draft from Erik Jones allows Daniel Suarez to contest and drive past Larson for the lead. Short lived as Kyle Larson battled back securing the lead off Turn 4 with only two circuits remaining.
Austin Dillon was in the equations for a final desperate charge to unseat Kyle Larson. A little too late as the California’ Native Son Kyle Larson secures the Wise Power 400 trophy to reside in the Golden State.
Kyle Larson checks off his First win of 2022 NASCAR Series season and most important a valuable Playoff ticket.
Nine different NASCAR Cup teams finished in the top 10 at Fontana. A stellar race for Daniel Suarez and Trackhouse Racing team, who finished fourth behind the Chevrolets of Larson, Dillon and Jones, respectfully.
Joey Logano crossed the checkers fifth, followed by Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Daniel Hemric and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top 10.
Note – Polesitter and Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric limped home 12th after suffering damage in a multi-car alteration involving Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace and Harrison Burton on Lap 158.
2021 NASCAR Cup Champion Kyle Larson, who won 10 races last year in his first season at Hendrick Motorsports, led four times for 28 laps, second only to Reddick’s 90 at Fontana.
WISE POWER 400 Stage #1 Top Ten:
8,43,24,14,5,48,22,12,2,47
WISE POWER 400 Stage #2 Top Ten:
8,43,22,12,5,41,2,10,24,11
WISE POWER 400 – Results:
Sunday from the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway track in Fontana, California (starting position in parentheses):
1. (13) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 200 laps, 52 points.
2. (16) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 200, 35.
3. (2) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 200, 52.
4. (15) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 200, 33.
5. (7) Joey Logano, Ford, 200, 44.
6. (31) Aric Almirola, Ford, 200, 34.
7. (32) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 200, 30.
8. (36) Kurt Busch, Toyota, 200, 29.
9. (5) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 200, 0.
10. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Chevrolet, 200, 28.
11. (21) Cole Custer, Ford, 200, 31.
12. (1) Austin Cindric, Ford, 200, 31.
13. (12) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, 200, 24.
14. (3) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 200, 23.
15. (4) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 200, 23.
16. (24) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 200, 28.
17. (18) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 200, 20.
18. (6) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 200, 29.
19. (34) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 200, 18.
20. (26) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 200, 17.
21. (29) Garrett Smithley, Ford, 200, 16.
22. (30) BJ McLeod, Ford, 200, 15.
23. (35) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 200, 14.
24. (11) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 199, 33.
25. (14) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 199, 17.
26. (8) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 198, 11.
27. (9) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 198, 10.
28. (25) Corey Lajoie, Chevrolet, 198, 9.
29. (33) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 198, 8.
30. (28) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 198, 0.
31. (23) Michael McDowell, Ford, electrical, 193, 6.
32. (27) Cody Ware, Ford, 187, 5.
33. (22) Harrison Burton, Ford, accident, 157, 4.
34. (10) William Byron Jr, Chevrolet, accident, 151, 13.
35. (20) Chris Buescher, Ford, accident, 111, 2.
36. (19) Christopher Bell, Toyota, engine, 94, 1.
Wise Power 400 Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 114.221 mph.
Time of Race: 3 hours, 3 minutes, 7 seconds.
Margin of Victory: .195 seconds.
Caution Flags: 12 for 59 laps.
Lead Changes: 32 among 10 drivers.
The west coast swing continues with the third race of the NASCAR Cup Series season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the running of the Pennzoil 400. Last year, Las Vegas was the site of Kyle Larson’s first victory of 2021 en- route to the Cup Series title.
PENNZOIL 400
NASCAR Cup Series
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Sunday, March 6th 2022
3:30 p.m. E.T.
FOX
Sirius XM NASCAR 90