Thoughts & Notes ~ FONTANA

46 cars on entry list again this week,,,, which makes sense since its the 3rd consecutive West Coast track,,,,,

3 cars going home,,,,,, driver in the #66 is TBA

The #29(Reed Sorenson), #44(Travis Kvapil), and #66(Mr. TBA) all must qualify on speed...,,,,, cannot fall back on provisional or owner's points

Kyle Larson leads all ACTIVE drivers with an avg finish of 2.0 at Fontana,,,,,, This is through 1 race though (2014) where he started 11th and finished 2nd,,,,, It is also tied as his highest finish for Larson along with 2 other tracks (Loudon Sept 2014 and Kansas Oct 2014)...... So perhaps we dont look away from the 42, rather move on,,,,,,

2nd in average at Fontana is Jimmie Johnson with an avg finish of 6.65 through 20 races,,,,,This includes 5 wins, 12 top 5's, and 14 top 10's in those 20 races,,,,,,,, The 48 is also the all-time leader in laps led at Fontana with 955,,,,,,, And also has the highest average starting position of 9.3

***HOWEVER,,,,,, after 9 STRAIGHT TOP 5's from Feb 2007 --->March 2011,,,,, The 48 has placed 10th, 12th, and 24th consecutively in the last 3 years at Fontana,,,,,,, (side note: Fontana hosted 2 Cup races until 2011)

So the 48 has been dominant at Fontana,,,,, but not nearly near like what we have seen from Harvick at Phoenix,,,,, However to be fair last year he started 3rd, led a race-high 104 laps (driver rating of 127.4), ,,,,, But finished 24th obviously due to a late-race issue,,,,,,, don't remember what,,,,,,

Next in average at Fontana: Carl Edwards 8.53 through 17 races, and Matt Kenseth 9.82 through 22 ........

So alot to digest this week !!!! Good Luck boys .....

Oh and I forgot Kyle Busch has won Fontana the last 2 years,,,,,,

Top 10 Driver Ratings at Auto Club Speedway
#48-Jimmie Johnson............................120.1
#18-Kyle Busch............................110.0
#20-Matt Kenseth............................106.2
#14-Tony Stewart............................100.7
#99-Carl Edwards............................97.8
#24-Jeff Gordon............................97.3
#4-Kevin Harvick............................94.7
#16-Greg Biffle............................93.7
#15-Clint Bowyer............................92.1
#5-Kasey Kahne............................91.5
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2014 races (16 total) among active drivers at Auto Club Speedway. Formula combining the following categories: Win, Finish, Top-15 Finish, Average Running Position while on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.

Waiting for matchups to be lined,,,,, looking to fade the 14 & 15 if odds are right,,,,,,

More Fontana Info:

Most poles: Kurt Busch & Denny Hamlin (3)
Most Top 5's: Jimmie Johnson (12), Jeff Gordon (10)
Most Top 10's: Matt Kenseth (15), Jimmie Johnson & Carl Edwards (14)


Puts my eye on the 20 ,,,,,, remember he's really the 3rd avg finish @ Fontana after Johnson & Edwards,,,,,

Also: *****Watch the 41*****,,,,, Kurt with 3 poles @ Fontana,,,, coming off a top 5 at Phoenix,,,,,,,, He's also in F-U Mode,,,,,,How's he done the last 3 races @ Fontana ????? 3rd, 5th, 9th .......

Early leans for matchups: Looking at the 48, 20, 19, 22, 78 & 41........

*****Anyone else paying attention to the 78??????

Looking to fade the 14, 15, 2,,,, at Fontana ..... Thoughts???

I like Larson especially at 16/1