Today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Fontana: Start time, lineup, TV information and more

By Jeff BurtonMar 22, 2015, 7:15 AM EDT

FONTANA, Calif. — The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series completes its three-race western swing with the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway.

Here are the particulars (all times are ET):

START: American Idol contestants and Big Machine Records founder Scott Borchetta will give the command for drivers to start their engines at 3:37 p.m. ET. The green flag is scheduled for 3:46 p.m.

DISTANCE: The race is scheduled for 200 laps (400 miles) around the 2-mile oval.

PRERACE SCHEDULE: The Sprint Cup garage opens at 9:30 a.m., and the drivers meeting is at 1:30 p.m. Driver introductions begin at 3 p.m.

NATIONAL ANTHEM: It will be performed by American Idol contestants at 3:31 p.m.

TV/RADIO: Fox will broadcast the race, starting with a pre-race show at 3 p.m. Motor Racing Network will broadcast the race on radio and MRN.com with its pre-race show at 2:30 p.m.

FORECAST: The wunderground.com site predicts 72 degrees at race time with a 0% chance of rain.

LAST TIME: Kyle Busch scored his second consecutive victory at Auto Club Speedway, sweeping around Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart into the lead on the final lap for his 29^th career win in the Sprint Cup. Kyle Larson finished second.

NEW RIDES: Brett Moffitt will make his second start in the No. 55 Toyota in place of Brian Vickers, who is out indefinitely because of blood clots. Chris Buescher will make his Sprint Cup debut as a result, replacing Moffitt in the No. 34 Ford (whose normal driver, David Ragan, is substituting in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for injured Kyle Busch).

STARTING LINEUP:

Row 1: Kurt Busch, Kevin Harivck
Row 2: Matt Kenseth, David Ragan
Row 3: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin
Row 4: Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski
Row 5: Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer
Row 6: Paul Menard, Martin Truex Jr.
Row 7: Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson
Row 8: Carl Edwards, Sam Hornish Jr.
Row 9: Dale Earnhardt Jr., A.J. Allmendinger
Row 10: Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart
Row 11: Austin Dillon, Danica Patrick
Row 12: Aric Almirola, Michael Annett
Row 13: Brian Scott, Jamie McMurray
Row 14: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Alex Bowman
Row 15: Greg Biffle, Brett Moffitt
Row 16: Justin Allgaier, Cole Whitt
Row 17: Chris Buescher, Jeb Burton
Row 18: Josh Wise, Trevor Bayne
Row 19: Casey Mears, Brendan Gaughan
Row 20: Mike Bliss, Landon Cassill
Row 21: J.J. Yeley, Matt DiBenedetto
Row 22: David Gilliland

COTA Xfinity Series results

By Dustin LongMar 25, 2023, 7:58 PM EDT

Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images

AJ Allmendinger led 28 of 46 laps Saturday to win the Xfinity Series race at Circuit of the Americas for the second year in a row.

Allmendinger held off William Byron to score his first victory of the year and 16th in the Xfinity Series.

MORE: COTA Xfinity results

Ty Gibbs placed third and was followed by rookie Sammy Smith and Justin Allgaier.

Smith, Allgaier, Daniel Hemric, who placed sixth, and Sam Mayer, who finished seventh, will be eligible for the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash next weeked at Richmond after being the top four full-time Xfinity finishers Saturday.

AJ Allmendinger wins Xfinity race at COTA

By Dustin LongMar 25, 2023, 7:41 PM EDT

Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

AJ Allmendinger overcame damage from a restart to win Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Circuit of the Americas.

This is the second year in a row he has won this race. It is Allmendinger’s first victory of the season and 16th career Xfinity win.

MORE: COTA race results

William Byron, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, finished second. Ty Gibbs placed third, Sammy Smith fourth and Justin Allgaier fifth.

Smith, Allgaier, sixth-place finisher Daniel Hemric and seventh-place finisher Sam Mayer — the top four full-time Xfinity drivers — will be eligible for the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus next week at Richmond Raceway.

Allmendinger won the first stage and then pitted. When a caution came out shortly, it put him 21st in the field. On the Lap 20 restart, his car suffered damage when he was hit going into Turn 1.

Allmendinger worked his way through the field and took the lead from Sheldon Creed on Lap 33 when they made contact and Creed spun. Creed fell back to 23rd and finished the 46-lap race in ninth.

Stage 1 winner: AJ Allmendinger

Stage 2 winner: Sheldon Creed

Who had a good race: Josh Berry placed eighth after suffering damage to the front of his car on the first corner of the first lap. It is his fifth consecutive top 10. … Riley Herbst‘s 10th-place finish gives him his ninth consecutive top 10.

Who had a bad race: Austin Hill, who had won three of the first five races this season, had mechanical issues early and finished 37th in the 38-car field.

Next: The series races April 1 at Richmond Raceway (1 p.m. ET on FS1)

COTA Truck race results: Zane Smith wins

By Dustin LongMar 25, 2023, 4:09 PM EDT

Reigning series champion Zane Smith won Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series race at Circuit of the Americas for the second year in a row.

The victory is Smith’s second of this year.

MORE: COTA Truck race results

MORE: Truck points after COTA

Kyle Busch finished second and was followed by Ty Majeski, Tyler Ankrum and Ross Chastain.

The key moment came when Parker Kligerman‘s truck came to a stop on the frontstretch at Lap 28. Smith, running second, made it to pit road before it was closed. Busch, who was leading, had already passed pit road entrance.

Smith gained the lead with the move, while Busch had to pit under the caution and restarted 16th. Smith was able to build a lead and beat Busch by 5.4 seconds.

Stage 1 winner: Christian Eckes

Stage 2 winner: Kyle Busch

Who had a good race: Ty Majeski’s third-place finish is his best of the season. … Tyler Ankrum’s fourth-place finish is his best of the year. … Corey Heim has finished sixth two races in a row. … Rookie Nick Sanchez finished seventh, giving him back-to-back top 10s.

Who had a bad race: Parker Kligerman was running third when electrical issues forced him to stop on track just after the end of the second stage. … After winning the first stage, Christian Eckes had mechanical issues and had to pit for repairs, costing him several laps.

Notable: Front Row Motorsports has won the Truck COTA race all three years. Todd Gilliland won the race in 2021 and Zane Smith has won it the past two years.

Next: The series races April 1 at Texas Motor Speedway (4:30 p.m. ET on FS1).

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series XPEL 225 — *COTA winner Zane Smith’s truck catches fire after he did his burnout on the frontstretch. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)*

COTA Cup starting lineup

By Dustin LongMar 25, 2023, 1:05 PM EDT

Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron, who has won two of the first five races of the season, will lead the Cup field to the green flag Sunday at Circuit of the Americas.

Byron will be joined on the front row of the starting lineup by Tyler Reddick, the only driver to win multiple races at road courses last year.

MORE: COTA Cup starting lineup

Austin Cindric starts third and is joined in the second row by Jordan Taylor, who is filling in for the injured Chase Elliott in the No. 9 Hendrick car.

Taylor’s performance is the best qualifying effort by a driver making their Cup debut since Boris Said started second in his Cup debut at Watkins Glen in 1999.

MORE: COTA Xfinity results

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