AUTO CLUB 500 CALIFORNIA February 24th 2008

Location
9300 Cherry Ave.
Fontana, CA 92335
Book Travel

Weather
Sunny 89°
Track Details
Completed : 1997
Distance : 2 miles
Shape : D-shaped oval
Banking : 14° turns
11° frontstretch
3° backstretch
Frontstretch : 3,100 feet
Backstretch : 2,500 feet
Seating : 92,000

2007 Race Results
Nextel Cup Series
Sharp AQUOS 500 :: Jimmie Johnson - 09/02/07
Auto Club 500 :: Matt Kenseth - 02/25/07

Cup Historical Race Winners

Busch Series
Camping World 300 presented by RVs.com :: Jeff Burton - 09/01/07
Stater Bros. 300 :: Matt Kenseth - 02/24/07

Craftsman Truck Series
San Bernardino County 200 :: Mike Skinner - 02/23/07

California Speedway has a history that you might expect a track just 50 miles from Hollywood to have.

The speedway sits on a 568-acre site that once hosted the first steel mill located west of the Rocky Mountains, Kaiser Steel Mill. The mill produced the steel that helped build the Liberty ships used by the Allies to win World War II.

Kaiser Steel went out of business in 1983. Following that, the site fell into such disrepair that it was used in the movie The Terminator to portray a post-Apocalyptic world where men and machines battled each other for supremacy and survival.

Penske Motorsports Inc. purchased the land and completed the track in 1997. The first race held on the track was a Winston West Series race won by Ken Schrader on June 21, 1997. Later that day, Mark Martin won an International Race of Champions event at the new facility. Jeff Gordon won the track's first Cup race the following day.

California Speedway has also hosted races in the NASCAR Busch and Craftsman Truck Series, as well as events in the IndyCar Series and what is now the Champ Car World Series on its oval and road racing and motorcycle events on its road courses.

In 1999, Penske Motorsports Inc. merged with International Speedway Corporation, bringing California Speedway into the ISC family of tracks. Beginning in 2004, California Speedway's 2-mile oval became the host of two NASCAR Cup Series races each year, adding a Labor Day weekend event to its roster of activities.


GOING BACK TO CALI…….


Hello everyone,

I just wanted to touch base with you guys this week and say thanks for all your support during Speedweeks in Daytona. Even though I wish I was racing in the Bud Shootout, it was still neat to be a special guest of FOX and commentate during the race. I still like racing more than the broadcast booth, and maybe I’ll revisit that after my racing career is over, but that is going to be a long time from now.

Throughout the two weeks I saw fans supporting me by wearing the new Kevin Harvick Fan Club shirts around the track. The shirts look really good and I hope everyone is enjoying them. As for last Sunday’s race, it was a wild one to watch from my vantage point. I saw a few wrecks happen right in front of me, including sitting in the middle of some intense three and four wide racing, which is the reason I felt relieved to escape with a 14th-place finish.

I’m pretty excited about this week. On Thursday, I head to one of Shell’s largest refineries in Louisiana for an appearance, before heading to California. I like visiting my “home” state of California and grabbing a bite at my favorite fast food restaurant, Del Taco. During the trip out west I try and make time to see friends and family, since I don’t get to visit much during the season. And last, but not least, I am looking forward to the race on Sunday to get another shot at redemption.

As most of you can recall, last year I was sitting in second place with four laps to go, when my left-front tire went flat, causing my No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet to finish 17th. With all the testing we had earlier this year at the California Speedway, our team will be ready this weekend and we hope the outcome will be a lot better then last year.

On another note, I’ll be behind the wheel of the No. 33 RoadLoans.com Chevy for KHI in the Nationwide Series race on Saturday. Hopefully I can start the weekend off on the right foot with a solid finish and maybe even a win!!

Thanks again everyone and have a great week.

Kevin

FONTANA LINE UP:
1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's N/A N/A N/A
2 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont Cromax Pro N/A N/A N/A
3 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet DIRECTV N/A N/A N/A
4 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Carhartt N/A N/A N/A
5 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet CARQUEST / Kellogg's N/A N/A N/A
6 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot N/A N/A N/A
7 77 Sam Hornish Jr.* Dodge Mobil 1 N/A N/A N/A
8 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility N/A N/A N/A
9 99 Carl Edwards Ford Dish Network N/A N/A N/A
10 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil N/A N/A N/A
11 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker N/A N/A N/A
12 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Freight N/A N/A N/A
13 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL / Samsung HDTV N/A N/A N/A
14 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M N/A N/A N/A
15 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet AMP Energy / National Guard N/A N/A N/A
16 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet Principal Financial Group / Mark Martin's 700th start N/A N/A N/A
17 01 Regan Smith* Chevrolet Coors Light N/A N/A N/A
18 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal N/A N/A N/A
19 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Hamburger Helper "My Hometown Helper" N/A N/A N/A
20 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser N/A N/A N/A
21 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Wrigley's Juicy Fruit N/A N/A N/A
22 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Interstate Batteries N/A N/A N/A
23 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Energizer e2 Lithium N/A N/A N/A
24 6 David Ragan Ford So. Cal Insurance N/A N/A N/A
25 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV N/A N/A N/A
26 40 Dario Franchitti* Dodge Target N/A N/A N/A
27 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge U2 3D / Best Buy N/A N/A N/A
28 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Jim Beam N/A N/A N/A
29 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Quaker State / Menards N/A N/A N/A
30 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Yates Racing N/A N/A N/A
31 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet Haas Automation N/A N/A N/A
32 38 David Gilliland Ford FreeCreditRep
ort.com N/A N/A N/A
33 70 Jeremy Mayfield Chevrolet Haas Automation N/A N/A N/A
34 22 Dave Blaney Toyota CAT Paving Products N/A N/A N/A
35 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Wells Fargo N/A N/A N/A
36 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite N/A N/A N/A
37 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota UPS N/A N/A N/A
38 21 Bill Elliott Ford Little Debbie N/A N/A N/A
39 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull N/A N/A N/A
40 00 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron's Dream Machine N/A N/A N/A
41 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS N/A N/A N/A
42 34 John Andretti Chevrolet Front Row Motorsports N/A N/A N/A
43 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing N/A N/A N/A


Harvick, Shell-Pennzoil Team Grabs First Top-10 Finish of the Season

Despite grappling with a loose-handling Shell-Pennzoil Impala SS, Mother Nature and a pit road penalty during the Auto Club 500, Kevin Harvick hung in for an eighth-place finish in the series’ first stop of the season at Auto Club Speedway.
The “never give up” attitude allowed Harvick & Company to move up to the seventh spot in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings, just 26 markers out of sixth and 67 points behind leader Kyle Busch.

On Friday, practice and qualifying were cancelled due to rain in the area, forcing NASCAR to set the field by owner’s points from the 2006 season, placing Harvick 10th on the starting grid.

At the drop of the green flag, after a two hour rain delay, the 2007 Daytona 500 winner rocketed his way to the third spot by lap 11. However, debris on the No. 29 Chevy’s front grill caused an overheating problem that forced Harvick down pit road three laps later under green-flag conditions. A caution flag flew as Harvick entered pit road, but crew chief Todd Berrier summoned his driver to get four tires and remove the debris.

Unfortunately, pit road was closed and Harvick was forced to drop to the tail end of the longest line, placing him in the 42nd spot for the restart on lap 18.

Two laps later, a multi-car incident in turn two brought out the second caution of the afternoon. Berrier summoned Harvick to pit road for further service, which included fuel and four fresh Goodyear tires. A lightning-fast pit stop by the No. 29 over-the-wall crew netted Harvick six spots on pit road and he restarted the race 30th on lap 25.

“Happy” Harvick returned his focus to the front of the field. He was 28th by lap 28, 18th by lap 34 and 17th when the caution flag waved for rain on lap 39. He called in to Berrier that the car was a touch tight exiting the turns. The Shell-Pennzoil crew chief summoned his driver to pit road two laps later for fuel, four tires and a chassis adjustment to help ease his driver’s tight-handling condition. Back under green on lap 47, now 15th, Harvick began a charge toward the front.

He was 14th on lap 59, 13th on lap 60 and 12th on lap 62 when the caution flag flew for water seeping up out of the race track. The 32-year-old driver did not pit and restarted the race in the 11th spot on lap 64. Another caution flag flew on lap 70, and Berrier opted to make a two-tire pit stop two laps later. Unfortunately, the two-tire stop did not work for the Shell-Pennzoil team and Harvick slid back to the 17th spot before the 43-car field was given the red flag for rain.

Rain continued at Auto Club Speedway, forcing NASCAR to delay the race until Monday morning. The 43-car finally took the green flag just past 10 a.m. with Harvick in the 16th spot.

The Shell-Pennzoil Chevy ran between 17th and 15th over the next 32 laps when scheduled green-flag pit stops began. Harvick made the hard left-hand turn down pit road one lap later. A chassis adjustment was in order to help tighten up the handling. The adjustments proved to be exactly what Harvick needed and he began a slow but steady march up the running order. He was 14th on lap 125 and 13th when the caution flag flew on lap 134. The 2006 Nationwide Series champion hit pit road for another round of adjustments and restarted the race in the 14th position on lap 138.

Once again, the adjustments seemed to help the handling on the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet and over the course of two more pit stops, two cautions and 33 laps, Harvick advised Berrier his car was still a little too loose exiting the corners.

At the same time, the 11-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver was able to continue his march toward the front of the field and was scored as high as second just before he hit pit road for a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 210. The No. 29 team changed four tires, added fuel and made a slight chassis adjustment, sending the 32-year-old driver back on the track in the ninth spot.

The 2007 NASCAR All-Star Challenge winner was able to grab the eight spot from Tony Stewart before the 11th caution flag flew on lap 219. A routine four-tire pit stop was in order for the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevy. However, some teams opted to only take two tires and Harvick lost a few positions on the race track and restarted in the ninth spot.

In the closing 26 laps, Harvick was able to work his way to the sixth spot. However, a loose-handling condition returned and the Shell-Pennzoil driver was forced to relinquish two positions before crossing the finish line eighth.

Carl Edwards won the event followed by Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth.

Harvick’s Richard Childress Racing teammates Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer finished 12th and 19th, respectively.

Next week, Harvick and the Shell-Pennzoil team will head to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the running of the UAW-Dodge 400. Live coverage of the event will be televised on FOX Sunday, Mar. 2 beginning at 3:30 Eastern Standard Time (EST). The race will also broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the third of 36 NASCAR Cup Series races will be televised live on SPEED Friday, February 29 beginning at 6:40 p.m. EST.

KEVIN HARVICK - NO. 29 SHELL CHEVROLET IMPALA SS –

“This was a good day for the Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet. We had a few things we had to overcome during the race but we were able to still grab a top-10 finish. We need to continue to perform like this over the course of the season and we will be a team contenting for the championship.”

RESULTS FROM THE AUTO CLUB 500 #99 CARL EDWARDS OFFICE DEPOT



1 9 99 Carl Edwards Ford Dish Network 190/5 250 Running 340,500
2 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 180/10 250 Running 252,336
3 2 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont Cromax Pro 170/5 250 Running 214,186
4 22 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Interstate Batteries 165/5 250 Running 154,050
5 4 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Carhartt 160/5 250 Running 169,841
6 11 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 150/0 250 Running 144,308
7 6 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot 146/0 250 Running 158,061
8 10 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 147/5 250 Running 148,761
9 20 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 143/5 250 Running 133,616
10 13 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Samsung HDTV / ALLTEL 139/5 250 Running 143,625
11 39 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 130/0 250 Running 98,700
12 8 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 132/5 250 Running 142,258
13 36 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 124/0 250 Running 92,800
14 24 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance So. Cal. 121/0 250 Running 104,850
15 14 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M 123/5 250 Running 104,350
16 16 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet Principal Financial Group / Mark Martin's 700th start 115/0 250 Running 128,208
17 32 38 David Gilliland Ford FreeCreditRep
ort.com 112/0 250 Running 111,508
18 28 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Jim Beam 114/5 250 Running 116,708
19 3 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet DIRECTV 106/0 250 Running 106,150
20 21 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Wrigley's Juicy Fruit 103/0 250 Running 121,508
21 31 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet Haas Automation 100/0 250 Running 104,708
22 18 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 102/5 250 Running 97,850
23 40 00 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron's Dream Machine 94/0 249 Running 101,758
24 27 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge U2 3D / Best Buy 91/0 249 Running 114,770
25 19 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Hamburger Helper "My Hometown Helper" 88/0 249 Running 125,136
26 38 21 Bill Elliott Ford Little Debbie 85/0 249 Running 105,345
27 29 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Quaker State / Menards 82/0 248 Running 94,300
28 41 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 79/0 248 Running 92,247
29 25 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV 76/0 248 Running 93,500
30 34 22 Dave Blaney Toyota CAT Paving Products 73/0 248 Running 85,250
31 17 01 Regan Smith * Chevrolet Coors Light 70/0 248 Running 91,575
32 26 40 Dario Franchitti * Dodge Target 72/5 248 Running 89,875
33 37 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota UPS 69/5 247 Running 82,600
34 43 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row
/ DenverMattress.com 61/0 246 Running 81,450
35 42 34 John Andretti Chevrolet Front Row Motorsports 63/5 245 Running 81,225
36 30 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Yates Racing 55/0 242 Running 108,289
37 23 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Energizer e2 Lithium 52/0 240 Running 108,064
38 35 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Wells Fargo 49/0 236 Running 80,600
39 33 70 Jeremy Mayfield Chevrolet Haas Automation 46/0 231 Running 80,480
40 15 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet AMP Energy / National Guard 43/0 203 Running 88,325
41 12 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Freight 40/0 193 Running 115,191
42 5 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet CARQUEST / Kellogg's 37/0 20 Accident 98,110
43 7 77 Sam Hornish Jr. * Dodge Mobil 1 34/0 20 Accident 125,539


POINT STANDINGS
1 +3 Kyle Busch 335 Leader 2 0 0 2 2 806,988
2 -1 Ryan Newman 329 -6 2 0 1 1 2 1,686,670
3 -- Tony Stewart 316 -19 2 0 0 1 2 1,144,110
4 -2 Kurt Busch 299 -36 2 0 0 1 1 1,192,570
5 +13 Carl Edwards 296 -39 2 0 1 1 1 704,020
6 -- Kasey Kahne 294 -41 2 0 0 0 2 567,820
7 +6 Kevin Harvick 268 -67 2 0 0 0 1 470,985
8 +17 Jimmie Johnson 267 -68 2 1 0 1 1 646,442
9 -- Greg Biffle 262 -73 2 0 0 0 1 451,013
10 +1 Jeff Burton 261 -74 2 0 0 0 0 465,754
11 +1 Brian Vickers 257 -78 2 0 0 0 0 383,945
12 +7 Martin Truex Jr. 253 -82 2 0 0 0 1 480,104

13 -6 Elliott Sadler 241 -94 2 0 0 0 1 544,785
14 +24 Jeff Gordon 221 -114 2 0 0 1 1 588,285
15 +19 Matt Kenseth 220 -115 2 0 0 1 1 477,970
16 -6 Bobby Labonte 218 -117 2 0 0 0 0 454,892
17 -12 Reed Sorenson 212 -123 2 0 0 1 1 707,023
18 -1 David Reutimann 203 -132 2 0 0 0 0 392,979
19 +3 Clint Bowyer 202 -133 2 0 0 0 0 430,695
20 -- Scott Riggs 200 -135 2 0 0 0 0 392,636
21 +7 David Gilliland 191 -144 2 0 0 0 0 425,154
22 +4 Jamie McMurray 187 -148 2 0 0 0 0 406,556
23 -15 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 186 -149 2 0 0 0 1 656,245
24 +6 Mark Martin 185 -150 2 0 0 0 0 477,054
25 -9 Dale Jarrett 184 -151 2 0 0 0 0 400,813
26 -5 Paul Menard 179 -156 2 0 0 0 0 373,595
27 +4 Juan Montoya 170 -165 2 0 0 0 0 412,261
28 -4 J.J. Yeley 164 -171 2 0 0 0 0 408,595
29 -2 Michael Waltrip 160 -175 2 0 0 0 0 410,382
30 +12 David Ragan 158 -177 2 0 0 0 0 372,613
31 -16 Denny Hamlin 157 -178 2 0 0 0 0 502,607
32 +8 Robby Gordon 156 -179 2 0 0 0 1 469,629
33 -19 Sam Hornish Jr.* 152 -183 2 0 0 0 0 445,384
34 -11 Jeremy Mayfield 140 -195 2 0 0 0 0 351,700
35 -3 Dario Franchitti* 136 -199 2 0 0 0 0 360,488
36 -7 Travis Kvapil 128 -207 2 0 0 0 0 399,491
37 -1 Dave Blaney 127 -208 2 0 0 0 0 392,813
38 -1 Regan Smith* 122 -213 2 0 0 0 0 358,670
39 -6 Kyle Petty 110 -225 2 0 0 0 0 340,920
40 -1 John Andretti 106 -229 2 0 0 0 0 339,838
41 -- Joe Nemechek 101 -234 2 0 0 0 0 339,920
42 -7 Casey Mears 95 -240 2 0 0 0 0 433,055
43 +2 Bill Elliott 85 -250 1 0 0 0 0 159,433
44 -1 Kenny Wallace 34 -301 1 0 0 0 0 256,735
45 -1 A.J. Allmendinger 0 -335 0 0 0 0 0 22,345
46 -- Ken Schrader 0 -335 0 0 0 0 0 62,038
47 +1 Patrick Carpentier* 0 -335 0 0 0 0 0 23,013
48 -1 Boris Said 0 -335 0 0 0 0 0 22,170
49 -- Mike Skinner 0 -335 0 0 0 0 0 0
50 -- Burney Lamar 0 -335 0 0 0 0 0 0
51 -2 Eric McClure 0 -335 0 0 0 0 0 22,988
52 -2 Sterling Marlin 0 -335 0 0 0 0 0 22,095
53 -2 Jacques Villeneuve* 0 -335 0 0 0 0 0 22,863
54 -2 Stanton Barrett 0 -335 0 0 0 0 0 22,813
55 -2 Carl Long 0 -335 0 0 0 0 0 21,920

I think this was pretty much one of the most BOGUS races that I have seen in my history of watching NASCAR...for one...we had to wait ALL day & night on Sunday just to have NASCAR FINALLY call the race...I think that Nascar ought to call the race about 2-3 hors after the scheduled time...NOT make drivers, fans, teams and everyone else wait for so long..in turn...I believe this is why the drivers told NASCAR officials that the track was fine to race on in turn the weeping caused Casey Mears #5 and Dale Jr. #88 BOTH of HMS to crash...Of course...everyone blames NASCAR but I do not see it that way....so with this week FINALLY over...it is time to move on to Las Vegas. So congrats to Carl Edwards and I say that lightly NOT being a fan of his at all....and HELLLLLOOOOO VEGAS!!!! ~Tami-Lyn~

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