[Editor's Note: With last weekend's Daytona 500 officially kicking off the 2009 NASCAR season, SportsJudge's Chris Carmona will bring you in-depth race previews and fantasy NASCAR picks each Saturday afternoon at 1pm.]This weekend's crew is heading out West for a Sunday evening race in California. The Auto Club Speedway is a 2-mile flat track in which drivers are prone to race three-wide the entire track around going 180 MPH.
Let me give you a brief history of this Spring race (since they race two times a year in California). Last year Fontana, California experienced rain showers the entire weekend and they had trouble drying the track for Sunday's race. NASCAR spent hours trying to dry the track and it wasn't until 2am EST that they decided to postpone the race until Monday. Yes, 2am! I wasn't too happy that I stayed up for no reason.
Carl Edwards is the defending spring race champion while Jimmie Johnson won last fall. Over the past 10 races in Fontana Jimmie Johnson has been the most consistent driver while Rouche Racing teammates Matt Kenseth and Edwards are second and third.
The keys to winning at Fontana are simple. The average starting position of every winner in Fontana is 13. Jimmie Johnson qualified second but will lead the pack to the green flag because Brian Vickers had to switch engines after qualifying on the pole. NASCAR rules state that if you have to change engines or cars after qualifying that you must start the race at the back of the field.
Over the last nine races there have been an average of nine cautions per race. That says a lot for a two-mile open track. You won't have the big crash that you see in Daytona or Talladega but you will have guys banging as they go three-wide. Again, this plays huge for drivers near the front of the pack as they have fewer chances to get caught up in multi-car accidents.
This race seems to be dominated by Rouche Racing and Hendrick Motorsports. In the last four races at the Auto Club Speedway, the two teams have combined for 11 of the 12, top 3 finishers.
With that, my prediction for winner on Sunday is Jeff Gordon. Gordon, the California native, has three wins at this track, tied for most all time, but hasn't won here since 2004. Gordon came in third in last year's spring race while leading 68 of 250 laps. He looked solid last week and may have had a chance to win if it wasn't race shortened. I like Hendrick's team this weekend and I like Jeff Gordon.
Rounding out the top 5:
2- Kyle Busch: Last weekend Busch was in the wrong place at the wrong time, although he was leading the race when he was a victim of Dale Earnhardt's bonehead racing. He is seeking revenge and a top five finish would erase last week's memories.
3- Jimmie Johnson: Johnson will run up front the entire race. He also has three victories at this track and is one of the most consistent drivers in NASCAR, let alone in California. Starting up front can only help his cause.
4- Jamie McMurray: In the past ten races at this track, McMurray has been quietly lurking. He has finished int he top 10 half of the time and has finished 95.7 % of the laps raced. McMurray starts third on Sunday and there is something about this track that brings out the best in him.5-AJ Allmindinger: My sleeper pick for this race because this man is racing for a full-ride. He is only scheduled to run eight races this year, but if he continues to race like he does, this kid has to get a full season from some team. Allmindinger had a great finish at Daytona, 3rd, and qualified 8 for this race. Keep an eye on him to lead a few laps and if he can avoid slipping back early, he will be a contender the whole way.
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