NASCAR Cup at Fontana Auto Club Speedway 2017: Start time, lineup, TV, more
It's NASCAR race day at Auto Club Speedway, and we've got some essential information you need to get ready for Sunday’s Auto Club 400.
START TIME: Actor Scott Eastwood, from the upcoming film The Fate of the Furious, will instruct drivers to start their engines at 3:37 p.m. ET (12:37 p.m. local) today, followed by the green flag at 3:47 p.m. ET (12:47 p.m. local) So if you want to skip the pre-race show and just tune in for the race, turn on your TV by 3:47 p.m. ET.
RACE DISTANCE: The Auto Club 400 is 200 laps around the 2-mile track for a total of 400 miles.
SEGMENTS: Beginning this season, NASCAR is dividing every race into segments and awarding one bonus point to the winner of each stage. Segment lengths will be different for every race. Also, the top 10 finishers of segments 1 and 2 will be awarded regular-season points in descending order from 10 to 1. Here are the segments for the Auto Club 400: Stage 1: 60 laps; Stage 2: 60 laps; Stage 3: 80 laps.
NATIONAL ANTHEM/FLYOVER:: Singer/songwriter Skylar Stecker will perform the national anthem before today's race. Two F-14s from The Strike Fighter Squadron 14 "Tophatters" based at the Naval Air Station in Lemoore, Calif., will perform a flyover.
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TV/RADIO SCHEDULE: Fox will broadcast today's race and has a pre-race show beginning at 3 p.m. ET (noon local). Motor Racing Network will call the race on the radio.
WEATHER: A lot cooler than last weekend's race at Phoenix, which drivers and fans should appreciate. The Weather Channel is calling for mostly sunny skies, a high of 68 degrees and a 10% chance of rain.
LAST TIME: Jimmie Johnson surged past Denny Hamlin on an overtime restart then pulled away from Kevin Harvick for his record sixth Cup Series win at Fontana. The victory moved Johnson past Dale Earnhardt Sr. for seventh place on the NASCAR career wins list.
STARTING LINEUP: Kyle Larson won the second pole of his Cup career with a speed of 187.047 mph to edge out Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski. Five drivers, including Johnson and Joey Logano, did not make a qualifying attempt and will start from the rear of the field. Larson, the points leader through the first four races has finished second in three consecutive races.
Here's the starting lineup for today's NASCAR race at Auto Club Speedway (car number in parentheses):
1. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
2. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota
3. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford
4. (78) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota
5. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet
6. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota
7. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford
8. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet
9. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota
10. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota
11. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
12. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet
13. (24) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
14. (77) Erik Jones, Toyota
15. (41) Kurt Busch, Ford
16. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford
17. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford
18. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet
19. (21) Ryan Blaney, Ford
20. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet
21. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet
22. (10) Danica Patrick, Ford
23. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet
24. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet
25. (95) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet
26. (34) Landon Cassill, Ford
27. (38) David Ragan, Ford
28. (72) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet
29. (15) Reed Sorenson, Toyota
30. (83) Corey LaJoie, Toyota
31. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford
32. (33) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet
33. (55) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet
34. (51) Timmy Hill, Chevrolet
35. (22) Joey Logano, Ford
36. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford
37. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
38. (32) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford
39. (23) Gray Gaulding, Toyota
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