FONTANA, California — Brad Keselowski led only one lap of the Auto Club 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday, but it was the lap that counted, the last one. Keselowski, on four new tires, took the lead from Kurt Busch on the final lap to take the win at what he considered his worst track to claim his first win of the season.
Kevin Harvick finished second to Keselowski, extending his top-two streak to eight races, dating back to the final three races of the 2014 season.
Busch finished third after leading a race-high 65 laps.
Busch and Harvick ran first and second when the yellow flag waved on lap 198, resulting in the first of two green-white-checker attempts. They, along with the other front runners, pitted during the caution, while Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle stayed out for track position. Busch, Harvick and many others took two tires, while Keselowski was among those who took four.
As soon as the race restarted, Busch drove to the middle between Gordon and Stewart to take the lead, and Harvick followed him through to second just before another caution. Busch was able to maintain his lead on the final restart, but Keselowski quickly got by Harvick for second and then took the lead from Busch on the final lap. Just before crossing the start/finish line for the final time, Harvick took second from Busch.
Most of the race was dominated by a combination of Stewart-Haas Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing. The JGR duo of Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin combined to lead 99 laps, with Hamlin leading 56 laps and Kenseth 43. Busch’s Stewart-Haas teammate, Harvick, led 34 laps. The only other driver to lead significant laps was Martin Truex Jr., the front-runner for five laps.
Hamlin fell out of contention after a pit road penalty for an uncontrolled tire on a pit stop during a lap 185 caution. He wound up finishing 28th. Kenseth was the race leader when the lap 185 caution came out, but a broken axle on pit road dropped him off the lead lap.
Paul Menard finished fourth and Ryan Newman was fifth.
The race field showed how that over the course of Gordon’s 23-year career in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the composition of the driver pool has changed markedly.
When Gordon debuted in the final race of 1992, NASCAR racing was predominantly a regional sport in the Southeast, and a driver from California was a novelty. Now, drivers from the Golden State are the rule, rather than the exception.
In Sunday’s race, California natives will outnumbered drivers from North Carolina 10-2. And Gordon, born in Vallejo, made his final full-time start 18 years after winning the inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the two-mile track.
The 10 drivers were Gordon, reigning series champion Kevin Harvick, Casey Mears, Cole Whitt, David Gilliland, Kyle Larson, AJ Allmendinger, six-time NSCS champion Jimmie Johnson, Matt DiBenedetto and Josh Wise.
“I always love coming here,” Gordon said before the race. “Being in California, even though I feel like we are a long way away from Vallejo, but just the state of California has been amazing for me. This racetrack has been amazing. We’ve had great success here over the years. We have tremendous fan support out here.
“How things have changed over the years. … We were on a pretty good streak there for a while where we were getting wins at inaugural events. This was one that we added to the list that was really cool to be a part of, just to see the race happen here, let alone be the ones to win it.”
NOTES: Keselowski’s previous average finish at Auto Club Speedway was 23rd. … Harvick dominated the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at ACS on Saturday, leading 100 lap of the 150-lap race before winning. … Kurt Busch had the fastest car throughout the race weekend, turning in the fastest laps throughout each practice session and winning the pole Friday. … All 43 cars were on the track at the finish. It was the first time all 43 cars finished a race since the 2013 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. … Kyle Busch won the two most recent Sprint Cup races at ACS, but he is still sidelined by injury. David Ragan drove Busch’s No. 18 car but spun after contact with Jeff Gordon racing for seventh position on lap 23.