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In The Know – Fontana

NASCAR Cup Series Overview
Event: Pala Casino 400
● Time/Date:  3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Feb 26
● Location:   Auto Club Speedway
● Layout:   2.0 mile oval
● Laps/Miles:   200 laps, 500 miles
● Stage Lengths:  Stage 1: 65 laps / Stage 2: 65 laps / Final Stage: 70 laps
● TV/Radio:   FOX/MR

SHR FAST FACTS:

Kevin Harvick:

Harvick will make some history of his own Sunday at Auto Club Speedway. When he takes the green flag for the Pala Casino 400, Harvick will make his 750th consecutive NASCAR Cup Series start, becoming just the third driver in series history to reach the milestone, joining Jeff Gordon (797 consecutive starts) and Ricky Rudd (788 consecutive starts). The last time Harvick was not in a Cup Series race was April 2, 2002 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, a span of 7,623 days between race dates.

Aric Almirola:

In 14 cup series starts at Fontana, Aric Almirola has three top-10 finishes and seven laps led, all coming since he joined Stewart-Haas Racing in 2018. He finished sixth in his most recent start. Almirola will race for his fourth consecutive top-10 finish at Fontana this weekend.

Chase Briscoe:

Briscoe will strap into the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac Ford Mustang this weekend for his second Cup Series race at the 2-mile oval in Fontana. His two Fontana starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series resulted in a best finish of fifth in 2019. In 2020, Briscoe started third and led five times for 16 laps before a spin on lap 126 relegated the team to a 19th-place finish.

Ryan Preece:

Sunday’s Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, will be Preece’s third Cup Series start at the 2-mile oval. His first came in 2019, when he started 26th and finished 23rd. He second was in 2020, when he started 20th and finished 30th. He has three NASCAR Xfinity Series appearances at Fontana with a best finish of eighth in 2019.

Our Weekly Wraps:

 

What Our Drivers are saying:

Kevin Harvick  Driver of the No. 4 Gearwrench Ford Mustang:

When you race at Fontana, is there a heightened desire to win because it is your home track?

“It’s in my home state, and every year you go there, you want to win the race because you’ve got a lot of family and a lot of friends there, along with a lot of race fans who have come there to watch you race. On the Cup side, I’ve only gotten to do that one time. It was against another California native in Jimmie Johnson, and it was a really cool finish. I got to push him all the way down the back straightaway and then pass him coming to the checkered flag. Cup has not been as successful as I’d like it to be in the win column.”

Aric Almirola Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang:

You ran well at Fontana last year in the Next Gen car’s debut. How much more helpful will those notes be heading back there this weekend?

“I personally do best when I’m prepared. I thrive when I can study and outwork the guys I’m competing against. I can’t just wing it when it comes to performing. Last year, we relied heavily on guessing and hoping the setup was right. This year I get the opportunity to take notes not only from myself but from Ford and Stewart-Haas Racing as a whole. We saw at the Clash that we could turn a bad car in first practice into a heat-winning car that started us on the pole because we have notes and learned from last year. At Daytona, we qualified fourth and won our Duel race and had a fast car, so yeah, notes are really important, and knowing we came from the rear of the field last year to sixth (at Fontana) gives us a big boost of confidence.”

Chase Briscoe Driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Center/Mobil Delvac Ford Mustang:

The plan is for Fontana to be reconfigured into a half-mile track following this weekend’s race. How do you feel about it possibly being the last race on the 2-mile layout?

“I think it’s going to be bittersweet for all the drivers because it’s just so fun from a driver’s standpoint. It’s so slick and worn out. It’s rough and you just bounce around. You can run wherever on the racetrack, especially with the Next Gen car. I thought that it was just a really good racetrack for these cars so I’m bummed we didn’t get more time to race it as is. It’s one of my favorite tracks to go to just because I feel like that’s one of the tracks where a driver can make quite a bit of a difference, so I’ll be sad to see it go. But, if it becomes a short track, that may not be so bad. We don’t have a short track out West, so that would give us some variety during the West Coast swing.”

Ryan Preece Driver of the No. 41 Haas Tooling Ford Mustang:

You’re heading to a track with a completely different configuration than what you experienced in the first two races of the season. What are your expectations for this weekend’s race at Fontana?

“Yeah, we’ve gone to two completely different racetracks so far and we’ve had speed at both of them, so I know this weekend is completely different and more of a baseline track that most teams are looking at to see the speed. I feel confident going into it that we’re going to unload fast. Hopefully, we consistently have speed all weekend and start continuing to lay the foundation that we have with our team.”

HARVICK FONTANA HELMET

Hear from the closer on his special edition Spears tribute helmet that he will  wear this weekend at Fontana.

 

COLE CUSTER RACING ROOTS

Returning to his home track of Auto Club Speedway, Cole Custer takes a look back on his racing roots and how he got to the NASCAR Xfinity Series.