{"id":29031,"date":"2020-02-28T18:10:54","date_gmt":"2020-02-29T00:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=29031"},"modified":"2020-02-29T10:38:30","modified_gmt":"2020-02-29T16:38:30","slug":"nascar-friday-fontana-notebook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/28\/nascar-friday-fontana-notebook\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR: Friday Fontana Notebook"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

Jimmie Johnson brings vivid memories in return to home track<\/b><\/p>\n

FONTANA, Calif. \u2013 Eighteen years ago, Jimmie Johnson came to Auto Club Speedway with no job security.<\/p>\n

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Jimmie Johnson. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

This weekend, Johnson returns to the two-mile track for his last ride as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver with 83 victories, seven championships and nothing left to prove.<\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t the case in 2002 in his first season with Hendrick Motorsports. Despite assurances to the contrary, Johnson thought he was on a short leash with the organization\u2014even though he had won the pole for the Daytona 500 as a rookie and followed with another pole at Talladega in the ninth race of the season.<\/p>\n

A week later, Johnson came to Fontana and qualified fourth for the NAPA Auto Parts 500. He led three times for 62 laps, the final stint a 14-lap run to the checkered flag after the final caution. In the 10th start of his rookie season\u2014and his 13th Cup start overall\u2014Johnson earned his first victory at the speedway closest to his childhood home in El Cajon.<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/NCS_ACS_JJohnson_022820.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the day I knew I was going to be employed,\u201d Johnson quipped during a Friday visit to the media center at the speedway, site of Sunday\u2019s Auto Club 400 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

\u201cJeff Gordon handed me all of his championship equipment from the year before, and they told me they\u2019d be patient and I had time, but in my heart I didn\u2019t think that was the case, and I knew I needed to win. So to leave here with a trophy meant that I\u2019d have a job for a few years, and I was pretty stoked about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

To honor Johnson on his \u201cfarewell tour,\u201d the speedway commissioned a mural of the seven-time champ, and wife Chandra and daughters Genevieve and Lydia will wave the green flag to start the race after a five-wide salute to the driver.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust really excited for it,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThis year, we\u2019re really trying hard to enjoy as much as we can and really take any opportunity that comes our way. This is certainly a different one for us and my family. I\u2019m very thankful that the track came to us with that suggestion to get my family up there in the stands. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think pre-race will be full of emotions. They will have a chance to come across the stage with me and be introduced with their responsibilities. Being a part of the five-wide salute at the front of the field, and then see those hands up there in that flag stand is going to be cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Cole Custer. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

ROOKIE COLE CUSTER ADJUSTING TO MAJOR STEP UP IN CLASS<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Cole Custer knows he has equipment equal to that of his more experienced teammates at Stewart-Haas Racing. It\u2019s just a matter of acclimating to what he needs to go fast in NASCAR\u2019s top series.<\/p>\n

Custer has endured a rocky start this season. A problem with the rear end took him out of the season-opening Daytona 500 in 37th place. Last week in Las Vegas, he ran 19th.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, we definitely want to run a lot better than that,\u201d Custer said. \u201cI think we have cars that are capable of winning. It is just a matter of trying to figure out the differences in the cars (from the NASCAR Xfinity Series) and make your best guess and study as much as you can before the race.<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/NCS_ACS_CCuster_022820.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

\u201cI guessed wrong (at Las Vegas). Going into it this week, you\u2019re able to look at a lot of data and things. I have learned a ton since last week, and it\u2019s just a matter of taking advantage of all that and trying to perfect everything as good as you can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Custer won seven times in the NASCAR Xfinity Series last year and finished second in the final standings for the second straight season. Moving from the Xfinity competition package to Cup rules, however, is no easy task.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are a lot different, especially with the 550 (horsepower) package and how you work the throttle and everything, how you are going to do that is a lot different than Xfinity,\u201d said the 22-year-old driver, who was 22nd fastest in opening Cup practice and 20th on the speed chart in Happy Hour.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, you make one little mistake and are a little off in one area, and you will lose a ton of spots. Everybody here is pushing it to the limit. Everyone in the top-25 is probably capable of winning races. It is a matter of trying to perfect every part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Bubba Wallace, driver of the #43 Victory Junction Chevrolet, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway on February 28, 2020 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Stacy Revere\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

NEGOTIATING THE SEAMS IS ONE KEY TO SUCCESS AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY<\/b><\/p>\n

In football, finding a seam in a zone defense can lead to a completed pass.<\/p>\n

Finding a seam between lanes at Auto Club Speedway, however, can lead to disaster.<\/p>\n

The lanes at Fontana are separated by sealer connecting the slabs of asphalt, and those seams can play havoc with a car that runs across them.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou better pick a lane and stick to it,\u201d said Joey Logano, who was 13th fastest in opening NASCAR Cup Series practice and 16th in the final session. \u201cThat\u2019s how this place works. The seams here are very wide and have that sealer in there, and that sealer isn\u2019t very grippy at all. A lot of times cars get kind of stuck on the seams.<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/NCS_ACS_JLogano_022820.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

\u201cCars take a bit arc down in the corner and then get to that last seam they need to cross, and it just stops and you don’t get there. That\u2019s where a lot of passes are made, when someone misses the bottom and the car behind them is able to make the bottom and make a pass that way. You have to be smart when you cross them. Especially leaving (Turn) 2, you cross over them so quickly that your car really just wants to take off.\u201d<\/p>\n

The seasons lend a unique character to the two-mile track.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis place has more little details like that that a driver and team needs to overcome, more than maybe any other track we go to when it comes to bumps, seams, the surface wearing out, different lines,\u201d Logano said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really hard to practice here and know what you need for the race and what lanes you\u2019re going to be racing. It has definitely been one of those races that experience has played a key role in being good in the race.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Alex Bowman, driver of the #88 Cincinnati Chevrolet, emerges with the fastest practice laps at Auto Club Speedway on February 28, 2020 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

SHORT STROKES<\/b><\/p>\n

Kyle Busch scraped the Turn 3 wall in final practice, giving the car what crew chief Adam Stevens described as a \u201cflesh wound.\u201d The team was able to repair the No. 18 Toyota in relatively short order and get Busch back on the track. He was 10th fastest in the session\u2026<\/p>\n

Alex Bowman led both NASCAR Cup practices on Friday, running laps in 40.125 seconds (179.439 mph) in the opening session and 40.764 seconds (176.626 mph) in Happy Hour. Chevrolet drivers held the top four spots in first practice and three of the top four in the final session.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Jimmie Johnson brings vivid memories in return to home track FONTANA, Calif. \u2013 Eighteen years ago, Jimmie Johnson came to Auto Club Speedway with no job security. This weekend, Johnson returns to the two-mile track for his last ride as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver with 83 victories, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":29037,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[399,16],"class_list":["post-29031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-auto-club-speedway","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/NXS_ACS_Wallace_021720-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1704&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-7yf","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29031"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29040,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29031\/revisions\/29040"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}