Weekend Wrap-Up: Fontana

Weekend Wrap-Up: Fontana

What went down: Dang, I'm really starting to wish Auto Club Speedway would get back its second race date again. Holy cow.

The track that had once been home to some of the lamest racing in NASCAR has yet again showcased some of the best racing in recent memory. With cars being able to run in five lanes, essentially, it's incredible to watch drivers slingshot around on the high line or dive bomb down to the low line.

Kurt Busch came into Sunday having been at or near the top of the leaderboard in every practice and won the pole as well. Right behind him was his teammate, Kevin Harvick, going for his third consecutive win and eighth consecutive top-2 finish (insane!). Indeed, Busch led early in the race with Harvick in tow, appearing to be the class of the field.

Denny Hamlin would lead a good majority of the first 100 laps of the race, taking the lead on an early pitstop, but would later be shuffled back in the second half of the race. Hamlin's teammate, Matt Kenseth, also showed he was able to contended with Busch and Harvick, taking the lead several times on pitstops. In fact, Kenseth led in the waining laps of the race, when it appeared fuel milage would come into play, until a caution flew with less than 20 laps left.

With some of the worst timed luck in recent memory, on the final pit stop, Kenseth broke his rear axel trying to leave his pit box and would finish well back in the field. That left Busch and Harvick to duke it out over the final 15 laps and it appeared Busch would be able to hold off Harvick. That is, until a debris caution with two laps left would force everyone's hand. Because tires wear out so quickly here, everyone pitted with two laps left, except for Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Greg Biffle. 

On the ensuing restart, Busch and Harvick would clear Gordon, only to have another caution fly. On the second restart, Busch and Harvick again started first and second, however they took two tires on the final stop, while others took four, including Brad Keselowski. Keselowski would make his way past Harvick before the final lap and set his sights on Busch.

Right as the field took the white flag, Biffle would wreck back in the field, but no caution was called, allowing Keselowski to pass Busch in turn two to take the lead on the final lap. Busch made a valiant last gasp dive bomb, but it failed and Keselowski took the surprise win. His only lap led was the final lap.

What it means for Keselowski: He wasn't the best car on Sunday, but he had the best tires when it counted. Last year's leader in races won now has his first of 2015 and has locked himself into the Chase. With he and his teammate Joey Logano being locked in, Team Penske can now already begin to focus on ramping up efforts for the Chase six months in advance. Also, Auto Club was Keselowski's worst track, statistically, coming into the race.

What it means for everyone else: The cautions didn't help Kurt Busch at all and this race did slip through his fingers. But he still finished a solid third (yes, he hit the wall coming off the final turn and Harvick scooted by).That's two top-5 finishes in two races this year, coming off a three race suspension no less. Busch is already in the top-30 in points, and just needs a win in the final 21 races to make the Chase.

Yes, Harvick continued his streak of top-2 finishes which is now up to eight and is now behind just Richard Petty in that statistic. Petty had 13 consecutive top-2's once upon a time.

Martin Truex Jr. continued to be impressive, scoring another top-10, making he, Logano, and Harvick as the only drivers to finish in the top-5 every race this year.

What’s next: NASCAR goes back east this weekend and to one of the coolest tracks on the circuit no less. Martinsville is on the cards and is NASCAR's shortest track. It'll be a hell of a show, no doubt.