The 2023 Pala Casino 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on February 26, 2023, at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It was contested over 200 laps on the two-mile (3.2 km) D-shaped oval and it was the second race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. Kyle Busch won the race, earning his first win with Richard Childress Racing. It was the final race on the 2 mile oval, as the track has since closed for reconstruction into a 0.5 mile short track.
| Race details[1][2][3][4] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 36 in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
_-_Speedway.svg) | |||
| Date | February 26, 2023 | ||
| Location | Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2 mi (3.22 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 400 mi (640 km) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 4.250 (Pandemic Formula) | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | |
| Laps | 91 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Tony Stewart | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and Todd Gordon | ||
| Turn Announcers | Dan Hubbard (1 & 2) and Kyle Rickey (3 & 4) | ||
Report
editBackground
edit
Auto Club Speedway (previously California Speedway) was a two-mile (3.2 km), low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, California which hosted NASCAR racing annually from 1997 to 2023. It was also used for open wheel racing events. The racetrack was located near the former locations of Ontario Motor Speedway and Riverside International Raceway. The track was owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation and was the only track owned by ISC to have its naming rights sold. The speedway was served by the nearby Interstate 10 and Interstate 15 freeways as well as a Metrolink station located behind the backstretch.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
editPractice was cancelled due to inclement weather.
Qualifying
editQualifying was cancelled due to inclement weather. Christopher Bell was awarded the pole for the race as a result of NASCAR's "pandemic formula" with a score of 4.250.
Pandemic Formula
editSince the August 2020 Daytona Grand Prix, NASCAR has used a formula to determine the starting field for races when qualifying was not held, as was the case for most of the 2020 season and 2021 season, and if inclement weather prevents qualification rounds to be held. Currently, it is used to determine qualifying order and practice order (which is grouped into odd and even based on ranking), and if necessary, determines starting fields in case of cancellations.
The formula is based on the 2023 owner points standings and the results of the previous race on the schedule. The finishing order from the driver counts as 25% of the score, and the entrant (as in car number) finish counts as 25% of the score. 35% of the score is based on the current owner points standings (counting the final result of the race and the top ten bonus points from qualifying races and the top ten drivers on Lap 65 and 130), and 15% of the order is based on the driver's fastest lap ranking from the race. If a driver did not participate, they are scored 41st place in driver finish and fastest lap. If a team used a driver ineligible for Cup Series points, the points earned by the driver will still be awarded to the car owner for purposes of this formula.[5][6]
Starting Lineup
editRace
editRace results
editStage Results
editStage One Laps: 65
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage Two Laps: 65
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage Results
editStage Three Laps: 70
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 49 |
| 2 | 33 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 40 |
| 3 | 8 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 54 |
| 4 | 7 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 47 |
| 5 | 10 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 200 | 42 |
| 6 | 13 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | 42 |
| 7 | 16 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 200 | 32 |
| 8 | 4 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 39 |
| 9 | 28 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 28 |
| 10 | 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 200 | 39 |
| 11 | 14 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | 28 |
| 12 | 2 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 25 |
| 13 | 5 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 200 | 24 |
| 14 | 12 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 24 |
| 15 | 24 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 200 | 22 |
| 16 | 23 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | 21 |
| 17 | 25 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 200 | 20 |
| 18 | 26 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 200 | 19 |
| 19 | 34 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet | 200 | 18 |
| 20 | 31 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 200 | 17 |
| 21 | 29 | 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 199 | 16 |
| 22 | 20 | 42 | Noah Gragson (R) | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet | 199 | 15 |
| 23 | 22 | 15 | J. J. Yeley | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 199 | 14 |
| 24 | 30 | 78 | B. J. McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports | Chevrolet | 199 | 13 |
| 25 | 32 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 198 | 17 |
| 26 | 9 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 196 | 20 |
| 27 | 11 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 195 | 10 |
| 28 | 19 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 194 | 9 |
| 29 | 15 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 185 | 8 |
| 30 | 18 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 172 | 7 |
| 31 | 36 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 140 | 6 |
| 32 | 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 88 | 5 |
| 33 | 27 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 87 | 4 |
| 34 | 35 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 87 | 3 |
| 35 | 17 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 86 | 2 |
| 36 | 6 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 75 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
edit- Lead changes: 28 among 13 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 8 for 38 laps
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 3 hours, 8 minutes and 5 seconds
- Average speed: 127.603 miles per hour (205.357 km/h)
Media
editTelevision
editThe race was the 22nd race Fox Sports covered at the Auto Club Speedway. Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer and three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, two-time Fontana winner and co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing Tony Stewart called the race in the booth for Fox. Jamie Little and Regan Smith handled the pit road duties, and Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.
| Fox | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | In-race analyst |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Clint Bowyer Color-commentator: Tony Stewart |
Jamie Little Regan Smith |
Larry McReynolds |
Radio
editMRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and 2018 NASCAR Cup Championship crew chief Todd Gordon called the race from the booth when the field raced their way down the front stretch. Dan Hubbard called the race from a billboard outside turn 2 when the field raced their way through turns 1 and 2, and Kyle Rickey called the race from a billboard outside turn 3 when the field raced their way through turns 3 and 4. Steve Post and Jason Toy had the pit road duties for MRN.
| MRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Todd Gordon |
Turns 1 & 2: Dan Hubbard Turns 3 & 4: Kyle Rickey |
Steve Post Jason Toy |
Standings after the race
edit
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References
edit- ^ "2023 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
- ^ "Auto Club Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. February 20, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ^ "Starting Lineup". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. February 25, 2023. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
- ^ Pockrass, Bob. "Bob Pockrass on Twitter". Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
- ^ Official scoresheet used. Starting order is reverse of qualifying order if cancelled.