With the three premier NASCAR series scheduled for action this weekend at the Auto Club Speedway of Southern California it was surprisingly the weather that took top billing instead of competition. Rain showers caused the cancellation of Sprint Cup Series qualifying on Friday and shortened the weekend's only practice session on Saturday. On Sunday, the weather again showed its dominance as it forced a two hour delay in the start of the Auto Club 500 and eventually postponed its conclusion until Monday.
It was a marathon day on Sunday for the Sprint Cup competitors. After the race finally started, it had to be slowed twice due to rain in the first 87 laps, with the second delay bringing out a red flag that lasted for over five hours before NASCAR made the determination to finish the event on Monday.
With a limited amount of practice time during the weekend, Dale Jarrett and the UPS Team were unsure of what the opening laps of Sunday's race would hold in regards to the handling of the #44 Toyota Camry. The question was answered quickly as Jarrett radioed to his team that he was fighting a lack of grip. A litter of caution flags fell over the first fifty laps allowing Jarrett to come to the attention of his pit crew for chassis changes to assist the ill-handling conditions. The changes proved positive for the UPS Toyota, but with a lack of track position Jarrett struggled to move to the front of the field.
Monday did not prove as kind to Jarrett and the #44 Team as they again fought a very loose race car, regardless of any chassis change made by the #44 pit crew. Jarrett was able to move as high as the 25th position, but a brush with the wall on lap 167, caused by a lost right rear tire tread, left the team playing catch-up for the remainder of the race. Jarrett finished the event in the 33rd position.
"We seemed to make some gains on our handling on Sunday night but today I had to do everything just to hold onto it," Jarrett said. "David (Reutimann) seemed to have a good run going early in the race so we know we've made progress but we've got a little more work ahead of us. We lost some ground today in the point standings but we're still inside the top-35 so we've got to go to work next week at Vegas and rebound. Our winter testing was better at Vegas than at California so hopefully we can get back on track there."
Carl Edwards took home the victory at the conclusion of Monday's race. Edward's was followed by a pair of Hendrick Motorsports teammates with Jimmie Johnson finishing in the second spot followed by Jeff Gordon in third. Kyle Busch clinched his second straight top-five finish of the season by crossing the stripe in the fourth spot followed by Edward's teammate, Matt Kenseth, in fifth.
Prior to the start of the Auto Club 500, Michael Waltrip, Jarrett's teammate, experienced a set back after discovering a faulty clamp on their oil line. The result was the loss of all of the oil inside the oil pan once the car was fired and out on the track for the opening pace laps. Waltrip was forced to bring his #55 Toyota to pit road for repairs and the team was able to return the car to the track before the drop of the green flag, which was delayed due to clean-up. Waltrip finished the race in the 28th position.
David Reutimann had a strong run in the #00 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing during the early stages of the Auto Club 500, breaking into the top-10 in the opening laps. On Monday, Reutimann fell slightly through the field to finish in the 23rd position.
The Sprint Cup Series schedule continues next week with the UAW-Dodge 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Television coverage is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. EST on Sunday, March 2nd followed by the green flag at 4 p.m. EST. Radio coverage will be broadcast by the Performance Racing Network (PRN).
