Auto Club 400: Power Rankings

The rule I have implemented for myself are:

1. I will not pick a driver more than 10 times this season
2. Due to #1 these are “Power Rankings” (in quotations), I’m looking for value here

My general format for my power rankings:

• Top 2 picks will generally be the favorites, the ones who should be top 5 or top 10 finishes
• #3 and #4 will be your riskier picks, could be top 5 or bottom 15
• Pick #5 is the dark horse

Race Information

Race: Auto Club 400
Laps: 200
Date: March 17th
Venue: Auto Club Speedway
2018 Winner: Martin Truex Jr (2:42:41)
Broadcast: Fox

Course

Auto Club Speedway. This low banked 2 mile “D-Shaped” asphalt oval was built in 1996 with the light fixtures added in 2004. Control serves better than speed on this track given the embankments, environment and layout. It holds 68,000 seats and a total Capacity of 122,000. It features 14 degree turns, an 11 degree front stretch and a 3 degree backstretch. This is the only MENCS race featured here.

Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Power Rankings

The Favorites

Brad Keselowski (1st selection this year) — Over the last four years at California he has finished in the top 10 each year with top four finishes each of the last two years. Last week’s 19^th place finish was his worst of the year.

Jimmie Johnson (1^st selection this year) — With an average finish of 10^th place over the last four years he is among the most consistently strong finishers at California. Currently in 15^th place in the Monster Energy Cup Rankings, he has finished in the top ten in two of the four races so far this year.

High Risk / High Reward

Ryan Blaney (2^nd selection this year) — If anyone watched Phoenix last week, he was doing very well until Kyle took over the lead with 10 to go. He has been in the top 10 each of the last two years here but prior to last week he finished outside the top 20 in the first three races of the year.

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Larson (2^nd selection this year) — He finished in the top two each of the last two years at this track AND he has two races this season with top 10 finishes. That is good until you realize that the two prior years at this track he finished outside the top 25.

The Dark Horse

Clint Bowyer (1^st selection this year) — He has been in the top 12 each of the last two years at Auto Club Speedway. He is surprisingly a top 10 guy in the Monster Energy Cup standings with three of his four starts yielding top 15 finishes.

2019 Results

Favorite: Avg Finish 12th (29th Percent)
High Risk/High Reward: Avg Finish 17th (45th Percent)
Dark Horse: Avg Finish 16th (40th Percent)