The NASCAR Sprint Cup series wrapped up their west coast swing with a stop at Fontana, California for the Auto Club 400 and Jimmy Johnson stole a win in overtime. Kevin Harvick lead 142 of the 200 laps but saw acaution flag wave with just 2 laps to go. Harvick’s car was sluggish on restarts all day and Johnson took advantage by racing a tight cluster of cars to the finish line. The Penske Racing Fords of Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski finished fourth and ninth while Rickey Stenhouse in his Roush Fenway Racing Fusion earned a fifth place finish for his second top ten of the season.For the 4th race in a row, only 39 cars took the green flag, one short of a full field. The series takes its traditional Easter break next week before action resumes at Martinsville Speedway for the STP 500. It will be interesting to see if the return to the east coast brings 40 cars to the starting line at the fabled Virginia short track.Logano, Keselowski, Stenhouse, and Richard Petty Motorsports driver Aric Almirola all remain in playoff positions within the top 16 spots of the season’s standings. The Wood’s Brothers Ford driver Ryan Blaney is one spot out in 17th. Blaney was running in the top 10 late in the race until tire problems caused him to slap the wall with just five laps remaining, resulting in a disappointing 35th place finish.Through five races, the year’s biggest disappointment is undoubtedly Greg Biffle; the Roush driver is 27th in the standings and can’t seem to catch a break. Martinsville has not been kind to Ford drivers in recent years, the fall race of 2002 was the last time a Ford made it to the winner’s circle. Rookie Jeffery Earnhardt has yet to post a solid finish, Earnhardt finished 34th at Fontana and sits 39th in the Cup standings having competed in just 3 of the 5 races to date.
