Kasey Kahne got his first win of the year last week, despite a few other good efforts. Now we head to Fontana, a two mile flat track with just 14 degrees of banking in the corners. That is going to make for some fast speeds on the straightaways and some hard breaking in the corners

Last year Tony Stewart won a rain shortened race that was caution free for 124 laps until the rain came in turns 3 and 4. That is the norm for this track. Long green flag runs that make track position a premium. There can be some great all out racing here and there can be periods where the cars get really stretched out and the leader just drives away. That being said expect to see a lot of two tire stops tomorrow since drivers will be looking to gain and more importantly not lose any more time on pit road.

 

Best Bets

 

Denny Hamlin 10-1

 

Denny had a chance to win this race last year when they opted to pit just before the race was rained out. He is back on the pole and hungry for a win.

 

Greg Biffle 12-1

 

The #16 team has found a lot of speed here before, why not again? Biffle has one win and four top 5's here in his 18 career races. Sure he is a little hit or miss, but he qualified 2^nd so that hopefully spells speed tomorrow for this team. Plus he is 12-1 that is incredible value.

 

Clint Bowyer 20-1

 

He starts 13th and was the fastest in practice. What am I missing? He is ninth in points this season with just one finish outside the top 11 (Las Vegas, 27th). Oh and how about he has the 4th best average finish amongst active drivers at this track since 1997. Sure he has never won here but it is just a matter of time before he checks Auto Club Speedway off his list. He is my pick to win this week.

 

Martin Truex Jr. 20-1

 

Another 20-1 shot, I really like. I know he has not found victory lane in what feels like forever in a points race but he starts 7^th and has been fast the last two weeks. He started off the year very poorly but rebounded with 12^th and 8^th place finishes the last two weeks. He still is in quite a hole points wise so look for him to really be fighting for that win. He is going to run inside the top 10 all day so he will at least have a shot at the end.

 

mlz

Saturday, March 23, 2013