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
(R) denotes rookie driver.
(i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
**Withdrew after Bilicki refused rides with the team, after multiple incidents with the team. Leicht would then proceed to drive the #97, renumbering the #77.[2]
Practice
First practice
The first practice session was held on Friday, March 24, at 12:00 PM PST, and would last for 55 minutes.[3]Joey Logano of Team Penske would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 40.245 and an average speed of 178.904 miles per hour (287.918 km/h).[4]
The second and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, March 24, at 2:00 PM PST, and would last for 55 minutes.[3]Joey Logano of Team Penske would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 40.723 and an average speed of 176.804 miles per hour (284.538 km/h).[5]
Qualifying took place on Saturday, March 23, at 9:30 AM PST.[6] Since Auto Club Speedway is at least 2 miles (3.2 km) in length, the qualifying system was a single car, single lap, two round system where in the first round, everyone would set a time to determine positions 13–40. Then, the fastest 12 qualifiers would move on to the second round to determine positions 1–12.[7]
Joey Logano of Team Penske would advance from the first round and win the pole by setting the fastest time in Round 2, with a lap of 39.440 and an average speed of 182.556 miles per hour (293.795 km/h).[8]