NASCAR NEXTEL CUP AUTO CLUB 500 FONTANA CALIFORNIA_____February 27, 2005 2pm ET FOX

Self

[WestCoastGal]

AUTO CLUB 500 CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2005 2pm ET

Busch Race- Stater Bros. 300 FX Sat. 5:30 p.m.
Auto Club 500 Bud Pole qualifying FX Sat. 3 p.m.
Truck Race American Racing Wheels 200 SPEED Fri. 9 p.m.

All Times are ET

CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY, FONTANA CALIFORNIA

Track Facts

Land
Total Site	568 acres
Speedway Interior	130.7 acres
Track Information
Track Size	Two-mile D-shaped oval
Track Width	75 feet wide with 15-foot apron
Turns 1-2; 3-4	14-degree banking
Front Stretch	11-degree banking; 3100 feet in length
Back Straightaway	3-degree banking; 2500 feet in length
	21 turns, 2.36 miles
Garages	3 garages with 100 spaces
Composition	Asphalt track, pit lane and parking areas; concrete pit stalls
Pit Road	2200 feet in length with 44 individual pit areas

[steveegg]

Walker into Menard, Walker into the wall. Caution, and Boston Reid collects a pardon.

[WestCoastGal]

Tyler Walker hits the wall and skids back down in front of traffic.

Rookie error

[steveegg]

And it was Green bouncing off the apron that brought Walker into Menard.

[steveegg]

Everyone is coming down pit road except for Hmiel, who collects 5 bonus points.

[WestCoastGal]

Looks like Sorenson took fuel only.

[steveegg]

50 laps in -

32
9
33
41
21
87
2
60
64
47
8
27
22
11
44
35
14
18
1
17
40
6
20
43
90
34
59
25
12
4
10
5
36 (-1 lap)
58 (-1 lap)
28 (-1 lap)
38 (out; -1 lap)
23 (-2 laps)
49 (-3 laps)
99 (-19 laps)
66 (out)
72 (out)
0 (out)
7 (out)

[steveegg]

'Tis a shakeup (I knew I shouldn't have posted the 50-lap rundown).

Race out of the pits (behind the 32) - 41 (fuel only) 14 17 (2 tires) 47 40 20 33 (4 tires) 9 21

[WestCoastGal]

Matt two tars. Good pit strategery!

[steveegg]

Green flag.

Smoke, Happy and Martin working through traffic nicely.

[steveegg]

4-wide! Hope they cut it to at least 3 by the turn.

[WestCoastGal]

Now we got some racing going on!!

[steveegg]

How about this for strategery; Hmiel's checked out (1.9 seconds on Kenseth).

[WestCoastGal]

I was just thinking since they are running a DEI engine, I wish Steve Hmiel could get the set up from them for the DEI cars. I know Busch and Cup are different, but even Truex is struggling tonight.

[steveegg]

How about that Channelock 43. 4 drivers this weekend, and Tracy Hines is in 16th.

Meanwhile, the Smoke/Martin freight train has nothing but gray track between them and the sitting duck known as Shane Hmiel.

[WestCoastGal]

FR posting slow tonight.

I was also just thinking that Tony has an RCR engine under the 33, so what's up with the RCR cars with no power in cup?

[steveegg]

That would work. Then again, Hmiel's a flat-track guy.

Smoke's 1.3 seconds back of Hmiel, Martin's 2.5 seconds back, then everybody else.

[steveegg]

Different carbs on the engines. Seems RCR power doesn't like the huge carbs.

[steveegg]

Then again, look at Harvick and Bowyer (the anti-Sauter). They're not doing much today.

[steveegg]

Smoke to Hmiel - "Out of my way, peon."

[WestCoastGal]

Aha, but you would think with all their money they could figure it out. Although Nascar has kept them busy with all these rule changes.

Are you saying it's the driver that makes the car work on the flat track? :)