This article is part of our NASCAR Barometer series.
Sunday's Auto Club 400 saw a much more competitive race than the prior two weeks. While the Stewart Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch dominated the majority of the laps, late cautions and the resulting green-white-checkered restarts caused more excitement than the team would have wished. As it was, Brad Keselowski was the spoiler, leading just one lap to claim his first victory of 2015.
The distance did not produce as many issues as last season's event, but the excitement ran just as high as the Penske Racing team stole a win right out of the grasp of their competitors. Now both Keselowski and teammate Joey Logano can look forward to tuning their programs to perfection in preparation for a championship.
The teams will all have to focus on some short-track sparks this week, though. One of the most infamous tracks on the schedule is ahead before a deserved one-week rest. Martinsville Speedway always produces a great race, and the spring break afterward will give teams a week to asses what has gone right and what they need to improve upon.
UPGRADE
Brad Keselowski - Keselowski stole Sunday's victory right out from under the noses of Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick. He led just one lap to score the victory, and it wasn't even a full lap at that. The Penske Racing driver was competitive all afternoon, but was an unlikely winner due to a series of late restarts that enabled him to leap frog forward and claim
Sunday's Auto Club 400 saw a much more competitive race than the prior two weeks. While the Stewart Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch dominated the majority of the laps, late cautions and the resulting green-white-checkered restarts caused more excitement than the team would have wished. As it was, Brad Keselowski was the spoiler, leading just one lap to claim his first victory of 2015.
The distance did not produce as many issues as last season's event, but the excitement ran just as high as the Penske Racing team stole a win right out of the grasp of their competitors. Now both Keselowski and teammate Joey Logano can look forward to tuning their programs to perfection in preparation for a championship.
The teams will all have to focus on some short-track sparks this week, though. One of the most infamous tracks on the schedule is ahead before a deserved one-week rest. Martinsville Speedway always produces a great race, and the spring break afterward will give teams a week to asses what has gone right and what they need to improve upon.
UPGRADE
Brad Keselowski - Keselowski stole Sunday's victory right out from under the noses of Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick. He led just one lap to score the victory, and it wasn't even a full lap at that. The Penske Racing driver was competitive all afternoon, but was an unlikely winner due to a series of late restarts that enabled him to leap frog forward and claim his spot in the Chase. It was Keselowski's best California finish, and now he turns his attention to Martinsville. He has never won at the short track, but has finished inside the top 10 50% of the time, boasting an average finish of 15.2 from 10 starts. Keselowski pulled off the upset on Sunday, but will that carry into next week?
Kevin Harvick - The hottest driver in the series comes to Martinsville on a wave of momentum greater than any other driver in the series. The No. 4 has one Martinsville win, along with 12 top-10s in 27 starts, giving him an average finish at the track of 16.4. He wasn't able to finish off a sweep of the west coast races, but can claim one of the best starts of any driver to a Sprint Cup season with no finishes worse than second from the first five races of the season. This team has shown it is going to be a major contender for this year's championship, and odds of Harvick repeating as champion in 2015 will only get slimmer.
Kurt Busch - It has been a long time since a single driver swept the fastest position in all practice sessions and qualifying, but Busch did just that in his second race of 2015. The former champion marked his return with a stamp of authority in California. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to survive a string of green-white-checkered restarts late in Sunday's race. The race appeared to be Busch's to lose, fending off teammate Harvick, but it was Keselowski that played spoiler on the final lap of the race, out running Busch off of the second turn and to the flag. He has two wins, three top-5s, and five top-10s from 29 Martinsville starts. He will be searching for a bit of redemption this week after being robbed of victory in California.
Jimmie Johnson - With eight Martinsville wins it is hard to discount Johnson this week. The driver of the No. 48 has an average finish of 6.2 from 26 races at the small Virginia track, and is considered one of the favorites almost every visit. He turned in a tremendous performance in California only to be thwarted by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. during his final pit exit, causing Johnson to lose position for the first of the race's two final restarts. As a result of that incident Johnson found himself settling for a top-10 instead of challenging the leaders for victory in the final laps. The top-10 result is the team's third in the first five races, and with a win already in the bag they are already thinking about the championship.
DOWNGRADE
Matt Kenseth - Kenseth drove wonderful race Sunday afternoon, but was outdone by a poor pit stop in the closing laps. As Kenseth was in the hunt for a victory, the team broke an axle as he left the pits from the final stop, sending him tumbling down the running order. Despite leading 43 laps that afternoon he was only able to muster a finish of 32nd due to the late trouble. Additionally, Kenseth has never won at Martinsville. He has 30 starts at the track, and claims four top-5s, and 11 top-10s to give him an average result of 14.7. This team is one that could use a shot in the arm, but Martinsville may not be the best place to expect it.
David Ragan - After having some of the fastest times throughout practice, Ragan spun early in Sunday's race, costing him a decent finish. The substitute has consistently picked up pace while filling in for the injured Kyle Busch, and Sunday presented one of his best opportunities to score a big result. That opportunity only converted into an 18th-place finish, which is a far cry from where this team expected to be at the beginning of the year. In 17 starts, Ragan has yet to score a top-5 finish at Martinsville, but has tallied two top-10s to help him to an average finish of 22.0. There will be plenty of time for this team to work out the kinks, but results need to come sooner rather than later.
Denny Hamlin - An errant tire on pit road cost Hamlin a chance at victory in Sunday's Auto Club 400. The No. 11 kept himself in contention until the final pit stops when he was penalized, and forced to start the first attempt at a green-white-checkered finish from the last spot in the longest line. The issue meant the best the team could do was 28th position, their second-worst position of the short season to date. Beside the two top-5 finishes at Daytona and Las Vegas, this team has failed to finish inside of the top 20 in every other race. The inconsistency shown so far is an omen that Hamlin and team will need to correct. Hamlin's four past Martinsville wins could set that ball rolling.
Greg Biffle - Smacking the wall early in the weekend was a prelude of things to come for Biffle in California. The Roush Fenway Racing veteran was never able to overcome the deficit he faced. His only top-10 so far this season was in the Daytona 500, and Roush is definitely on the back foot. Nothing seems to be going right for this team, and plenty of work needs to be done at the headquarters before things truly turn around. To make things even worse, Martinsville is one of Biffle's worst tracks. His 24 starts have produced a paltry five top-10 finishes, and an average result of 19.8. Until some major shakeups happen within the organization fantasy owners shouldn't expect much from the No. 16.
Sam Hornish Jr. - Hornish has had a terrible return to the Sprint Cup Series. The Indy 500 winner stepped into the seat vacated by Marcos Ambrose, but seems to have taken a step backward from 2014. Hornish hasn't finished inside the top 20 since the first race of the season, and suffered another dismal outing Sunday in California. The No. 9 hit the wall, but underwent repairs to return to the track more than 50 laps behind the leaders. In seven Martinsville starts Hornish has failed to score a single top-10, and claims an average finish of 26.1. Some top results will need to be in hand before Hornish becomes a viable fantasy option.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Paul Menard - Menard has finished outside of the top 15 just once so far this season, and notched his first top-5 of the year last weekend in California. The Richard Childress Racing veteran has a history of turning in strong starts to seasons only to fade as summer progresses. He extended that typical early form deeper than ever before last season. He is starting to repeat that ability in 2015, and fourth in the Auto Club 400 will go a good distance toward that aim. With just one top-19 finish in his Martinsville career, Menard won't be a favorite this week, but his is a driver for fantasy owners to keep an eye on as the weeks progress.
