Show notes:

Recap the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway:

• Martin Truex Jr. wins the weekend
  • Sat on the pole
  • Won all three stages
  • Led 125 of 200 laps
    • Only other leaders were Kyle Busch (62), Joey Logano (9), William Byron (1) and Kasey Kahne (1)
• Kevin Harvick was on his way to possibly another win
  • Accident with Larson
  • Was Harvick drafting or trying to take a shot at Larson?
  • Does this affect that team at all?
• Jimmie Johnson got his first top-10 of the year with a 9th-place finish.
  • Average finish of 20th this season
  • Named #4 on ESPN’s top 20 dominant athletes of the last 20 years
    • http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/22765432/tiger-woods-lebron-james-most-dominant-athletes-last-20-years
• Tech Inspection Woes https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nascar/2018/03/17/auto-club-400-fontana-qualifying-issues-rules-changes/435037002/
  • 13 out of 37 cars failed to qualify because they couldn’t pass tech.
  • Those drivers WOULD have had an advantage by starting the race with fresh tires, but NASCAR allowed the other teams to start on fresh tires too, which negated the advantage
    • Eric: Discussion on tire rule for qualifying
  • NASCAR also told drivers for the Xfinity race that teams that didn’t pass tech would start at the rear AND serve a pass-through penalty on the first lap after the green flag.
    • This rule is expected to be made permanent for all three series.
    • What do we think?
  • What about qualifying in general? Is it even necessary anymore?
• Any additional race discussion, winners and losers, etc?

News Items:

• • Kyle Busch providing some entertainment on Twitter post-race after fans accuse him of ducking out of post-race media obligations
    • NASCAR has apparently changed requirements so only the first and second place teams need to go to the media center.
  • Daniel Hemric will make his Cup debut at Richmond
    • Driving the #8 car

• Audio (1:29) Hemric talks about making his first start and driving the 8 car

• • • Do we care about the number?
• IndyCar going to NBC in 2019 and streaming package

Preview: the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway

• Expectations?
• Weather could be a factor
  • 100 percent chance of rain Saturday
  • Chance of snow Sunday morning
• Picks
  • Eric: Chase Elliott
  • James: Brad Keselowski
• Dark Horse:
  • James: AJ Allmendinger
  • Eric: Darrell Wallace Jr.  

• Shoutouts if any
  • Plug the fantasy league

Close show

• Where can we be found on social media?
• You can find me @TSuperSpeedway on Twitter
• James @jameskuch on Twitter
• Facebook @ TheSuperSpeedway

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