Wise Power 400 at Auto Club Speedway

I was going to watch the race, but had a customer get stranded out of town and had to go help her. I've listened to some of it on the radio, but I won't be home until after it over probably. I'll watch the highlights on YouTube later. Bummer, sounds like a good race.
 
Just watched the highlights. Congratulations to Larson picking up where he left off. Also congratulations to RCR... Reddick was on a roll today, shame about that tire. Dillon put together a second place finish. I really like this new car.
 
Can’t do my usual play by play because we are in the stands!! Looks to be a great crowd so far. @slo town is here somewhere as well. Pictures to follow when I get a chance.

Enjoy the race!!
Hey, was wondering are they running an inner liner in these 18" tires?
 
They may have something with the new car. What was the racing like the last time they ran this track?

Good to see the 43 run up front but I have no clue who the driver is. Might have to pay more attention this year.
The racing was more strung out from what I remember. Also the race Sunday had more cautions than the previous 3 Cup race there combined. I will try to get pictures up tomorrow, got home about an hour ago.

It was absolutely awesome meeting up with @slo town and his wife. Really cool people.

So there is a cartoon called "Stock Car Toons" with a main character of Gearhead Gertie. I always joke on their Facebook posts that she looks like my mom. Just so happened the cartoonist was there at the track and met up with us. My mom did her best to dress like Gertie. The cartoonist was very impressed and a super nice person.

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Y'all:

Wife and I got back home late yesterday afternoon from Fontana after a meandering drive home.

First, it was great meeting bdcardinal and his Mom. She is a hardcore race fan. The first race she attended was the 1968 Firecracker 400 at Daytona; pretty much in line with my first race, the 1967 Can Am race at Laguna Seca. And meeting bdcardinal in person.....he is the same nice guy we see here on BITOG. (y)

Although I've seen IndyCar at Fontana, I've never seen the Cup cars on a super speedway. Of course there were periods of side-by-side, nose-to-tail racing, but IMO the overall style and pace was "endurance". Keep in mind this was 400 mile race, 4 1/2 hours behind the wheel.

The cars are absolutely beasts, snorting and bellowing like dangerous, unhappy cartoon character monsters. If you saw the closeup pictures I posted from the LA Coliseum race you would have noticed these are serious racing machines. Massive brakes, coil over springs/shocks, beautifully fabricated aluminum A-arm suspensions, rear mounted transaxles, carbon fiber bodies, etc. I have zero doubt these NextGen cars will make very capable road race machines. Even the most hardcore Porsche loving, road racer type would love to drive one of these things. I know I would!

Seeing a 40 car pack speed by at 196mph literally vibrates your body (there is a billboard sized sign that shows speeds going into turn 1). As I said, 400 miles is a long race and it seemed to me to be in endurance mode at times. But this is not a bad thing and is understandable IMO. You have to "first finish to finish first". Honestly, the endurance pace added to the spectacle. It was like a 40 car chess game, driver's watching each other's every move. The noise and vibration wore us out and we were sitting 100 yards away. Piloting one of those things must be exhausting, if not violent.

There were a record number of cautions this year. Cautions annoy me when watching on television but, strange as it sounds, the cautions were a welcome relief when watching from the grandstands. And not just from the noise. Cautions were useful for taking a quick pee and getting more food and/or beverages. I've never seen so much beer drinking in my life, 24 ounce cans, men and women alike! But as I said, everyone was well behaved and was there to have a good time.

I was super impressed with the turnout. It was literally a sea of people. And NASCAR fans are like no other. 90% of the fans were wearing team kit. In no other sport have I ever seen so much brand/driver/team loyalty.

There was NONSTOP entertainment, entertainment to suit every interest. Want to see pretty young girls doing a dance/ballet show? Check. What to see motocross bikes doing crazy mid air tricks? Check. What to get your ears blasted out with a live concert? Check. The race started at 12:30 Pacific time. My wife and I got there a little after 9AM. The party was well underway and had been going on for hours. The parking lots opened at 5AM! Although everyone was having a good time everyone was well behaved. Nice.

I cannot overstate the great time and good vibe I got from this event. After having such a great time at Fontana, my wife and I will be attending the Daytona 500 next year. That race has to be absolutely mega.

Scott

PS We took a little side trip on the drive home. Little Tujunga Canyon Road to Santa Clarita. A few pics of that too.

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We had an absolute blast. I always forget to take pictures, but here were some from the day. They did a pre-race parade with various vehicles, and when the hook and ladder truck came they stole the show kicking it sideways. Our seats weren't cheap, but totally worth it. The way the seating works at Auto Club is from the start-finish line, the sections are odd numbered to turn 1, and even numbered to turn 4 with the rows starting at 1 on the ground level and going up to 48 (?) at the highest. We were in section 7, row 29.

I was listening to Kyle Larson's channel on my scanner most of the day. He was told by his crew chief to not do a burnout. That engine has to be reused for a race and the shortblock is sealed. A burnout would damage the bearings so he just did a little one.

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We had an absolute blast. I always forget to take pictures, but here were some from the day. They did a pre-race parade with various vehicles, and when the hook and ladder truck came they stole the show kicking it sideways. Our seats weren't cheap, but totally worth it. The way the seating works at Auto Club is from the start-finish line, the sections are odd numbered to turn 1, and even numbered to turn 4 with the rows starting at 1 on the ground level and going up to 48 (?) at the highest. We were in section 7, row 29.

I was listening to Kyle Larson's channel on my scanner most of the day. He was told by his crew chief to not do a burnout. That engine has to be reused for a race and the shortblock is sealed. A burnout would damage the bearings so he just did a little one.

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Larson really appeals to me. I wasn't watching nascar at the time(stopped following around 2016 or 2017, but I was aware of his debacle back in 2020. Without expressing an all too detailed opinion on that situation, I'm glad he came back last year and spanked the competition. Clear win for him and Rick Hendrick. Hope he's in the running for the championship at the end of the year.
 
Larson really appeals to me. I wasn't watching nascar at the time(stopped following around 2016 or 2017, but I was aware of his debacle back in 2020. Without expressing an all too detailed opinion on that situation, I'm glad he came back last year and spanked the competition. Clear win for him and Rick Hendrick. Hope he's in the running for the championship at the end of the year.
I've liked Larson for a long time. I was a Tony Stewart fan and when he retired I faced the odd situation of having to root for a driver younger than me (38 now). We see Larson at the Turkey Night GP every year and his parents are super nice. Plus being from California it was easy to follow him.
 
I've liked Larson for a long time. I was a Tony Stewart fan and when he retired I faced the odd situation of having to root for a driver younger than me (38 now). We see Larson at the Turkey Night GP every year and his parents are super nice. Plus being from California it was easy to follow him.
I'm a little out of touch with most of these young drivers. I still remember Kevin harvick and Tony Stewart as rookies, and Dale Sr and Rusty Wallace we're the old guard...but I'm coming around. I'm a Stewart fan as well, and as far as Larson goes, I'm not sure there are any other drivers in Cup right now with anywhere near as much raw talent. Kyle Busch can really wheel a car, but his attitude towards a solid second place finish never quite sits well with me. Larson seems like an all around good guy who happens to have more talent than the car can take sometimes, although with Hendrick they seem to match his intensity. I'm getting long winded, glad you and your mom had a great time. Look forward to your thread for Las Vegas this weekend. 👍
 
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