Stewart Haas Auto Club 500 Race Report

Kannapolis, NC – Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala SS, led the two-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., by finishing eighth in Sunday’s Auto Club 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

Stewart, who led once for three circuits in the 250-lap race, scored his eighth top-10 finish in 16 starts at the 2-mile oval.

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala SS for SHR, finished 28th, two laps down.  In the early part of the race, the left end-plate on the rear wing of his car came off while under caution, and Newman lost several positions when he pitted for repairs.

Matt Kenseth, who won last weekend’s season-opening Daytona 500, beat Jeff Gordon by 1.463 seconds to win the Auto Club 500.  It was his 18th career Sprint Cup victory and his third at Fontana.  Kenseth became the first driver since Gordon in 1997 to win the season’s first two events.

Finishing third was Kyle Busch, while Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch rounded out the top-five.  Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Brian Vickers comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were five caution periods for 43 laps, with seven drivers failing to finish the 500-mile race.

Stewart continues to lead the SHR driver lineup in the championship point race, as his eighth-place finish bumped him into a tie with Kurt Busch for third in the standings after round two of 36.  Kenseth and Gordon occupy the first and second spots, respectively.   Newman gained two spots to climb to 34th in the standings.  Stewart is 91 points behind Kenseth and Newman is 251 points out of first.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the March 1 Shelby 427 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  The race begins at 4:30 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 3:30 p.m.