Johnson won on the overtime restart at Fontana, Kevin Harvick led a race-high 142 laps in second place and Austin Dillon lost his pole on the first lap.
The 2016 Auto Club 400 was the fifth race of the 2016 Sprint Cup season, held at Fontana on 20 March 2016. Jimmie Johnson won on the overtime restart, with Kevin Harvick second after leading 142 laps. Denny Hamlin finished third.
Jimmie Johnson won the 2016 Auto Club 400 at Fontana on 20 March 2016, taking the lead on the overtime restart from Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick. Harvick led a race-high 142 laps and finished second, while Austin Dillon, who had won the pole, lost the lead on the opening lap and finished 24th.
When and where was the 2016 Auto Club 400 held?
The race was held on 20 March 2016 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It was the fifth race of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and was contested over 205 laps. Fox Sports carried the broadcast, while MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio covered the race on the radio.
Auto Club Speedway is a 2-mile, 3.2 km low-banked D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana. The track had a demanding surface, and the drivers had to work the car through its bumps and rough patches over a long afternoon.
The win was the 77th career victory for Johnson, his second of the season and his sixth at Auto Club Speedway. It was also his tenth win at the track for Hendrick Motorsports, and it moved him up to second in the points standings.
Chevrolet increased its lead in the manufacturers' standings to nine points over Toyota after the race, which was an important step for the brand early in the season.
Jimmie Johnson took the win on an overtime restart after a race in which Kevin Harvick led the most laps but could not hold the front.
How did entries and practice set up the weekend?
The entry list for the race was released on Monday, 14 March, at 3:25 pm Eastern time, and 39 cars were entered. Two drivers returned for the event: Brian Vickers came back to the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet, and Jeffrey Earnhardt returned to the No. 32 Go FAS Racing Ford.
Austin Dillon was the fastest in the first practice session at 38.194 seconds, a speed of 303.379 km/h (188.511 mph). Carl Edwards was quickest in the second session at 38.317 seconds, and Matt Kenseth topped the final session at 38.831 seconds.
Kurt Busch went to a backup car after he slammed the wall in turn 3 during practice, and because the change came after qualifying he started from the rear. Greg Biffle and Kyle Larson made contact exiting turn 4, and Larson also switched cars and had to start from the back.
Who won the pole, and what happened at the start?
Austin Dillon won the pole with a time of 38.200 seconds, a speed of 303.332 km/h (188.482 mph). It was his second career pole and his first since the 2014 Daytona 500, and it gave him a strong start to the weekend.
Kevin Harvick qualified second, and Denny Hamlin took third. Dillon led the field to the green flag at 3:49 pm, but Harvick passed him going into turn 1, and within five laps Dillon had fallen back to third.
Carl Edwards made a charge at Harvick but could not get past him. By the 17th lap Harvick had built a two-second gap over Edwards, and he held a strong position at the front during the early laps.
Kyle Busch, who had been running fifth, pitted unscheduled on the 20th lap with a flat right-rear tyre. He rejoined in 37th, one lap down, and faced a long climb back.
How did the early cautions reshape the order?
The first caution came on the 27th lap, after Chris Buescher suffered a right-rear tyre blowout and hit the wall in turn 2. Edwards exited pit road with the lead, while Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne were penalised for having their crews over the wall too soon and restarted from the back.
The race restarted on the 32nd lap, and Harvick retook the lead on the 35th lap. Edwards took it back on the 36th lap, and Harvick drove underneath him into turn 1 on the 38th lap to lead again.
The second caution came on the 47th lap after Kyle Larson hit the outside wall exiting turn 2, cut his left-rear tyre and slammed the inside wall head-on. Larson finished 39th after the crash, and Brad Keselowski was tagged for an uncontrolled tyre and restarted from the back.
Who led the middle of the race?
Harvick made an unscheduled stop from the lead on the 71st lap for a vibration, and Martin Truex Jr. assumed the lead while Harvick rejoined in 33rd. Allmendinger also pitted from tenth for a vibration, and Johnson took the lead from Truex on the 78th lap.
Johnson pitted on the 84th lap and handed the lead to Chase Elliott, who pitted the next lap and gave the lead to Matt Kenseth. Kenseth also pitted the following lap, and the lead cycled back to Harvick in a run of green-flag stops.
Denny Hamlin and Paul Menard were given speeding penalties and forced to serve pass-through penalties, and Matt DiBenedetto was penalised for removing equipment from his pit box.
Harvick pitted from the lead on the 106th lap and handed it to Johnson. The third caution came on the 108th lap when Trevor Bayne rode the turn 2 wall, and Harvick chose not to pit and took the lead back. Clint Bowyer was tagged for his crew going over the wall too soon.
How did the lead change in the closing laps?
When the race restarted on the 115th lap, Johnson took the lead with 85 laps to go. The fourth caution came with 79 laps left, after Danica Patrick was hooked into the turn 1 wall by Kasey Kahne, and Patrick walked toward the racing surface to show her displeasure.
Harvick retook the lead on the outside exiting turn 4 with 63 laps to go. Kenseth made an unscheduled stop for a flat tyre with 52 laps to go and was also given a speeding penalty.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Johnson pitted with 46 laps to go, and a fifth caution came with 45 laps to go for debris in turn 3. Johnson stayed out when Harvick pitted and took the lead, and Truex was penalised for speeding and restarted from the back.
The field went back to green with 40 laps left. Edwards beat Johnson to the line to take the lead with 39 to go, but Johnson got underneath him in turn 1 with 38 to go. Joey Logano then went underneath Johnson in turn 2, and Harvick outdrove Logano to the line with 34 laps left.
With 14 laps to go Logano took the air off the back of Truex's car going into turn 1, which sent Truex into the wall. Truex cut a tyre down, made an unscheduled stop and finished 32nd.
The sixth caution came with two laps to go for a single-car wreck in turn 4, after Kyle Busch made contact with the wall with a tyre coming apart. Hamlin took the lead on pit road, and Kenseth was penalised for an uncontrolled tyre.
In overtime the field restarted with two laps to go, and Johnson drove past Hamlin and Harvick to score the victory.
What were the final results?
| Finish | Driver | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports, won on the overtime restart |
| Second | Kevin Harvick | Led a race-high 142 laps |
| Third | Denny Hamlin | Led on pit road before the overtime restart |
| Fourth | Joey Logano | Fourth place, one spot behind Hamlin |
| Fifth | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Fifth-place finish |
| 24th | Austin Dillon | Lost the pole-winning lead on the opening lap |
| 32nd | Martin Truex Jr. | Sent into the wall by Logano |
The race had 26 lead changes among eight different drivers, and six cautions for 33 laps. The race time was 2 hours, 59 minutes and 17 seconds, and the average speed was 220.823 km/h (137.213 mph).
How did drivers and officials respond?
Johnson said he had a strong run off turn 2 on the final restart and had felt he had a real chance. He said crew chief Chad Knaus had made good adjustments for the final dash, which was not the team's strongest area earlier in the day.
Harvick said the final restart was the worst his car had taken off all day, and that his car had not been driven in the way he needed on the restarts. Logano said there was no excuse beyond racing, and he said he hated that he had hurt Truex's day.
On the Thursday after the race Danica Patrick was fined $20,000 for walking onto the racing surface to show her displeasure with Kahne, and she was placed on probation. Six teams were also warned for failing tech inspection several times.
How was the race covered on television?
Fox Sports covered the race for the sixteenth time at Auto Club Speedway. Mike Joy and Darrell Waltrip worked the booth alongside Jeff Gordon, a three-time winner at the track, and Jamie Little, Chris Neville and Matt Yocum covered pit road.
On the radio, MRN carried the race and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio simulcast it. Joe Moore and Jeff Striegle shared the booth with Rusty Wallace, the 2001 winner, while the front stretch was called from there.
