NASCAR is off to a great start in 2022. The hit a home-run with the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, Speedweeks produced some great racing and the Dayton 500 was sold out. I expect the party will continue this weekend as NASCAR returns to Auto Club Speedway after a year away from the track. The Power Wise 400 can be seen Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
Stats for Auto Club Speedway
I am not going to pretend I know what is going to happen Sunday. The drivers have all said they do not know what to expect, the crew chiefs said they have no idea how the Gen-7 car will run on the two-mile ovals and I talked to my friends in Las Vegas who work in the sportsbook and they have no idea which teams will have the speed. That does not mean we cannot use some logic to help handicap this race.
We know Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing are the elite teams and Team Penske is not far behind. It is hard to imagine their drivers laying an egg in the first race using the 670 HP aero package in the Gen-7 car.
We also know that Auto Club Speedway is a high-speed track that wears out tires quickly. Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson both said the winner of the race will be the driver who can manage his tires over a long run. So who are these drivers?
The high tire-wear tracks include: Auto Club, Darlington, Homestead and we can throw in Michigan too since it is almost an identical track to what we have this week. Here are the stats from the last three races at Auto Club, Darlington, Homestead and Michigan (High tire-wear tracks)…
* D.G.G. PTS is Driver Group Game Points
** DK PTS is DraftKings Points
Key Stats for Auto Club
The Gen-7 car that will be used Sunday is completely different from the car that was used in the 2020 race. We cannot simply look at what happened in the last race at Auto Club to help predict what will happen Sunday. There have been many different aero packages used at the track and they all required the drivers to search the track for their preferred lane. I like looking at each drivers career stats at Auto Club to see who is good at finding speed on this two-mile oval track.
Here is the Driver Rating at Auto Club to show you which drivers have a history of running well at this track…
There is an art to passing at Auto Club Speedway. The drivers need to carry momentum and do as Dale Earnhardt Jr. once said, “SLIDE JOB!!” We need drivers who know how to use momentum and pull off a “SLIDE JOB.” This stat shows the drivers who are the best at making passes at Auto Club and are good candidates to score a lot of place differential points in DFS contests Sunday..
Xfinity Series Stats
There is also an Xfinity Series race Sunday. Just like the Cup Series, the Xfinity Series did not compete at Auto Club last year. For that reason I am looking at the stats from the race at Michigan since that track is similar to Auto Club.
Here are the drivers from the Xfinity Series average DraftKings Points at Auto Club and Michigan. This should help you set your DFS lineups for the Xfinity Series race…
Good Luck this weekend!
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