Cole Custer — Not Kyle Busch — Won Saturday’s XFINITY Series race in Fontana
- Cole Custer won Saturday’s Production Alliance Group 300 in the NASCAR XFINITY Series at Auto Club Speedway, leading 29 of the 150 laps en route to his third career victory
- Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular Kyle Busch finished second on a day where many expected him to earn his 200th career NASCAR national series victory
- Busch led 98 laps — more than any other driver — but a late-race pit miscue cost him valuable track position and he was only able to recover to second
- Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, and Chase Briscoe rounded out the top five
- The race was slowed five times for cautions, including the stage breaks
Additional info: Full race results … Full points report … Race recap
~~~~~~~~~~
Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski lead pair of Saturday practice sessions
- The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series had two practice sessions on Saturday in preparation for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway
- Kevin Harvick led the first session with a fastest lap time of 40.940 seconds at 175.867 mph
- Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski were second and third quickest, respectively
- Martin Truex Jr. and Daniel Hemric rounded out the top five
- The top five with the best 10 consecutive lap average were Keselowski, Busch, Alex Bowman, Hemric, and Aric Almirola
- A few of the same names appeared at the top of the board in final practice, with Keselowski leading the session by posting a time of 40.759 seconds at 176.648 mph
- Hemric, Daniel Suarez, Almirola, and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top five
- The top five with the best 10 consecutive lap average were Hemric, Blaney, Keselowski, Bowman, and Erik Jones
- Late in the first session, Kyle Larson got into the outside wall and sustained minor damage to the right side of his car; he will not need to go to a backup
Additional info: Full results from first Saturday session … Full final practice results … Saturday practice recap
~~~~~~~~~~
Hailie Deegan will have iK9 on board for ARCA, NKNPSE races
- 17-year-old Hailie Deegan competes full time in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West for Bill McAnally Racing, but will also be racing in select ARCA Racing Series and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East races this season
- iK9 — who currently partners with Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Jeffrey Earnhardt, Kyle Busch, and Brandon Jones in the NASCAR XFINITY Series — will debut as a primary sponsor on Deegan’s car in the Pro Series East race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, April 6
- iK9 will also serve as Deegan’s primary sponsor in the May 31 ARCA Racing Series event at Pocono Raceway
- Deegan will be competing in five other ARCA events with iK9 serving as an associate sponsor: May 19 at Toledo Speedway; June 14 at Madison International Speedway; July 13 at Elko Speedway; October 5 at Lucas Oil Raceway; and October 18 at Kansas Speedway
- Deegan made history last fall when she became the first female to win a NASCAR K&N Pro Series race by taking the checkered flag at Meridian Speedway
- Deegan also won the season-opening race for the Pro-Series West at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track last month
- Hailie is the daughter of X Games Motocross legend Brian Deegan
Additional info: Full announcement … Hailie Deegan career statistics … About iK9
~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday schedule at Auto Club Speedway (PDT)
- 5:00 am – Parking Lots Open
- 7:00 am – O’Reilly Auto Parts Fan Zone Gates Open
- 7:15 am – 8:00 am – Sunrise Service featuring Harvest Christian Fellowship Worship Band, Aric Almirola, Michael McDowell, Ty Dillon & Corey LaJoie
- 8:00 am – 9:00 am – Monster Energy Smoke Show featuring Rodrigo Ampudia, Freestylemx.com FMX and Casey Currie in O’Reilly Auto Parts Fan Zone
- 8:30 am – Mariachi Los Reyes in Viva La Fiesta
- 8:40 am – Lucha Libre in Viva La Fiesta
- 8:45 am – Driver Story Time with Cole Custer in Lefty’s Fun Zone
- 8:45 am – 9:00 am – Daniel Suárez Autograph Session at SHR Merchandise Hauler (Wristband Required)
- 9:15 am – 10:15 am – Monster Energy Smoke Show Autograph Session in Fan Zone
- 9:20 am – 9:35 am – Daniel Suárez Q&A on Viva La Fiesta Stage
- 9:25 am – 9:45 am – William Byron Autograph Session at HMS/JRM Haauler
- 9:30 am – 9:50 am – Five Wide Q&A: A Short Track Tribute on Fan Zone Main Stage
- 9:35 am – 9:50 am – Kyle Busch at Toyota Racing Experience display in Fan Zone
- 9:40 am – Ballet Folklorico Performance on Viva La Fiesta Stage
- 9:50 am – 10:10 am – Samantha Busch at Toyota Racing Experience display in Fan Zone
- 10:00 am – Lucha Libre in Viva La Fiesta
- 10:30 am – Mariachi Los Reyes in Viva La Fiesta
- 10:30 am – 11:30 am – Monster Energy Smoke Show featuring Rodrigo Ampudia, Freestylemx.com FMX and Casey Currie in O’Reilly Auto Parts Fan Zone
- 10:30 am – Sum 41 Pre-Race Concert on the Main Stage in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Fan Zone
- 11:00 am – Lucha Libre in Viva La Fiesta
- 11:35 am – 11:45 am – Monster Energy Smoke Show Grand Finale featuring Rodrigo Ampudia, FMX and Casey Currie in O’Reilly Auto Parts Fan Zone
- 11:50 am – MENCS Driver Introductions
- 12:30 pm – Auto Club 400 MENCS Race (200 laps, 400 miles)
Additional Info: Full ACS weekend schedule … TV/Radio schedule … NASCAR official schedule
~~~~~~~~~~
Marvin Musquin wins Supercross race in Indianapolis
- Marvin Musquin won Saturday night’s Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX race at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, leading every lap en route to the victory
- Blake Baggett finished second while Cooper Webb completed the podium in third
- Fourth was Eli Tomac followed by Justin Barcia in fifth
- Austin Forkner continued his dominance in 250SX East, leading every lap of his race too
- Forkner was joined by Chase Sexton and Justin Cooper on the podium
- Mitchell Oldenburg finished fourth followed by Martin Davalos in fifth
- In 450SX, Webb currently leads the standings by 14 points over Musquin; Tomac is third, 21 points behind Webb and seven points behind Musquin
- In 250SX East, Forkner has a 26-point lead over Sexton and a 28-point lead over Cooper
- The next event will be Saturday, March 23rd at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington at 6:30 PM local time
Additional info: Story from TheLascoPress.com’s Steve Sweitzer … Story from IndyStar.com’s Zachary Horrall … Supercross point standings
~~~~~~~~~~
If you would like to receive this column in your inbox, please e-mail me and let me know: [email protected].
You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram.