· Hamlin to be further evaluated this week: #11-Denny Hamlin remained in a local hospital Sunday afternoon undergoing a CT scan to see what may be causing severe headaches and vision problems his Joe Gibbs Racing team confirmed. Sam Hornish Jr. substituted behind the wheel of the #11 FedEx Toyota in Sunday's Auto Club 400 because in the hour before the green flag dropped NASCAR did not medically clear Hamlin to compete. "We do (go forward assuming Denny will be back next week.)," his crew chief Darian Grubb said after the race. "But it's going to be touch and go for right now obviously with him still in the hospital getting a CT Scan. Last I heard the vision was getting worse and the pain was getting worse so we're just going to wait and see what happens. Hopefully we'll get some good news this afternoon." Before the race, JGR President J.D. Gibbs said initially the team thought it was a sinus infection that was causing the headaches and vision issues. But Grubb said it soon became apparent, it may be more serious. "For him to go the infield care center, for one thing, it must have been pretty bad for him," Grubb said. "Then it got to where he couldn't see and was having trouble with vision in his left eye with all the pressure that was going on. At that point, NASCAR did some testing and knew he could not follow the finger going by his eyes as he should have been so they knew at that point,they weren't going to let him go. It wasn't just a headache, it was more serious than that. That's why they're doing the CT Scan now. He had them on the whole time and was just holding his head, it hurt him so bad. You could tell by the look on his face he was really worried." Team owner Joe Gibbs confirmed that Hamlin left the track immediately before the race started and that by late afternoon "they are still running tests. It will be later on before we get results
JGR Statement: Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was not medically cleared in today's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway because of a sinus infection that affected his vision. Hamlin was taken to a local hospital near the race track for additional evaluation and released. He will be further evaluated this week in Charlotte
· Tire failures impact many teams Sunday: Sunday's Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway produced a massive number of tire failures, as Goodyear Eagles exploded with shocking regularity from the opening 20 laps until the end of the race. #48-Jimmie Johnson, #4-Kevin Harvick, #99-Carl Edwards, #16-Greg Biffle, #9-Marcos Ambrose, #2-Brad Keselowski, #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. and #15-Clint Bowyer were among the top drivers who saw their races go out the window because of tire failures. But afterward, most of the drivers weren't pointing the finger at Goodyear as the source of the problem. Instead, they pointed to changes with the cars and how they are set up for 2014. Last year, NASCAR loosened rules on how much air pressure the teams must run in their tires and how much camber they can run. This year, NASCAR added downforce with a new, larger rear spoiler.
Some teams got very aggressive by running extremely low air pressures on left-side tires -- 11 pounds per square inch in some cases, vs. the Goodyear recommendation of 22 psi -- and equally aggressive camber, which is defined as how much the tire slants away from vertical when viewing it from the front or back. Lower air pressures combined with aggressive camber make for extremely fast speeds, but it greatly increases the risk of catastrophic tire failure, which is what happened again and again and again on Sunday. "Last year we opened up the rules on camber for the rear end," added Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition and racing development. "I would say that a year ago at this time we were early in the process, and teams were probably not as aggressive as they wound up being as the season unfolded, as they got the mechanics better in their cars and the opportunity to be able to make parts and pieces live longer. Now, I think they're probably a little bit better prepared for that. So if they had too much camber -- they've got a lot of choices, so if they had too much and it abused the tire, that's what happens." Asked by FOXSports.com if he thought the tire failures were a Goodyear problem, Pemberton was clear. "No," Pemberton said. "We've talked to Goodyear. We have asked, the competitors have asked to bring more aggressive tires, to bring tires that they need to manage and want to -- how they use them and how they get the most out of them. At this point in time, I think Goodyear, it's the same tire that we've run on in the past. Just the car is a little bit different
· Bill Simpson presented with The Justice Brothers-Shav Glick Award: Bill Simpson was presented today The Justice Brothers-Shav Glick Award at Auto Club Speedway. Named in honor of former Los Angeles Times sports writer Shav Glick, the award is presented annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to motorsports in California. Simpson, who was both a driver and safety innovator during his motorsports career, will be remembered for over 50 years of safety contributions in all forms of racing. Today Simpson is focused on his new company, SG Helmets, which has taken racing technology and incorporated it into football helmets used at the youth, varsity, and professional levels
· Sad News - Bobby Waltrip: Robert Lynn "Bobby" Waltrip, middle brother of NASCAR Hall of Fame driver and Fox Sports announcer Darrell Waltrip and NASCAR team owner and fellow Fox Sports announcer Michael Waltrip, died Sunday. [Darrell and Michael Waltrip were informed of their brother's death after the race.] Both worked the Fox Sports' Sunday afternoon telecast of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Auto Club 400 race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. Michael, the youngest of the three Waltrip brothers, confirmed his brother's passing on Twitter Sunday evening. Moments later, Darrell, the oldest Waltrip brother, also paid homage to brother Bobby. Bobby Waltrip grew up in Owensboro, Ky., but had lived in the Concord, N.C. area the last 25 years. While he never followed his brothers into NASCAR as a race car driver - although he did work for Darrell in the late 1980s and early 1990s when the latter formed his own Winston Cup team - Bobby became a major force in the world of go-kart racing, first as a successful kart racer himself and later as an announcer and promoter in the sport in both the World Karting Association (WKA) and the American Karting Association (AKRA). He was believed to be in his early 60s at the time of his death
· Kyle Busch wins at Auto Club Speedway: #18-Kyle Busch won the Auto Club 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway for his 1st win of 2014, his 3rd at Auto Club Speedway and his 29th career win.
Rookie of the Year candidate #42-Larson finished 2nd followed by: #41-Busch, polesitter #20-Kenseth, #14-Stewart, #1-McMurray, #55-Vickers, #47-Allmendinger, #27-Menard, and #99-Edwards.
Tire problems throughout the weekend continued during the race with numerous teams having flats and cautions coming frequently. #48-Johnson was leading the race with 7 laps to go when he cut down a tire. A caution came out with 2 laps to go after #15-Bowyer lost a tire and spun out, causing the race to finish with a green-white-checker.
#11-Hamlin missed the race due to a sinus infection. He was replaced by Sam Hornish, Jr, who had to start at the rear of the field because of the driver change. Hornish finished 17th
#2-Keselowski, who came into the race as the points leader, also had a late flat and finished 26th.
#99-Edwards is now in the points lead, 1 point over #88-Earnhardt, Jr.
There were 35 lead changes among 15 drivers and there were 9 cautions for 42 yellow flag laps.
The average speed was 132.987mph.
· Race Fast Facts - Auto Club Speedway:
Kyle Busch won the 18th Annual Auto Club 400, his 29th victory in 334 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in 2014.
This is his third victory and 12th top-10 finish in 17 races at Auto Club Speedway.
The race included 35 lead changes, which broke the previous track race record of 33 set back in Feb. 2008.
Kyle Larson (second) posted his first top-10 finish in one races at Auto Club Speedway. It is his second top-10 finish in 2014.
Kurt Busch (third) posted his 11th top-10 finish in 21 races at Auto Club Speedway.
Kyle Larson (second) was the highest finishing rookie.
Carl Edwards leads the points standings by 1 points over Dale Earnhardt Jr.
· 2014 Sprint Cup Driver Chase Championship Points Standings:
[after Auto Club Speedway, race 5 of 36]
1) #99-Carl Edwards [1 win], 186
2) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. [1 win], 185, -1
3) #24-Jeff Gordon, 184, -2
4) #2-Brad Keselowski [1 win], 182, -4
5) #20-Matt Kenseth, 179, -7
6) #48-Jimmie Johnson, 165, -21
7) #18-Kyle Busch [1 win], 158, -28
8) #31-Ryan Newman, 150, -36
9) #3-Austin Dillon, 150, -36
10) #22-Joey Logano, 146, -40
Other drivers with a win:
25) #4-Kevin Harvick [1 win], 97, -89
· NASCAR considering reducing horsepower to Cup cars next season: NASCAR is planning on making significant engine package changes in 2015 to extend the life of Sprint Cup powerplants and reduce horsepower. And along with engine changes, there likely will be aerodynamic and tire changes for the Cup cars in 2015 as well. That's the word from NASCAR Vice President of Competition and Racing Development Robin Pemberton. Pemberton said the sanctioning body has had four meetings so far with representatives from Chevy, Ford and Toyota and race teams about how to implement those changes. No consensus has been reached yet, according to Pemberton, but discussions are ongoing in advance of making the changes for next year. Although Pemberton declined to specify how many horsepower NASCAR is looking to cut, sources familiar with the discussions said the reduction would be in the neighborhood of 75 to 100 horsepower. Currently, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series engines make about 860-900 horsepower at most tracks. Discussions are still in the early stages, Pemberton said, but given the fact that there are so few engine suppliers now, they will need plenty of lead-time to make changes for next year.
Among the options being discussed are reduction in engine displacement and changes to throttle body size. Sources familiar with the discussions say that Chevy and Toyota are pushing for a reduction to 5.0-liter engines, while the Ford camp is pushing for the use of tapered spacers, such as are used in the NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series engines. Pemberton said any change in the engine package likely would necessitate other changes as well.
"It's not fully appreciated the fact that we've had the same engine for basically 25 or 30 years and it's at 850 or 860 horsepower, where it used to be 500," Pemberton said. "And we are at the same race tracks where we used to run 160 (miles per hour) we're now qualifying at 190 and running 213 going into the corners. There's been a lot of engineering and gains made across the board. Goodyear ... we have the same tire patch as when we started.
· Janssen Pharmaceuticals joins NASCAR as official partner: NASCAR announced that it is teaming up with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., to help make a difference for racing fans who are at risk for or are living with blood clots. Janssen, the maker of XARELTO (rivaroxaban), an important medicine used to treat and help prevent blood clots, is now the Official Cardiovascular Partner of NASCAR. Blood clots have hit close to home for the NASCAR community. Brian Vickers, full-time driver of the #55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, recently overcame his second episode with the condition. Having completed his treatment with XARELTO and being cleared by his physician, Brian is now competing again in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and is currently 18th in points. 900,000 Americans experience blood clots every year2 that result in nearly 300,000 deaths. According to The National Blood Clot Alliance, many factors can increase a person's risk for developing blood clots, including age; being overweight; having other chronic diseases; immobility; hormones and pregnancy; long air travel; surgery; trauma or injury
· Open wheel split caused Toyota to look to NASCAR: Had the CART-IRL split of the mid-1990s never occurred, Toyota might still be racing open-wheelers instead of having a huge presence in NASCAR. But according to Toyota's U.S. racing boss, the split diluted the value of Indy car racing so badly that it ceased being of interest to the automaker. "To demonstrate the lack of value ... in 2003, we won the Indy 500, we won the race in Japan, we won 13 out of 16 races that year, and that fall, we still had to sell to our management to stay in the sport," said David Wilson, president and general manager of TRD, U.S.A., the Costa Mesa, Calif.-based racing arm of Toyota. "As much as we loved it from an engineering standpoint, we also starting realizing that there were a lot of empty seats," said Wilson. "And open-wheel in the United States was not exactly catching fire, so that started our ... relationship with NASCAR
· EcoPower joins Roush; will sponsor Stenhouse, Jr.: Fresh off its one-two finish at Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend, Roush Fenway Racing announced a multi-year team-wide partnership with Safety-Kleen and its premium re-refined motor oil brand, EcoPower. EcoPower will serve as the official oil partner of NASCAR's winningest team, as well as the primary sponsor for multiple races with the #17 Sprint Cup Ford and driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The #17 EcoPower Ford Fusion will make its debut at Michigan International Speedway in June. EcoPower re-refined oil helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80%. And it requires up to 85% less energy to produce than oil made from virgin crude, because it has already been refined. It also helps reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. Safety-Kleen is a founding partner of NASCAR Green; an initiative focused on making NASCAR the greenest sport. Safety-Kleen collects all used fluids from the tracks during race weekends - and from most team facilities year round - and then recycles or responsibly disposes of those fluids. The used motor oil collected from all of these sources, including RFR's race cars, will find its way back into EcoPower