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Aerodynamics are always the key in Fontana, which historically has given an edge to the teams of Jack Roush and Rick Hendrick, whose drivers have combined to win 11 of the 15 races held in San Bernardino County.

Native son Jeff Gordon won the inaugural race and three of the first eight run at California from 1997–2004. But the 24 car has failed to earn a win in its last seven starts.

Last year, it was Hendrick Motorsports teammate and California-born Jimmie Johnson who threw a Labor Day party in Victory Lane following his second win (April ’02) at the two-mile track. Johnson has finished inside the top 3 in three of his last four races on the West Coast, with a win and a third last year, along with a second in ’06.

After hosting only one race per year in the period from 1997 to 2003, Fontana added a second Cup race in 2004. In its brief four-year history, California’s Labor Day run has provided a stage where up-and-coming stars have shined, as Kasey Kahne (2006), Kyle Busch (2005) and Elliott Sadler (2004) each took the checkers on the first Sunday in September.

The past two February races have belonged to Matt Kenseth, who led 133 laps on his way to beating Gordon (second) and Johnson (third) last season. In addition to the pair of victories, the Roush Fenway veteran has three seventh-place runs in the last five events at Fontana.

FANTASY STALL
Looking at Checkers
Matt Kenseth loves venues like this.
Pretty Solid Pick
Jimmie Johnson and possibly Junior.

Good Sleeper Pick
Kyle Busch should fare well after watching Brian Vickers in a Toyota last year.
Runs on Seven Cylinders
The Yates guys.
Insider Tip
It’s all about engineering.
Do the math.

KEEP AN EYE ON...

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Junior’s most recent top-5 finishes at California bookend a blown engine in the February ’07 race. We all know that won’t be a problem at his new home.

Carl Edwards How’s this for a track record: Edwards, in seven California Cup starts, has six finishes of sixth or better. It’s hard to argue with that kind of consistency.

David Ragan OK, so maybe this is a bit of a stretch, as the sophomore did spin out here last year, but Ragan recovered to record 12th- and 16th-place finishes in his first trips out West. We’ll see how Roush’s CoT fleet takes to the big two-mile oval this year.

Martin Truex Jr. If his engine holds up, he should be fine. Truex finished sixth in the fall last year and even drove to top-20 runs in Cali as a rookie.
Empty Seats How much longer can NASCAR ignore — and justify — the serious attendance issues surrounding Fontana’s Labor Day event?


RACE RESULTS FOR Pepsi 500 (Aug 31st, 2008)
DRIVER MANUFACTURER START FINISH POINTS EARNINGS
Jimmie Johnson (#48) Chevrolet 1 1 195 $314,611
Greg Biffle (#16) Ford 15 2 175 $185,375
Denny Hamlin (#11) Toyota 21 3 165 $178,091
Kevin Harvick (#29) Chevrolet 33 4 160 $170,786
Matt Kenseth (#17) Ford 37 5 160 $169,941
Carl Edwards (#99) Ford 26 6 150 $153,300
Kyle Busch (#18) Toyota 11 7 146 $120,225
Kasey Kahne (#9) Dodge 4 8 142 $141,691
David Reutimann (#44) Toyota 12 9 143 $108,075
Clint Bowyer (#07) Chevrolet 31 10 134 $120,150
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (#88) Chevrolet 18 11 130 $108,750
Brian Vickers (#83) Toyota 19 12 127 $107,825
David Ragan (#6) Ford 22 13 129 $108,475
A.J. Allmendinger (#84) Toyota 2 14 126 $98,225
Jeff Gordon (#24) Chevrolet 3 15 123 $143,636
Ryan Newman (#12) Dodge 17 16 115 $135,225
Jeff Burton (#31) Chevrolet 27 17 117 $137,508
Patrick Carpentier (#10) Dodge 5 18 109 $96,700
Martin Truex Jr. (#1) Chevrolet 7 19 106 $125,458
Juan Pablo Montoya (#42) Dodge 23 20 103 $124,033
Bobby Labonte (#43) Dodge 24 21 100 $130,086
Tony Stewart (#20) Toyota 14 22 97 $137,936
David Gilliland (#38) Ford 42 23 94 $111,608
Jamie McMurray (#26) Ford 13 24 91 $99,725
Scott Riggs (#66) Chevrolet 39 25 88 $107,958
Casey Mears (#5) Chevrolet 16 26 85 $105,800
Reed Sorenson (#41) Dodge 41 27 82 $117,964
Travis Kvapil (#28) Ford 34 28 79 $117,739
Dave Blaney (#22) Toyota 8 29 76 $104,583
Aric Almirola (#8) Chevrolet 10 30 73 $124,533
Sam Hornish Jr (#77) Dodge 32 31 70 $132,900
Marcos Ambrose (#47) Ford 40 32 67 $105,595
Michael Waltrip (#55) Toyota 30 33 69 $99,808
Elliott Sadler (#19) Dodge 6 34 61 $113,495
Mike Skinner (#84) Toyota 35 35 58 $96,647
Regan Smith (#01) Chevrolet 25 36 55 $95,050
Paul Menard (#15) Chevrolet 29 37 52 $95,000
Kyle Petty (#45) Dodge 38 38 49 $86,950
Kurt Busch (#2) Dodge 9 39 46 $86,900
Robby Gordon (#7) Dodge 36 40 43 $94,850
Ken Schrader (#96) Toyota 28 41 40 $94,805
Johnny Sauter (#78) Dodge 43 42 37 $86,740
Joe Nemechek (#78) Chevrolet 20 43 34 $86,212

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