Auto Club 400 Odds & Picks

• The Auto Club will take place on Sunday, March 1st at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California
• This superspeedway is a low-banked, D-shaped oval
• Kevin Harvick is favored at+450, but there are a few good reasons why Kyle Busch is the better bet

NASCAR drivers continue their west coast swing this week in California. After Joey Logano won in Las Vegas, they’ll now head to the Golden State for the Auto Club 400.

The race will be held at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, and will take place on Sunday, March 1st at 3:30 p.m. EST.

Odds to Win 2020 Auto Club 400

Odds taken Feb. 26th

Busch Blazes in California

If you’re planning to bet on Kyle Busch this week, it’s hard to blame you. This is the guy to beat in California as he’s not only coming off a win in 2019, but he’s won this race in three of the last six times it’s been run.

His dominance stretches much further back than that, though, which is why he’s someone you can typically trust here.

To start, Busch has 14 top ten’s here in his last 18 starts. That includes four wins and ten top five finishes.

Busch has led laps here in nine of his last ten appearances. In the last eight iterations of this race, he’s placed in the top three six times. He’s about as reliable as it gets here, so he’s the one you want to bet among the favorites.

Blaney Is on a Roll

Ryan Blaney has looked good to start the 2020 NASCAR season. He finished second at Daytona and very nearly won at Las Vegas too. He ended up in 11th but that might not accurately depict how close he actually came. He was actually in the lead late before a caution hurt his chances.

When you take a look at his track record in California, he has three top ten’s as well as a 35th place finish.

The 35th is the outlier but that was his first start there; he’s been in the top ten every other time. Last year, he placed fifth, which is pretty good, and he even led for a couple of laps. He’s a good bet to win or for a top ten prop.

Is Jimmie Johnson Back?

The “is Jimmie Johnson back?” question has come up so frequently over the last three years that many people just assumed that the 44-year-old is simply in the twilight of his career. We kept hearing about crew changes or tweaks in strategy were going to turn things around for him but we hadn’t seen it…until now.

He’s had no more than four top five’s in the last four years but he’s already collected one this season (Las Vegas) and he was second at the Duel and 11th at The Clash. He’s past his prime but it’s still worth noting that he holds basically all of the records at this track. I’d take a flier with him for a top ten prop.

Pass on Truex Jr.

It hasn’t been a great start to the 2020 campaign for Martin Truex Jr., who has just a 32nd (Daytona) and 20th (Las Vegas) under his belt. He didn’t look great at the exhibition races either, finishing 16th at The Clash before doing better at The Duel with a seventh place finish.

He placed eight at Auto Club Speedway in 2019 but won in 2018 and placed fourth in 2017. Even so, those better results came with Furniture Row Racing; he switched to Joe Gibbs last year. Add it all up and I’ll pass on him to win outright this week. I’d like to see some better results from him before I back him.