NASCAR: Five Lessons Learned From The Auto Club 400 at Fontana

Racing Close to the Wall is The Real Test at Fontana

When it comes to the racing at Auto Club Speedway drivers tend to favor getting as close to the wall as possible .

It seems as if the fastest way around. It’s also one of the most unforgiving.

Now this seems like an obvious statement; of course racing close to the wall is going to put a driver in a dangerous spot. It can increase the chance that they actually hit the wall. But the real test at Fontana is if a driver can get as close as possible to the wall without hitting it.

Drivers were first put to the test during practice, and some hit the wall a little harder than others. Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick all hit the wall at some point during practice.

And while Larson was able to drive away with just some scratches on the side of his car, Harvick’s team had to try and make repairs to the 4 car in order to avoid going to a back up during the race.

Harvick was not as much of a factor in a majority of the race on Sunday like he normally is at this track; he’s finished second at the previous two Fontana races.

Hitting the wall at practice was just a bad sign of things to come.At one point he even cut a rear tire, could it have been from the damage he took during practice? Was the 4 team able to fully fix the frame of the car?

Harvick finished the race in 13th, but where could he have finished if he avoided hitting the wall?

As mentioned before, Kyle Larson also hit the wall during practice but because his was just a scratch, he was still able to have one of the best cars during the Auto Club 400.

Driving as close to the wall as possible is far from easy, but it’s something that can either lead a driver to victory or play a role in ending their day early.