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NASCAR: Who’s hot and who’s not heading to Auto Club Speedway

By Mike Knapp

AVONDALE, AZ - MARCH 11: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota, leads Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John's Ford, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway on March 11, 2018 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
AVONDALE, AZ - MARCH 11: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota, leads Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John's Ford, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway on March 11, 2018 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images) /
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The NASCAR Cup series concludes its western swing with a stop at Auto Club Speedway. Who has momentum? Who’s just ready to pack up and head home?

NASCAR Cup Series points leader Kevin Harvick has had his way with the field through the first two races on the western swing. Who else is taking some momentum into Sunday’s Auto Club 400? Who’s looking for some help?

Who’s hot

Kevin Harvick: Actually, “white-hot” would be a better way to describe Harvick right now. Three wins in a row, two of which came in dominant fashion, three stage wins and double the number of playoff points (11) than the next closest competitor is an amazing run, especially considering we are just four races into the season. How long will he keep this up?

Denny Hamlin: The controversies that swirled around Hamlin just a couple of weeks ago have died down, and now it’s time to just talk about his racing. Hamlin has three top 4 finishes in four races so far this season. This is the best start through the first four races of any season of his entire Cup Series career.

Chase Elliott: Elliott had the weekend he was looking for at Phoenix, as nobody hit him (that’s happened twice so far this year), and he picked up his first top 5 finish of the season with a 3rd place finish. While his team was unfortunately hit with an L1 penalty this week, they have to be encouraged with finally getting a solid weekend.

Kyle Busch: If Harvick is the LeBron James of the series right now, Busch is Anthony Davis: just as good, but not garnering nearly the attention. He’s been the runner-up to Harvick the last two races. He also sits in a second place tie in points. All signs point to Busch being highly motivated this weekend.

Who’s not

Hendrick Motorsports: Elliott’s bright spot last weekend aside, the first four races have been a struggle for HMS. And, by the way, the team took a huge hit this weekend when longtime Jimmie Johnson sponsor Lowe’s announced they were leaving at the end of the 2018 season. On the track, Elliott has the only two top 10 finishes among the four drivers in the stable. Alex Bowman is a team-best 16th in points. On the flip side, William Byron is showing improvement in his rookie season and Johnson loves Auto Club Speedway. They may be able to salvage something out of the western swing after all.

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Austin Dillon: He’ll always have his Daytona 500 victory, but the last three races for have been a disappointment for him. Dillon has been stuck in the midfield with finishes of 14th at Atlanta, 13th at Las Vegas and 17th at Phoenix. Take away his Daytona win and he last had a top 10  finish at Darlington last September. So is he just a little bit cold, or is this who he is?

Kurt Busch: It’s been quite the yo-yo season for the elder Busch, who finished in 8th at Atlanta and 10th at Phoenix, but he also finished 26th at Daytona and 35th at Las Vegas. He’s run up front, as he has two stage wins, but consistency and some bad luck have been part of his equation, too.

Next: Top 100 NASCAR drivers of all-time

The race at Auto Club Speedway this weekend is the first race during which the teams will race on a 2-mile track this season. Will that change some fortunes, or will the teams with the momentum keep up their dominance?

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