NASCAR: Fontana race will unfortunately end a 90-race streak

For the first time since July 2019, a NASCAR Cup Series race will feature only the 36 chartered entries today at Auto Club Speedway.

Heading into the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, there were plenty of questions and concerns about how the start of the Next Gen car era would look, especially considering the supply shortages that had had a direct effect on teams over the offseason.

These shortages were poised to continue to have an effect on teams throughout the year with all the new parts, and that has already proven to be the case.

There were even rumors that the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway could be the first running of the “Great American Race” not to feature 40 cars, though those concerns were alleviated with the addition of a few late entries to bring the entry total to 42, including the 36 chartered entries and six non-chartered entries.

However, this afternoon’s WISE Power 400 at Auto Club Speedway is set to end a 90-race streak that dates back to July 2019.

For the first time since the race at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday, July 13, 2019, only chartered entries are set to compete.

All 90 races that had been contested since then had featured at least one non-chartered entry and therefore at least 37 cars in total.

But today’s 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.0-mile (3.219-kilometer) oval in Fontana, California, the first race at the track since March 2020 after last year’s event was canceled due to COVID-19-related restrictions, is set to feature only 36.

None of the four non-chartered entries that competed in the Daytona 500 made the trip to Auto Club Speedway, nor did the two that failed to qualify for the season opener.

Tune in to Fox at 3:30 p.m. ET this afternoon for the live broadcast of the WISE Power 400 from Auto Club Speedway. If you haven’t started your free trial of FuboTV, now would be a great time to do so!