CONCORD, N.C. – The final week of the West Coast swing is here, along with the highly anticipated battle of the Super Heroes.
All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers will prepare to take on Auto Club Speedway, where the organization has logged nine wins, five poles, 31 top-five finishes and 47 top-10s. Hendrick Motorsports drivers over the years have led a grand total of 1,971 laps at the California track.
But before Batman and Superman don their capes and gloves, let’s take a look back at three very memorable Hendrick Motorsports victories in Fontana, California.
May 2, 2004: On his first visit to Auto Club Speedway, Jeff Gordon took home the checkered flag. Fast-forward seven years and Gordon was taking home his last checkered flag at the California speedway. While he logged the most laps led in the event, Gordon became more of a threat toward the end of the race, leading the final 47 laps to take the checkered flag at Fontana for the third and final time. The win was his second of five victories that season.
Sept. 4, 2005: Toward the end of his first full-time season, Kyle Busch was on the hunt for his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win. The 20-year-old found that first sweet victory at Fontana after leading the most laps throughout the 254-lap race. Busch survived 11 cautions and 30 lead changes to take the checkered flag. He went on to win one more race at Phoenix in 2005 and ended the season 20th in points.
Feb. 21, 2010: Hendrick Motorsports’ most recent win at Auto Club Speedway came in 2010 when Jimmie Johnson led almost half the race in his No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet SS. Johnson had won a race at this track every year since 2007 and this win made it the fourth consecutive year he took the checkered flag at the California oval. Starting in seventh, Johnson held the lead on and off during the course of the first 142 laps of the 250-lap race. He would advance to the lead again on Lap 227 and hold it for the final 24 laps of the race to take home his fifth career Fontana victory.
