Auto Club 400 starting grid, lineup for California

It’s a topsy turvy grid for California, but there’s a familiar face leading it to the green flag at Auto Club Speedway.

So fat this season, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series has turned into the Kevin Harvick Invitational. The way he’s piloted the No. 4 Ford the last few weeks, no one would be surprised if he won the Auto Club 400 at Fontana and swept the entire western swing.

Then again, it’s really hard to win four consecutive races, and all of the drivers who figure to have a shot at finally putting a halt to Harvick’s onslaught are starting ahead of him on Sunday. Both Martin Truex Jr., who won the pole for the second straight week, and Kyle Busch, who is right beside him in Row 1, are in that group. So is last year’s winner Kyle Larson, who starts third.

Much of the additional intrigue in the first stage will be seeing how a field that is decidedly mixed up shakes out. More than a third of the cars entered in the Auto Club 400 failed to pass technical inspection to post a qualifying lap, resulting in a bunch of potentially fast cars starting from 25th on back. The flip side of that coin is that drivers like Gray Gaulding (starting 20th) and Jeffrey Earnhardt (23rd) will roll off from their best starting positions ever.

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It’s going to be an interesting few laps to start things off, but Auto Club Speedway is wide enough to accommodate four-wide racing as everything shakes out. Here’s how things will look at least during the pace laps at Fontana on Sunday afternoon:

Auto Club 400 starting grid for Auto Club Speedway

1. Martin Truex Jr. – No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/5-hour Energy Toyota
2. Kyle Busch – No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota
3. Kyle Larson – No. 42 DC Solar Chevrolet
4. Erik Jones – No. 20 SiriusXM Toyota
5. Austin Dillon – No. 3 Dow Coatings Chevrolet
6. Joey Logano – No. 22 Auto Club of Southern California Ford
7. Kurt Busch – No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford
8. Ryan Blaney – No. 12 PPG Ford
9. Ryan Newman – No. 31 Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet
10. Kevin Harvick – No. 4 Busch Beer Ford
11. Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Wurth Ford
12. Chris Buescher – No. 37 Healthy Choice Power Bowls Chevrolet
13. Trevor Bayne – No. 6 Performance Plus Ford
14. Paul Menard – No. 21 Menards/FVP Ford
15. Jamie McMurray – No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet
16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – No. 17 Ford
17. Ty Dillon – No. 13 Twisted Tea Chevrolet
18. Matt DiBenedetto – No. 32 Can-Am/Wholey Ford
19. Bubba Wallace – No. 43 Farmer John Chevrolet
20. Gray Gaulding – No. 23 Earthwater Toyota
21. David Ragan – No. 38 1000Bulbs.com Ford
22. Michael McDowell – No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford
23. Jeffrey Earnhardt – No. 00 VRX Simulators Chevrolet
24. Reed Sorensen – No. 55 TBD Toyota
25. Denny Hamlin – No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota
26. Clint Bowyer – No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford
27. Aric Almirola – No. 10 Smithfield Ford
28. Alex Bowman – No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet
29. William Byron – No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet
30. Daniel Suarez – No. 19 ARRIS Toyota
31. Chase Elliott – No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet
32. AJ Allmendinger – No. 47 Kroger Click List Chevrolet
33. Jimmie Johnson – No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet
34. Kasey Kahne – No. 95 Procore Chevrolet
35. Timmy Hill – No. 51 Bubba Burgers Chevrolet
36. Ross Chastain – No. 15 LowT Center Chevrolet
37. Cole Whitt – No. 72 SoCal Chevy Chevrolet