March 1, 2020 3:30pm
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We make our only trip of the 2020 season to Fontana, CA this weekend for the Auto Club 400. We were successful last week at Las Vegas, winning 3 out of our 4 matchup picks, up 1.47 units. Below, I will be referencing results from the 2018 and 2019 races at California, as well as the 2 races that took place at Michigan in 2019.
Here are a few matchups to consider for the Auto Club 400 this weekend.
Kevin Harvick -118 vs. Joey Logano -112
This matchup favors Joey 3 to Kevin’s 1. Joey finished 3rd in the 2019 California race, while Kevin finished 4th. Here lately, Joey has edged out Kevin, and I see that momentum from Las Vegas carrying over to this weekend’s race.
Jeff’s Pick: Joey Logano over Kevin Harvick
Jimmie Johnson -118 vs. William Byron -112
This weekend marks Jimmie’s final race at Auto Club Speedway, which is his home track. Johnson and Bryon have split the matchups 2 and 2 over the 4 races mentioned above. Jimmie has completed all laps of his career here at California, which is an impressive accomplishment. Jimmie has a driver rating of 87.4 over the last 2 races here at California, compared to William’s driver rating of 71.3.
Jeff’s Pick: Jimmie Johnson over William Byron
Aric Amirola -118 vs. Clint Bowyer -112
Aric has finished better than Clint in 3 of the 4 races referenced above. Clint was involved in 2 crashes at Michigan last year, and he also had overheating issues here at California last year. Issues are not predictive, but I still think Aric will outperform Clint this weekend.
Jeff’s Pick: Aric Amirola over Clint Bowyer
Cole Custer-115 vs. Christopher Bell -115
This matchup features rookie vs. rookie, and I feel most confident about this matchup this week. Obviously we don’t have any NASCAR Cup data to reference on Custer and Bell, but we do have Xfinity Series data. Custer has finished ahead of Bell 4 times over the last 4 Xfinity races at 2 mile ovals. I also think Custer has a slight edge on the equipment he’s racing in over Bell.
Jeff’s Pick: Cole Custer over Christopher Bell