February 22, 2023
Pala Casino 400
Auto Club Speedway
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Sunday, February 26 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions FARMSMART Camaro ZL1
“Auto Club is a fun race track that always allows a lot of passing. It’s the last race there on this configuration; it’s very bumpy and very line-sensitive at times, but it’s also a race track that when you’re hooked up, it can be a lot of fun to drive. I felt like the cars last year in the Cup race were really quick. Hopefully we can unload, be really fast, and I can get comfortable with the race track really quickly and try to carry the momentum that we have from last week.”
– AJ Allmendinger on Auto Club Speedway
Justin Haley, No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1
“Auto Club is a track we actually kind of struggled at last year, as well as the other two-mile racetracks. We have definitely put some time into figuring out what we need arrow-wise to be faster, so I feel like we got a good grasp of it going into the weekend. Multi-groove racetracks are extremely fun to race on and have a lot of character to them, so this a fun one I’m looking forward to.”
– Justin Haley
Production Alliance Group 300
Auto Club Speedway
NASCAR Xfinity (NXS)
Saturday, February 25 at 5:00 p.m. ET on FS1
Austin Dillon, No. 10 LA Golf Chevrolet
“Auto Club Speedway is one of my favorite tracks, and I’ve been successful there before in the NASCAR Xfinity Series so I can’t wait to get there this weekend with Kaulig Racing. Those guys have such a strong program. It’s a bigger track, and the bigger tracks suit me well because you can really move around and find speed. Restarts are going to be very important. You have to have speed at the beginning of a run and then hold it for a long run. If you can’t take off you get beat on the restarts and if you can’t hold on they’re going to lap you at the end of a run. You have to have a good balance between the short and the long run. If you can do that, you’ll be pretty good.”
– Austin Dillon on Auto Club Speedway
Daniel Hemric, No. 11 Poppy Bank Chevrolet
“I’m proud of everyone at Kaulig Racing and their efforts to kick the West Coast swing off. I’m excited to go to a track that everyone loves and enjoys visiting. With this being the final time that we race on the two-mile configuration at Auto Club, we are going there treating it like it could be the last time we walk out of there. The possibility of winning would be ideal, and that’s just what everyone on the No.11 Poppy Bank Chevrolet is trying to do. I’m looking forward to that chance.”
– Daniel Hemric on Auto Club Speedway
Chandler Smith, No. 16 Quick Tie Chevrolet
– Chandler Smith on Auto Club Speedway
“I’ve never raced at Auto Club Speedway before, so this will be a new experience altogether for me. I’m looking forward to taking the Quick Tie Chevy Camaro away from the superspeedway and to a track that relies on more throttle control and driver input. Hopefully, we will build off our 12th-place finish at Daytona and grab our first top-ten of the season.”