Bowman Dominant in California

Alex Bowman won the Auto Club 400 from the Auto Club Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Bowman dominated throughout the weekend and led a race-high 110 laps.  Bowman unloaded fast on Friday, and he ran fast laps throughout both practices and qualified towards the front of the field.

Bowman said this was the second week in a row where his team was fast from start to finish.

“We’ve unloaded the last two weeks; I don’t think we’ve got a change in the racecar from how it came off the truck,” Bowman said.  “[Crew chief] Greg Ives and all the guys are just on point.”

Bowman said this victory is a statement for all the hard work his team has put in since his first win last June.

“The first one…was a really enjoyable experience, and then we sucked for six months,” Bowman said.  “We started this year so strong; I feel like I’ve got a lot of things on my side that I’m doing better.”

Kyle Busch finished second on Sunday after struggling with his car’s handling throughout the weekend.

Busch said his team is continuing to work on their speed.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Busch said.  “It wasn’t a second-place car, but thankfully we got a good finish out of it.”

Ryan Blaney seemed like he had the only car that could challenge Bowman, but he needed to pit for tires with two laps to go after shredding the right-rear tire.

Blaney, who finished second in the first two races of the season, said he wasn’t frustrated with the early season misfortune.

“I didn’t see any frustration,” Blaney said.  “Just corded a right-rear there at the end and gave up a good finish.  That one didn’t work out in our favor…just unfortunate end to the day, again.”

Unofficial results:

1. Alex Bowman
2. Kyle Busch
3. Kurt Busch
4. Chase Elliott
5. Brad Keselowski
6. Denny Hamlin
7. Jimmie Johnson
8. Aric Almirola
9. Kevin Harvick
10. Erik Jones
11. Tyler Reddick
12. Joey Logano
13. Matt DiBenedetto
14. Martin Truex Jr.
15. William Byron
16. Chris Buescher
17. Ross Chastain
18. Cole Custer
19. Ryan Blaney
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
21. Kyle Larson
22. Michael McDowell
23. Clint Bowyer
24. Austin Dillon
25. John Hunter Nemechek
26. Ty Dillon
27. Bubba Wallace
28. Daniel Suarez
29. Corey LaJoie
30. Ryan Preece
31. JJ Yeley
32. Brennan Poole
33. Joey Gase
34. Garrett Smithley
35. Quin Houff
36. Reed Sorenson
37. Timmy Hill
38. Christopher Bell