Fontana can be measuring stick for most of schedule

You can pretty much forget everything that happened at Daytona last week when the Sprint Cup Series invades Auto Club Speedway for Sunday's second race of the season.

Virtually nothing that took place at Daytona applies to racing at the two-mile track in Fontana.

There will be no restrictor plates, bump-drafting or heaven help us a pothole to deal with as the series visits Southern California for the first of two visits this year.

"In a lot of ways, it is the start of the season," Denny Hamlin said. "This is when we get into a normal weekend routine and with as big as Daytona is as a single event, it sometimes draws attention away from the long season we have ahead of us."

With the bulk of the schedule comprised of intermediate-sized tracks more in line with Fontana's layout, teams will have more of an opportunity to gauge where they stand after Sunday's checkered flag flies.

"I think you have a better idea of where you are after this race," said Kasey Kahne, who has a bit of an advantage over most of his competitors having taken part in a Goodyear tire test at Fontana in January. "Daytona is such a different race. California is more like the type of tracks that we'll race at the rest of the year. We only have restrictor-plate races four times a year, so I think this weekend's race is a good test for the work that has been done in the offseason and will give us a better idea on where we still need improvement."

Several drivers need to improve after their performance at Daytona, including four-time series champion Jimmie Johnson, who again began his season with a poor finish in the season opener. Johnson wound up 35th in The Great American Race but still feels confident coming into Fontana, where he has won four times in his Cup career.

Jimmie Johnson, 35th at Daytona, has the most wins (4) at Fontana. (Getty Images)

"I'm disappointed that we had the mechanical failure at Daytona because we overcame a lot to get back in position to have a shot at winning that thing," Johnson said. "We were in really good position when our car broke. So, that one's behind us but when I look forward to the rest of the season, California is the first down-force track that we have and a real good indicator of where people are for the bulk of the season.

"So I'm excited. It's going to be like the first day of school all over again even though we just went through it in Daytona, but this time it's for a new set of circumstances that we race under."

On the other end of the spectrum from Johnson's Daytona experience is Jamie McMurray, who since his emotional win in the 500 has been on a whirlwind media tour that has taken him from Daytona to New York to San Francisco and finally Los Angeles before this weekend's race.

But despite his busy schedule leading into the weekend, McMurray is confident he'll be competitive due in part to teammate Juan Pablo Montoya's success at ACS last season.

"I expect to get to Fontana, be able to unload with the setup that Juan ran last year and be really close," said McMurray.

Who's hot

Jimmie Johnson: Winner of the past three fall races, Johnson notched a ninth-place finish in this event last year; he has six consecutive top 10s at Fontana.

Matt Kenseth: California is his best track on the circuit based on wins (3) and Kenseth is the defending race winner. He has a 6.0 average finish in four starts with the COT and boasts the best average finish (9.2) among drivers with 15 or more starts. Kenseth, who will have new crew chief Todd Parrott calling the shots, is third in laps led with 468.

Kyle Busch: Has a 9.5 average finish in four starts with the COT, all coming with Joe Gibbs Racing; while with Hendrick Motorsports, he won the 2005 fall race, the start of eight consecutive top 10s. Busch swept last spring's Nationwide Series/Truck Series doubleheader at Fontana.

Who's not

Paul Menard: With a 28.7 average finish in six starts, Menard has yet to notch a top 20.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Junior's 22.1 average finish is his worst of all ovals on the schedule in which he has made more than 10 starts. He has a 28.8 average finish in four starts with Hendrick Motorsports. His last of four top 10s came in the 2007 Labor Day race, with Dale Earnhardt Inc.

Jeff Burton: He owns a 22.8 average finish in four starts with the COT. Burton's last top 10s with Richard Childress Racing came in 2007 when he finished fourth in both races. He has only four career laps led on 2-mile speedways with the COT.

Make a note

• Roush Fenway Racing Fords have won the past five events.

• Jimmie Johnson has the most wins (4) at Fontana.

• Sunday's race will be the 20th for the Cup series at the Fontana track, which opened in 1997.

• Three-time winner Jeff Gordon finished second in both races in 2009.

• Carl Edwards, the 2008 event winner, has a 5.0 average finish in the four races with the COT.

• Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Jeff Burton participated in the Goodyear Tire Test at Auto Club in January.

• Juan Pablo Montoya is coming off his first top 10 at Auto Club after leading 78 laps last fall.