NASCAR at Fontana results: Alex Bowman hangs on to win Auto Club 400

Jacob Hancock

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NASCAR at Fontana results: Alex Bowman hangs on to win Auto Club 400 image

Alex Bowman won the Auto Club 400 in Fontana, Calif. on Sunday, comfortably beating out favorites like Kyle Busch (second) and Jimmie Johnson (seventh).

Bowman won Stage 1 of the race as he held the lead after 60 laps. Ryan Blaney won Stage 2 and was second for a large chunk of Stage 3 but was forced to make a pit stop with just a few laps left, opening the gap for Kyle Busch to finsih as the runner-up.

The win locks Bowman into the NASCAR Playoffs, an elimination bracket-style postseason that takes place in the final 10 races of the season. Next time we see him, he might be sporting some new ink as he has a promise to keep.

Sporting News tracked live updates and lap-by-lap highlights from NASCAR's race in Fontana, Calif. Follow below for complete results from the Auto Club 400 .

NASCAR at Fontana results, highlights from Auto Club 400

Pos. Driver
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 Matthew 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 Jr.
28 Daniel Suárez
29 Corey LaJoie
30 Ryan Preece
31 J. J. Yeley
32 Brennan Poole
33 Joey Gase
34 Garrett Smithley
35 Quin Houff
36 Reed Sorenson
37 Timmy Hill
38 Christopher Bell

6:29 p.m.: Alex Bowman wins it in comfortable fashion, well ahead of Kyle Busch in second and Kurt Busch in third. Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick and Erik Jones round out the top 10.

6:27 p.m.: Ryan Blaney has to go to pit road. Alex Bowman's lead grows as Kyle Busch moves into second place, Kurt Busch in third. Both Busch brothers are more than 10 seconds behind Bowman with 2 laps to go.

6:26 p.m.: Five laps to go, Alex Bowman's lead up to more than 8 seconds ahead of Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch in third and Kurt Busch in fourth.

​6:21 p.m.: Just 10 more laps. Can Alex Bowman hold on? His lead is up to 5.5 seconds ahead of Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch is 12 seconds behind in third.

6:19 p.m.: Alex Bowman continues to push the lead with 15 laps to go, Ryan Blaney trails by roughly five seconds in second place, Kyle Busch 11 seconds behind in third.

6:12 p.m.: With 25 laps to go, Alex Bowman still holds the lead. Ryan Blaney in second, Kyle Busche in third, Chase Elliott in fourth and Kurt Busch in fifth.

6:06 p.m.: Bowman retakes the lead as Keselowski pits with 34 laps to go, Ryan Blaney in second, Kyle Busch in third, Jimmie Johnson in fourth and Chase Elliott in fifth.

6:02 p.m.: Big shakeup as cars head to pit road. Brad Keselowski takes the lead as he chooses to keep going with 39 laps to go, Clint Bowyer in second and Alex Bowman in third.

5:53 p.m.: Put your 4s up: we're three quarters of the way through. Alex Bowman leads with 50 laps to go, Martin Truex Jr. in second, Ryan Blaney in third, Jimmie Johnson in fourth and Kyle Busch in fifth.

5:46 p.m.: Alex Bowman leads with 62 laps to go, Martin Truex Jr. in second and Jimmie Johnson back up to third.

5:42 p.m.: Alex Bowman retakes the lead, Martin Truex Jr. in second and Denny Hamlin up to third with 67 laps to go. Heck of an effort today by Truex Jr. and Hamlin after starting near the back

5:39 p.m.: Lots of jostling after the restart and Martin Truex Jr. jumps out to the lead with 70 laps to go, Ryan Blaney in second and Alex Bowman in third.

5:26 p.m.: Ryan Blaney wins Stage 2 by 3.2 seconds. 120 laps down, 80 to go. Alex Bowman in second, Jimmie Johnson in third, Brad Keselowski in fourth and Martin Truex Jr. in fifth.

​5:19 p.m.: Ryan Blaney holds the lead after 110 laps, 10 to go in Stage 2. Alex Bowman in second, Jimmie Johnson in third.

5:12 p.m.: 100 laps down, 100 laps to go. Ryan Blaney holds the lead, Jimmie Johnson in second, Alex Bowman in third. Just 20 laps left in Stage 2.

5:07 p.m.: Christopher Bell is done for the day after engine issues. Tough year gets even tougher for the rookie.

5:04 p.m.: First caution flag of the day is up as Clint Bowyer's front-left tire is down, 28 laps to go.

5:02 p.m.: Halfway through Stage 2, lots of cars coming into pit road. Willie Byron up into first place, Ryan Blaney in second, Alex Bowman in third and Jimmie Johnson in fourth.

4:58 p.m.: We're 25 laps into Stage 2, Ryan Blaney still has the lead. Jimmie Johnson in second, Alex Bowman in third, Martin Truex Jr. all the way up to fourth as he passes Joey Logano.

4:48 p.m.: Joey Logano up into third place as he passed Alex Bowman on Lap 73, Ryan Blaney leads and Jimmie Johnson in second.

4:46 p.m.: And Johnson's lead is short-lived as Blaney and Bowman blow right by him on Lap 69.

4:45 p.m.: Jimmie Johnson has his first lead of the day on lap 67, Ryan Blaney in second and Alex Bowman in third after several pit stops.

4:35 p.m.: Alex Bowman wins Stage 1, has led 44 out of 60 laps so far with 140 to go. Ryan Blaney in second, Jimmie Johnson in third.

4:28 p.m.: Just 10 laps left in Stage 1, it's still Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney and Jimmie Johnson up front. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Preece have been lapped. Martin Truex Jr. all the way up to 14th after starting 38th and he's having fun.

​4:22 p.m.: Less than 20 laps to go in Stage 1, Alex Bowman holds the lead, Ryan Blaney in second and Jimmie Johnson in third.

4:19 p.m.: Kyle Larson hits the wall after a bump from behind by Denny Hamlin, he's forced to go to pit road.

4:15 p.m.: Were past halfway through Stage 1, Ricky Stenhouse has the lead after 33 laps, Alex Bowman in second.

4:09 p.m.: After 25 laps, Alex Bowman still holds the lead. Ryan Blaney up to second, Jimmie Johnson in third.

​4:00 p.m.: Jimmie Johnson nearly passes Clint Bowyer, gets cut off but frees up Alex Bowman to take the lead after 10 laps.

3:56 p.m.: Five laps in, Clint Bowyer holds the lead. Jimmie Johnson in second, Alex Bowman in third.

3:52 p.m.: Green flag is waving and the race is underway!

3:51 p.m.: Cars riding in a five-wide salute to Jimmie Johnson during the pace laps, pretty neat stuff.

3:47 p.m.: Denny Hamlin came to pit road to make adjustments, will have to start the race at the rear.

​3:40 p.m.: Drivers are starting their engines now. We'll see if the weather holds up.

3:05 p.m.: A couple of raindrops falling on pit road, but the weather looks like it might hold up as things get ready to start.

(All times Eastern)

What time does the NASCAR race start today?

  • Start time : 3:30 p.m. ET | 12:30 p.m. PT
  • Green flag time : 3:46 p.m. ET | 12:46 p.m. PT
  • TV channel : Fox
  • Live stream : Fox Sports Go

The Auto Club 400 is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET with a 3:46 p.m. ET green flag. It will be the third race of the season to be shown on Fox, which also will be the TV channel for the next three races on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

NASCAR lineup at Fontana

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

Jacob Hancock