Bowman Dominant in California

Originally written for CLNS Media.

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.

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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

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