NASCAR viewer’s guide: Auto Club Speedway

On March 1, 2020, Alex Bowman won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway.

Less than two weeks later, and after one more race at Phoenix, NASCAR began to postpone races as the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the United States.

NASCAR eventually returned to racing. It’s taken longer for Auto Club Speedway to do so. Pandemic and logistical issues compelled NASCAR to move the track’s planned events for 2021 to the Daytona International Speedway road course.

But, at long last, America’s most popular motorsport returns to the 2-mile oval this weekend.

At the risk of stating the obvious, a lot has changed for the sport since March 1, 2020.

With one horrible mistake, Kyle Larson turned himself into a pariah. Then he worked to be better. And finally, he became a champion.

Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson continues his adventures in IndyCar and IMSA.

Michael Jordan, Pitbull, Floyd Mayweather and Emmitt Smith have become team owners.

And an all-new car is taking the sport into the future.

Auto Club Speedway may have been standing still. But time has not.

While the Daytona 500 officially opens the season, it’s an event unto itself. For most drivers and teams, they’re more focused on the win than positioning themselves in the standings.

That said, as Auto Club Speedway beckons, a lot of important names find themselves with work to do as the grind of the “real” season begins.

While rookie Austin Cindric enjoys the limelight after winning Sunday’s “Great American Race,” seven drivers from the 2021 Cup playoffs – Bowman, Larson, Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin and William Byron – are all sitting 25th or worse in the Cup standings.

Of that group, only Bowman managed to finish Sunday’s race,