Numbers of note: Auto Club stats to know as NASCAR returns

After a two-year hiatus, NASCAR returns to Auto Club Speedway for a full slate of racing action.

Every track has its trends, but an absence from the 2021 schedule following the COVID-19 pandemic might have made it easy to forget who’s good and what’s worth remembering since Alex Bowman took the checkered flag in March 2020.

That’s where we come in. With help from Racing Insights, take a look at some of the storylines and statistics to be aware of heading into this weekend’s Xfinity and Cup series races.

MORE: Xfinity Series race info | Cup Series race info

— Stage 1 winners are a perfect 4-for-4 in winning the race at Auto Club Speedway since stage racing was introduced in 2017. That list of winners includes Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Bowman.

— Austin Cindric enters Sunday’s race as the first rookie to lead the Cup points standings since 2002, when Jimmie Johnson was atop the leaderboard.

— Chevrolet leads the way with seven victories in the last 12 races in Fontana. Toyota follows up with four wins in that span. Brad Keselowski‘s 2015 triumph is Ford’s only Auto Club win since Matt Kenseth won in 2009.

— In each of the last four Fontana contests, the eventual winner led at least 54% of the race. Larson led 110 laps; Truex 125; Busch 134; and Bowman 110.

— Twenty-four of the 31 Auto Club races have been won by series champions. Bowman is the only driver without a title to win at Fontana in the last 15 races.

— The Daytona 500 marked the first race in 138 days not won by Hendrick Motorsports. Yes, the offseason factors into this stat, but Hendrick did win the final five races of 2021. The last organization to win before Team Penske’s celebration one week ago was 23XI Racing, which went to Victory Lane