NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR NOTEBOOK;McMurray wins pole in California;Small crowd in the hundreds attends Pepsi Max 400

Published Oct. 12, 2010 10:17 p.m. ET

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FONTANA, Calif. - Traffic heading north on Interstate 15 was at a crawl Friday afternoon, bumper-to-bumper for more than 10 miles in either direction of the Auto Club Speedway.

Only a handful, if any, seemed concerned about pole qualifying for the Pepsi Max 400.

The rest were either trying to get home or making the four-hour run to Las Vegas for a holiday weekend.

For years, the two-mile track an hour from downtown Los Angeles has fought for recognition - and to sell seats - leading NASCAR and International Speedway Corp. to move one of two annual races away from Southern California.

Starting next year, the Sprint Cup Series will only be back at Auto Club during the Chase for the Championship. The track's spring race, which usually runs on the same day as the Academy Awards ceremonies, was moved to the Kansas Speedway.

NASCAR has a long and storied history in the area, only to get buried by progress.

The road course at Riverside is gone.

So is the speedway at Ontario. Now California, once considered a jewel in the NASCAR schedule, will fall back to a one-and-done weekend.

"Obviously, the attendance here hasn't been what everyone hoped it would be," Jeff Burton said "I think it is a good area for us to be in. I think being on the West Coast is a good thing. It is close to L.A. It just seems like to me that it makes sense to be here. Unfortunately, the crowds just haven't been what everyone hoped they would be."

There were a few hundred fans at the track when Jamie McMurray won the pole position Friday afternoon.

Speedway officials remain confident most of its 93,000 seats will be filledSunday.

McMurray's McDonald's Chevrolet ran a lap of185.285 mph to edge Elliott Sadler's lap of 184.407.

Matt Kenseth was third, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya and Kasey Kahne.

Although there won't be any competition from the NFL or Major League Baseball during Sunday's race, there still are a lot of other distractions in the Inland Empire.

For seven drivers in the main event, it's also a chance to return to their home state.

"As a California native, I'm disappointed to hear that it's losing an event because it's taken so long for NASCAR to get here and then to really ingrain it into the sports fans in the area," Jimmie Johnson said.

"I hate to see us lose a weekend here, but on a national scale and what's right for the sport, I kind of see that side as well. I think that if we're not packing the stands, we probably need to take the second date somewhere else, and I have a lot of friends that would come all the time when there was just one race."

RACING AND RESPECT

Although Kyle Busch said he's still upset with David Reutimann for crashing him last week and crippling his playoff hopes, he didn't get a lot of support for his claim that Chase for the Championship drivers should get special consideration.

Reutimann retaliated for a bump by Busch earlier in the race that sent Reutimann's car spinning in the second turn. Later, Reutimann drove Busch into the second turn wall.

Busch believed Reutimann should have waited until next year for the payback.

Reutimann said it's never too early to demand respect.

"There are a lot of guys that have created new life in their season that want to win a race, and there are a lot of guys that are racing for a championship," Kevin Harvick said. "It's all about 43 cars on the racetrack, and if there is a scenario that something happens between a Chase guy and a non-Chase guy, then those things are going to happen."

Busch and Reutimann haven't talked since last Sunday, but officials with Toyota Research Development have talked with Reutimann.

Essentially, Toyota told him to move forward.

Others said there shouldn't be any difference between the playoff drivers and everyone else.

"I think you should race everybody the same, whether they're in the Chase or not in the Chase," Matt Kenseth said. "I think you try to show people respect all year because everybody has the same right to be out there, whether they're first in points or last in points."

"It all comes down to respect, no different than you working in an office or anything else," Clint Bowyer said. "It's all about respect. If you show respect and give respect, then you are going to get it back."

PEPSI MAX 400

When: 3 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, Calif.

TV: ESPN

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