Driver Chassis Selections: California Pepsi Max 400

By Jeff Wackerlin, MotorRacingNetwork.com

1. Jimmie Johnson: Won in February after leading 101 laps; Winner of the last three fall races; 5.5 average finish and 11 top 10s in 15 starts; 2.8 average finish in the five races with the COT; Best average finish (6.3) and second in laps led (115) in the three races on 2-mile speedways in 2010; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 580) that he won with at Las Vegas; This car most recently finished 35th at Bristol.

2. Denny Hamlin: 23.2 average finish in five races with the COT; Won the pole last fall, but finished 37th after a crash; Only top five (third) came in the 2008 Labor Day weekend race; Finished 29th in February to raise his average finish to 18.2 in nine starts; Leads all drivers with 141 laps led in the three races on 2-mile speedways in 2010; Eighth-best average finish (10.7) on 2-mile speedways this season; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 276) that he won with at Richmond last month.

3. Kevin Harvick: Coming off best finish in 16 starts after leading 27 laps in February; Second-place finish lowered his finishing average to 12.4 in the five races with the COT; Third in average finish (7.3) and laps led (115) in the three races on 2-mile speedways in 2010; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 288) that he won with at Michigan in August.

4. Carl Edwards: 6.6 average finish in the five races with the COT; 13th-place finish in February ended a streak of five consecutive top 10s; Won the 2008 February race after leading 64 laps; Seventh-best average finish (9.3) on 2-mile speedways this season; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 702) that he finished second with at Atlanta in September.

5. Jeff Gordon: Three-time Auto Club winner; Last win came in 2004; Second in laps led with 608; Fourth-best average finish (8.4) in the five races with the COT; 20th-place finish in February ended a streak of two consecutive runner-up finishes; 17.0 average finish in the three races on 2-mile speedways in 2010.

6. Kurt Busch: 14.2 average finish in the five race with the COT; Has finished ninth or better in five of his nine starts with Penske Racing, including the last three races; Fifth in laps led (61) in the three races on 2-mile speedways in 2010; 16.3 average finish on 2-mile speedway.

7. Kyle Busch: 10.4 average finish in the five races with the COT; Led 11 laps and finished 14th in February; Best finish in five starts with Joe Gibbs Racing came in the 2009 February race in third; Won the 2005 Labor Day weekend race with Hendrick Motorsports; 17.3 average finish in the three races on 2-mile speedways in 2010; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 280) that he finished 18th with at Michigan in August.

8. Greg Biffle: Winner of the 2005 spring race; Finished 10th in February for fifth top 10 in 15 starts; Fifth-best average finish (10.2) in the five races with the COT; Fourth-best average finish (7.7) and fourth in laps led (66) in the three races on 2-mile speedways in 2010; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 571) that he finished fourth with at Michigan.

9. Jeff Burton: Finished third in February to lower his average finish in the five races with the COT to 18.8; 46 laps led in that event are his only laps led on 2-mile speedways this season; Ninth-best average finish (11.7) in the three races on 2-mile speedways this year; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 317) that he finished eighth with at Pocono last month.

10. Tony Stewart: 10.2 average finish in the four races with the COT; 7.3 average finish in three starts with Stewart-Haas; Best finish is a pair of fourth-place finishes with Joe Gibbs Racing back in 1999 and 2001; Second-best average finish (6.7) in the three races on 2-mile speedways this season; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 564) that he most recently finished sixth with at Michigan in August.

11. Matt Kenseth: Best track on the circuit based on wins (3); Third in laps led with 468; Second-best average finish (6.2) in the five races with the COT; Sixth-best average finish (8.7) in the three races on 2-mile speedways this season; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 707) in the Pepsi Max 400.

12. Clint Bowyer: 13.0 average finish in the five races with the COT; Coming off second consecutive top 10; Has yet to finish outside the top 20 in nine starts; 14.3 average finish in the three races on 2-mile speedways in 2010; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 324) in the Pepsi Max 400.

13. Ryan Newman: 21.0 average in the five races with the COT; Engine failure in February raised his finishing average to 26.3 in three starts with Stewart-Haas; 30.3 average finish in the three races on 2-mile speedways in 2010.

14. Jamie McMurray: 23.0 average in the five races with the COT; Won the pole and finished 17th in first track start in an Earnhardt-Ganassi Chevrolet in February; 20.3 average finish in the three races on 2-mile speedways in 2010; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 1016) that he finished 15th with at Atlanta last month.

15. Mark Martin: 1998 win was one of six top fives in 18 starts; Finished 40th in his track debut with Hendrick Motorsports after engine failure; Finished fourth in last two races to give him an average finish of 16.0 in four starts with the COT; 16.0 average finish in the three races on 2-mile speedways in 2010; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 595) in the Pepsi Max 400.

16. Juan Pablo Montoya: 18.2 average finish in the five races with the COT; Led 78 laps in this event last year en route to a third-place finish; Finish was only top 10 in seven starts; Engine failure in February raised his overall average finish to 21.4; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 1003) that he last finished ninth with at Atlanta.

17. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 29.4 average finish in the five races with the COT and Hendrick Motorsports; Posted four top fives in previous 12 starts with Dale Earnhardt, Inc; 19.3 average finish in the three races on 2-mile speedways in 2010; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 612) that he finished 22nd with at Atlanta.

18. David Reutimann: 15.8 average finish in the five races with the COT; Only top 10 in seven starts came in the 2008 Labor Day weekend race; 16.3 average finish in the three races on 2-mile speedways in 2010.

19. AJ Allmendinger: 25.2 average finish in four starts with the COT; 17.7 average finish in the three races on 2-mile speedways in 2010.

20. Joey Logano: Coming off first top 10 (fifth) in three starts; 15.0 average finish; Fifth-best average finish (8.3) in the three races on 2-mile speedways in 2010.