The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will land at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California this Sunday for the second race of the 2009 season. The running is scheduled to get under way at 6:00pm ET and will broadcast live on the FOX Network. Two drivers that certainly bear watching in this annual foray are Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch. 
The Auto Club 500: Jimmie Johnson vs Kyle Busch NASCAR Matchup at Sportsbook.com has the defending Sprint Cup Champion, Johnson, pegged as a -135 moneyline favorite to best Busch in this weekend's race.
Jimmie Johnson did not have the kind of day at Daytona that a defending Sprint Cup Champion would anticipate having. He started in the seventh position in his number 48 Lowes Chevrolet, but he finished 31st in the rain shortened race without leading a single lap. However, the California native is headed home this weekend to a track that he has absolutely dominated.
Johnson scored his first career victory at the Auto Club Speedway back in April of 2002. That landmark win was only a sign of things to come. Rick Hendrick has seen Johnson drive his car into the winner's circle on two occasions since and finish in the top 10 eight times in 12 races. Johnson's average finish at the track is 5.9 and his win ratio at Fontana is an amazing 25 percent.
Johnson will start this weekend's race from the second position after completing qualifying with a time of 39.309.
Last year the three time Sprint Cup Champion started on the pole in the February race and went on to finish second after leading 76 laps. His showing in the August California race was nothing short of spectacular as he started on the pole and finished in first after leading 228 laps of the 250 lap race.
Kyle Busch led 88 of the 152 laps ran at Daytona last weekend, but he had the misfortune of being involved in the Earnhardt-Vickers mixup. He went on to finish 38th after completing 123 laps, but he contended afterward that his car was the one to beat had it not been for the unfortunate wreck.
Busch, like Johnson, has had great success at the Auto Club, coming in with an average finish of 9.9 in his nine starts at the track. He has one win at the speedway as well as seven top 10 finishes (77.7 percent). In last year's February race he started 22nd but finished in fourth after leading 14 laps. While he never assumed the lead in the August race at Fontana, he did finish in a respectable seventh place.
The number 18 M&M's Toyota will start Sunday's race in the 10th position with a qualifying time of 39.578. During the 2008 season, Busch's average finish was 11.45 if he started the race in one of the top 10 spots.
Johnson's Career Ratios:
Wins – 15.6 percent (40/256)
Top Fives – 39 percent (101/256)
Top Tens – 61 percent (156/256)
Busch's Career Ratios:
Wins – 8 percent (12/151)
Top Fives – 31 percent (47/151)
Top Tens – 47.6 percent (72/151)
Sportbook.com's Auto Club 500: Jimmie Johnson vs Kyle Busch NASCAR Matchup
Johnson -135 (Moneyline)
Busch +105 (Moneyline)
