Getty Kyle Larson won the 2022 race at Auto Club Speedway.
There were numerous battles on the track that made the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season memorable. One of the main highlights was a four-way fight between Chevrolet drivers at Auto Club Speedway.
Chase Elliott brought out the caution with fewer than 10 laps remaining as he spun on the apron. This forced the drivers to line up and prepare for one final restart. Kyle Larson was in the lead while Daniel Suarez, Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, and Erik Jones rounded out the top five.
The green flag flew with Larson on the outside and Suarez on the inside. Once the field crossed the start-finish line, a wild battle unfolded. Kevin Harvick moved up several spots with a strong restart while Jones tried to use the top lane to challenge for the lead. Meanwhile, Logano dove to the apron with an aggressive move.
Suarez took the lead with three laps remaining, but his day was not complete. He had to battle Larson, Dillon, and Jones. The driver of the No. 5 ultimately took the lead back with two laps remaining while Suarez had to check up coming off Turn 4.
Larson proceeded to lead the final two laps while his fellow Chevrolet drivers tried to chase him down. Dillon was able to make a late charge by using the draft and then diving to the bottom, but he couldn’t quite put himself in position for a final move. Dillon still finished second while Jones and Suarez rounded out the top four.
Why This Final Battle Mattered
GettyNASCAR drivers do a 5-wide salute at Auto Club Speedway.
The race at Auto Club Speedway was only the second event of the 2022 Cup Series season. It occurred at a time when no one knew how the various teams would perform or how the Next Gen car would change certain tracks.
The Wise Power 400 provided multiple answers. It showed that the Next Gen car could deliver a very strong product at intermediate tracks as the drivers tried to weave their way through traffic, and it put an early positive spin on the Cup Series season.
Additionally, the race at Auto Club Speedway showed that there would be more teams in contention for wins. Suarez and Jones were fitting examples. Neither entered the season as key parts of the playoff conversation, but they both put on strong performances at the two-mile track.
Similarly, Dillon showed that he would be a factor during the 2022 season. The runner-up was his first since the 2020 Southern 500, and it was his first of five top-five finishes in 2022. This amount set a new career-high for the North Carolina native as he returned to the playoffs.
The 2023 Season Will Provide 1 More Opportunity
The 2022 race at Auto Club Speedway served as one of the most exciting of the season. Now there will be questions about whether the 2023 event will provide a proper sendoff.
Auto Club Speedway and NASCAR held a press conference at Phoenix Raceway in November and revealed that there will be a new primary partner. Pala Casino Spa Resort will have naming rights for the race.
As part of the announcement, Auto Club Speedway President Dave Allen confirmed that 2023 will mark the final race on the two-mile configuration of the track. A reconfiguration will take place after the Cup Series race, which will turn it into a short track.