Cup - 2023 - Pala Casino 400
Date: 2023-02-26 | Track: Auto Club Speedway
Three ways to measure this race
| Official winner | TLS leader | Best ARP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | Kyle Busch (#8) | Ross Chastain (#1) | Ross Chastain (#1) |
| Finish | P1 | P3 | P3 |
| TLS points | 6034 | 6839 | 6839 |
| ARP | 6.98 | 2.98 | 2.98 |
| Laps led | 27 | 91 | 91 |
Three different ways to measure a race — and they often point to different drivers.
Official winner — Kyle Busch (#8): where the car was at the checkered flag (P1). Led 27 laps with 6.98 average running position and 6,034 TLS points.
TLS leader — Ross Chastain (#1): most position-weighted points across every scored lap (6,839 points). Finished P3 with 91 laps led and 2.98 ARP. TLS rewards running up front all afternoon, not only the final lap.
Best ARP — same as the TLS leader (2.98). The official winner ran a worse average position (6.98).
The checkered flag reflects who survived the final seconds. TLS reflects where drivers ran across the whole race. ARP tells you the typical running spot — but not who banked the most valuable laps.
| Finish Position | Points Position | Driver | Car Number | Manufacturer | Team | Start Position | Laps Led | ARP | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kyle Busch | 8 | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 21 | 27 | 6.98 | 6034 |
| 2 | 8 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 33 | 1 | 11.03 | 5219 |
| 3 | 1 | Ross Chastain | 1 | Chevrolet | Trackhouse Racing | 8 | 91 | 2.98 | 6839 |
| 4 | 6 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Chevrolet | Trackhouse Racing | 7 | 0 | 7.74 | 5882 |
| 5 | 7 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Ford | Stewart-Haas Racing | 10 | 5 | 9.05 | 5618 |
| 6 | 3 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 13 | 11 | 6.47 | 6137 |
| 7 | 16 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | Ford | RFK Racing | 16 | 2 | 16.86 | 4048 |
| 8 | 5 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 4 | 17 | 7.46 | 5937 |
| 9 | 12 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 28 | 3 | 16.04 | 4213 |
| 10 | 2 | Joey Logano | 22 | Ford | Team Penske | 3 | 19 | 4.55 | 6523 |
| 11 | 20 | Martin Truex Jr | 19 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 14 | 0 | 19.11 | 3596 |
| 12 | 10 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 47 | Chevrolet | JTG Daugherty Racing | 2 | 0 | 12.42 | 4940 |
| 13 | 14 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Ford | RFK Racing | 5 | 0 | 16.16 | 4189 |
| 14 | 11 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 12 | 0 | 14.37 | 4548 |
| 15 | 23 | Harrison Burton | 21 | Ford | Wood Brothers Racing | 24 | 0 | 21.22 | 3172 |
| 16 | 17 | Ty Gibbs # | 54 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 23 | 0 | 18.22 | 3775 |
| 17 | 25 | Todd Gilliland | 38 | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 25 | 0 | 23.57 | 2699 |
| 18 | 18 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 26 | 6 | 18.60 | 3698 |
| 19 | 15 | Erik Jones | 43 | Chevrolet | Legacy Motor Club | 34 | 0 | 16.26 | 4168 |
| 20 | 26 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Ford | Stewart-Haas Racing | 31 | 0 | 25.70 | 2271 |
| 21 | 24 | Justin Haley | 31 | Chevrolet | Kaulig Racing | 29 | 0 | 22.07 | 2986 |
| 22 | 21 | Noah Gragson # | 42 | Chevrolet | Legacy Motor Club | 20 | 1 | 20.50 | 3301 |
| 23 | 27 | JJ Yeley | 15 | Ford | Rick Ware Racing | 22 | 0 | 26.77 | 2045 |
| 24 | 28 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Chevrolet | Live Fast Motorsports | 30 | 0 | 27.08 | 1985 |
| 25 | 9 | William Byron | 24 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 32 | 0 | 12.01 | 4974 |
| 26 | 19 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Ford | Team Penske | 9 | 16 | 18.60 | 3624 |
| 27 | 35 | Cody Ware | 51 | Ford | Rick Ware Racing | 11 | 0 | 30.76 | 1224 |
| 28 | 22 | Austin Cindric | 2 | Ford | Team Penske | 19 | 0 | 20.36 | 3245 |
| 29 | 36 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 15 | 0 | 31.30 | 1060 |
| 30 | 12 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | Toyota | 23XI Racing | 18 | 0 | 12.65 | 4213 |
| 31 | 34 | Ty Dillon | 77 | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 36 | 0 | 27.70 | 1312 |
| 32 | 29 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 1 | 1 | 15.74 | 1892 |
| 33 | 31 | Ryan Preece | 41 | Ford | Stewart-Haas Racing | 27 | 0 | 20.93 | 1414 |
| 34 | 32 | Tyler Reddick | 45 | Toyota | 23XI Racing | 35 | 0 | 21.40 | 1373 |
| 35 | 33 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Ford | Stewart-Haas Racing | 17 | 0 | 21.85 | 1318 |
| 36 | 30 | AJ Allmendinger | 16 | Chevrolet | Kaulig Racing | 6 | 0 | 13.46 | 1789 |
Season Points Standings (Up to This Race)
| Rank | Driver | Car Number | Season Points | Average Running Position | Total Laps Led | Points this race |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joey Logano | 22 | 12853 | 7.91 | 31 | 6523 |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | 12415 | 9.00 | 17 | 6137 |
| 3 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | 11427 | 11.39 | 6 | 5618 |
| 4 | Alex Bowman | 48 | 11182 | 11.92 | 29 | 5937 |
| 5 | Chris Buescher | 17 | 10960 | 12.69 | 32 | 4189 |
| 6 | Kyle Busch | 8 | 10958 | 12.38 | 33 | 6034 |
| 7 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | 10934 | 12.69 | 44 | 4048 |
| 8 | Ross Chastain | 1 | 10907 | 12.44 | 97 | 6839 |
| 9 | William Byron | 24 | 10472 | 12.96 | 0 | 4974 |
| 10 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | 10053 | 14.58 | 3 | 5882 |
| 11 | Austin Cindric | 2 | 9916 | 14.87 | 0 | 3245 |
| 12 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | 9543 | 16.09 | 13 | 3596 |
| 13 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | 9359 | 16.34 | 10 | 4940 |
| 14 | Michael McDowell | 34 | 9212 | 16.61 | 6 | 3698 |
| 15 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | 8987 | 17.27 | 0 | 4548 |
| 16 | Chase Elliott | 9 | 8368 | 12.79 | 1 | 5219 |
| 17 | Ty Gibbs # | 54 | 8288 | 18.92 | 0 | 3775 |
| 18 | Aric Almirola | 10 | 8232 | 15.12 | 16 | 1318 |
| 19 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 8125 | 17.60 | 5 | 4213 |
| 20 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | 7931 | 19.69 | 17 | 3624 |
| 21 | Austin Dillon | 3 | 7736 | 19.84 | 3 | 4213 |
| 22 | Harrison Burton | 21 | 7720 | 20.33 | 9 | 3172 |
| 23 | Kyle Larson | 5 | 7437 | 21.11 | 6 | 1060 |
| 24 | Christopher Bell | 20 | 7381 | 15.49 | 21 | 1892 |
| 25 | Justin Haley | 31 | 7269 | 21.04 | 0 | 2986 |
| 26 | Erik Jones | 43 | 7072 | 16.53 | 0 | 4168 |
| 27 | Todd Gilliland | 38 | 7026 | 21.93 | 0 | 2699 |
| 28 | Noah Gragson # | 42 | 7017 | 21.94 | 1 | 3301 |
| 29 | Ryan Preece | 41 | 6650 | 16.58 | 4 | 1414 |
| 30 | AJ Allmendinger | 16 | 5721 | 18.00 | 1 | 1789 |
| 31 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | 5624 | 24.19 | 5 | 2271 |
| 32 | * Jimmie Johnson | 84 | 4595 | 18.48 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Tyler Reddick | 45 | 4523 | 17.85 | 0 | 1373 |
| 34 | Cody Ware | 51 | 4003 | 29.35 | 0 | 1224 |
| 35 | BJ McLeod | 78 | 3156 | 31.18 | 0 | 1985 |
| 36 | * Travis Pastrana | 67 | 2103 | 31.13 | 2 | 0 |
| 37 | JJ Yeley | 15 | 2045 | 26.77 | 0 | 2045 |
| 38 | Ty Dillon | 77 | 1414 | 32.46 | 0 | 1312 |