Brian Vickers...from the pole to the rear

Last night, Brian Vickers clenched the 6th pole of his career for the Auto Club 500. This was the best thing that could have happened for Brian after he was wrecked last weekend from contact by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Now it seems Brian may have a black cloud following him. After qualifying, the team noticed a problem with the engine and opted to change power plants. As a result, Brian will start from the rear of the field in Sunday's race.

Brian is still credited with the pole and retains the first choice of pit stalls. When Vickers drops to the rear on Sunday, each of the cars on the inside row each will move forward, putting McMurray in the pole position for the start of the race.

Auto Club 500 cheat sheet / lineup

As promised, here is the cheat sheet / lineup for the Auto Club 500 at Fontana. I must say, we are extremely happy that both Scott Riggs and David Gilliand made the race. Congrats to Tommy Baldwin and Slugger Labbe!!

Update! Due to an engine replacement, Brian Vickers will start at the back of the pack :-(
Hopefully this is the finish of bad luck for him and his fans.

1. #83 Brian Vickers Toyota, Red Bull
2. #48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet, Lowe's / Kobalt Tools
3. #26 Jamie McMurray Ford, Crown Royal
4. #2 Kurt Busch Dodge, Miller Lite
5. #16 Greg Biffle Ford, 3M
6. #24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet, DuPont
7. #00 David Reutimann Toyota, Aaron's Dream Machine
8. #44 A.J. Allmendinger Dodge, Charter Comm.
9. #82 Scott Speed Toyota, Red Bull
10. #18 Kyle Busch Toyota, Interstate Batteries
11. #14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet, Old Spice / Office Depot
12. #7 Robby Gordon Toyota, Jim Beam
13. #6 David Ragan Ford, UPS
14. #47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota, Little Debbie / Kingsford / Clorox
15. #42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet, Target
16. #96 Bobby Labonte Ford, Ask.com
17. #43 Reed Sorenson Dodge, Charter Comm.
18. #5 Mark Martin Chevrolet, Carquest / Kellogg's
19. #29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet, Shell / Pennzoil
20. #19 Elliott Sadler Dodge, Best Buy
21. #33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet, Cheerios / Hamburger Helper
22. #9 Kasey Kahne Dodge, Budweiser
23. #11 Denny Hamlin Toyota, FedEx Freight
24. #17 Matt Kenseth Ford, Carhartt
25. #99 Carl Edwards Ford, Aflac
26. #77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge, Auto Club
27. #98 Paul Menard Ford, Quaker State / Menards
28. #39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet, Haas Automation
29. #07 Casey Mears Chevrolet, Jack Daniel's
30. #66 Dave Blaney Toyota, Prism Motorsports
31. #8 Aric Almirola Chevrolet, Guitar Hero
32. #71 David Gilliland Chevrolet, TRG Motorsports
33. #1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet, Bass Pro Shops / Tracker
34. #20 Joey Logano Toyota, The Home Depot
35. #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet, Amp Energy / National Guard
36. #36 Scott Riggs Toyota, Red Bank Outfitters
37. #28 Travis Kvapil Ford, Farmers Insurance
38. #12 David Stremme Dodge, Penske Racing
39. #41 Jeremy Mayfield Toyota, All Sport
40. #34 John Andretti Chevrolet, WindowWorld.com
41. #31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet, Caterpillar
42. #55 Michael Waltrip Toyota, NAPA
43. #87 Joe Nemechek Toyota, NEMCO Motorsports

Brian Vickers to dine at Hell's Kitchen tonight!!

One of our favorite things about the Auto Club Race is the intermingling of NASCAR and Hollywood. We promised that we will do our best to report on any sitings that deem worthy. LA Times reports that Brian Vickers will be a diner tonight on Hell's Kitchen set. To give you an idea of what Brian is getting himself into, this blog describes the experience that they had. If you have ever watched this show on Fox, its debatable which is easier: being in the presence of Chef Ramsey or going up against June Bug in Daytona.

photo courtesy of MSNBC

If you are in the LA area, make sure to take a look at the Driver appearances happening throughout the week. If you know of any that we are missing, please send us an email and we will add them to the site.

Thursday, February 19th
Matt Kenseth, Daytona 500 winner is scheduled to sign autographs at 11:00am at 2049 Century Park East.
David Ragan is scheduled to sign autographs at Discount Tire, 17871 Castleton Street City of Industry, CA 91748 6pm-8pm. roushracing.com
Tony Stewart is scheduled sign autographs at the Office Depot store in Rancho Cucamonga, California, on from 1:30pm-4pm. http://www.jayski.com/
Robby Gordon will visit with firefighters and sign autographs from 12pm-2 pm at the San Diego Convention Center. http://www.robbygordon.com/
Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, David Stremme, Reed Sorenson, Michael Annett, John Wes Townley & Justin Allgaier are scheduled to sign autographs at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California from 6pm-7pm. Johnson is scheduled to host the Fast Cars and Country Stars concert. Arena address is: 4000 E. Ontario Center Parkway, Ontario California. For ticket information and directions visit the Citizens Bank Business Arena website. http://www.jayski.com/

Saturday, February 21, 2009
Carl Edwards is scheduled to be inducted in the Auto Club Speedway Walk of Fame at 10:30am. The ceremony will be held near Gate 12 at the race track. http://www.jayski.com/pages/appear.htm
Sam Hornish is scheduled to appear at the Opportunity, California FanZone at Auto Club Speedway at 11:45am. http://www.jayski.com/pages/appear.htm

Sunday, Feb 22, 2009
Casey Mears is scheduled to sign autographs at the Jack Daniel's souvenir trailer located in Auto Club Speedway's display area, outside the front straightaway at 11:30am. Casey is also scheduled to be at the Jack Daniel’s Experience at 12pm. http://www.jayski.com/pages/appear.htm
Kurt Busch will be at the Fan Zone-California Speedway at 11:45am http://www.kurtbusch.com/index_hi_1024.php
Elliot Sadler: Think you know your Team Tylenol trivia? Stop by the Team Tylenol display for details and your chance to be one of 10 lucky fans to test your knowledge against Elliott Sadler. elliottsadler.com
Clint Bowyer is scheduled to hold "story time" with kids during Auto Club Speedway's Kids Club event at 10:40am. The event will be held at the Opportunity, California FanZone Stage at Auto Club Speedway. http://www.jayski.com/pages/appear.htm
Sam Hornish is scheduled to be on hand to sign autographs at the Penske Racing souvenir trailer at Auto Club Speedway from 10am - 10:30am. Sam is also scheduled to appear at the Auto Club display in the Opportunity, California FanZone at 11:20am.http://www.jayski.com/pages/appear.htm
Reed Sorenson is scheduled to sign autographs at his trackside trailer from 12pm - 12:30 pm

Brian Vickers escapes to SoHo

So this is where HABV goes to hide...a Manhattan penthouse in Soho. Now we like him even more! Click here for the story from NYtimes.

A comment off of HABV Facebook

Sometimes, things make me really laugh REALLY hard....

Russell W. Reed wrote at 2:15pm
I was at NHMS on Friday, too bad it got rained out. I was the one wearing the Earnhardt Jr gear from top to bottom that was standing by the track on the straightway where pit road is. Wish I could've stayed longer, but left...

Oh you were that guy? The one from head to toe junior gear? Thank you so much for clearing that up for us!!

My brother Joey Nangano is racing today, the Home Depot commercial was great...Keep Digging My Little Pony!