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By Bill Marx,Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

Here's a look at the top five in points and five drivers to watch in Sunday's Auto Club 500 at California Speedway in Fontana. All statistical references are for Sprint Cup races at California Speedway unless otherwise indicated.

1. Ryan Newman. Newman has accomplished a lot in his young career but has yet to win consecutive races. His driver rating at California is a mediocre 75.6, which ranks 17th. He hasn't had a top 10 at California since February 2005. In terms of completing laps, California ranks 19th among the 23 tracks on which he has raced. He has completed 89.0 percent of his laps on the 2-mile oval. Which leads us to ...

--(Cont'd From Front Page)-- 2. Kurt Busch. Busch is the opposite of Newman, his Penske Racing teammate. Busch has completed all but two laps at California and has one win (2003, when he was with Roush). Busch was the polesitter in three of the past four races at California, all since he joined Penske. His driver rating is 95.1, ninth best. 

3. Tony Stewart. Stewart is winless at California in 13 races, with six top 10s. Speed has not been a problem. Only Greg Biffle, with 134 laps, has posted more fastest laps in the past three years than Stewart's 130. He leads in green-flag pass differential, 114, and has the fifth-highest driver rating, 101.2. Worth noting is that Joe Gibbs Racing engine whiz Mark Cronquist has been working on the power plant for the car all offseason. He purposely was not part of the team working on the plate engines so he could work ahead. 

4. Kyle Busch. What goes in Stewart's car goes in Busch's car. So if one gets a boost, so, too, will Busch and JGR teammate Denny Hamlin (along with the other Toyota drivers). Busch has the third-highest driver rating, 109.3. All five of his California top 10s in seven starts have come in his last five races, including his first Cup win in 2005. 

5. Reed Sorenson. If this is Sorenson's breakout year, perhaps it's best to ignore what he has done in the past. So with that in mind, I'll tell you what he has done in the past -- average finish in four races, 26.5; driver rating, 63.7 -- and close by telling you I am ignoring it. Sorenson will post his best California finish Sunday. 

Five to watch: 

Dale Earnhardt Jr., 8th. The first of Junior's well-publicized 2007 engine failures happened in this race. Think that'll happen this year? Doubtful. Junior's driver rating is 76.8, but that's all with DEI. Junior gets the Sorenson treatment: We're ignoring his past. 

Sam Hornish Jr. 14th. This is a good second race for Hornish. The cars will spread out, and it'll be all about turning laps. Hornish has a free pass into his first five races (because of 2007 owner points), and if he can turn in three more Daytona-like performances in the next three races -- all on intermediate tracks -- he'll have a nice cushion to emerge from the fifth race, at Bristol, comfortably in the top 35, which is where he needs to be his entire rookie season. 

Carl Edwards, 18th. Edwards loves this track, as do all Roush Fenway drivers. His average finish in seven races is 7.6; his lone finish outside the top six was 29th in last February's race. His driver rating is 100.6, sixth best. 

Jimmie Johnson, 25th. Johnson also excels at California, the closest Cup track to his native El Cajon, outside of San Diego. In 10 races he has six finishes in the top three, including two wins. His worst finish is 16th (twice). His driver rating, 111.3, is second only to the driver who is the two-time defending champion of the Auto Club 500 ... 

Matt Kenseth, 34th. Just the facts: Besides his two wins, he has finished seventh in the second California race three years in a row. ... His driver rating is 113.9. ... He has led a series-high 244 laps over the past three years (six races). ... And for good measure, he has won four Nationwide races at Fontana. For whatever reason, Kenseth is stronger early in the season than later. It all adds up to another top finish, if not a third straight win.

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