Anyone remember that song from the 80s? I think it was the 80s. I wasn’t alive then, so what do I know? But, I always liked that song. Made me think of peaceful driving through the California landscape. Sounds nice. I’ve never been to California, but twice a year I get a brief view of it in the form of racing.

Fontana is without a doubt one of Nascar’s finest tracks. Located not far from the Hollywood area of California, this two mile tri-oval is one of  Nascar’s most competitive track. The worn surface, wide racing grooves, and sweeping stretches are almost elegant in appearance, and insanely fast. Also, the worn surface eats tires alive, making tire conservation very important. While it’s only been around about twenty years, this track already has some historic moments in it’s relatively short history.

When you come to Fontana, Hendrick Motorsports is the team to think of. It has about ten wins here, with Jimmie Johnson having claimed 6 of them, including last year. Ironically, Johnson is the lone Hendrick driver who has recent success here. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne haven’t exactly been amazing here as of late. Chase Elliot has just one start here, but he did run well. I don’t know how many times this has been said in the past 20 years, but watch out for the 24 and 48.

However, Hendrick is far from the favorite. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson is easily the favorite. After finishing runner up for three weeks in a row, you have to think he’ll win in eventually. It could easily come here, a track where he has been solid, even during rough patches. If you forget last year’s terrifying crash. And teammate Jamie McMurray has been solid this year. He seems to have taken over Kevin Harvick’s el toro approach to racing. Watch for CGR.

Speaking of Harvick, don’t forget about him and Stewart-Hass Racing. If there is one track where the whole team runs well, it is Fontana. Harvick’s good here. Kurt Busch is good here. Clint Bowyer is good here. And yes, Danica Patrick is good here to. So watch out For this group.

Penske Racing owner Roger Penske was actually one of the builders of this track, but his drivers have had very limited success here. However, Ford has been dominant this year, so maybe Penske can get that home win. And don’t ever forget Penske’s affiliate team Wood Brothers Racing. Ryan Blaney and the legendary 21 team have been driving like champs, and a win seems almost certain this year. At Fontana? Well, we’ll see.

There was once a time, so long ago it feels like forever ago, when Roush-Fenway Racing was dominant at tracks like Fontana. They won race after race at these tracks, and several at Fontana itself. However, that hasn’t happened in some time. This year, both Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. have been a little faster than recent years, and last week Stenhouse almost won. Both could win this race if a few things go their way.

It’s rather amusing, that this time last year, Joe Gibbs Racing was dominant. Now, they can’t seem to get their act together. Fontana is a track where all four JGR drivers have had success, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth the most dominant. However, momentum is important, and JGR has none of that.

On the other hand, JGR affiliate Furniture Row Racing has been solid. Martin Truex Jr. already has his first win of the year, and rookie Eric Jones had been consistent.ly in the top ten. FRR hasn’t won here before, but there’s always a first time.

And that leaves Richard Childress Racing. Ryan Newman just won the team’s first race in over three years. Now, they look to capitalize on that. With Newman in the Chase, they now have to turn their attention to Austin Dillon and Paul Menard. Dillon has shown flashes of speed this year, but rotten luck has been on him. Menard has been, well, Menard. Quiet, and rather easy to not notice. Dillon seems to run well on the intermediate tracks, so if anyone in RCR is going to win this weekend, my money is on him.

So here we are, with about twenty drivers capable of winning, and just one will do it. Who do I like? Well, how can I not pick Kyle Larson? The man is on fire. He almost won this race a couple years ago, and he’s won the Xfinity race here. With the speed he’s had, he could dominate this race. The 42 wins in Fontana. Or finishes second again. One of those will happen.