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FONTANA, Calif. — NASCAR sent off super speedway racing in southern California on Sunday at Auto Club Speedway with Kyle Busch taking the win.

Busch ran near the front the whole race before taking the lead from Ross Chastain on the race's final pit sequence and holding on for his 61st NASCAR Cup Series win. With the win, Busch has now won a race in 19 straight years, an all-time record.

"There's nothing more rewarding than being able to go to victory lane," said Busch to the media after the race. "It's not about me always winning, it's about the guys... it's awesome to be able to reward them."

Chastain finished third despite leading a race-high 91 laps and winning stages 1 and 2. 

It's the final NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club's 2-mile racing surface; the track is set to be converted to a short track and reopen in 2024. However, questions still surround the reconfiguration and some worry racing could disappear from the area like many tracks in the area in the past.

To commemorate the last race at the 2-mile track, a final five-lap salute was done during the pace laps to pay homage to the only place they race five-wide.

Qualifying was canceled due to rain and snow conditions at the southern California track over the weekend. NASCAR's metric for setting the field without qualifying left Christopher Bell as the pole sitter.

Bell led for just one lap as the field panned across the wide racing surface and Alex Bowman grabbed the lead.

Defending Auto Club Speedway winner Kyle Larson suffered mechanical problems early on and lost his chance at taking back-to-back wins at the track. Larson finished 29th.

Chastain, Joey Logano, and Ryan Blaney then entered a fight for the lead before Brad Keselowski was spun by Corey LaJoie, prompting a caution on lap 42.

Busch was penalized for speeding on pit road and dropped from the top 5 to the back of the field during the caution period.

Chastain gained the lead after the caution and ran away from the field, easily winning stage 1. Blaney and Daniel Suárez ran second and third but both had problems on pit road that hurt their track position; Blaney's pit crew had problems with an air hose and Suárez sped on pit road.

Logano, Chastain, and Denny Hamlin fought for the lead off the restart. AJ Allmendinger spun on lap 75 and made slight contact with the inside wall, bringing out another caution.

LaJoie spun just a few laps after the next restart, prompting another caution.

The following restart resulted in the largest crash in Auto Club history. A stack-up occurred in the middle of the pack, resulting in a 10-car crash that effectively ended the days for Aric Almirola, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Preece, and Bell. Other drivers who suffered damage were Blaney, Justin Haley, Todd Gilliland, Cody Ware, and Ty Dillon.

Chastain then ran away from the pack again and took stage 2. 

Busch, Logano, and Chastain all took jabs at the lead in the ensuing restart but it was Chastain emerging once again as the leader.

The last pit stop proved to be crucial as the field pitted under green with just over 30 laps to go and Busch did just enough to come out in front of Chastain, who was even shuffled back to third behind Chase Elliott.

Busch held a massive lead by the end of the race and earned his first win as a member of Richard Childress Racing.

Elliott, Chastain, Suárez, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top 5. 

NASCAR continues its west coast swing next week with a race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 5. Bowman is the race's defending winner.

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