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Race updates from the Pepsi 500 NASCAR race in Fontana

By John CherwaSpecial Contributor 
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Twenty minutes before the start of Sunday’s NASCAR Chase race at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, the sky is gray, the air is cold (for Southern California) and the stands aren’t overly populated.

Denny Hamlin and Greg Biffle will be starting in the front row. Hamlin is sixth in the Chase and Biffle is eighth. The leader Mark Martin will be starting Row 5.

The big early story concerns the health of Kyle Busch, who needed relief in the Nationwide race on Saturday because of the flu. Busch is said to be feeling not any better and perhaps even worse. He is expected to start but may again need relief. because he is not in the Chase. It’s not as critical as it might be.

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Busch may only go until the first caution and then turn the car over to David Gilliland.

-- John Cherwa

Sports Now
John Cherwa

John Cherwa is a special contributor to the Los Angeles Times. He started at The Times in 1980 and left in 1995 to be sports editor of the Chicago Tribune and Tribune Co. sports coordinator in 2002. He rejoined The Times in 2009 and left his post as deputy sports editor late in 2017. Currently, his major coverage area is horse racing, where he can be found at big races at Santa Anita, the Triple Crown series and Breeders’ Cup. He also can be found at the Olympics, having just finished the Tokyo and Beijing double, marking his 11th Olympics. Cherwa also contributes general interest stories from Florida.

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