1. Denny Hamlin: So can the former Chesterfield resident turn a pole-winning effort Friday into a much-needed race victory Sunday? Hamlin backed up his top spot in qualifying by posting a practice lap of 179.252 in Happy Hour on Saturday, good for third. That was after posting the second-best practice time in Saturday’s practice. But his problem could be staying with the Hendrick Motorsports brigade when the green flag drops. Points leader Martin led the final practice and was in the top five all weekend, while teammate Jimmie Johnson led Saturday’s first practice. In addition, Martin already has a win at Fontana’s sister track in Brooklyn, Mich., this year, and Johnson led the most laps in both of those races before fuel mileage ended his hopes of victories. (You can watch Denny Hamlin’s post-qualifying interview by clicking on the video window below.)

2. Carl Edwards: The Roush Fenway driver has to be considered a favorite, because he’s finished worse than seventh only once in 10 starts at this track. But even as he continues to heal from a broken foot, his practice times Saturday weren’t impressive, at least by his standards. That makes for an interesting dilemma for fantasy participants, because he and Hamlin are matched up in Group 5 of our contest this week.

3. Attendance for Sunday’s race: Empty seats have been a common occurrence this year on the Sprint Cup Series, but they’ve plagued Auto Club Speedway for the past few years, leading many to question why the track continues to get two Sprint Cup races each year. (The real reason has nothing to do with tickets sold, but instead with giving the drivers more opportunities to market themselves in television shows and movies and to create the appearance that NASCAR has a foothold in Hollywood.) But with the race now being held in the fall instead of late summer, and with it no longer falling on a holiday weekend, it’s time for California race fans to prove NASCAR made the right call to award the track two stops each year. Or at least help the organization save some face for making the decision.

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Denny Hamlin will be one to watch as he tries to chase down Mark Martin on Sunday.