Alex Bowman dominated in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway Sunday afternoon (3/1).

The old saying goes that March “comes in like a lion” and Alex may have thought that meant he was supposed to win that way on the first day of the month. When the green flag dropped to start the Auto Club 400 it took Alex only ten laps to move from his number three starting position to leading the race.

He would be in that top spot on the track for more than half of the race. Alex led a race high 110 laps of the 200 lap race. He was in the lead position to win stage one while Ryan Blaney scored the win in stage two.

There was only one caution issued outside the end of the first two stages of the race. That was during stage two. Stage three (the final stage) ran caution free.

Alex Bowman took the lead for the final time on lap 167 and held that lead for the final 34 laps of the race. During those final laps Alex was able to build a lead of 9.751 seconds and secure his second career win in the NASCAR Cup series.

Kyle Busch was able to claim a second place finish with his brother Kurt Busch finishing in third place. Chase Elliott took home fourth place while Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five. See the complete race results for the Auto Club 400 here.

Ryan Blaney continues to do well to start the season. While he has not won a race yet, he remains the leader in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings for another week. Joey Logano remains in second place for another week. Alex Bowman jumps up to third place in the points pushing Kevin Harvick back a spot to fourth. Jimmie Johnson moves up to round out the top five. See the complete NASCAR Cup Series point standings here.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Phoenix Raceway this Sunday, March 8th for the FanShield 500.

By: Buck Stevens