Fontana fantasy preview

After all the excitement and buildup for the Daytona 500, the rain-shortened race was a bit of a letdown for some; but now it's time to get into the weekly grind of the 36-race Sprint Cup Series schedule. This week the series travels across the country for another late Sunday afternoon start (for most of us) for the Auto Club 500. And while the race may not be the most exciting, there is plenty of opportunity for fantasy owners to repair the damage they may have suffered from the 'big one' last week.

There are plenty of big name drivers that run well at Fontana; the big task for fantasy players will be deciding which of those top names to hang their hopes on this weekend. And that's where we come in. Read on to find our list of favorites, sleepers and longshots that will help you either bounce back from that Daytona hangover or keep your streak of good luck going for another week.

Matt Kenseth: Coming off the biggest win of his career, Kenseth carries that momentum to one of his best tracks this weekend. In 14 starts at Auto Club Speedway, Kenseth has finished in the top 10 an amazing 71 percent of the time and has two wins to go along with it. Don't be scared off using Kenseth if you see that he didn't qualify very well. He's managed to turn an average start of 22.6 into an average finish of 9.6.

By the numbers: In the last seven races in Fontana, Kenseth has finished seventh or better.

Jimmie Johnson: After a lackluster race at Daytona, Johnson hopes to turn things around in his home state of California this Sunday, and the No. 48 team has plenty of reasons to be confident they can pull it off. In the last four races at Fontana, Johnson has finished in victory lane twice (both in the Chase) and second and third in the early races. Even if they seem to be having an off day, Chad Knaus and Co. always manage to put Johnson up front at the end when it counts.

By the numbers: Johnson has led 461 laps at Fontana over the last 10 races, 180 more than Greg Biffle who's second in that category.

Kyle Busch: It's fairly safe to say that Busch was one of the most frustrated drivers leaving Daytona last Sunday night. After leading the most laps, Busch was caught up in a wreck not of his own making and finished a dismal 40th. But how they performed should give confidence to a team, and a driver, who really aren't lacking in that department. California provides them a great chance at making up valuable points that were lost in week one. It took a couple of races for Busch to get his footing at California, but ever since he's been on a hot streak; including a fourth place finish in this race last year.

By the numbers: Busch has completed all but one lap in the last nine races at California and has an average finish of 9.9.

A.J. Allmendinger: We talk a lot about momentum in NASCAR racing, but sometimes it means more than at other times. At Daytona, Allmendinger surprised many of his critics by scoring a top three for a team that has been struggling in recent years. That run, and his performance during Speedweeks, provides a big boost for a team that is behind the eight ball and has to qualify on speed for the first five races of the season. During his brief career, Allmendinger has shown that he runs well on larger tracks; including California. His new teammates have run well here in the past, so the setup should be there this weekend. I look for him to make the show and put in a solid top 15 finish.

By the numbers: In last fall's race at Auto Club Speedway, Allmendinger qualified second before finishing 14th.