Win and you’re In: Who will claim the winners decal at Autoclub Speedway??

Four races down … four winners locked in for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

This week’s lucky driver to sign up as a participant in NASCAR’s postseason … none other than Carl Edwards.

Yes, he of celebratory backflips (although he had to use his hands on the landing to prevent slipping on the wet track) notched a win at the rain-soaked Bristol Motor Speedway.

His triumph was inevitable as he improved his finish in each of the first four races of the season.

Although Tony Stewart didn’t join Edwards in doing a celebratory backflip, he’s happy to consider his fourth-place performance on Sunday as moral win.

Why shouldn’t he?

His first three outings since returning from a sprint car accident haven’t exactly gone as he had hoped. Look for his return to his former self to continue this weekend at Auto Club Speedway, where he’s won two of the past four races.

A good showing in California could indicate that Stewart’s early-season jitters are behind him and he’s ready to race for the championship. Other drivers better beware.

After a disappointing day in Bristol, Dale Earnhardt Jr. hopes to get back to business at Auto Club Speedway and begin a new streak of top-two finishes.

The championship battle in the NASCAR Nationwide Series has already heated up with Regan Smith and Trevor Bayne the two primary contestants … at least for now. They’re separated by one point.

Is it a foregone conclusion that Saturday’s Nationwide race at Auto Club will be won by one of three drivers: Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth or Elliott Sadler?

The reason? All three drivers compete for Joe Gibbs Racing, whose organization has won the last nine races. There will be 37 other drivers who have something to say about that and will be looking to end that streak.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series enjoys one more weekend off before returning to action at Martinsville Speedway for the series’ first race in over a month.

The truck series drivers have an opportunity this week to get re-acclimated with their trucks and driving fast during a testing session at the short, paperclip-shaped track in southwest Virginia.

After a race that was delayed more than five hours, Carl Edwards was out front when the final caution came out on Lap 503, ending the race more than eight hours after its scheduled start. Over the first four starts of 2014, Edwards, whose win makes him eligible for a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, has gradually improved his finishes with showings of 17th, eighth, fifth and first. In 16 starts at Auto Club Speedway, the site of next Sunday’s race, Edwards has one win (Feb. 2008).

After starting the season with an average finish of 28.0 in the first three races, Tony Stewart had to be pleased with his fourth-place outcome at Bristol. Although it was not a win, it did wonders to combat his finishes of 35th, 16th and 33rd, elevating him four spots in the standings to 23rd. Stewart, who missed the final 15 races of 2013 after a sprint car accident, hopes to experience more of the same in Sunday’s race at Auto Club Speedway, where has won two of the last four races.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s stellar start to 2014, which included a win and two runner-up performances, had to eventually come to an end. That streak ended Sunday night in Bristol where the popular driver struggled with handling issues. He ultimately finished 24th and dropped to second in the standings, 10 points behind Brad Keselowski. Earnhardt will try to rebound this weekend at Auto Club Speedway where his best finish in 21 starts is a pair of second-place showings, including one in last year’s race.

Some questioned whether Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson’s promotions to the top series during the offseason were a bit premature. Four races into the 2014 season, both rookies are proving their naysayers wrong. Larson continues to improve each week, capturing his first top 10 at Bristol. He sits six points behind Dillon in the Sunoco rookie standings, who placed 11th at Bristol and ninth at Daytona. Dillon and Larson are 13th and 22nd in the championship standings, respectively, and neither have a series start at this weekend’s venue – Auto Club Speedway.

At Bristol, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. came close to capturing his first win in the NSCS. Instead, he finished a career-best second. The 2013 Sunoco Rookie of the Year entered the 2014 season looking to improve. Four races into the season, he’s already matched his 2013 top-five finish total and is one shy of tying his total top 10s … and there’s 32 races left. The second-place finish propelled him six positions in the standings to 10th with the series heading to Auto Club Speedway where he finished 20th in his only start.

The battle for the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship title tightens as the series heads west to Auto Club Speedway. Only one point separates points leader Regan Smith from Trevor Bayne. Smith finished third and Bayne ninth during their last visit to the speedway in 2013. Ty Dillon is third in the standings eight points back followed by Chase Elliott (-13) and Elliott Sadler (-16).

The first four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races of the 2014 season have yielded four different race winners and all four are former NASCAR Nationwide Series champions. Each of the drivers have all but secured a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup as a result of their race win. Earnhardt won back-to-back NNS titles in 1998-99 followed by Harvick in 2001, Edwards in 2007 and Keselowski in 2010.

Joe Gibbs Racing has figured out the secret to winning at Auto Club Speedway. The team is chasing an impressive 10th consecutive victory in Saturday’s TreatMyClot.com 300. The organization’s first series win at the two-mile track came with Tony Stewart in Feb. 2008. Kyle Busch has won six of the last eight races with Joey Logano claiming the other two.

In each of the first four races of the 2014 season at least two Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders have finished inside the top 10. Ty Dillon and Chase Elliott lead the charge with three top-10 finishes. Dylan Kwasniewski and Chris Buescher have one top-10 finish apiece. Dillon and Elliott are currently third and fourth in the points standings with Kwasniewski and Buescher further back in ninth and 12th, respectively.

Timothy Peters and his Red Horse Racing team will be one of several teams testing at Martinsville Speedway this week in preparation for the KROGER 250 on Saturday, March 29. Peters has one win at the track in 16 starts with his lone victory coming in 2009 – his first season for current owner Tom DeLoach. Peters also has one career pole at the .526-mile track fall that came in October 2012.

The historic, paperclip-shaped short track is set to host the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the 31st time on March 29, second only to Texas Motor Speedway (32 starts). Former series champion Mike Skinner, Kevin Harvick and Dennis Setzer lead all drivers with three wins at the track with four previous race winners scheduled to compete in the KROGER 250. Johnny Sauter leads that group with a pair of wins; Ron Hornaday Jr., Timothy Peters and last fall’s winner Darrell Wallace Jr. completing the list.