Sprint Cup Chase 2015: NASCAR Standings and Schedule After Auto Club 400

Brad Keselowski picked up his first win of the season and 17th win of his career Sunday in shocking fashion, passing pole-winner Kurt Busch on the final lap of the Auto Club 400 after a wild end to the race saw two attempts at a green-white-checkered finish.

ESPN's Marty Smith gave his take on the dramatic conclusion to the race:

NASCAR Stats noted that Keselowski hasn't fared well at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California:

Harvick pipped Busch at the very end of the race and finished in second place, his eighth straight top-two finish dating back to last season. The driver of the No. 4 car was looking to run the table in NASCAR's West Coast jaunt after picking up wins in the Kobalt 400 in Las Vegas and the CampingWorld.com 500 in Phoenix.

It's a tough-luck finish for Busch, who led 65 laps Sunday. Keselowski led for just one lap, the one that mattered most.

A caution for debris with just two laps to go turned the end of the race into a madcap scrum. NBC Sports' Dustin Long reported Busch's dismay at the caution flag:

Busch deftly split Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart on the restart to retake the lead, but Kyle Larson's bumper cover sheared off and forced the race into its seventh caution and second attempt at a green-white-checkered finish.

Keselowski passed Busch after the next green flag. Greg Biffle wrecked on the second restart, but there was no caution, as Biffle drove off the track and the race officials decided to let them finish, paving the way for Keselowski's win.

Here's a look at the remaining Sprint Cup schedule following the Auto Club 400.

Race	Track	Date	Time (ET)
STP 500	Martinsville Speedway	Sunday, March 29	1 p.m. ET
Duck Commander 500	Texas Motor Speedway	Saturday, April 11	7:30 p.m. ET
Food City 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	Sunday, April 19	1 p.m. ET
Toyota Owners 400	Richmond International Speedway	Saturday, April 25	7 p.m. ET
GEICO 500	Talladega Superspeedway	Sunday, May 3	1 p.m. ET
Spongebob Squarepants 400	Kansas Speedway	Saturday, May 9	7:30 p.m. ET
Coca-Cola 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway	Sunday, May 24	6 p.m. ET
NASCAR Sprint Cup May Dover Race	Dover International Speedway	Sunday, May 31	1 p.m. ET
Axalta 'We Paint Winners' 400	Pocono Raceway	Sunday, June 7	1 p.m. ET
Quicken Loans 400	Michigan International Speedway	Sunday, June 14	1 p.m. ET
Toyota-Save Mart 350	Sonoma Raceway	Sunday, June 28	3 p.m. ET
Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola	Daytona International Speedway	Sunday, July 5	7:45 p.m. ET
Quaker State 400 Presented by Advance Auto Parts	Kentucky Speedway	Saturday, July 11	7:30 p.m. ET
NASCAR Sprint Cup July New Hampshire Race	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	Sunday, July 19	1:30 p.m. ET
Crown Royal Presents the 'Your Hero's Name Here' 400 at the Brickyard	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Sunday, July 26	3:30 p.m. ET
Pennsylvania 400	Pocono Raceway	Sunday, Aug. 2	1:30 p.m. ET
Cheez-It 355	Watkins Glen International	Sunday, Aug. 9	2 p.m. ET
Pure Michigan 400	Michigan International Speedway	Sunday, Aug. 16	2:30 p.m. ET
IRWIN Tools Night Race	Bristol Motor Speedway	Saturday, Aug. 22	7:30 p.m. ET
Bojangles' Southern 500	Darlington Raceway	Sunday, Sept. 6	7 p.m. ET
Federated Auto Parts 400	Richmond International Raceway	Saturday, Sept. 12	7:30 p.m.
Challenger Round
MyAFibStory.com 400	Chicagoland Speedway	Sunday, Sept. 20	3 p.m. ET
Sylvania 300	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	Sunday, Sept. 27	2 p.m. ET
AAA 400	Dover International Speedway	Sunday, Oct. 4	2:30 p.m. ET
Contender Round
Bank of America 500	Charlotte Motor Speedway	Saturday, Oct. 10	7 p.m. ET
Hollywood Casino 400	Kansas Speedway	Sunday, Oct. 18	2:15 p.m. ET
Alabama 500	Talladega Superspeedway	Sunday, Oct. 25	2:30 p.m. ET
Eliminator Round
Goody's FAST PAIN RELIEF 500	Martinsville Speedway	Sunday, Nov. 1	1:15 p.m.
AAA Texas 500	Texas Motor Speedway	Sunday, Nov. 8	2 p.m. ET
Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500	Phoenix International Raceway	Sunday, Nov. 15	2:30 p.m. ET
Championship Round
Ford EcoBoost 400	Homestead-Miami Speedway	Sunday, Nov. 22	3 p.m. ET

Harvick holds onto the top position in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings after Sunday's results, while Keselowski moves up from ninth place to fifth with his win. Busch sits in 28th place with just two starts on the season thus far. 

Check out the latest standings, courtesy of NASCAR.com:

Pos.	Driver	Wins	Points
1	Kevin Harvick	2	225
2	Joey Logano	1	197
3	Martin Truex Jr.	0	192
4	Brad Keselowski	1	164
5	Kasey Kahne	0	163
6	Ryan Newman	0	162
7	Paul Menard	0	159
8	Denny Hamlin	1	159
9	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	0	152
10	Aric Almirola	0	138
11	Jimmie Johnson	1	137
12	Matt Kenseth	0	132
13	David Ragan	0	127
14	Casey Mears	0	125
15	Jamie McMurray	0	124
16	Danica Patrick	0	120

The wild finish to the race was notable for bad breaks that befell a number of top drivers.

Matt Kenseth suffered late on in the race, as a broken axle after a pit stop thwarted his late push, per Fox Sports NASCAR:

Kenseth would end up finishing 31st out of 43 drivers.

The late pit stop also turned out to be a debilitating blow for Denny Hamlin, who incurred a penalty for an uncontrolled tire, per USA Today's Jeff Gluck:

The penalty was clear, and it forced Hamlin to restart near the back of the pack, where he was unable to do better than a 28th-place finish.

Still, Busch's tough finish with victory so tantalizingly close at one point was the most notable aspect of the Auto Club 400's final laps. The decision to call a caution for debris but not Biffle's late wreck didn't sit well with some, such as Geoffrey Miller of AthlonSports.com:

Gluck passed along comments from Tony Gibson:

"

Tony Gibson told me after race: "I don't know why the caution didn't come out when they're wrecking on the front straightaway, but whatever"

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) March 22, 2015"

While fans and pundits alike will certainly analyze, debate and decry race officials' decision-making in this one, it is still quite early in the season. Harvick's masterful form certainly makes him the early favorite, but Keselowski received a huge boost by getting a win on a track that most years hurts him more than it helps.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. are at the top of the Sprint Cup standings and finished sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, on Sunday. They will likely challenge Harvick for much of the season. Meanwhile, Busch can at least take comfort in knowing the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway is coming up on March 29; he won the race in 2014.