PODCAST: Hard Left Turn with Brandon Reed and Katie B. (3-19-18)

NASCAR's West Coast swing ended with some good news for a former champion and some not-so-good news for another.

Martin Truex Jr. won his first race of the 2018 season capturing the flag in the Auto Club 400 at Fontana while seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson got word that Lowe's would be pulling its sponsorship (and money) from not only his No. 48, but NASCAR as a whole.

In this week's edition of the Hard Left Turn podcast, Brandon and Katie B. discuss:

Beginning of show: Truex broke the monotony of the season by ensuring Kevin Harvick didn't win again as he dominated the entirety of the Auto Club 400. What kind of message did Truex and his Furniture Row Racing team send with the win?

5:30 minute mark: With all the talk of the young drivers in this year's field, it's been the veterans who've dominated in the early going, are they getting the recognition the deserve?

9:15-minute mark: A discussion of Harvick's day

12:08-minute mark: Stewart-Haas Racing had no team finish in the top 10, what was the issue?

14-minute mark: The Stewart-Haas teams weren't the only ones who had trouble as a number of cars from Hendrick to Joe Gibbs failed to pass pre-qualifying tech. What is NASCAR doing to address the number of cars failing inspection thi sseason and why are so many doing so?

19:20-minute mark: What happened to Chase Elliott on Sunday?

20:42-minute mark: A look ahead to Martinsville

23:16-minute mark: Is Lowe's pull of sponsorship from Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 a sign of bigger problems within the sport?

WDUN is your home for NASCAR and that includes MRN's coverage of this weekend's race, the STP 500 from Martinsville, starting at 1 p.m. on AM550 and FM102.9 WDUN and streaming on AccessWDUN.com.

For up-to-the-minute motorsports information, follow @WDUNRacing on Twitter and log on to the Around the Track page for complete coverage.

Stay in the know regarding what Katie B. is doing for Game On by following her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.

Martin Truex, Jr., places the winner's decal on his car after winning Sunday's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway.

Veteran drivers Kyle Busch (left) and Martin Truex, Jr. (right) talk during practice for Sunday's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway.

Kevin Harvick climbs into his car during practice for Sunday's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway.

The crew for the #18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, driven by Kyle Busch (not pictured) attempt to pass inspection during qualifying for Sunday's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway.

Chase Elliott (left) and Jimmie Johnson (right) talk in the garage during practice for Sunday's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway.

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