Through the Gears: Next Gen delivers, Chase Elliott questions his vision, and welcome back Mark Martin!

The more things change ...

OK. Let's not go overboard here. 

Yes, Kyle Larson won Sunday at Fontana in the real NASCAR Next Gen debut. But don't get it twisted — that was about all that carried over from last season. 

I mean, did you see that leaderboard after Larson!?

2. Austin Dillon. 

3. Erik Jones. 

4. Daniel Suarez. 

"It feels good to be interviewed after the race," said Jones, who led 18 laps. "It’s awesome, but it’s frustrating, too. You’re that close and you have a car that you feel like can do it.

"I’m really proud of this whole group. It’s been a big off-season with the merger and everything we’ve done, so this is a very satisfying run for everybody and I just hope we can keep going.”

Did I think we'd lead off this week with an Erik Jones quote? Nope. But here we are!

Through the Gears:Ricky Stenhouse Jr. calls out Keselowski and what about those NASCAR wheels?

Next Gen changes:NASCAR makes sweeping changes to Next Gen cars, including bigger wheels with one lug nut each

Cindric wins!:Big first win! Cup rookie Austin Cindric edges Bubba Wallace to win Daytona 500

Chase Elliott or Kyle Larson. Who's at fault?

All right. Before we go any further, we have to address the elephant in the room. 

Chase, you doing OK?

"Somebody watch a replay and make sure that I'm seeing things straight," Elliott radioed to his crew after Larson — yes, that Larson — pinched him against the wall as the two battled for the lead late in Sunday's race. 

"It's what you saw," responded crew chief Alan Gustafson. 

Uh-oh!

Upon working his way back to the front after going two laps down early in the race, Elliott jumped to the high side of Larson and Joey Logano as the three battled for the lead with eight laps to go. 

Elliott had the run, but Larson jerked his No. 5 Chevy to the right as Elliott went for the pass, forcing the No. 9 machine into the wall. Elliott would spin out shortly after and finish 26th. 

Your turn, Larson. 

"I had a run, so I went to peel off, and as soon as I peeled off, my spotter is yelling, 'Outside! Outside! Outside!' and I had no clue he was even coming," Larson said. "It was just an honest mistake ... probably both of our faults. I should have had more awareness in my mirror.

"My spotter could have told me he was coming with a big run, and we would have avoided that mess."

Tyler Reddick, Daniel Suarez shine at Fontana

It was a tough day for Chase, but a great day for a couple of those names we mentioned earlier. 

Let's start with Jones, who led 18 laps. May not seem like a lot, but that's nine more than he led all of last season.

Suarez, meanwhile, had the lead coming to the white flag, Tyler Reddick led 90 laps and won the first two stages and Daniel Hemric — yes, part-time driver Daniel Hemric — finished ninth for Kaulig Racing. 

"We're going to win a few races very soon here," Suarez said. 

Next Gen NASCAR debut at California. What was different?

He probably won't be the only "unusual" winner this season. 

Sunday's race produced 32 lead changes — good for third-most in Auto Club history — with guys like Reddick, Jones and Chase Briscoe showing sustainable speed throughout the afternoon. 

When the dust settled, nine different organizations finished in the top 10.

Of course, everyone was still chasing last year's top team and best driver, as Larson passed Suarez on the final lap and raced away for his 17th career win and Hendrick Motorsports' 12th all-time win in Fontana. 

All right, fine! Anyone know who has six of those 12 wins?

Mark Martin, 63 years-old, returns to NASCAR

Before we answer that, let's talk about ... Mark Martin?

Yes, Mark Martin!

The NASCAR Hall of Famer stopped by the Fox booth during Sunday's race to chit-chat with Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer and last week's guest analyst, Matt Kenseth. 

Martin, now 63, last raced in 2013, but let's never forget his 2009 campaign where he turned back the clock as a 50-year-old to win five races and finish second in the points. 

Who did he finish second to? Well, Jimmie Johnson, of course!

Which brings us to our answer ...

Yes, Jimmie won six times at Auto Club Speedway to lead all HMS drivers, followed by Jeff Gordon with three. 

To Vegas we go!