Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Texas Motor Speedway

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Pocono and Texas

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Pocono and Texas

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the XFINITY Series head to Pocono Raceway this weekend while the Camping World Truck Series travels to Texas Motor Speedway. There are 39 drivers on the entry list for the Cup Series Axalta presents the Pocono 400 race.

    Please check below for the complete schedule. All times are Eastern.

    Thursday, June 8:

    On Track – Texas Motor Speedway:
    4-4:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Practice – No TV (Follow live)
    6-6:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Practice – No TV (Follow live)
    8-8:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Final Practice – No TV (Follow live)

    Friday, June 9:
    On Track – Pocono Raceway:
    11 a.m.- 12:25 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – FS1
    1- 1:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series Practice – FS1
    3- 3:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series Final Practice – FS1
    4 p.m.: Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FS1

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    9 a.m.: Ty Dillon
    9:15 a.m.: Daniel Suarez
    9:30 a.m.: Darrell Wallace Jr.
    10:15 a.m.: Kurt Busch
    10:30 a.m.: Cole Custer, Brennan Poole, Brendan Gaughan
    12:45 p.m.: Martin Truex Jr.
    1:15 p.m.: Chris Buescher
    1:45 p.m.: Ryan Newman
    5 p.m.: Post-Cup Series Qualifying

    Garage Cam: (Watch live)
    10:30 a.m.: Cup Series
    12:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series

    On Track -Texas Motor Speedway:
    5:35 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – No TV (Follow live)
    8 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series winstaronlinegaming.com 400 (167 laps, 250.5 miles – FS1

    Saturday, June 10:

    On Track – Pocono Raceway:
    9:35 a.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FS1
    11:30 a.m.- 12:25 p.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – FS1
    1 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Pocono Green 250 (100 laps, 250 miles) – FOX – Special Drivers-Only Broadcast with on-air time of 12:30 p.m. ET

    Press Conference: (Watch live)

    3:30 p.m.: Post-XFINITY Series Race

    Sunday, June 11:
    On Track – Pocono Raceway:
    3 p.m.: Cup Series Axalta presents the Pocono 400 (160 laps, 400 miles) – FS1

    Press Conference: (Watch live)
    6 p.m.: Post-Cup Series Race

    Race Details:

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
    Race: winstaronlinegaming.com 400 – Texas Motor Speedway
    Date: Friday, June 9
    Time: 8 p.m. ET
    TV: FS1, 7:30 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 250.5 miles (167 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 40), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 80), Final Stage (Ends on lap 167)

    NASCAR XFINITY Series
    Race: Pocono Green 250 – Pocono Raceway
    Date: Saturday, June 10
    Time: 1 p.m. ET
    TV: FOX, 12:30 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 250 miles (100 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 25), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 50), Final Stage (Ends on lap 100)

    Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
    Race: AXALTA presents the Pocono 400 – Pocono Raceway
    Date: Sunday, June 11
    Time: 3 p.m. ET
    TV: FS1, 1:30 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 400 miles (160 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 50), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 100), Final Stage (Ends on lap 160)

    Complete TV Schedule

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

     

     

     

  • Johnson Wins at Texas; Dominant Blaney Finishes 12th

    Johnson Wins at Texas; Dominant Blaney Finishes 12th

    Jimmie Johnson took his seventh Texas Motor Speedway victory and his first victory of 2017 on Sunday, holding off Kyle Larson by 0.340 seconds to win the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. Johnson, who has struggled mightily in the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, also earned his second top-10 of the season.

    “I guess I remembered how to drive, and I guess this team remembered how to do it! I’m just real proud of this team. What a tough track and tough conditions. We were really in our wheelhouse and we were just able to execute all day. Thanks to everybody at Lowe’s and Chevy and the fans and a ton of sponsors,” Johnson said.

    Although the Chad Knaus-led No. 48 crew wound up in Victory Lane, it was the No. 21 Ford of Ryan Blaney who was the dominant car of the day, leading 148 laps and winning the first two stages of the day. However, Blaney was only able to manage a 12th-place at the end of the race after being penalized for sliding through his pit box during his final pit stop.

    “Our car today was really strong,” said Blaney. “We made really good adjustments to get our car to where we needed it to be. If you would have asked me yesterday if our car would have been so great during the first couple of stages, I wouldn’t have thought so.”

    On sliding through his pit box, he said, “It was kind of an unfortunate deal. We were pinned between the 4 and the 88 at a weird angle, and I hurt us on that one for sure and we weren’t able to pass anyone after that.

    Blaney’s Team Penske Brother-In-Arms Joey Logano managed a gutsy pit play and finished third, while polesitter Kevin Harvick finished fourth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished fifth for his first top-10 of the season.

    Brad Keselowski finished in sixth, while Jamie McMurray earned a seventh-place run. Martin Truex Jr. had a strong car early on as well, leading 49 laps, but faded back to eighth at the end. Chase Elliott and Kurt Busch rounded out the top-10.

    Eight cautions slowed down the race for the day, with the most serious being on lap 11, a three-car accident involving Reed Sorenson, Gray Gaulding, and Jeffrey Earnhardt in Turn 2, with Earnhardt receiving the brunt of the accident by backing into the wall hard and ending his day.

    Larson’s runner-up finish maintained his point lead over Chase Elliott by 17 points.

    Ty Dillon was the highest-finishing rookie of the race, finishing in 17th, while Daniel Suarez took his No. 19 Toyota in the 19th-position as the second-highest rookie.

    The next race will be on April 23, at Bristol Motor Speedway.

     

    Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race – O’Reilly Auto Parts 500
    Texas Motor Speedway
    Fort Worth, Texas
    Sunday, April 9, 2017
    1. (24) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 334.
    2. (32) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 334.
    3. (4) Joey Logano, Ford, 334.
    4. (1) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 334.
    5. (37) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 334.
    6. (5) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 334.
    7. (6) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 334.
    8. (7) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 334.
    9. (33) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 334.
    10. (10) Kurt Busch, Ford, 334.
    11. (3) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 334.
    12. (2) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 334.
    13. (12) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 334.
    14. (11) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 334.
    15. (34) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 334.
    16. (8) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 334.
    17. (14) Ty Dillon #, Chevrolet, 334.
    18. (18) Aric Almirola, Ford, 334.
    19. (20) Daniel Suarez #, Toyota, 334.
    20. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 334.
    21. (38) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 333.
    22. (36) Erik Jones #, Toyota, 333.
    23. (13) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 333.
    24. (19) Danica Patrick, Ford, 333.
    25. (17) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 333.
    26. (9) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 332.
    27. (27) * JJ Yeley(i), Chevrolet, 330.
    28. (21) David Ragan, Ford, 329.
    29. (15) Landon Cassill, Ford, 329.
    30. (28) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 327.
    31. (26) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 327.
    32. (23) * Corey LaJoie #, Toyota, 326.
    33. (25) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 322.
    34. (29) Gray Gaulding #, Toyota, 322.
    35. (30) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 319.
    36. (22) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 314.
    37. (40) * Derrike Cope, Toyota, 313.
    38. (35) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 303.
    39. (39) * Timmy Hill(i), Chevrolet, Engine, 104.
    40. (31) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, Accident, 9.

    Average Speed of Race Winner: 147.137 mph.
    Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 24 Mins, 18 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.340 Seconds.
    Caution Flags: 8 for 35 laps.
    Lead Changes: 16 among 6 drivers.
    Lap Leaders: K. Harvick 1-15; R. Blaney 16-32; K. Harvick 33-36; R. Blaney 37-88; M. Truex Jr. 89-92; R. Blaney 93-125; M. Truex Jr. 126; R. Blaney 127-172; K. Harvick 173-219; B. Keselowski 220-223; J. Logano 224-228; M. Truex Jr. 229-272; J. Johnson 273; J. Logano 274-290; K. Harvick 291-301; J. Logano 302-317; J. Johnson 318-334.
    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): R. Blaney 4 times for 148 laps; K. Harvick 4 times for 77 laps; M. Truex Jr. 3 times for 49 laps; J. Logano 3 times for 38 laps; J. Johnson 2 times for 18 laps; B. Keselowski 1 time for 4 laps.
    Stage #1 Top Ten: 21,78,1,4,2,42,14,17,22,18
    Stage #2 Top Ten: 21,48,1,42,24,41,4,2,88,78

  • Blaney Takes Second at Texas in XFINITY, ‘Learns a lot’ for Sunday’s Cup Race  

    Blaney Takes Second at Texas in XFINITY, ‘Learns a lot’ for Sunday’s Cup Race  

    Ryan Blaney drove his No. 22 Ford to a second-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway in Saturday’s My Bariatric Solutions 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race. It was his second race in the series this year and his second top-two result.

    Erik Jones won the event scoring his second win at Texas and his seventh career victory. He led 112 of the 200 laps and beat Blaney to the checkered flag by .512 seconds. Blaney, who led 43 laps, was pleased with his team’s overall performance but said that Jones got such a lengthy lead on the last run that he “couldn’t run him down.”

    “I thought our car was pretty good all day,” Blaney said after the race. “The 20 seemed to be a little better than us for 35 or 40 laps. Then I feel like we could start running him down. We passed him before the last pit stop and I thought our car was pretty decent right there. I needed to turn a little better early in a run. I knew it wasn’t going to be that long for the next stint. We didn’t come out with the lead and that hurt us. I think if we would have come out with the lead I don’t know if I could have held him off.

    “He was pretty good right away but we kind of over adjusted and got too free that last run. I felt like we were kind of even with them 10 laps into a run but then he got so far out ahead that we couldn’t run him down. Just couldn’t get there. I thought it was a solid weekend overall for the 22 group. I felt the way the car has been running on that side is promising. It has been second a lot this year and that team deserves a win. They have been working hard the past six months to get competitive again and be in position to win races. We just need to have one go our way.”

    As Blaney was winding down after the XFINITY Series race, his focus soon shifted to Sunday’s Cup Series race and how he could transfer what he had learned to the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500.

    He is currently seventh in the points standings with three top 10s this season and one top five at Daytona where he finished second. Blaney is looking to rebound at Texas after getting caught up in a wreck last week at Martinsville Speedway that resulted in a 25th place finish. With the newly repaved surface at Texas, the extra track time he gained during the XFINITY Series race will be invaluable.

    Blaney described what he learned, adding that he would “have some comments” for the team during the post-race debrief.

    “The track changed a lot in the second half of the race. The beginning of the race was treacherous at the top. I think me and Erik fell back to eighth and ninth from 2nd and 4th just trying not to go anywhere and wreck. I feel like that came in a little to where it wasn’t as deadly up there from passing lap cars. You get stuck behind a lap car and you can’t pass them for a lap or so and that part was tough. They don’t want to leave the line and get in the dust either so you have to kind of wait and just time it right. Personally, I learned a lot for tomorrow’s race. I think it will be very helpful. I was really thankful to run this race to get some laps. That part was good.”

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

     

  • Kevin Harvick Earns Coors Light Pole at Texas

    Kevin Harvick Earns Coors Light Pole at Texas

    By Staff report | NASCAR.com

    Kevin Harvick topped the leaderboard in all three rounds of Coors Light Pole qualifying, circling Texas Motor Speedway in the final round at 198.405 mph to earn his 19th career pole. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver is also the first repeat pole-sitter this season, having earned the top qualifying spot at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March.

    Sophomore Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney was second-fastest, his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford clocking in at 198.020 mph. Blaney also topped opening practice in the Lone Star State earlier today.

    Harvick’s SHR teammate Clint Bowyer will start third (198.020 mph), while Team Penske’s Joey Logano (197.759 mph) and Brad Keselowski (197.563 mph) rounded out the top five, respectively. This gave Ford all five of the top starting positions.

    Nine cars were unable to make a qualifying lap in Friday’s three-round session after failing to get through pre-qualifying inspection: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Larson, Erik Jones, Chris Buescher, Derrike Cope and Timmy Hill. They will all start from the back of the field in Sunday’s 500-mile event. Busch is the reigning race winner.

    Jimmie Johnson brought out the red in the middle of the 20-minute opening round, when he spun and flat-spotted the tires on his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Although he advanced to the second round, he was unable to continue qualifying and will start 24th.

    “I think we used up all our luck in Homestead last year,” Johnson joked on pit road. “Glad the Lowe’s Chevy is still in one piece, we’ll fight back from here.”

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returns to the track Saturday for a pair of practices beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET (FS1).

    O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Starting Lineup:

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Texas-Starting-Lineup-MENCS-C1707_STARTROW.pdf” title=”Texas Starting Lineup MENCS C1707_STARTROW”]

     

  • Texas Motor Speedway – Did You Know?

    Texas Motor Speedway – Did You Know?

    This weekend the Monster Energy NASCAR Truck Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. With his victory at Martinsville, Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski became the first driver to grab multiple wins this season. But did you know that Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, the two most successful active teams in NASCAR, are winless after six races?

    Texas may be the perfect track for these teams to rebound. HMS driver Jimmie Johnson has the best overall driver rating (107.1) at the 1.5-mile track but so far this year his best finish was ninth place at Phoenix. However, with a track-record six wins, history may be on his side.

    Or maybe Chase Elliott will break through and capture his first win at Texas. He had two top-fives in his 2016 rookie season and is currently in second place in the standings, only four points behind leader, Kyle Larson.

    JGR’s Kyle Busch is also hungry for a win especially after last week’s race at Martinsville where he led a race-high 274 laps only to see victory elude him. He has scored two checkered flags at Texas and is the defending race winner with 11 top fives, 12 top 10s and one pole at Texas.

    But the bigger story may be the newly repaved track surface that was completed during the offseason. Did you know that the entire track was repaved and an extensive drainage system was added on the frontstretch and backstretch? Turns 1 and 2 were also reconfigured with the banking reduced from 24 to 20 degrees and the racing surface widened from 60 to 80 feet through Turns 1 and 2.

    Some of the drivers have expressed concerns about the unpredictability of heading to Texas to compete on the new surface, especially since there will be no opportunity for pre-race testing.

    “To head into Texas with no formal tire test, no official track mapping, let ’er rip, this is new territory for our sport,” Stewart-Hass Racing’s Kurt Busch said. “I think it shows how much we’re having to adapt on the fly. Is it a good thing? A bad thing? It doesn’t matter. It’s what it is, and it’s unique the way we’re headed in there to go 215 mph with no track time.”

    JGR driver Matt Kenseth, who has the second-best driver rating of 104.7 at Texas, calls it “unprecedented,” adding, “I don’t think that we’ve ever gone to a newly paved race track without some sort of a test day, a tire test, or something along those lines.”

    There’s no doubt that this weekend will likely test the skills of even the best driver but let’s look at some statistics to set the stage.

    Did you know that four active drivers have multiple wins at Texas Motor Speedway? Johnson leads the way with six followed by JGR’s Denny Hamlin, Kenseth and Kyle Busch with two each. Roush Fenway Racing leads the Cup Series in victories with nine while Hendrick Motorsports has eight and Joe Gibbs Racing has six.

    There have been 32 MENCS races at Texas, one each year from 1997-2004 and two per season since 2005, resulting in wins by 18 different drivers. But did you know that 78.1 percent (25 of 32) have been won from a top-10 starting position? And, to narrow it down more, starting in third place has produced more wins (six) than any other starting position.

    Don’t miss the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Sunday, April 8 at 1:30 p.m. on FOX as the 2017 season continues at Texas Motor Speedway. While you’re waiting, check out the gallery below for a preview of the paint schemes we’ll see this weekend.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

    Texas paint schemes

     

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Texas

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Texas

    This weekend the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the XFINITY Series travel to Texas Motor Speedway. The drivers will practice on the newly repaved track for the first time Friday, April 7 in preparation for Saturday’s NXS My Bariatric Solutions 300 race and Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 event. Both races will be televised on FOX.

    Kyle Busch is the defending MENCS race winner at Texas with two victories, 11 top fives, 12 top 10s and one pole at the 1.5-mile track with the third-best driver rating (102.4). Chase Elliott, who is still searching for his first win, enters the Cup Series race with the series-best average finish of 4.500. The struggling Jimmie Johnson has the potential to turn his season around with a much-needed victory based on his six wins, 14 top fives, 20 top 10s and one pole in the Lone Star State.

    Please check below for the complete schedule of events. All times are Eastern.

    Friday, April 7:

    On Track:
    Noon-2:25 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Practice – FS1
    2:30-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Practice – FS1
    5-5:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Final Practice – FS1
    6:15 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FS1

    Garage Cam: (Watch live)
    11:30 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
    4:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    10:30 a.m.: Daniel Suarez
    10:45 a.m.: Chris Buescher
    11 a.m.: Clint Bowyer
    11:15 a.m.: Jimmie Johnson
    11:30 a.m.: Brendan Gaughan, Daniel Hemric and Brennan Poole
    3 p.m.: Trevor Bayne
    3:15 p.m.: Martin Truex Jr.
    4:15 p.m.: Tony Stewart and Christopher Bell
    6 p.m.: Texas Motor Speedway Announcement
    7:30 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying (time approx.)

    Saturday, April 8:

    On Track:
    9:30-10:25 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Practice – FS1
    10:35 a.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FS1
    Noon-12:50 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Final Practice – FS2
    1:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series My Bariatric Solutions 300 (200 laps, 300 miles) – FOX – Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Press Conference: (Watch live)
    4 p.m.: Post-NASCAR XFINITY Series Race (time approx.)

    Sunday, April 9:

    On Track:
    1:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 (334 laps, 501 miles) – FOX – Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    10:30 a.m.: JTG Daugherty Racing Announcement
    5:30 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race (time approx.)

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

    Complete NASCAR TV Schedule

    My Bariatric Solutions 200 Entry List

    O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Entry List:

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Texas-Cup-Entry-List-C1707_PREENTNUM.pdf” title=”Texas Cup Entry List C1707_PREENTNUM”]

     

     

  • Hot 20 – If you like Texas Bobbleheads, just nod yes…over…and…over…again.

    Hot 20 – If you like Texas Bobbleheads, just nod yes…over…and…over…again.

    Texas is next on the dance card this weekend, an apropos venue to hear about Bellator and Monster Energy getting together to present some pre-race smackdowns, some good ole fashioned ass whippin’s, some unscripted mayhem. In their desire to make NASCAR cool and hip again, or whatever is considered trendy in today’s vernacular, Monster Energy plans on presenting some MMA matches prior to some selected events. Sounds like they are just going to try and recreate a Berkley peace march.

    Maybe you could have Kyle Busch get together with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for a little pre-race activity. After Stenhouse bumped Kyle to get back on the lead lap at the end of Stage 2 at Martinsville, accomplishing the task while allowing Chase Elliott to slip ahead for the Stage win, once again we seem to have a burning Busch on our hands.

    Ricky’s pal, Danica Patrick, along with Tony Stewart have had their likenesses enshrined in Milwaukee’s Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum. Just nod your head repeatedly in agreement.

    In 2014, Hall of Famer (baseball version) Tony La Russa saw bobbleheads produced showing him in both the colors of the Athletics and the White Sox. At Phoenix, he was decked out in those of Shell/Pennzoil when the 72-year old dropped by the Team Penske garage to visit with Joey Logano. Come to think of it, didn’t Kyle Busch want to turn Logano into a bobblehead a couple of weeks ago?

    Sunday is Texas…with not 38 or 39 on the entry list, but a full 40! Well, they do like things bigger there, including the race field it seems.  As for these boys listed below, they will indeed be our Hot 20. Temps for Dallas are forecast for the mid-80s F come race day.

    1. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 2 WINS – 234 PTS
    The King of his Kesel (owski)?

    2. KYLE LARSON – 1 WIN – 268 PTS
    Visited the rocket center in Huntsville, but even Smoky could not have put a Saturn V in his car.

    3. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN – 236 PTS
    Best damn driver at Martinsville…for the opening stage.

    4. RYAN NEWMAN – 1 WIN – 152 PTS
    This just in. Newman plans to play in Texas, yet has not a single fiddler in the band.

    5. KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN – 119 PTS
    That Daytona win is looming larger and larger with each subpar performance since.

    6. CHASE ELLIOTT – 264 PTS
    Over his past ten, an average finish of 8.3 with six Top Tens. That will do for now.

    7. JOEY LOGANO – 207 PTS
    With MMA fights coming to some NASCAR events, are you ready to rumble, Joey?

    8. KYLE BUSCH – 188 PTS
    Pre-race? Hell, shouldn’t they be having the fights after the race?

    9. RYAN BLANEY – 179 PTS
    His dad was a North Carolina Cup driver. The boy is the same…just better..as dad had hoped.

    10. CLINT BOWYER – 174 PTS
    Top Tens in three of his past four…nothing worse than 13th in last five.

    11. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 163 PTS
    Must have thought he had Flintstone tires at Martinsville…but it eroded away just the same.

    12. KEVIN HARVICK – 154 PTS
    This Sunday, they will feature Danica. In November, Texas will hand out Harvick bobbleheads.

    13. KASEY KAHNE – 146 PTS
    Junior was fine, but his Chevy McChevy face got all steamed up with Kahne.

    14. ERIK JONES – 144 PTS
    While everyone is talking about Larson, another young gun is quietly working his way up.

    15. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 141 PTS
    Oh, my God, what’s wrong with Jimmie? Well, if this is running bad, imagine him running good.

    16. TREVOR BAYNE – 140 PTS
    His 14th Texas start? Damn, time does fly by.

    17. DENNY HAMLIN – 139 PTS
    Made contact with Danica at Martinsville, and wound up in a wall of hurt…and a garage of tears.

    18. ARIC ALMIROLA – 127 PTS
    Best showing since Daytona? 14th.

    19. AUSTIN DILLON – 126 PTS
    Coming off his best win of the season, he is taking the big hat to Texas. Seems about right.

    20. RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – 113 PTS
    The most relevant 27 remain in the Top 27…or at least that is what he keeps trying to tell her.

  • Texas undergoing repave prior to next race

    Texas undergoing repave prior to next race

    Come this April, one track will have a completely new surface and slightly different profile.

    Texas Motor Speedway announced plans for a complete repave of the 1.5 mile quad-oval racing facility where completion is expected, barring any weather delays, before the start of the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race weekend on April 9. The repave includes a new asphalt racing surface, “an expansive French drainage system on the frontstretch and backstretch,” according to the release by the speedway, and a four-degree reduction in banking in Turns 1 and 2. Turns 3 and 4 will remain unchanged.

    This is the track’s second repave in its 20-year history and first since 2001.

    The repave came as a result of races being delayed as a result of water seeping out of cracks in the track and improper drainage. Both Cup races were delayed by rain and track drying efforts. Weather delays and track drying halted last year’s Firestone 600 IndyCar Series race 71 laps in and the remainder of the event was pushed from June 12 to August 27.

    “The old pavement no longer dried as quickly because through the years of use and weather, the asphalt became porous, kind of like a sponge,” said Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage. “Even if we only had a brief shower it was taking us far too long to get the track dried in order to get on to the racing. We owe it to the fans to present the best possible race track so they will be assured of seeing NASCAR and INDYCAR races even if we face some brief inclement weather. This will accomplish that goal.”

  • Strong Run Cut Short for Pole Winner Dillon

    Strong Run Cut Short for Pole Winner Dillon

    Despite having the fastest car in qualifying for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, polesitter Austin Dillon ended the night in 37th following a hard multi-car accident on the frontstretch. Dillon, who won the pole with a lap of 28.081 seconds (at 192.301 mph), led the first six laps, which were run under a green/yellow start.

    Despite hanging in the top-10 for most of the night, on lap 264 Dillon’s No. 3 Chevy was hooked by the No. 4 of Kevin Harvick coming off of Turn 4 while the two were battling for the fifth position. Dillon’s Chevy was launched into the wall, and the ensuing melee also took out the No. 44 of Brian Scott and the No. 13 of Casey Mears, who took the most damage when he slid into the frontstretch grass.

    “Car was really good. Couldn’t ask for anything more or better,” Dillon told Speedway Media. “We struggled a little bit on pit road, lost some track position. But we got better on restarts and had a good restart but (Harvick) sucked down on my door as tight as he could, got me tight, didn’t check up for me after that, and wrecked me. So that’s all we had.”

    Meanwhile, Harvick was apologetic for the contact, apologizing in his post-race interview to the Richard Childress Racing driver.

    “Just want to apologize to the No. 3,” said Harvick. “He kind of came up there and got loose, and when he checked up I hit him. That wasn’t anything I wanted to see.”

    When told of Dillon’s crew chief Slugger Labbe telling his driver to “mark down Harvick’s number” and that “it was time to get mad,” Harvick appeared to brush off Labbe’s comments.

    “Slugger says a lot of things he shouldn’t,” said Harvick. “There wasn’t any intent there (in the contact). I like racing with Austin. I like everything that they do.”

     

  • Carl Edwards Wins Rain-Shortened AAA Texas 500

    Carl Edwards Wins Rain-Shortened AAA Texas 500

    Carl Edwards took his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to Victory Lane in a rain-shortened AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, after the race’s start was delayed by an almost six-hour rain delay at the beginning of the race. With this win, Edwards becomes the second Chase driver to be added to the Championship Final Four at Homestead, following Jimmie Johnson’s Martinsville win a week ago.

    “This is huge. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet,” an ecstatic Edwards said after the race. “This is cool. This team has really worked hard all year and man, it’s just really cool. That’s all we said we needed was a shot and now we’re going to go to Homestead and we’re going to do what we have to do. This was a great test. We came here and knew what we had to do, we performed the way we needed to and I really believe we can do that at Homestead.”

    Joey Logano, who had the dominant car of the night, was credited with second-place. Logano, who is also in a must-win situation heading into Homestead, had the fastest car of the night after starting second. Logano led 178 laps on the night and appeared to be the car to beat. But after losing the lead to the 78 of Martin Truex Jr. due to pit strategy on Truex’s part, he never regained the lead.

    Logano was disappointed but is looking ahead to next week’s race at Phoenix.

    “The team did a very good job on executing when we needed to,” he said. Just, you know, didn’t have enough laps. It seemed like the momentum swung the other way about three or four laps to go before the caution came out when I started catching the 19 pretty rapidly. Unfortunately, it just started raining. That was the end of the race, so…

    “You know, it is what it is. We’re going to be close. There’s a lot of cars that are going to be close going into Phoenix. It’s going to be entertaining. It’s going to be probably the closest Phoenix race we’ve ever seen as far as points. It’s going to be a fun one, for sure.”

    Truex was credited with third and appeared to be Logano’s biggest challenger of the night, as he led 66 laps. Fourth-place went to Chase Elliott, who despite suffering from flu-like symptoms, managed to run an impressive race and was the top-finishing rookie. Fifth-place went to Kyle Busch, who had a strong run to the front after fading back due to hitting a piece of debris, which punched a hole in the front of his M&M’s Camry.

    Rounding out the top-10 was Kevin Harvick in sixth, Matt Kenseth in seventh, Kasey Kahne in eighth, Denny Hamlin in ninth, and Ryan Newman in 10th. Chase standings heading into Phoenix have the 48 of Johnson and the 19 of Edwards first and second, respectively, with Logano in third and Kyle Busch in fourth. Kenseth, Hamlin, Harvick, and Kurt Busch are in fifth through eighth place.

    Edwards took the lead on lap 258 following a strong pit stop during a caution on lap 257. He never relinquished the lead, and ultimately led 36 laps. This is his third win of 2016, and his 18th top-10 finish of 2016. This is also his fourth win at Texas, winning there in 2005 and also sweeping both 2008 races.

    The Sprint Cup Series heads to Phoenix International Raceway next Sunday, where they will round out the Final Four for Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The race will air at 3:30 p..m. ET, Sunday, November 13 on NBC.