Two of NASCAR’s national series are in action at Texas Motor Speedway (Fort Worth, TX) this weekend, the XFINITY Series on Saturday and the Monster NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday. The Camping World Truck Series is off until April 8 at Texas Motor Speedway. Storylines for this weekend follow… The Race: O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 The Place: Texas Motor Speedway The Date: Sunday, April 9 The Time: 1:30 p.m. ET TV: FOX, 1:30 p.m. ET Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 501 miles (334 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 85), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 170), Final Stage (Ends on lap 334) Keselowski First Driver To Multiple Wins Brad Keselowski became the first driver in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series to win multiple races this season when he passed Kyle Busch with 42 laps remaining and never looked back to visit Victory Lane for his first time at Martinsville Speedway. Keselowski, who notched the first victory for Ford at Martinsville since Oct. 20, 2002 (Kurt Busch, Roush Fenway Racing, 28 races ago), will go for his second straight victory in Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway (1:30 p.m. ET on FOX). The No. 2 Ford driver leads the series with 10 playoff points and sits fourth in the points standings, 34 markers behind No. 1 ranked Kyle Larson. In 17 starts at Texas, Keselowski has four top fives, six top 10s and an average finish of 16.2. Elliott Poised For Win After Strong Start To Second Full-Time Season Chase Elliott finished third at Martinsville for his third top five of the season. He has an average finish of 7.8, which has propelled him to second in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings – four points below Kyle Larson. Elliott, 21, is competing in his second full-time season after earning a playoff berth in his Sunoco Rookie campaign. He has two playoff points via his two stage wins. The No. 24 Chevrolet driver performed well at Texas last season with finishes of fifth (spring) and fourth (fall). His 5.1 average running position this season is the best in the series. Johnson Tries To Continue Lone Star State Dominance Defending Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson has struggled early on his quest for a record eighth title. He’s logged only one top-10 finish (ninth at Phoenix) and ranks 14th in points – 127 markers behind leader Kyle Larson. Johnson hopes Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway – a track where he’s dominated recently – can be the turning point of his season. The No. 48 Chevrolet driver boasts a track-record six wins, including a streak of three consecutive victories from fall of 2014 to fall of 2015. In addition to his triumphs, Johnson claims 14 top fives, 20 top 10s and an 8.4 average finish in the Lone Star State. New Surface And Configuration To Debut At Texas Texas Motor Speedway made some renovations to its track over the offseason. Enhancements it made to ensure the best possible experience for fans included: adding an expansive French drainage system on the frontstretch and backstretch, repaving the entire track including pit lane, and re-profiling Turns 1 and 2 (banking reduced from 24 to 20 degrees, racing surface expanded from 60 to 80 feet wide). Turns 3 and 4 of the track remain 60 feet wide at 24 degrees of banking. JTG-Daugherty Racing Produces Strong Showing At Martinsville Road-course ace AJ Allmendinger is turning into a short-track stud. The No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet driver posted a sixth-place showing at Martinsville Sunday for his fourth consecutive top-11 finish at “The Paperclip.” Allmendinger’s JTG-Daugherty teammate, Chris Buescher, logged a season-best 11th-place showing at Martinsville – his best finish since a fifth-place result at Bristol last fall. Buescher, from Prosper, Texas, gets to race at his home track this weekend in Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. NASCAR Next Alum Jones Beginning To Find Groove Erik Jones, 20, a prolific winner at the NASCAR Camping World Truck and XFINITY Series levels, is beginning to find his groove as a Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. He hasn’t competed for victories, yet, but the Furniture Row Racing driver has recorded a top-15 finish in every race except Daytona, where he wrecked out at the halfway mark. The NASCAR Next alum sits 13th in the points standings, tops among series rookies. Although Jones is the top-ranked rookie in the points standings, Daniel Suarez leads him in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Race by two points. Ty Dillon sits third (10 points behind Suarez), followed by Corey Lajoie (-16) and Gray Gaulding (-38). Busch Ready To Rebound From Martinsville Disappointment With Defense Of Texas Victory Kyle Busch led 274 of 500 laps in last weekend’s STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway, but could not hold off Brad Keselowski at the end and finished second. The 2015 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion will try to rebound in Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway – a race he won last year. In 22 starts at Texas, Busch claims two wins, 11 top fives, 12 top 10s and an average finish of 11.6. The No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing driver is sixth in the standings, 80 points behind leader Kyle Larson. He has one playoff point via his stage win at Daytona. Stenhouse Pulls Off Top-10 Finish at Martinsville Ricky Stenhouse Jr. used NASCAR’s new race enhancements to add some extra excitement to Sunday’s STP 500 at Martinsville. He bumped race leader Kyle Busch on the final lap and passed him so he could stay on the lead lap to begin the third stage. Stenhouse seized the opportunity to log a 10th-place finish – his second top-10 of the season. The move not only helped Stenhouse, it took a playoff point away from Busch because it allowed Chase Elliott the opportunity to beat Busch to the stripe. The Roush Fenway Racing wheelman will attempt to grab another top 10 at Texas, a track where he’s never finished higher than 15th. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Etc. Gridiron Gang – NFL Stars To Appear At Texas Motor Speedway: Four NFL players will attend Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Headlining the group is Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrance Williams. He will be joined by his teammates, tight tnd Rico Gathers, a former Baylor basketball star, as well as center Joe Looney. Detroit Lions defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson – a 2015 consensus All-American and national champion at Alabama – will also take in the race. The Race: My Bariatric Solutions 300 The Place: Texas Motor Speedway The Date: Saturday, April 8 The Time: 1:30 p.m. ET TV: FOX, 1 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 300 miles (150 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on lap 200) JR Motorsports Holds Top Three Spots In The Standings For the first time in NASCAR XFINITY Series history, a single organization holds the top three positions in the driver standings – JR Motorsports drivers Elliott Sadler (189 points, standings leader), William Byron (-17, second) and Justin Allgaier (-46, third) accomplished the historic feat following their performances at Auto Club Speedway. This weekend, they will look to hold on to the top three spots as the series returns to action at Texas Motor Speedway for the My Bariatric Solutions 300 on Saturday, April 8 at 1:30 p.m. ET (FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Sadler has been outstanding through the first five races of the season, posting two top fives and an average finish of 9.8. He also has two stage wins that have garnered him two playoff points. Sadler heads to Texas looking for his eighth consecutive top-10 finish at the 1.5-mile speedway. He finished fifth in this event last season. Sunoco rookie sensation William Byron sits a mere 17 points back from his teammate Elliott Sadler through the first five races. Byron’s season has seen two top fives, four top 10s, a pole and an average finish of 7.8. While this will be his series track debut at Texas this weekend, he did make two starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in the Lone Star State in 2016, winning the spring race. Of the three JRM drivers atop the standings, Allgaier is the only one who has cemented his place in this season’s playoffs after his big win at Phoenix earlier this season. Now just 46 points separate him from the standings lead. Through five races this season, Allgaier has posted one win, two top fives, three top 10s and an average finish of 14.8. Allgaier has made 13 starts at Texas, posting an average finish of 12.3. Last season at TMS, he finished both races inside the top 10. Stage Points Can Add Up To More Than You Think NASCAR’s enhanced racing formats have seen some great on-track action throughout the first five NASCAR XFINITY Series races this season. With the addition of points being awarded for top-10 finishes in the first two stages of a race, taking advantage of the new system is starting to pay dividends for some championship contenders. A total of 13 different NASCAR XFINITY Series championship contending drivers have earned points by finishing in the top-10 during the first two stages of a race this season. Of the 13 stage point earners thus far this season, three drivers have earned 20% or more of their points total from stage points. Elliott Sadler leads the series with 53 stage points (28% of his 189 points total) earned through the first five races. Sadler has finished inside the top 10 of every Stage except the two at Las Vegas this season. Justin Allgaier has earned the second most stage points with 28 (20% of his 143 points total) through the first five races of the season. William Byron (26 stage points; 15%), Brennan Poole (17 stage points; 13%) and Daniel Hemric (17 stage points; 13%) round out the top five of stage point earners this season. Tyler Reddick, on a part-time schedule this season, is the third driver with 20% of his points total earned with stage points (10 of 50 total points). Reddick returns to the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Camaro this weekend after his teammate Kyle Larson drove it to Victory Lane at Auto Club Speedway a few weeks back. The No. 42 team also won at Texas last fall. This will be Reddick’s series track debut. Darrell Wallace Jr. Looks To Extend Top 10 Streak This Weekend In his last four starts, Roush Fenway Racing’s Darrell Wallace Jr. has posted four consecutive sixth-place finishes – the most consecutive top-`10 finishes of his career. If Wallace can finish in the top-10 this weekend he will extend his career record to five consecutive top 10s. Wallace is currently fifth in the series championship standings with an average finish of 11.4 through the first five races of 2017. In four career starts at Texas, Wallace has posted one top 10 – the spring race of 2015. “It’ll be interesting to see how Texas is this weekend with the repave,” said Wallace Jr. “I’m really looking forward to getting there after having a week off. I’m confident that we can unload with the same speed that we’ve had these last few weeks and have another really good run on Saturday with our Roush Fenway Racing Mustang.” NASCAR XFINITY Series Etc.: Five Different Winners Through First Five Races: This season marks the 14th-time in NASCAR XFINITY Series history the first five races of the season have been won by five different drivers. It’s been 11 years (2006) since the last time the series has seen the feat accomplished. Ryan Reed (Daytona), Kyle Busch (Atlanta), Joey Logano (Las Vegas), Justin Allgaier (Phoenix) and Kyle Larson (Auto Club) are this season’s five different winners. The NASCAR XFINITY Series record for most number of different winners in a single season is 18 – set back in 1988. Last season had 14 different winners. Big Names Entered This Weekend: This weekend at Texas, seven Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers will attempt to compete in the My Bariatric Solutions 300 on Saturday, April 8 at 1:30 p.m. ET (FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio): 2013 NXS champ Austin Dillon (No. 2), Ty Dillon (No. 3), Joey Logano (No. 12), 2016 NXS champ Daniel Suarez (No. 18), Erik Jones (No. 20), Ryan Blaney (No. 22) and two-time series champion Kevin Harvick (No. 41). Sunoco Rookie Standings Update: Following the fifth race of the season, William Byron extended his rookie standings points lead to 17 points over second-place Daniel Hemric. Standings following Auto Club Speedway: William Byron (72), Daniel Hemric (-17), Matt Tifft (-29), Cole Custer (-30) and Spencer Gallagher (-33). Manufacturer’s Championship Update: Through the first five races of the season, Ford (185 points) holds a one-point lead over second-place Chevrolet (184) in the manufacturer’s standings. Toyota is ranked third in the standings with 163 points followed by Dodge with 14 points. Chevrolet and Ford each have two wins and Toyota has one win this season. Owner’s Championship Update: Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford Mustang team continues to hold a 33-point lead over second-place Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro team following the fifth race of the season at Auto Club Speedway. Both teams ran strong at Texas last fall, finishing 1-2 (Kyle Larson, followed by Brad Keselowski) and combining to lead 175 of the 200 laps. NXS Milestones: This weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, veteran driver Morgan Shepherd will attempt to post the third oldest age of a driver to compete in a NASCAR national series race at the age of 75 years, 5 months and 15 days this Saturday. James Hylton currently holds the two eldest ages to start at NASCAR national series event at 76 years, 11 months and 12 days (NCWTS; Pocono, 2011) and 76 years, 8 months, 10 days (NXS; Darlington, 2011). … Blake Koch will attempt to make his 75th consecutive NASCAR XFINITY Series start this weekend at Texas. Koch is ninth on the active NXS consecutive starts list. … Joey Logano (28 wins) will attempt to tie Matt Kenseth (29 wins) for seventh on the NASCAR XFINITY Series all-time wins list this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Next Race: Toyota Tundra 250 The Place: Kansas Speedway The Date: Friday, May 12 The Time: 8 p.m. ET TV: FS1, 8:30 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) source – NASCAR communications
