Next Race: O’Reilly Auto Parts 500The Place: Texas Motor SpeedwayThe Date: Sunday, July 19The Time: 3 p.m. ETTV: NBCSN, 2:30 p.m. ETRadio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR RadioDistance: 500.5 miles (334 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 105), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 210), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 334)2019 Race Winner: Denny Hamlin After a thrilling Wednesday night of All-Star racing at Bristol Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Cup Series turns their attention to Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. This weekend’s race at Texas will mark the halfway point of a 2020 season that has already produced nine different winners including Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Cole Custer’s thrilling victory at Kentucky last weekend – the first time a rookie has won since Chris Buescher did it at Pocono in 2016. Texas Motor Speedway has hosted 38 NASCAR Cup Series races dating back to the inaugural event on April 6, 1997 – the event was won by former driver turned NBCSN sports analyst Jeff Burton by more than 4-seconds over NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett in second. The 38 series races at Texas Motor Speedway have garnered 25 different pole winners and 19 different race winners. Two of the 19 different Texas winners got their first series career win at Texas Motor Speedway – Jeff Burton (1997) and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2000). Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch leads the series in poles at Texas with three (2015, 2017, 2018), and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson leads the series in Texas victories with seven wins (2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 sweep and 2017). Last season’s March Texas race was won by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin; it was the team’s eighth victory at Texas (third-most). In total nine different organizations have won at Texas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series, led by Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing with nine wins each. Another thing worth noting is this weekend at Texas will be the seventh time this season the series has competed on a 1.5-mile track. The six previous 1.5-mile tracks this year have put up six different winners: Joey Logano (Las Vegas), Brad Keselowski (Charlotte-1), Chase Elliott (Charlotte-2), Kevin Harvick (Atlanta), Denny Hamlin (Homestead-Miami) and Cole Custer (Kentucky). Harvick looks to make it back-to-back at Texas Following Kentucky, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick has a firm grasp on the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings lead, up 88 points on second place Brad Keselowski. Now the California native looks to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend to not only get his fifth win of the season but make it two in a row in the Lone Star state; as he won from the pole in last season’s Playoff race. Only three NASCAR Cup Series drivers have posted consecutive wins at Texas Motor Speedway – Jimmie Johnson (2014 Playoff race and 2015 sweep), Carl Edwards (2008 sweep) and Denny Hamlin (2010 sweep). This weekend Harvick has the opportunity to become the fourth. In 34 series starts (series-most) at Texas he has posted two poles, three wins, 11 top fives and 22 top 10s (tied with Jimmie Johnson for series-most). Despite all the success, Harvick will have his work cut for him on Sunday, as all three of his previous victories have come in the Playoff races at Texas (2017, 2018, 2019). He finished eighth in the March Texas race last season. Harvick’s consistent success is what has set him apart from the competition this season. In 17 starts this year, he has collected four wins (a winning percentage of 23.5%), 10 top fives (series-most) and 14 top 10s (series-most). This weekend’s race will also mark Kevin Harvick’s 700th career start in the NASCAR Cup Series. He is also closing in on a career laps led milestone (14,685) as well; he needs just 315 more laps led to eclipse 15,000 laps led in the NASCAR Cup Series. Jimmie Johnson sits in the last Playoff transfer spot After not making the Playoffs last season for the first time in his career, Hendrick Motorsport’s Jimmie Johnson finds himself teetering on the Playoff bubble again, just 24 points up on 17th-place Austin Dillon, 17 races into the 2020 season. This year Johnson and crew chief Cliff Daniels are starting to click and find some success. The pair have amassed two top fives and six top 10s in 17 starts. But the biggest dark cloud looming over Johnson’s head is the current winless streak he cannot seem to shake. The driver of the No. 48 has 83 victories to his name but has not been able to get back to Victory Lane in 112 races (111 attempts – was sidelined for one race due to COVID-19). But if there was track that Jimmie Johnson could turn it around, not named Dover, it would be Texas Motor Speedway. Johnson leads the series in wins at Texas with seven victories (2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 sweep and 2017). In total he has made 33 starts at the 1.5-mile facility putting up two poles, seven wins, 16 top fives (series-most) and 22 top 10s (tied with Kevin Harvick for series-most). He finished fifth in the March Texas race last season. Denny Hamlin is here to defend last season’s Texas win The only driver that has been able to go win-for-win with NASCAR Cup Series driver standings leader Kevin Harvick this season is Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin. Both Hamlin and Harvick lead the series in wins in 2020 with four each, but Hamlin is focused on snapping that tie this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway; not only getting his fifth win of 2020 but also defending his victory in this event last season. The Virginian is currently sixth in driver standings 122 markers behind Kevin Harvick in the standings lead but has the series-most Playoff points (23) at this point in the season. In 17 starts this year, he has stockpiled four wins (Daytona 500, Darlington, Homestead, Pocono), nine top fives and 10 top 10s. Digging into the numbers, Texas Motor Speedway has been a feast-or-famine type track for Denny Hamlin, who in 28 starts has three wins (2010 sweep, 2019), seven top fives and 13 top 10s. What is deceiving by those stats is he only has one DNF at Texas in his career but in his last six starts he has a win, a third-place finish and four finishes outside the top-25. It either goes really well for Hamlin in Texas or really poorly. Wood Brother’s Matt DiBenedetto off to a strong start Another driver off to a strong start this season is Wood Brothers Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto. The 28-year old from Grass Valley, California, is making the most of 2020 – winning the NASCAR All-Star Open and earning a spot in the All-Star Race for the first time in his career and on top of that he is currently 12th in the standings – in Playoff contention – just 17 races into his first season driving the famous No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford. DiBenedetto has been prime form this season posting two top fives and five top 10s; including a runner-up finish at Las Vegas and third-place finish last weekend at Kentucky. His average finish this year is a career-best 14.8. Heading into this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, DiBenedetto has a 68-point cushion on the postseason cutline. He has made nine series starts at the 1.5-mile track posting an average finish of 28.1. His career-best finish at Texas is 14th in last year’s Playoff race. Next Race: My Bariatric Solutions 300The Place: Texas Motor SpeedwayThe Date: Saturday, July 18The Time: 3 p.m. ETTV: NBCSN, 2:30 p.m. ETRadio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR RadioDistance: 300 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)2019 Race Winner: Kyle Busch Cindric becomes first to win back-to-back in one series at same track in same weekend Team Penske’s Austin Cindric not only broke through and got his first and second win of 2020, guaranteeing his spot in the Playoffs, but he also etched his names in the record books becoming the first driver in NASCAR national series history to win in consecutive days at the same track in the same series. With two wins the 21-year old Cindric is now third in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings, just 33 points back from Chase Briscoe in the series standings lead. Cindric’s victories also boosted his Playoff point total to 15 – third-most in the series. In 15 starts this season, the Mooresville, North Carolina native has racked up two wins (Kentucky sweep), nine top fives (tied with Briscoe for series-most), and 11 top 10s. Expect Cindric to keep the pressure on his competitors this weekend as Texas Motor Speedway has been one of his better tracks. In four starts he has posted two top fives and three top 10s. Plus, he leads all drivers entered this weekend in average finish at Texas with a 6.5. Six Pack: Five different winners in last five races This weekend will be the 39th running of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. Interestingly, the last five series races at the track have had five different winners – Erik Jones (2017), Ryan Blaney (2018), Cole Custer (2018), Kyle Busch (2019) and Christopher Bell (2019). This weekend Kyle Busch is the only previous Texas winner entered in Saturday’s My Bariatric Solutions 300 (at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) putting the odds in the favor of the streak continuing. The 38 previous NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas have produced 24 different poles winners and 19 different race winners. Not surprisingly the one who could end the different winners streak, the Joe Gibbs Racing superstar, Kyle Busch, leads the series in just about every significant stat at Texas – poles (four), wins (nine), top fives (16), top 10s (17 – tied with Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth) and laps led (1,686). This weekend’s race will be 200 laps (300 miles) and will be broken up into three stages. The first two stage will be 45 laps each and the final stage is 110 laps. One driver to watch to keep the Xfinity different winners streak alive at Texas is Kaulig Racing’s Ross Chastain. The eighth generation watermelon famer turned NASCAR driver finished second in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway last season leading 29 laps in the race. Chastain is already having a strong start to his 2020 season; he is currently ranked fourth in the series driver standings – the highest ranked driver without a win. In 15 starts this season he has collected six top fives and 13 top 10s – both career-bests – including two runner-up finishes (Talladega, Pocono). Next Race: Vankor 350The Place: Texas Motor SpeedwayThe Date: Saturday, July 18The Time: 8 p.m. ETTV: FS1, 7:30 p.m. ETRadio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR RadioDistance: 250.5 miles (167 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 40), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 80), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 167)2019 Race Winner: Kyle Busch Gander Trucks & Texas Motor Speedway The NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series heads to the Lone Star state for Saturday night’s Vankor 250 (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Texas Motor Speedway marking the eighth race of the 2020 season. Texas Motor Speedway has hosted the Gander Trucks 44 times, dating back to the inaugural event on June 6, 1997 – the event was won by Kenny Irwin Jr. driving Ford for owner Jim Herrick. The 44 series races at Texas have produced 29 different pole winners and 23 different race winners. Mike Skinner leads the series in poles (five), and Todd Bodine leads the series wins at Texas. Last season this race at Texas was won by Kyle Busch Motorsport’s Kyle Busch. He started fourth and led a dominating 97 of 147 laps and won. It was his fourth Gander Trucks career victory at the track (2009, 2010, 2014, 2019). His KBM teammate, Greg Biffle, then won the June race at Texas, sweeping the series’ events at the 1.5-mile facility last season for the team. Four former Gander Trucks Texas winners are entered in the Vankor 250 this weekend – Johnny Sauter (five wins), Kyle Busch (four wins), Matt Crafton (two wins) and Justin Haley (one win). This weekend’s race will be 167 laps (250.5 miles) and it will be broken up into three stages. The first two stages will be 40 laps each and final stage will be 87 laps.
