NASCAR will begin this week’s Sprint Cup race in the daylight, but will end it under the lights of Texas Motor Speedway in the Duck Commander 500.
The drivers will have to adjust their driving as the race wears on around the 1.5-mile track as conditions change from day to evening racing. They say everything is bigger in Texas and that can apply to crashes at Texas Motor Speedway if the drivers and teams don’t keep up with the changing track conditions through the 501-mile race.
Add to that the fact that this year the cars have the low down force package and things could get out of hand quickly Saturday night. While there is plenty of room for side-by-side racing at Texas, that also means there is plenty of room for mistakes to be made. That newer package may make it possible to pass, but it will also make passing a little more tricky at the same time. Excitement and calamity often go hand-in-hand.
The big question on the minds of all the drivers will be, “Do I have enough to beat Jimmie Johnson in Texas?” The reason I say that is that Jimmie has won the last three Sprint Cup races at the track and five out of the last seven.
Let’s take a look at the top ten driver ratings at the track among active drivers.
Top 10 Active Driver Ratings at Texas
Jimmie Johnson – 108.0
Matt Kenseth – 104.7
Kyle Busch – 101.9
Greg Biffle – 98.1
Carl Edwards – 96.4
Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 92.2
Denny Hamlin – 90.6
Martin Truex Jr. – 89.7
Clint Bowyer – 89.1
Kevin Harvick – 88.8
(Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2015 races {22 total} among active drivers at Texas Motor Speedway.)
There are 12 active drivers who have won in their NASCAR careers in a Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. They are led by Jimmie Johnson who has been to Victory Lane at the track a total of six times including winning both races held there last year.
Carl Edwards has scored three wins at Texas Motor Speedway in a Sprint Cup car.
Four drivers have won twice in Texas. Those drivers are Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth.
The remaining six drivers out of the 13 with Texas wins, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have a single victory at the track.
The racing will be fast and should be exciting to watch. The low down force package could make it easier for other drivers to challenge Jimmie’s recent dominance in Texas. However, it could also lead to some over aggressive moves that might not have the result the driver was hoping for.
Many drivers could start the race with the mentality that this is Texas, so go big or go home. That could lead to that all-important win to get into the Chase or it could lead getting into the hauler early.
We will see it all unfold as the NASCAR Sprint Cup series goes racing under the lights Saturday night, April 9th starting at 6:30 PM CT/7:30 PM ET at Texas Motor Speedway in the Duck Commander 500.
By: Buck Stevens
