After having the Easter weekend off, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers and teams will be looking to win BIG in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway this week.
The drivers and teams were last on the 0.526-mile track at Martinsville for a snow-delayed Monday race on the short track. Now the teams will have to set up the cars for high speeds and great handling around one of NASCAR’s intermediate tracks.
Aerodynamics and mistake-free driving will be a must along with pit crews performing stops quickly and free of mistakes as well if there will be a chance for their car to cross the finish line first.
There have been six races so far in the 2018 NASCAR season. However, there have only been four drivers that have put themselves on the “all but guaranteed” list for the playoffs at the end of the season. Austin Dillon (1 win), Kevin Harvick (3 wins), Martin Truex Jr. (1 win) and Clint Bowyer (1 win) have all taken advantage of the “win and you’re in” era of racing thus far this season. The rest of the drivers want to gain that security as early as possible this season and this weekend in Texas would be just fine for any of them.
Here’s a look at the specifics for the Texas Motor Speedway and the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500.
Texas Motor Speedway Data
Track Size: 1.5-mile
Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 20 degrees
Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 24 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 5 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 5 degrees
Frontstretch Length: 2,250 feet
Backstretch Length: 1,330 feet
O’Reilly Auto Parts 500
Season Race #: 07 of 36 (04-08-18)
Race Length: 334 laps / 501 miles
Stage 1 & 2 Length: 85 laps (each)
Final Stage Length: 164 laps
Next is a look at how the drivers have performed at Texas Motor Speedway during their careers in NASCAR’s top division.
Top 10 Active Driver Ratings at Texas
Jimmie Johnson…………………… 105.5
Kyle Busch…………………………. 100.5
Chase Elliott…………………………. 97.1
Martin Truex Jr……………………… 95.5
Kevin Harvick……………………….. 93.0
Denny Hamlin……………………….. 90.0
Kyle Larson………………………….. 88.8
Brad Keselowski……………………. 88.7
Kurt Busch…………………………… 88.4
Joey Logano…………………………. 85.5
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2017 races (26 total) among active drivers at Texas Motor Speedway.
The active driver with the most wins in the NASCAR Cup Series at Texas Motor Speedway is Jimmie Johnson. He has seven previous victories at the track including this race last year and could use another one to get in the win column for the 2018 season the way he did for the 2017 season.
Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch have both been doing well this season though they have yet to close the deal at the end of the race. They have two wins each at Texas and want to get a third to get their first this season.
Kevin Harvick has been dominating this year winning three of the first four races. The last two race he has shown himself to be beatable. He scored his first and only win at Texas Motor Speedway in the fall race of 2017. He will be trying to continue making the statement that any road to a championship this year has to go around him by winning his second and back-to-back Texas races for his fourth 2018 victory.
Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne. Kurt Busch and Joey Logano have all won a single time in their respective careers at Texas. They will all be racing to bring another Texas trophy home and get in the win column for 2018.
Of course as mentioned earlier, all the drivers want to get the win after a week off and take advantage of the “win and you’re in” era of racing. Will one of the win-less achieve that goal or will it be a driver who already has a 2018 win making the trip to Victory Lane?
We will find out when that green flag waives to start the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Sunday, April 8th starting at 1 PM central time (2 PM eastern time) from Texas Motor Speedway.
By: Buck Stevens
