Fantasy Fastlane: Hendrick powerhouse duo Kyle Larson, William Byron needed for Texas

MUST START: 

William Byron | View stats

Hendrick Motorsports, No. 24 Chevrolet

Odds: 7-1

Byron finding Victory Lane is becoming a regular occurrence. He’s the first driver since Busch in 2019 to start off the season by winning three of the opening eight races, including last weekend at Martinsville. Oh, by the way, the No. 24 team stayed clean and capitalized on others’ misfortune last fall to win at Texas. Byron has three consecutive top-10 finishes at the track.

MUST START: 

Kyle Larson | View stats

Hendrick Motorsports, No. 5 Chevrolet

Odds: 4-1

Larson was in cruise control late in last year’s race when a caution flew on Lap 244. On the restart, he got loose underneath Bubba Wallace and backed hard into the wall. Sure, you can play the “what if” game, but the No. 5 team looked to be on its way to another victory at Texas. His other two starts at the track with Hendrick Motorsports resulted in top 10s, with a commanding 256 laps led en route to the 2021 win. That same year, he won the All-Star race at Texas. 

MUST START: 

Bubba Wallace | View stats

23XI Racing, No. 23 Toyota

Odds: 16-1

Wallace won his second career pole and led a race-high 111 laps last fall at Texas. Had he executed a late-race restart with six laps remaining, it’s quite possible he would have another victory on his resume. There is some concern here, though, as Wallace had seven straight finishes outside the top 10 – six outside the top 20 – at Texas before last season. The No. 23 car has had plenty of speed to start 2024, so it’s hard to believe the performance was an anomaly last year.

MUST START: 

Brad Keselowski | View stats

RFK Racing, No. 6 Ford

Odds: 28-1

Keselowski needs to find consistency, and Texas might be what the doctor ordered for the No. 6 team to gain some momentum. He has a series-high five consecutive top 10s at the 1.5-mile track, including a seventh-place finish last fall. Keselowski dropped to 18th on the playoff grid after a lackluster Martinsville run, with an average finish of 18.9 through the first eight events. 

SLEEPER PICK:

Chase Briscoe | View stats

Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 14 Ford

Odds: 80-1

The sleeper spot seems to be a familiar place for Briscoe in 2024. The No. 14 team has had the most speed at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2024 and is coming off its best race of the season at Martinsville. In three Texas starts, the Indiana native has an average finish of 10th. He has consecutive top 10s at the track entering this weekend and needs to continue capitalizing at some of his best race tracks.

SLEEPER PICK: 

Erik Jones | View stats

Legacy Motor Club, No. 43 Toyota

Odds: 80-1

The results don’t indicate how strong Jones was last fall at Texas. The No. 43 car was credited with a 30th-place finish after getting swept into a late pileup. At one point during the race, however, Jones drove to the lead and finished runner-up in the second stage. He finished sixth at Texas in 2022, one of his seven top 10s in 12 Texas starts. 

SLEEPER PICK: 

Daniel Suárez | View stats

Trackhouse Racing, No. 99 Chevrolet

Odds: 80-1

Ever since Suárez won the second race of the season at Atlanta, he has freefalled down the regular-season standings. The third-closest victory in Cup Series history remains the No. 99 team’s only top 10 of the season through eight races. Suarez is a fine pick this weekend, though, as he often runs well at Texas. He has a quartet of top-10 results in 11 Texas races, including two of his three starts with Trackhouse. 

STAY AWAY FROM: 

Martin Truex Jr. | View stats

Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 19 Toyota

Odds: 10-1

It doesn’t matter the Texas layout, the Fort Worth track has gotten the best of Truex throughout his Hall of Fame career. The 2017 Cup champion has a mere five top fives in 34 starts, with only one of those coming in the last nine races. His last three finishes have all been outside the top 15. It’s entirely believable that the No. 19 car will spend time out front, as Truex has led 689 laps at the track, but a big goose egg is in the win column. 

STAY AWAY FROM: 

Chase Elliott | View stats

Hendrick Motorsports, No. 9 Chevrolet

Odds: 14-1

Elliott was superb at Texas in the beginning of his career, as he found the top 10 in five of his first six starts. Since 2019, however, the 2020 Cup champion has one such finish in seven races, which was a seventh-place result in 2021. He’s finished outside the top 20 in three of those races. The good news for Elliott fans is he’s beginning to look like the Elliott of old, running towards the front more frequently. 

STAY AWAY FROM: 

Chris Buescher | View stats

RFK Racing, No. 17 Ford

Odds: 28-1

While Keselowski has been a staple at finishing inside the top 10 at Texas, Buescher has yet to achieve that status. The Texan is coming off his best finish to date in 14 starts at his home track, but it was a middling 14th. The No. 17 team does have five top 10s in eight races to start the season but is a tick off the raw speed that RFK displayed during the second half of the 2023 season. 

FEATURED MATCHUPS: 

William Byron vs. Kyle Larson

Winning two of the last three Texas races, this pair of Hendrick teammates are needed in your lineup. Byron has displayed more consistent finishes recently here, but the No. 5 team has the speed advantage on intermediate race tracks. Larson dominated the series’ lone 1.5-mile race in 2024 at Las Vegas, albeit at a track nothing like Texas. It’s hard to replicate speed, so give me Larson this weekend. 

Daniel Suárez vs. Brad Keselowski

We noted how strong of a track Texas is for Suárez, as he has a pair of third-place finishes there while driving for Stewart-Haas in 2019. Keselowski is more consistent, and he will likely score another top-10 finish this weekend. This could be the race to kick start the No. 6 team’s season. 

Bubba Wallace vs. Tyler Reddick

This is a tough matchup because Reddick won a crazy race here in 2022. Wallace nearly won here last fall and, while it doesn’t necessarily show in the win column, Toyota has been bad fast on intermediate tracks over the last two seasons. Entering the weekend, I’ll give the slight advantage to Wallace, but let’s see how practice and qualifying plays out. Track position will be pivotal. 

Ryan Blaney vs. Chase Elliott

You could make a strong case that Blaney should be on your team this weekend because he has eight top-10 finishes in the last 10 Texas races. Let’s not forget, he also won the 2022 All-Star Race at TMS. Elliott has conflicting numbers at the track and has been going in the wrong direction over the last few seasons. Blaney is the clear choice. 

MY LINEUP: William Byron, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski

GARAGE: Joey Logano