Members of the NASCAR.com editorial team make their predictions for the second race of the Eliminator Round in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at Texas Motor Speedway (AAA Texas 500, 2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM).
Zack Albert
Kyle Busch: With four top fives in his most recent five Texas starts, Busch has Lone Star momentum that could carry him to Homestead’s championship round. Expect the best Chase of his career to get that much better with six-shooters a-blazin’ in Victory Lane.
Kenny Bruce
Kevin Harvick: The defending champ flexes his muscle and earns a shot at his second crown.
Brad Norman
Kevin Harvick: Forget all the talk about Harvick winning next week at Phoenix — although he may do that, too — to advance in the Chase. The defending series champ will earn his way back to Homestead with a dominant outing on Sunday.
George Winkler
Joey Logano: He had arguably the best car again last week before Matt Kenseth wrecked him, so provided Joey can stay focused within a media circus, he’ll have a great chance at a track where he has won as recently as spring 2014.
Kathy Sheldon
Kyle Larson: Pressure’s peaking among the Eliminator 8, creating a huge distraction. And Larson has top-10 finishes at two of his four career Sprint Cup races at Texas. Larson likes big, fast tracks, and that’s Texas Motor Speedway.
RJ Kraft
Kyle Busch: The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has a solid history at Texas (he won there in 2013) and it’s his best track left on the schedule. Look for “Rowdy” to join Jeff Gordon by locking up a Championship 4 spot.
Pat DeCola
Jimmie Johnson: In or out of title contention, a winless Jimmie Johnson in the Chase just isn’t a thing that happens. The three-time defending victor of this race will add a fourth straight trip to Victory Lane and ride out of Fort Worth wearing yet another black hat.
Taylor Starer
Joey Logano: Logano is coming off a rough week at Martinsville, where his 37th-place finish dropped him to last in the Chase standings. This year’s Daytona 500 winner is looking for redemption, along with a ticket to the Championship 4 Round.
Maggie MacKenzie
Brad Keselowski: The Team Penske driver has been racing under the radar throughout the Chase, but the AAA Texas 500 could change everything. Keselowski, who sits sixth on the Chase Grid, statistically has done well at Texas and earned a top-five result in the spring race.