Posted on by Holly Cain

If ever there was a venue where some of the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series veterans feel prepared to make a run up the championship standings, Texas Motor Speedway is likely the place.

Former series champion Johnny Sauter boasts the most wins (five) among active drivers at Texas. Twice he has won back to back – sweeping the 2012 season and winning three out of four races between 2016-18.

Sauter’s ThorSport Racing teammate and reigning series champion, Matt Crafton, has a pair of victories (2014 and 2015) and is currently riding an unequaled streak of 17 consecutive top-10 finishes, including four runner-up finishes in addition to a pair of wins.

MORE: Full Gander Trucks lineup

Last season’s winner, Kyle Busch, is entered this weekend and will look to defend his win in Saturday’s Vankor 350 (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Busch has made nine starts at Texas in the Gander Trucks, posting four wins, nine top fives and an average finish of 10.2.

Series standings leader Austin Hill takes a strong 46-point advantage over last week’s Kentucky Speedway race winner, Sheldon Creed, into the Texas race. Hill has held the top spot in the series driver standings – leading the points for the last six weeks – but the driver of the No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota is still looking for his first victory of the year. He has finished runner-up twice (at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway) and was fifth in last week’s rain-shortened Kentucky race. He has a pair of top 10s in seven Texas starts with a best-ever showing of fifth place in 2018.

“We’ve been right there every week and have put ourselves in a good position in the point standings,” Hill said. “Everybody on our United Rentals team has put a ton of effort into our trucks. The guys put together a brand-new piece for this week, so I can’t wait to get in and see what we have.

“I feel like we should have won the summer race at Texas last year and we were really fast in the spring race but had an overheating issue, so I’m looking forward to going back this weekend. It’s definitely a place that we’ve had good speed and the mile-and-a-halfs have been one of our strong suits this year.”

Ben Rhodes, who is third in the Gander Trucks driver standings and 57 points behind Hill, is also looking for his first 2020 victory. The 23-year-old has five top-10 finishes in the seven races. His best finish at Texas is runner-up in 2018, but he has only three top-10 showings in the last eight starts there.

The 19-year old Californian Tyler Ankrum, who is ranked 10th in the championship, is a perfect 2-for-2 when it comes to top-10 finishes at Texas. And another 2019 Championship 4 driver, Stewart Friesen, would love to see Texas revitalize his season. He has two past runner-up finishes in Fort Worth, Texas, (2018 and 2019) and currently is ranked 14th in the championship. His best 2020 finish is eighth place at Pocono two races ago.

Posted on by Holly Cain

Certainly, based on recent history, Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) looks to feature the best of the 2020 top NASCAR Cup Series championship contenders.

Series standings leader Kevin Harvick won the fall NASCAR Playoffs race at Texas last season and has three wins in the last five races on the 1.5-mile track. Denny Hamlin, one of Harvick’s chief 2020 rivals, is the defending winner of this weekend’s race and also has three career victories at Texas – including a 2010 season sweep.

Five drivers entered this weekend have multiple Texas wins, including the track’s best, Jimmie Johnson, who has seven wins – more than double that of any other active driver – and last won there in spring of 2017. Kyle Busch, another three-race Texas winner, last won in the spring of 2018 and shows up in Fort Worth, Texas, after an impressive runner-up finish in Wednesday night’s All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

RELATED: Almirola draws pole | Full Texas lineup

Statistically speaking, Matt Kenseth (who won at Texas in 2002 and 2011) boasts the best driver rating (103.8). Johnson (102.6), Busch (102.1) and Harvick (97.2) are right behind.

While certainly the Texas weekend could fall in line with the opening 17 races and be a tight battle with Harvick, fellow four-race winner Hamlin and Team Penske drivers Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney, there is reason to believe a first-time season winner is also a reasonable expectation.

Kenseth, who came out of retirement after the COVID-19 break to steer the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, earned his best finish of the year – runner-up – at Indianapolis Motor Speedway two weeks ago. Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Johnson, who is retiring from full-time competition at the end of the season, hasn’t won a series race since June 2017 at Dover International Speedway. But both are perennial favorites at Texas, where they lead many statistical categories.

Busch, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, is similarly looking to snap a winless streak. His last victory came in the November season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, earning him the 2019 title.  He has rallied from a slow start this season to 11th in the driver standings now with nine top-10 finishes in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, including three runner-up finishes (at Auto Club Speedway, Darlington Raceway and Atlanta Motor Speedway). And his record nine wins at Texas in the NASCAR Xfinity Series surely provide a healthy dose of optimism this weekend.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have a win yet (in the NASCAR Cup Series),” Busch said after his second-place finish in Wednesday’s All-Star race. “We’ve been close a couple times. We got to fight harder, do better. That’s all there is to it.”

MORE: Busch opens up on 2020 struggles

Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, is ranked 15th in the championship standings with six top-10 finishes this season. His last top 10, however, was at Martinsville Speedway in June – the last of a three-race string of top 10s. His last victory at Texas came in 2017, and he has only one top-10 finish in the five races since, a fifth place in this race last year.

Keselowski and Blaney are certainly keeping Harvick honest this season, but neither has a NASCAR Cup Series win at Texas. Team Penske teammate Joey Logano, who won two races before the break this year, won at the Texas track in 2014. And all three drivers are ranked among the top 12 in driver ratings at Texas.

Keselowski tops his teammates in laps led at the track (639), but the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford is 0-for-23 with only a pair of top-10 finishes in the last eight races. His best work was runner-up in 2012 and 2015. He does have a pair of NASCAR Xfinity Series wins, the most recent in 2015.

In addition to Logano’s 2014 win, he finished second or third in three straight races in the 2016-17 seasons. He has earned top-10 finishes in eight of the last 10 races at Texas.

The 26-year-old Blaney has led 233 laps in 10 Texas starts with a best single race showing in the 2018 playoff race when he won the pole position and finished runner-up. He led a race-best 148 laps and finished 12th in 2017. He’s also a past NASCAR Xfinity Series winner (2018) at the track.

Hamlin certainly is eager to famously don that winner’s cowboy hat in Victory Lane again. He dominated the field in his Texas win last fall, leading 119 of 335 laps. But he has had only two finishes of 20th or better in the last six races – his win last year and a third place in the 2017 playoff race. He had a string of four top-five finishes (including a pair of wins) snapped at Indianapolis two weeks ago. He led 19 laps and crashed while leading only seven laps from the scheduled finish. He was 12th at Kentucky Speedway last weekend.

Posted on by Holly Cain

Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race — the My Bariatric Solutions 300 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) — may feature a first-time, full-time driver victory. That is if the field can beat the race’s all-time winningest driver, Kyle Busch, who has a record nine wins in this race — including five consecutively between 2008-10.

Busch is the only previous winner of the last five Xfinity Series races at the track entered this weekend, which opens the door to Victory Lane for any of the series championship contenders in what has been an especially competitive season.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule for Texas

Although starting positions are picked based on draw in these unusual 2020 racing circumstances, it is worth noting only one time in the past 23 races has a winner started worse than sixth on the grid. And that was still a reasonable 10th-place start, when Trevor Bayne won in the fall of 2011.

Last year’s Texas races featured two very different circumstantial outcomes with Busch beating eventual season champion Tyler Reddick in the first race by a mere .861 seconds. Christopher Bell won the second race of 2019, driving away from the field with a 5.561-second advantage over runner-up Ross Chastain.

Statistically speaking, championship leader Chase Briscoe — who has already surpassed his career-best single-season total with five victories through the opening 15 races — has a best showing at Texas of fourth place in the 2019 spring race. He was 22nd in the fall. His current season effort, however, would indicate reason for optimism.

The driver of the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford has top-10 finishes in eight of the last nine races, which includes two wins and two runner-up finishes. He has been especially good on the 1.5-mile tracks like Texas, earning half (six) of his top-10 finishes on those tracks and winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

With the wins, Briscoe is assured a place in the NASCAR Playoffs, and that will mean a return to Texas during the playoff run in the fall. With a position already guaranteed in the championship mix, Briscoe said this week’s Texas stop will include a little homework for the title chase later in the year.

“Obviously this week is still very important,” Briscoe said. “We always want to do well when we show up to the track. We’ve been in position to win every week, so there’s no reason to back off of that. But, big picture, the playoff races are important so we will try a mix of what we know works at Texas as well as trying stuff for the future.”

RELATED: Xfinity Series standings

Briscoe’s primary championship threats right now are Noah Gragson and Austin Cindric — the series’ only other multiple race winners, both with two trophies. Gragson trails Briscoe by 19 points in the championship standings, and like Briscoe, the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet driver has experienced vastly different outcomes in his Texas starts — 13th in Texas-1 last spring and then 30th after crashing out in the fall return.

Gragson, who celebrated his 22nd birthday Thursday, has 11 top-10 finishes in 15 races this season, and his 468 laps led is most in the series. He has had only one top-five finish (third at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course) in the last five races. However, that’s certainly not to a lack of effort. Gragson has been a big-time contender in deciding the last two races — leading a combined 124 laps in last week’s Kentucky Speedway doubleheader, even though he didn’t celebrate in Victory Lane.

Cindric, who is third in the championship standings and 33 points behind Briscoe, has a solid Texas resume. He has finished 11th or better in all four starts, including a best of third-place twice – in the fall 2018 and 2019 races. His 441 laps out front this season are second only to Gragson, and Cindric is coming off a huge confidence boost sweeping both Kentucky races last weekend, the road-course ace’s first series wins on an oval. Cindric (38 laps) and veteran Justin Allgaier (37 laps) lead the current Xfinity Series championship contenders in career laps led at Texas.

Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, has nine top-10 finishes at Texas, most among the full-time Xfinity Series drivers. His best showing is fifth in 2018, and two of his 11 series wins have come on 1.5-milers like Texas. He has four top-10 and two top-five finishes in the seven 1.5-mile races in 2020.

All four of the JR Motorsports drivers entered this week — Gragson, Allgaier, Michael Annett and Jeb Burton — have had success at Texas. Annett, driver of the No. 1 JRM Chevrolet had his career-best showing at Texas (sixth) last summer, and he has completed 99 percent of the laps in his 15 career starts there. He has one top-five and five top-10 finishes in 2020 on 1.5-mile tracks and is averaging an 8.9 finish. Burton, who will steer the No. 8 JRM Chevrolet this week, has two top-10 finishes in four Texas starts, including a career-best fifth in Fort Worth last season.

“Coming off a great weekend in Kentucky, I’m looking forward to keeping the momentum rolling this week at Texas,” Annett said. “We had fast Chevrolets at Kentucky and had a chance to double up on top-fives and that just shows the strength of this No. 1 team. Over the four last four races, we have an average finish of 6.8 and we’re looking to keep that going this weekend at Texas.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The starting lineup for Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) has been set.

Aric Almirola will start from the pole position, with Ryan Blaney joining him on the front row to lead the field to green for the 334-lap, 501-mile race.

RELATED: Texas schedule | Who will outlast the Texas heat? 

The lineup for the race was determined by a random draw, with NBC Sports announcing the results online. The parameters for the draw were as follows:

  • Positions 1-12 determined by a random draw from charter teams in those positions in team owner points
  • Positions 13-24: Random draw among charter teams in those positions in owner points
  • Positions 25-36: Random draw among charter teams in those positions in owner points
  • Positions 37-40: will be filled out by open, non-chartered teams in order of owner points

Here is a look at the full lineup:

Starting spot Driver Car # Team
1 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
2 Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske
3 Kurt Busch 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
4 Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
5 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
6 Brad Keselowski 2 Team Penske
7 Denny Hamlin 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
8 Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick Motorsports
9 Joey Logano 22 Team Penske
10 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
11 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Wood Brothers Racing
12 Alex Bowman 88 Hendrick Motorsports
13 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
14 Bubba Wallace 43 Richard Petty Motorsports
15 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway Racing
16 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Racing
17 Clint Bowyer 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
18 William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports
19 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
20 Jimmie Johnson 48 Hendrick Motorsports
21 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing
22 Matt Kenseth 42 Chip Ganassi Racing
23 Erik Jones 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
24 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
25 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty Racing
26 Quin Houff 00 StarCom Racing
27 Josh Bilicki 53 Rick Ware Racing
28 John Hunter Nemechek 38 Front Row Motorsports
29 Gray Gaulding 27 Rick Ware Racing
30 Ty Dillon 13 Germain Racing
31 Joey Gase 51 Petty Ware Racing
32 Brennan Poole 15 Premium Motorsports
33 Christopher Bell 95 Leavine Family Racing
34 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
35 JJ Yeley 77 Spire Motorsports
36 Corey LaJoie 32 Go Fas Racing
37 Daniel Suarez 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing
38 Timmy Hill 66 Motorsports Business Management
39 BJ McLeod 78 BJ McLeod Motorsports
40 Reed Sorenson 7 Tommy Baldwin Racing

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Editor’s note: Image above is from 2019 session.

Camp remained in session this summer as ​Sports Biz Camps​ hosts its first-ever ​Sports Biz Virtual​ Career Exploration Camp​ the week of July 14. High school students nationwide had access to more than 120 sports industry professionals sharing perspective and advice on their career pathways. The 4-day program provided campers a mix of live presentations, panel discussions and recorded lessons with professionals from the country’s leading sports organizations, including NASCAR.

Through charitable contributions received from hundreds of individuals, foundations and corporate donors, high school-aged campers attended the sessions for free, leveling the playing field for students to learn and network with industry professionals before embarking on a career in the sports industry. Due to returning support from corporate sponsors like NASCAR and new grants from funders such as Foundation For The Carolinas and United Way of Central Carolinas​, the camp was able to pivot during the novel coronavirus pandemic from in-person to a virtual format.

“In order for NASCAR and the greater sports industry to truly create a diverse and inclusive workplace, we recognize the importance of investing early in aspiring industry professionals,” said Pete Jung, Senior Vice President, Marketing at NASCAR. “We are proud to be a returning partner for ​Sports Biz Camps’ Career Exploration Camp​ as the Charlotte-based nonprofit expands nationally this summer.”

This year’s program built off the success of 2019’s inaugural ​Sports Biz Camps​, which took place in Charlotte and included 116 students from 35 area high schools.

“The incredible generosity displayed by sponsors and donors thus far is truly propelling us closer to our goal of educating 1,000 students this summer,” said Patrick Stack, Co-Founder, ​Sports Biz Camps​.

For more information on this year’s ​Sports Career Exploration Camp a​nd to donate, visit sportsbizcamps.com​ or follow on ​LinkedIn​, ​Instagram​, and ​Facebook​.

Posted on by Data Skrive

Aric Almirola finished ninth in the NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday.

Almirola was not able to add to his season point total.

Almirola started in 17th position. The 13th-year driver has tallied two career victories, with 23 top-five finishes and 70 results inside the top 10.

In his career at Bristol Motor Speedway, Almirola has compiled one top-five finish and his ninth-place result marks the third top-10.

The Tampa, Florida native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting four spots higher than his career mark of 20.7 and completing the race 13 places ahead of his 21.7 career average finish.

Almirola took on 20 other drivers on the way to his ninth-place finish. The race endured five cautions and 13 caution laps. There were six lead changes.

Chase Elliott secured the win in the race, and Kyle Busch followed in second. Kevin Harvick placed third, Brad Keselowski took fourth, and Denny Hamlin finished off the top five.

Aric Almirola Driver Page | Get Almirola Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Kyle Busch finished second in the NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday.

Busch was unable to add to his season point total.

Busch started in 10th position. The 17th-year driver has piled up 56 career victories, with 207 top-five finishes and 305 results inside the top 10.

Victory Lane at Bristol Motor Speedway is a familiar place for Busch, who has eight career wins at the track. His second-place finish also marks the 13th time he has finished in the top five at Bristol and his 18th top-10.

The Las Vegas, Nevada native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting three spots higher than his career mark of 12.8 and completing the race 13 places ahead of his 14.7 career average finish.

Busch raced against 20 other drivers on the way to his second-place finish. The race endured five cautions and 13 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were six lead changes.

Chase Elliott finished first in the race, followed by Busch’s second-place finish. Kevin Harvick placed third, Brad Keselowski secured fourth place, and Denny Hamlin finished off the top five.

Kyle Busch Driver Page | Get Busch Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Kevin Harvick finished third in the NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday.

Harvick was not able to add to his season point total.

Harvick started in fifth position and led six laps in the race. The 20th-year driver has piled up 53 career victories, with 216 top-five finishes and 376 results inside the top 10.

Victory Lane at Bristol Motor Speedway is a familiar place for Harvick, who has two career wins at the track. His third-place finish also marks the 12th time he has finished in the top five at Bristol and his 19th top-10.

The Bakersfield, California native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting 10 spots higher than his career mark of 14.9 and completing the race 10 places ahead of his 12.7 career average finish.

Harvick took on a field of 20 drivers on the way to his third-place finish. The race endured five cautions and 13 caution laps. There were six lead changes.

Chase Elliott secured the win in the race, followed by Kyle Busch in the No. 2 spot. After Harvick’s third-place finish, Brad Keselowski secured fourth, and Denny Hamlin took the No. 5 spot.

Kevin Harvick Driver Page | Get Harvick Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Denny Hamlin finished fifth in the NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday.

Hamlin did not add to his season point total.

Hamlin started in 15th position. The 16th-year driver has tallied 41 career victories, with 170 top-five finishes and 269 results inside the top 10.

Victory Lane at Bristol Motor Speedway is a familiar place for Hamlin, who has two career wins at the track. He has also compiled nine top-five finishes at Bristol and his fifth-place result marks the 14th top-10.

The Chesterfield, Virginia native began the race two spots behind his career mark of 12.8, but finished nine places ahead of his career average of 13.7.

Hamlin raced against a field of 20 drivers on the way to his fifth-place finish. The race endured five cautions and 13 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were six lead changes.

Chase Elliott finished first in the race, and Kyle Busch followed in second. Kevin Harvick crossed the finish line third, with Brad Keselowski bringing home fourth place. Hamlin rounded out the top five.

Denny Hamlin Driver Page | Get Hamlin Gear | Race Center