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Martin Truex Jr finished sixth in the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, adding 31 points to his season total. Truex ranks No. 1 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings with 4133 points. He’s collected 14 top-five finishes in 2019.

Kevin Harvick earned the checkered flag in the race, with Aric Almirola following in second, and Daniel Suarez placing third. Joey Logano brought home fourth place, followed by Alex Bowman in the No. 5 spot.

Harvick came away victorious in Stage 1, and Almirola took Stage 2.

Truex qualified in 17th position at 187.091 mph. The 16th-year driver has tallied 26 career victories, 101 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 203 races.

There were 40 cars in the field, and the race endured 11 cautions and 56 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 26 lead changes.

Ford added 40 points to its season total with Harvick’s victory. Overall, Toyota ranks No. 1 with 1238 points, followed by Ford in the No. 2 spot with 1201. Chevrolet sits at No. 3 with 1160 points on the season.

Martin Truex Driver Page | Get Martin Truex Jr Gear | Race Center

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Aric Almirola placed second in the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, adding 45 points to his season total.

Almirola now sits at No. 13 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings with 2204 points. He’s posted three top-five finishes in 2019.

Kevin Harvick earned the checkered flag in the race, with Daniel Suarez placing third. Joey Logano took fourth place, followed by Alex Bowman to round out the top five.

Harvick came away victorious in Stage 1, and Almirola took Stage 2.

Almirola qualified in sixth position at 188.317 mph. He led on four occasions for a total of 62 laps. The 12th-year driver has tallied two career victories, 18 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 61 races.

There were 40 cars in the field, and the race endured 11 cautions and 56 caution laps. There were 26 lead changes.

Ford added 40 points to its season total with Harvick’s victory. Overall, Toyota ranks No. 1 with 1238 points, followed by Ford in the No. 2 spot with 1201. Chevrolet sits at No. 3 with 1160 points on the season.

Aric Almirola Driver Page | Get Aric Almirola Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Josh Williams finished 14th in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, adding 23 points to his season total.

Williams now sits at 486 points on the season.

Christopher Bell came away with the victory in the race, with Ross Chastain following in second, and Austin Cindric placing third. Brandon Jones brought home fourth place, followed by John Hunter Nemechek in the No. 5 spot.

In addition to the victory, Bell won each of the race’s first two stages.

Williams qualified in 24th position at 183.187 mph. The fourth-year driver still is in search of career win No. 1, but has placed in the top 10 in one race.

There were 38 cars in the field, and the race endured nine cautions and 51 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were nine lead changes.

Toyota added 40 points to its season total with Bell’s victory. Overall, Chevrolet ranks No. 1 with 1111 points, followed by Toyota in the No. 2 spot with 1096. Ford sits at No. 3 with 1096 points on the season.

Josh Williams Driver Page | Get Josh Williams Gear | Race Center

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Cole Custer placed eighth in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, adding 40 points to his season total.

Custer now sits at No. 2 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings with 3135 points. He’s posted 15 top-five finishes in 2019.

Christopher Bell earned the checkered flag in the race, with Ross Chastain following in second, and Austin Cindric crossing the finish line third. Brandon Jones took fourth place, followed by John Hunter Nemechek in the No. 5 spot.

In addition to the victory, Bell won each of the race’s first two stages.

Custer qualified in fourth position at 189.967 mph. The fourth-year driver has piled up nine career victories, 37 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 69 races.

There were 38 cars in the field, and the race endured nine cautions and 51 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were nine lead changes.

Toyota added 40 points to its season total with Bell’s victory. Overall, Chevrolet ranks No. 1 with 1111 points, followed by Toyota in the No. 2 spot with 1096. Ford sits at No. 3 with 1096 points on the season.

Cole Custer Driver Page | Get Cole Custer Gear | Race Center

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Justin Allgaier finished sixth in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, adding 42 points to his season total.

Allgaier now sits at No. 4 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings with 3101 points. He’s posted 15 top-five finishes in 2019.

Christopher Bell brought home the win in the race, with Ross Chastain finishing second, and Austin Cindric crossing the finish line third. Brandon Jones took fourth place, followed by John Hunter Nemechek in the No. 5 spot.

In addition to the victory, Bell won each of the race’s first two stages.

Allgaier qualified in sixth position at 189.374 mph. The 10th-year driver has piled up 10 career victories, 84 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 175 races.

Allgaier battled 37 other cars in the field and the race saw nine cautions and 51 caution laps. There were nine lead changes before the checkered flag.

Toyota added 40 points to its season total with Bell’s victory. Overall, Chevrolet ranks No. 1 with 1111 points, followed by Toyota in the No. 2 spot with 1096. Ford sits at No. 3 with 1096 points on the season.

Justin Allgaier Driver Page | Get Justin Allgaier Gear | Race Center

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John Hunter Nemechek placed fifth in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, adding 46 points to his season total.

Nemechek now sits at No. 9 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings with 2174 points. He’s collected five top-five finishes in 2019.

Christopher Bell brought home the win in the race, with Ross Chastain following in second, and Austin Cindric placing third.

In addition to the victory, Bell won each of the race’s first two stages.

Nemechek qualified in 11th position at 187.422 mph. The second-year driver has tallied one career victory, 11 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 28 races.

There were 38 cars in the field, and the race endured nine cautions and 51 caution laps. There were nine lead changes.

Toyota added 40 points to its season total with Bell’s victory. Overall, Chevrolet ranks No. 1 with 1111 points, followed by Toyota in the No. 2 spot with 1096. Ford sits at No. 3 with 1096 points on the season.

John H. Nemechek Driver Page | Race Center

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Ross Chastain placed second in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, adding zero points to his season total.

Chastain has posted two top-five finishes in 2019.

Christopher Bell finished out front in the race, with Austin Cindric placing third. Brandon Jones brought home fourth place, followed by John H. Nemechek to round out the top five.

In addition to the victory, Bell won each of the race’s first two stages.

Chastain qualified in seventh position at 189.095 mph. He led once for a total of 29 laps, but relinquished the lead for good after Lap 170. The sixth-year driver has piled up two career victories, six top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 20 races.

There were 38 cars in the field, and the race endured nine cautions and 51 caution laps. There were nine lead changes.

Toyota added 40 points to its season total with Bell’s victory. Overall, Chevrolet ranks No. 1 with 1111 points, followed by Toyota in the No. 2 spot with 1096. Ford sits at No. 3 with 1096 points on the season.

Ross Chastain Driver Page | Race Center

Posted on by Staff Report

Joe Gibbs Racing driver and 2019 Monster Energy Series championship hopeful Kyle Busch will compete in the 2020 Rolex 24 endurance race at Daytona International Speedway.

The 2015 Cup Series champion will make his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut for AIM Vasser Sullivan, driving a Lexus RC F GT3 car in the Jan. 25-26 race.

“I’d like to thank everyone at Lexus Motorsports and AIM Vasser Sullivan and Toyota for this opportunity,” Busch said Monday at a Toyota plant in Texas, according to NBC. “To have the chance to run in such an iconic race as the Rolex 24 is certainly something I’ve thought about and wanted to do. My partnership with Toyota and the history we’ve had together has been incredible. I would love to continue that history and maybe get my Daytona Rolex to add to my trophy collection.”

Busch is the latest NASCAR driver to compete in the prestigious event, joining the likes of Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr., AJ Allmendinger, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson and more. Gordon is the most recent driver with NASCAR ties to win the event, teaming with Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor and Max Angelelli in 2017.

MORE: History of NASCAR drivers in Rolex 24 at Daytona

IMSA indicated that Busch will prepare for the event in the Roar Before the Rolex 24 on Jan. 3-5, 2020.

Busch has a sport-car start at Daytona to his credit, pairing with Scott Speed to finish 10th in a Lexus Daytona Prototype owned by Chip Ganassi.

This story will be updated.

Posted on by Steve Luvender

With 36 races in a year and 40 available finishing positions on the track, it’s practically inevitable a driver ends up finishing in every possible place at some point — you win some, you lose some, as they say. Quoth Ricky Bobby, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.”

Aric Almirola joined the list at Texas Motor Speedway when he finished second in the Round of 8 playoff race — the only finishing position he was missing. He joins Ryan Blaney as drivers to accomplish this during the 2019 Playoffs. Blaney’s 21st-place finish at Kansas Speedway was the last piece to his puzzle.

As you continue to watch the 2019 postseason, keep in mind some drivers might be chasing more than a championship trophy — a few are in position to complete the massive 40-row bingo board that is the list of possible finishing positions in NASCAR.

Drivers who have completed the ‘All 40 Challenge’

• Aric Almirola
• Ryan Blaney
• Alex Bowman
• Clint Bowyer
• Kurt Busch
• Kyle Busch
• Denny Hamlin
• Kevin Harvick
• Jimmie Johnson
• Joey Logano
• Paul Menard
• Ryan Newman
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
• Martin Truex Jr.

One Position Remaining

• David Ragan: 9th

David Ragan has driven for plenty of teams in his 13 full-time seasons at NASCAR’s top level, but he’s somehow never finished in ninth place. He’s retiring from full-time racing at the end of the season, too.

 

Two Positions Remaining

• Austin Dillon: 2nd and 40th

• Brad Keselowski: 28th and 40th

• Kyle Larson: 22nd and 32nd

 

Three Positions Remaining

• Erik Jones: 28th, 32nd and 37th

 

Four Positions Remaining

• Matt DiBenedetto: 1st, 3rd, 10th and 11th

• Chase Elliott: 25th, 26th, 28th and 40th

• Daniel Suarez: 1st, 25th, 27th, 39th

 

Bonus Data: Never Last

Since we were already analyzing the data anyway, you might want to keep these names in your back pocket: six full-time drivers have never finished in exactly 40th place (also known as last place in a 40-car field):

• William Byron
• Austin Dillon*
• Ty Dillon
• Chase Elliott
• Brad Keselowski*
• Bubba Wallace

*finished worse than 40th before field size rules were changed, but never finished exactly 40th

Here’s the complete list of non-rookie full-time drivers and their status entering the 2019 ISM Raceway playoff race. If a driver hasn’t finished in a particular position, it’s highlighted in gold. Drivers with grayed-out names have completed the challenge.

 

Posted on by Terrin Waack

FORT WORTH, Texas – Hope for the best. Plan for the worst.

That’s what Kyle Busch and Joey Logano are thinking for next weekend’s Round of 8 playoff elimination race at ISM Raceway now that there are only two spots remaining in the Championship 4. Currently, both drivers are safe in the postseason standings. Busch sits third with a 22-point cushion, and Logano is right behind him in fourth with a 20-point safety net.

They’re smart enough, though, to know they’re not locked in.

“It’s going to be a good battle, for sure,” Logano said. “We’re definitely racing for that last spot just in case someone behind us outside of the top four wins.”

RELATED: Official Texas results | Who’s hot, who’s not

The postseason picture sure changed after Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Kevin Harvick won, launching himself from below the cutline to a guaranteed title contender. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin did the exact opposite. He was second but now takes over Harvick’s previous fifth-place spot (-20) after a 28th-place finish at Texas.

Also heading to Phoenix in the negatives are Ryan Blaney (-23 in sixth; eighth at Texas), Kyle Larson (-23 in seventh; 12th at Texas) and Chase Elliott (-78 in eighth; 32nd at Texas).

“Unless the 18 or 22 has major issues,” Larson said, “then yeah, we for sure have to go there and win.”

Busch led 18 laps in Texas’ 334-lapper and wound up seventh come checkered flag. Logano was further up in fourth after having led just five go-arounds.

Neither won a stage despite being the only drivers — playoff or not — with a double-digit stage wins total this season (Busch 11, Logano 10). Busch was fifth and Logano was 23rd in Stage 1. Logano was then sixth and Busch was ninth in Stage 2. Busch ended up with eight stage points, giving him 38 for the race. Logano earned six in the stages and 39 in the event.

Overall, Busch has 4,113 points and Logano has 4,111 points.

“We all know one guy is going to move through on points and we have to do whatever we have to do in order to be that guy,” Busch said. “If we can obviously go to Phoenix and have a strong run and be able to go out there and win, that will put ourselves through as well.”

Busch has made it to ISM’s Victory Lane three times — second most in the NASCAR Playoffs field — in 28 starts. The No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver actually won there earlier this season and the postseason race in Phoenix last season.

Logano, on the other hand, has taken the ISM checkered flag once in 21 starts, and the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford placed 10th there in the spring.

“I mean, obviously the 18 team is good,” Logano said. “But I think we’re a great team. They’re beatable just like everybody else.”

ISM is a 1-mile track as opposed to Texas’ 1.5-miler, but then it’s back to another 1.5-mile circuit with Homestead-Miami Speedway for the finale on Nov. 17.

Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. (thanks to his Round of 8 opener win at Martinsville Speedway) already have their tickets to Miami punched. Two remain.

Logano and Busch each have a championship to their name — Logano in 2018 and Busch in 2015 — and want to add another.

“It’s going to be a race between the 18 and the 22,” Busch said. “Imagine that.”