Posted on by Reid Spencer

FORT WORTH, Texas – For Kevin Harvick, Texas is the new Phoenix.

Overcoming a pit-road penalty for a tire placed in his pit box too early, Harvick took control of the AAA Texas 500 as the sun set on Texas Motor Speedway and won his third straight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at the 1.5-mile track in Cowtown.

RELATED: Race results | Stage recaps
SHOP: Kevin Harvick gear

Locked into the Championship 4 race two weeks hence at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Harvick can now breathe easy heading into the final Round of 8 race at ISM Raceway in Phoenix, a track where Harvick has nine wins and a current streak of 12 top-10 finishes — but where Harvick struggled uncharacteristically in the spring while running ninth under the new 2019 rules package.

After leading a race-high 119 laps and finishing 1.594 seconds ahead of Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Aric Almirola, Harvick, the pole winner, won’t have to worry about the one-mile flat track in Arizona’s Sonoran desert.

“Texas has always been so great to us, and what a race track the last few years,” said Harvick, who won for the fourth time this season and the 49th time in his career, tying him with SHR co-owner Tony Stewart for 14th all-time. “It’s just been a lot of work put into this race. We knew this was a good race track for us. Felt like it fit the styles of our cars, and, man, did it.”

Harvick led an impressive contingent of SHR drivers, all of whom took turns at the front of the field before Harvick took control. Runner-up Almirola led 62 laps, Clint Bowyer led 36 and Daniel Suarez 25.

“That was a very solid night, and I’m very happy with the performance and speed that we brought from the shop,” said Suarez, who matched the third-place finish he posted at Texas in the spring. “Everyone back at the shop did a great job. We knew we would be fast here.

“We had a solid performance here last time. We did a good job. We had good execution and a good clean day. I’m very happy for Stewart-Haas Racing and the 41 Ford Mustang was pretty sporty. I am very happy for Kevin getting his ticket for Homestead.”

Harvick’s path wasn’t easy. On a Lap 186 pit stop under caution, a tire dropped from the top of the pit wall into Harvick’s stall before the No. 4 Ford arrived, forcing Harvick to restart from the rear. But Harvick charged forward and on Lap 255, he passed Almirola for the lead.

Suarez completed the 1-2-3 podium sweep for SHR, followed by Joey Logano, who held the fourth position in the standings and extended his margin above the current Championship cut line to 20 points. Alex Bowman ran fifth, and Martin Truex Jr., already locked into the season finale by virtue of last week’s Martinsville win, finished sixth.

Playoff drivers Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney were seventh and eighth, with Busch standing 22 points above the cut line and Blaney 23 points below, tied with 12th-place finisher Kyle Larson.

Chase Elliott’s dire playoff situation crystallized on Lap 9 when he tried to run the high lane and slid into the outside wall in Turn 2. Elliott barely beat the repair clock on pit road and returned to the race, albeit it seven laps down.

The driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet leaves the Lone Star State with a 32nd-place finish and one path to the Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway — he must win next Sunday’s race at Phoenix to advance.

Like Elliott, Denny Hamlin failed to score points in either of the first two stages. On Lap 80, five short of the completion of Stage 1, Hamlin got sideways in Turn 44 and spun through the infield grass. He lost two laps under repairs and two more on the track and came home 28th.

As a consequence, the five-time Cup winner this season fell 20 points below the cut line for the Championship 4.

Jimmie Johnson’s prospects of ending a 92-race drought looked promising early on but came to a disappointing finish early in the final stage. Johnson passed Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman for the lead on Lap 99 and held the top spot for 40 laps — the most laps the seven-time champion has led in a single race since his 60 at Texas in the spring.

But Johnson spun in Turns 1 and 2 while battling for third on Lap 185 and slapped the Turn 2 wall. Johnson couldn’t make minimum speed after repairs and retired to the garage after completing 199 laps.

Note: John Hunter Nemechek finished 21st, one lap down in his Cup debut—substituting for Front Row Motorsports driver Matt Tifft, who suffered a seizure last Saturday at Martinsville.

Posted on by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find NBCSN | Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App

Monday, November 4
2 p.m., NASCAR 120: Texas (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
5 p.m., NASCAR America: Monday, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Decades: The 1970s (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7 p.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App

Tuesday, November 5
5 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

Wednesday, November 6
1 p.m., Glory Road: Blacker (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
1:30 p.m., Glory Road: NASCAR Goes Road Racing (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
5 p.m., NASCAR America: Motormouths, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Decades: The 1990s (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Decades (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

Thursday, November 7
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

Friday, November 8
1 p.m., Wood Brothers (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice, NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
4 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (NBCSN joins in at 4:30 p.m.) (Canada: TSN App)
5 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series qualifying, FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
7 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN2)
8 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NGOTS, FS1/FOX Sports App
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 at ISM Raceway, FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN
4 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice
7 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice
8 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 at ISM Raceway

Saturday, November 9
2 a.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
1:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
2 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN3)
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Countdown to Green, NBC/NBC Sports App
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 at ISM Raceway, NBC/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN3)

On MRN
2 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 at ISM Raceway
6 p.m., NASCAR K&N West Series finale at ISM Raceway

Sunday, November 10
12:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: MENCS, FS1/FOX Sports App
1:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBC/NBC Sports App
2 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green, NBC/NBC Sports App
2:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway, NBC/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN2)
6 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Post Race, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Victory Lap, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN
1:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway

Posted on by Staff Report

Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Tony Stewart says that the organization is getting closer to bringing Daniel Suarez back to its No. 41 Ford next season, though a deal has not been made final.

“You know, it’s just a matter of trying to get this deal done and see if we can put it all together,” Stewart said Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway, one day after his induction into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame. “He’s worked really hard; we’re working hard at it. I think we’re getting closer, but it’s not done yet obviously.”

RELATED: Meaningful weekend for Suarez in Texas

Suarez is rounding out his first season with SHR, and he ranks 18th in Monster Energy Series points after missing the playoff cut. Friday, Suarez expressed some frustration with the timing of the negotiations, but said he held hopes that a deal could be completed.

“We are not in the perfect situation,” Suarez said between Friday’s practices at the 1.5-mile track. “I wish two months ago we were done with all this stuff. You never know. Fortunately or unfortunately, who knows, I have been in this situation for the last couple of years. Everything will be fine. We just have to work out a couple of things sponsor-wise and hopefully everything will fall in place.”

Stewart-Haas Racing has made a series of renewals for 2020 in recent weeks, most recently signing Clint Bowyer on Oct. 17 to return to the No. 14 Ford next year. Aric Almirola and sponsor Smithfield were re-signed to the No. 10 Ford on Oct. 10, and Rodney Childers confirmed on Oct. 7 a contract extension that would keep him paired with Kevin Harvick as the crew chief of the No. 4 Ford.

Posted on by Staff Report

Aric Almirola completed a Stewart-Haas Racing sweep of both stages in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 race at Texas Motor Speedway.

RELATED: Stage 2 results

Almirola took over the lead with six laps to go after Kyle Busch peeled off to hit pit road as the last car to make a stop in the pit cycle as varied fuel-only and two-tire strategies unfolded in the second stint of the 334-lap race at the 1.5-mile Fort Worth track.

The stage win is Almirola’s second of the season. The No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing driver was eliminated after the initial Playoffs Round of 16.

Erik Jones finished second, followed by Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Larson and Stage 1 winner Kevin Harvick to complete the top five spots.

Johnson led a stage-high 40 of the 85 circuits, taking the lead away from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman at the stage restart.

After setting a record for the number of cautions in Stage 1, the second stage was less chaotic by going caution-free throughout.

Place Driver Team Pts
1 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing 10
2 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing 9
3 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports 8
4 Kyle Larson (P) Chip Ganassi Racing 7
5 Kevin Harvick (P) Stewart-Haas Racing 6
6 Joey Logano Team Penske 5
7 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports 4
8 Daniel Suarez Stewart-Haas Racing 3
9 Kyle Busch (P) Joe Gibbs Racing 2
10 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports 1

STAGE 1

Kevin Harvick edged out Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Clint Bowyer to take the Stage 1 victory in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway.

With just five laps to go in the stage, playoff driver Denny Hamlin spun off Turn 4 and received significant damage to the front splitter after the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota spun through the infield grass.

RELATED: Stage 1 results

Hamlin’s incident set up a one-lap sprint to the green-and-white-checkered flag where Harvick was able to overtake Bowyer, serving as Harvick’s sixth stage win of the 2019 season.

Larson collected eight valuable stage points with a third-place result, followed by Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch to round out the top five.

Disaster struck for playoff driver Chase Elliott on Lap 9 when the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet slipped out of the groove in Turns 1 and 2, causing Elliott to slide up the track, backing hard into the outside retaining wall. The team was able to make repairs after significant damage to the rear and right side of the car on pit road under the allotted six minutes of the Damaged Vehicle Policy.

Elliott came into Sunday’s race 44 points below the cutline. Elliott currently runs 37th after the conclusion of Stage 1.

Another big crash left Brad Keselowski and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with destroyed race cars on Lap 54. Keselowski got loose on the outside lane coming out of Turn 4, slamming into the outside wall. Stenhouse also lost control, making hard contact with the outside wall and the rear of the No. 2 Ford.

In total, the stage saw six cautions, setting a record for the number of yellow flags in one stage.

Place Driver Team Pts
1 Kevin Harvick (P) Stewart-Haas Racing 10
2 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing 9
3 Kyle Larson (P) Chip Ganassi Racing 8
4 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports 7
5 Kyle Busch (P) Joe Gibbs Racing 6
6 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing 5
7 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing 4
8 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing 3
9 Ryan Blaney Team Penske 2
10 Daniel Hemric Richard Childress Racing 1
Posted on by Staff Report

Denny Hamlin’s playoff path encountered a hurdle with a first-stage crash that damaged the front end of his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota and left him with a 28th-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway.

RELATED: Race results

Hamlin lost control of the No. 11 through Turn 4 then slid to the infield grass on the 80th of 334 laps in the AAA Texas 500. His car careened off the infield asphalt of the quarter-mile layout then dug into the grass. Hamlin, who eased to pit road with significant damage to the car’s right-front section, said he had ventured into the upper groove before the traction compound had fully broken in.

“Just lost control. That’s all there is to it,” Hamlin said. “But proud of the whole FedEx team for putting their best effort to get this running with decent speed there at the end. Did the best we could and we’ll go to Phoenix and try to win.”

The title favorite completed the first stage in 33rd place, staying on the lead lap. But he lost ground over the remaining two stages, eventually finishing six laps off the pace.

Hamlin now faces a 20-point deficit below the cutline, ranked fifth among the eight remaining playoff drivers heading to the Round of 8 elimination race at ISM Raceway near Phoenix next weekend. “The car and effort will be there, that’s for sure,” Hamlin said. “There’s no doubt in my mind we can go there and win. Especially in these circumstances, I like the challenge. So we’re going go out there and give it our best shot and put our best foot forward and see if we can’t get a win next week.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Chase Elliott’s playoffs hopes took another hit Sunday afternoon with an early crunch that left him with a 32nd-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway.

RELATED: Race results

Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet slid out of the groove and made sizable contact with the Turn 2 retaining wall on Lap 9. He limped back to the pits for repairs.

“Sorry, guys,” Elliott told his No. 9 crew after initial repairs were complete. “I wasn’t even really trying to push that hard.”

Elliott’s hopes for advancing to the Championship 4 were already in jeopardy after mechanical issues left him with a 36th-place finish last weekend at Martinsville Speedway. That trouble left him ranked eighth among the remaining title-eligible drivers.

Elliott stayed in eighth after Sunday’s early issue in Texas, but now with a 78-point deficit that puts him in a must-win situation to seal a title shot next Sunday at ISM Raceway near Phoenix, host track of the Round of 8 finale.

“I made a mistake, got loose and crashed. I really hate that happened,” Elliott said. “Obviously, it’s not good and not what you’re looking for. It’s just my mistake and there’s really no excuse for it. It’s just all eyes on Phoenix.”

Elliott was the final car scored as running at the finish, 22 laps off the pace.

Posted on by Terrin Waack

FORT WORTH, Texas — Ruh-roh, a special delivery has arrived.

Corey LaJoie sent one young fan an autographed piece of the No. 32 Go Fas Racing Ford he drove last weekend to an 18th-place finish, his fifth-best run this season, at Martinsville Speedway. It featured the Mystery Machine paint scheme.

The kid was actually in the stands at Martinsville, pretending to drive the Scooby-Doo car specifically with a water bottle as his gear shifter. His father snapped a photo, posted it to Twitter and tagged LaJoie, who did see and appreciate it.

“I wanted to give something to him whether it be a tweet reply or something,” LaJoie said Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway. “So when I went to the shop, they had all the bent up sheet metal and stuff there. … I was like, you know, I’m going to send a piece to this kid who was driving this thing. So I signed it to Aiden and I direct messaged his dad for their mailing address. Signed the box: ‘Special delivery to Aiden from Scooby-Doo and Corey LaJoie.’

“That was a lot of fun. That look on his face when he opened that box up was pretty damn cool.”

RELATED: Key story lines for Texas | Full at-track gallery from Texas

See how LaJoie’s interaction with the fan started, along with the gift being opened, below.

“That’s what this sport is built on,” LaJoie said. “That’s the stuff we got to get back to doing to get the young people involved. You know, we’re not that far removed from where we have been and what has gotten us here in the past. We just need to keep really embracing the fans and keep doing that sort of stuff. I got lucky with a good idea. It got some traction and made a kid’s day. So, I’m thankful to be in a position to do that.”

LaJoie will start 33rd for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Terrin Waack

FORT WORTH, Texas — It has been just a week since Matt Tifft experienced his first-ever seizure at Martinsville Speedway, and the rookie driver of the No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford made it a point to return to a race track sooner rather than later for personal reasons.

Tifft, 23, flew in Sunday to Texas Motor Speedway to watch Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and addressed the media for the first time since his medical incident. Prior updates were through social media or the team.

“It’s crazy,” Tifft said. “You never know what’s going happen in life, I guess. I was just talking about simulation stuff, and next thing I know I’m on the ground. I woke up in the Martinsville (Virginia) hospital, and that’s the next thing I remember.

“Certainly glad to be back here at the track, and honestly I wanted to come back today because it’s been very stressful and a lot of anxiety just to come back. I had my seizure five feet behind me here (in the hauler). It’s a lot of facing some demons and just my own self to try to get back. Really just looking for answers now.”

RELATED: Matt Tifft sidelined for remainder of season

All of Tifft’s brain scans came back clear, showing no recurrence of the tumor that forced him to have surgery on July 1, 2016. The next step is therefore an EEG to test brain wave patterns and see if there’s an explanation for the seizure there. If not, he’ll do whatever the doctors advise.

Currently, Tifft is not cleared to drive, let alone race. The state of North Carolina has a required seizure-free period of six months.

There is no timetable on Tifft’s return overall, but he does have a future with Front Row Motorsports.

“Matt came to us under a two-year agreement, and we will be honoring that,” said Jeff Dennsion, Front Row Motorsports’ senior director of sales and marketing. “We will still have Matt here next year. That is our plan.”

Until then, Front Row Motorsports is covered when it comes to competition.

Matt Crafton filled in for Tifft last weekend at Martinsville, finishing 25th.

Then, on Tuesday, Front Row Motorsports announced full-time Xfinity Series driver John Hunter Nemechek will drive the No. 36 Ford for three races remaining in the Monster Energy Series season. Sunday’s Round of 8 playoff race will mark Nemechek’s debut in the top league. Since joining NASCAR’s national series in 2013, he has one career victory in Xfinity Series and six in the Gander Trucks Series.

“Just a whole new deal for myself being over here in the Cup garage – different type of scenarios, whole new team, different communications,” said Nemechek, who qualified 29th at 185.586 mph. “There’s a lot of variables that play into this weekend. But really thankful for the opportunity from Bob (Jenkins, owner) and everyone at Front Row Motorsports, and I hate the circumstances are like this. Really wish Matt Tifft a speedy recovery and hope he’s back at a race track really soon.”

Tifft’s session with the media was short, less than five minutes, as he is still processing everything that happened. Any further updates, though, he will post on social media.

As for right now, while he would like to get back into a race car, Tifft is prioritizing his health.

“I don’t care about anything else right now other than finding out what caused this,” Tifft said. “Because until then, nothing else matters.”

Posted on by PJ Walsh

The Action Network specializes in providing sports betting insights/analytics and is a content partner with NASCAR. Check out more NASCAR betting analysis here.

One of the keys to being a successful sports bettor is the ability to keep emotion out of your wagering decisions, but that’s not easy at times.

I had Ross Chastain at 100-1 in last night’s Xfinity race at Texas, and for those who didn’t watch, Chastain had the lead late before getting passed by Christopher Bell on a restart and ultimately finishing second.

Obviously, losing a bet with a massive payout like that creates emotions, similar to those of a poker player tilting after a bad beat.

And as difficult as it can be, it’s imperative to not allow the results of previous wagers to infiltrate your decision-making process, specifically those based purely on emotion.

With this in mind, I’m not going overboard on today’s AAA Texas 500 in order to try and make up what I hoped would be a huge win last night, but I am sticking to historical data and this week’s on-track activity at Texas Motor Speedway to land on two drivers worth betting to win.

All odds via the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook as of Sunday morning

RELATED: Odds to win

NASCAR at Texas Best Bet Picks

Martin Truex Jr. (8-1) to Win

This number has overreaction written all over it. Truex was an absolute rocket at the most recent races run at Las Vegas and Kansas, the two NASCAR playoff events held at 1.5-mile race tracks, just like Texas.

The driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota won at Vegas to kick off the playoffs and has the best driver rating by far over those two races.

But after qualifying just 17th, Truex’s odds have dropped to 8-1. While starting in the middle of the field isn’t ideal, guess his average starting position at those two 1.5-mile playoff races … 17.5.

MORE: Full starting lineup

An added bonus for Truex: He’s already locked into the championship race at Homestead after winning last week at Martinsville. This affords his team the ability to get off-sequence on strategy.

Just like Chastain yesterday, Truex doesn’t need to worry about playoff points like the rest of the top NASCAR drivers and can instead focus solely on putting himself in the best position to win the race.

Aric Almirola (40-1) to Win

Speaking of emotions, Almirola teased us last week at Martinsville, running in or near the top five before getting tangled up with Kyle Busch and knocked out of the race.

And since that result shouldn’t do anything to keep us off Almirola today, I’m going back to the well because the value is too good to pass up.

Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) is fast this weekend. Kevin Harvick is on the pole, while Clint Bowyer and Almirola showed plenty of speed in practice.

Interestingly, all four SHR drivers, including Daniel Suarez, have seen major odds adjustments, but Almirola is still the longest shot of the team and I don’t understand why.

To start, Aric had a good run at Texas back in March, finishing seventh. The No. 10 SHR Ford has had plenty of speed this week as well, qualifying sixth while ranking second, fifth and third in five-lap, 10-lap and 15-lap averages, respectively, in final practice.

So at 40-1 we get a driver who finished top-10 in the most recent race at Texas, has a great starting spot and was easily a top-five car in practice.

To be fair, I wouldn’t list Almirola among the favorites either, but him having longer odds than Suarez (30-1) is head-scratching.

While top-five numbers aren’t available at the time of writing, I’ll also look to play Aric for a top-five finish.

Posted on by Terrin Waack

FORT WORTH, Texas — As soon as the checkered flag dropped Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway, drivers still alive in the Xfinity Series playoffs switched their focus ahead to ISM Raceway next weekend.

Three spots in the Championship 4 are actually still up for grabs. Of the two Round of 8 races so far, only one was won by a playoff contender. Christopher Bell just clinched a berth with his victory at Texas, but the week before saw a non-playoff driver win. That cracks the door open for the remaining seven, a little.

“There are so many scenarios that really we can’t even think of all the scenarios that could potentially happen,” Justin Allgaier said. “It seems like it never fails that when you think you have it figured out, that’s when God’s plan changes and you don’t really have anything figured out.”

RELATED: Race results | Bell prevails at Texas

Allgaier, who finished sixth at Texas, kept his fourth-place standing, holding the final transfer spot with an 18-point cushion. Chase Briscoe is still right below him in fifth after finishing 22nd.

Further down in the ranks are Michael Annett (-28 in sixth; 11th at Texas), Austin Cindric (-31 in seventh; third at Texas) and Noah Gragson (-47 in eighth; 30th at Texas). Gragson and Cindric swapped positions. Others stayed put, but numbers changed.

Cole Custer is on top of those still battling for a ticket to Homestead-Miami Speedway with a 52-point advantage. Tyler Reddick is then third and has 36 points to his name. Custer and Reddick were eighth and 29th at Texas, respectively. Reddick wrecked out on Lap 150 of 200.

“As long as the top four guys now don’t screw up, it’s going to be hard for any of us to catch them,” said Briscoe, whose tire blew with 24 laps to go at the 1.5-mile track. “If one of us wins the (Phoenix) race, that obviously kind of throws a change in the plans. So that’s what we’re trying to do.”

That’s the mentality for all of the guys outside the bubble now.

“It just makes it a must-win, honestly,” Annett said. “If you’re going to have one thing: To go in there and be 28 points back, at least you know exactly what you have to do. There’s no strategy. We can set ourselves up for the end of the race just to go win it.”

Full-time Monster Energy Series driver Kyle Busch won the Xfinity Series’ race at ISM earlier this season. So, among the active playoff drivers, Reddick had the best performance (third). Custer, Cindric and Briscoe followed him in order, though.

Allgaier and Bell are the only title hopefuls who have been to Victory Lane at ISM before. Neither has won a championship.

“Last year still haunts me,” Allgaier said. “I look at last year and not being able to make the final four was a rough situation. I’m disappointed with last year. So there’s a lot more on the line this year for me.”