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Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson leads the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points standings for the third consecutive week. Roger Penske’s driver Brad Keselowski collected his second race trophy of the year on Sunday — the first multi-time winner of the season.

Chip Ganassi Racing driver Jamie McMurray is enjoying the best six-race start of his Daytona 500-winning career — ranked ninth in the standings entering this weekend’s race at Texas, despite a crash last week at Martinsville.

Penske driver Joey Logano is fifth in the standings with a pole position at Phoenix and five top-six finishes through six races — top-five showings in both the last two weeks.

2017 Stats: Logano | Keselowski | Larson | McMurray

While these two great racing organizations — Chevy’s Ganassi and Ford’s Penske — have long settled trophies and championships between themselves in the open-wheel ranks, simultaneously leading the way in NASCAR is a relatively uncommon development.

But certainly not unforeseen.

And what makes this situation even more interesting is that these are two-car teams — not the four-car mega-organizations like Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing or Stewart-Haas Racing, which have more frequently visited winner’s circles and hoisted the champion’s hardware. Kurt Busch’s dramatic final lap win in the Daytona 500 is the only victory thus far in 2017 for the three four-car teams that have dominated the landscape in recent years. 

Sure it’s early in the season, but the standings look as diverse as they ever have.

Entering Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), Furniture Row Racing’s two drivers — Martin Truex Jr. and rookie Erik Jones are both ranked among the top-13 and Truex has a win. Wood Brothers Racing driver Ryan Blaney — a one-car operation with support from Penske — is ranked seventh.

RELATED: See the full standings | Who’s earned the most stage points?

Meanwhile, the larger teams are having an uncharacteristically and decidedly slower start to the year. Second-year driver Chase Elliott, 21, is setting the standard at Hendrick — winless, but only four points behind the 24-year old Larson in the standings. Elliott’s the only driver ranked among the top-five not from a two-car team and his three veteran teammates have ground you’d expect them to make up points-wise. 

Hendrick’s Kasey Kahne is ranked 12th, reigning seven-time Monster Energy Series champion Jimmie Johnson is 14th and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 25th — a hefty 169 points behind Larson. No Hendrick driver has won a race in 2017.

RELATED: Junior weighs in on slow start to 2017

Kyle Busch is leading the way for Joe Gibbs Racing — ranked sixth, 80 points behind Larson. His teammate Denny Hamlin is 16th  in the standings. Rookie Daniel Suarez is 21st and former champion Matt Kenseth is 22nd  — with three finishes of 36th or worse. No Gibbs driver has hoisted the hardware in 2017 either.

Stewart-Haas’ newest driver Clint Bowyer has been a bright light for Stewart-Haas outside of Busch’s Daytona 500 win. Bowyer is ranked eighth — his highest place atop the standings since he finished seventh in the 2015 season-opening Daytona 500. The last time he was ranked among the top-10 outside of Daytona was in 2014.

Bowyer’s teammate, 2014 Monster Energy Series champion Kevin Harvick is 10th in the standings with three finishes of 20th or worse through the opening six races. He was leading the standings at this time the past two seasons.

After winning the Daytona 500 and finishing seventh the next week at Atlanta, Kurt Busch has suffered through four consecutive showings of 24th place or worse and has fallen to 19th in the points standings. His teammate Danica Patrick is ranked 29th. Her 17th place showing at Atlanta last month is the only top-20 for her so far this season.

Yes, it’s early in the year. And drivers such as Johnson — a six-time winner at this week’s Texas venue, Kyle Busch, Harvick and Hamlin are traditional trophy sure-bets.

But the Ganassi and Penske organizations know a little something about winning championships too. And so far, they are well-positioned to make a run at the mega-teams who are less accustomed to playing catch-up, even this early in the season. Both Ganassi and Penske are among the most respected, decorated and competitive people in the garage with records and statistics to verify the stature — in NASCAR and beyond.

Ganassi holds the record for most Rolex 24 at Daytona wins (six), has won the 12 Hours of Sebring and won in class at the 24 Hours of LeMans in addition to his 11 IndyCar season titles and four Indy 500 wins. Penske is the reigning IndyCar champion team owner — for the 14th time — and has an incredible 16 Indy 500 wins in addition to his 2012 NASCAR title (Keselowski) and two Daytona 500 wins (Ryan Newman in 2008 and Logano in 2015).

How many people would have predicted that come the second week of April either the Hendrick or Gibbs organizations would be winless?

RELATED: NASCAR executive says more drivers have an opportunity to win

But it’s a reflection as much on the other teams — Ganassi, Penske, Furniture Row, Wood Brothers and Richard Childress — who have picked up the pace.

The situation shows off NASCAR’s talent diversity and speaks volumes about the ever-increasing intrigue and all around competitive level.

Everyone’s raising their game. And the big winner is the fan.

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BUY TICKETS: See the races at Texas
RELATED: Full weekend schedule for Texas


The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series are at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend.


Below are the stage lengths for each race. Click here to bookmark stage lengths for every race this season.


Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (Race is Sunday, 1:30 p.m. ET, FOX)

Stage 1: Ends on Lap 85
Stage 2: Ends on Lap 170
Final Stage: Scheduled to end on Lap 334 


XFINITY Series (Race is Saturday, 1:30 p.m. ET, FOX)

Stage 1: Ends on Lap 45
Stage 2: Ends on Lap 90
Final Stage: Scheduled to end on Lap 200

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BUY TICKETS: See the races at Texas
RELATED: Full schedule for Texas | Stage lengths for Texas

As NASCAR heads west this week to the Texas Motor Speedway’s newly paved 1.5-miler in a month otherwise filled with short track races, teams will have plenty to reconsider about the track itself — the first intermediate venue since Las Vegas on March 12.


The Fort Worth high banks have been partially reconfigured and received the first new paving since 2001. The bumps long associated with portions of the track are gone. The banking in Turns 1 and 2 has been reduced from 24 degrees to 20 degrees — and the racing surface in that section has been widened from 60 feet to 80 feet – while Turns 3 and 4 will remain at 24 degrees of banking.


And while there has not been a tire test on the new surface, Goodyear has assured it has tires ready to go.


"I’m glad we’re going to get some race cars on the track and let’s see how it goes," Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage said Wednesday. "One of the drivers said to me, ‘It’s not supposed to be easy,’ and I do agree. It does throw a curveball at them and that’s OK.


"I’m just anxious to get drivers and race cars on the track. It’s been finished for almost two months."


Jimmie Johnson, winless so far this season, will obviously be eager to see the new look when teams arrive for Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).


The reigning seven-time Cup champ has won five of the last nine Texas races and his six victories here and 1,023 laps out front are best all time.


RELATED: Texas stats for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers

"I know best efforts are put in place to create an asphalt and tire combination that will really work well together and have some age in the surface," Johnson said. "I’m very optimistic that we are going to show up and sure it’s going to be fast and maybe a little more single-file than we want to get started, but Texas has a lot of banking. It’s a very fast track.


"The entrance to the corners is a little sharp, but what is really sneaky about it is one corner exit you run out of room quick. The angle off the turn can really get your attention. With the faster speeds we will run there, I wouldn’t be surprised if guys are caught out on corner exit hitting the wall."


RELATED: A first look at the Texas repave


In fact, Johnson’s entire Hendrick team may be the best to judge the new looks and feels of the facility. Not only is Johnson the most celebrated winner there, but his teammate Chase Elliott won his first XFINITY Series race on the track in 2014 and has a pair of top fives in his rookie Cup starts at Texas last year. Kasey Kahne won the Cup race from the pole position in 2006.


Of similar good fortune, Hendrick driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored his first Monster Energy Series victory at the track in his first start there in 2000. He was runner-up there in his last start last Spring and has four consecutive top-six finishes in his last four starts here.


"You never forget where you won your first race, and neither do your fans," Earnhardt said. "So I always look forward to coming here. This is a track that really puts on a good show.


"Before the repave, it was a very wide racetrack where you could use a lot of different lines and it was so much fun. I think the track will still be that way. This place is going to maintain its character and personality. The asphalt is new but it’ll age with the weather out here and the environment, it’ll speed up that process."


The weekend’s schedule will include an extra hour of Monster Energy Series practice time to allow teams some additional time to familiarize themselves with the track and the tires. The speedway has been working around the clock for the last two months to work in the new surface.


Not only were almost 20,000 tons of asphalt used for the complete repave on top, a French drainage system was installed underneath including 24,000 linear feet of drainage tile and ditches.


"It’s not a sexy subject, but it is an important subject," Gossage said. "If you take care of the show everything else will take care of itself."

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We knew they were athletes. Now we know they are ninjas, as well.


Three NASCAR drivers will take part in NBC’s wild and wildly popular obstacle course show "American Ninja Warrior" as part of Season 9, and one — Richard Childress Racing driver and Daytona Beach, Florida, native Ben Kennedy — will hit the course at the biggest stage in NASCAR, Daytona International Speedway.

RELATED: ‘American Ninja Warrior’ comes to Daytona

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who ran the course in Indianapolis last year, returns to tackle the obstacles once more. He’ll be joined by fellow Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney, in addition to Kennedy.


Kennedy’s go will come this weekend in Daytona, although it will be shown on TV later this summer. Blaney and Stenhouse Jr. will appear at the show’s Cleveland taping on May 8 and May 9.


Kennedy’s episode airs on June 26. Blaney and Stenhouse will be on the July 3 episode.


Daytona is a true modern motorsports stadium and now will serve as a proving ground not only for race car drivers but also for athletes in city qualifying and city finals rounds for the show. Competitors who make it out of the finals course will move on to the national finals rounds in Las Vegas with a chance at a $1 million prize.


"We’re excited to serve as a host location for the filming of ‘American Ninja Warrior’ and add another new event to an already busy schedule," Daytona International Speedway President Chip Wile said. "We’re thrilled to welcome the competitors to the world’s only motorsports stadium and provide an electric atmosphere as individuals attempt to navigate these challenging obstacles. To succeed, they are going to need strength, speed and perseverance, very similar to what we see on the high banks of the Speedway."


To sign up for free tickets to attend the Daytona event, click here.

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Photo credit: Texas Motor Speedway
BUY TICKETS: See the races at Texas


FORT WORTH, Texas — Legendary musician Ozzy Osbourne and nationally acclaimed sports talk radio and TV personality Jim Rome highlight the honorary positions for Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.


Ozzy Osbourne and his son, Jack, will serve as Honorary Race Directors that will include the command of "Drivers To Your Cars" and riding in one of the official Chevy SS pace cars that will lead the field to the green for the start of the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500.

Osbourne, known as "The Prince of Darkness" rose to prominence in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist for the heavy metal band Black Sabbath before embarking on a successful solo career. He has released 11 studio albums, including the first seven going multi-platinum, and his combined album sales between Black Sabbath and his solo work exceed 100 million. As a member of Black Sabbath, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He also went on to become a reality television star, appearing as himself in the MTV reality show "The Osbournes" that included his son. He and Jack currently are appearing in Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour that airs on the History Channel.


WATCH: Ozzy Osbourne and son, Jack, talk about their honorary roles


Rome will handle the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Grand Marshal responsibilities and give the command to the drivers to start their engines.


Rome hosts the "The Jim Rome Show" that is syndicated by CBS Sports Radio as well as an interview-format show on the Showtime cable channel. His radio show ranks among the top 25 for the most listened to talk radio shows in the United States.

For a number of years, Rome hosted the cable television show Jim Rome Is Burning on ESPN until 2011 when he left the sports network to join the CBS Network. He also previously hosted sports talk TV shows such as Talk2 on ESPN2, The FX Sports Show on FX and The Last Word on FOX Sports Net.

Bridgestone Corporation Regional Manager Derek Wessels will wave the green flag as the Honorary Starter for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500, the seventh race in the 36-event Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

The O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 will begin at 1:30 p.m. ET and be broadcast live on FOX, national radio partners PRN and Sirius XM Channel 90.

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RELATED: Buy tickets for Texas | Inside NASCAR Home Tracks


A rules amendment issued to NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West Series teams last month cleared the way for significant changes to those series’ paint schemes. Now, Harrison Burton seems poised to be the first to campaign the new look.



Burton — a member of the current NASCAR Next class of young talent — revealed Thursday the paint scheme that his No. 12 Toyota will wear in Saturday’s NASCAR K&N Pro Series East event at Greenville Pickens Speedway in South Carolina. The design shifts the number on the side of the car from the door to the rear quarter panel, allowing his sponsor — Dex Imaging — a more prominent display on the doors.





The move follows a March 9 technical bulletin issued to teams in the East and West divisions of the K&N touring series. That rule book amendment addressed Section 20C-3.11 — Identification/Marking — providing teams with the option to move car numbers to the rear fender. That number must measure at least 23 inches square, excluding borders and silhouettes.



The look has been used in previous seasons of the NASCAR Peak Mexico Series and in the final season of the former American Speed Association (ASA) national tour in 2004.



A NASCAR spokesperson said there were no current plans to adopt a similar vehicle paint scheme option in NASCAR’s national series. Those three circuits have been rife with vehicle marking changes in recent years, with drivers’ surnames above the rear glass, series sponsors atop the windshield and additional sponsor placements on the roof panels.

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HALL OF FAME: Cast your vote today!


Since NASCAR’s start in 1948, fans have been the cornerstone of the sport — their voices vital, heard and acted upon.

 

So, it made perfect sense that when NASCAR assembled the original Voting Panel for the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s inaugural Class of 2010, the sanctioning body made sure the fans had a say in who earned the sport’s highest honor.

 

And today, that tradition continues.

 

Polls are now open for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2018 Fan Vote. To vote, visit NASCAR.com/halloffame.

 

Fans are once again asked to cast votes for up to five nominees for inclusion into the Class of 2018, and can vote up to 50 times per day. The five nominees who receive the most votes will count as one of the 54 votes cast by the Voting Panel on NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Day on May 24. The polls close May 22.

 

Below are the 20 nominees who are eligible for entry into the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2018:

 

• Davey Allison, won 19 times in NASCAR’s premier (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup) series, including the 1992 Daytona 500

 

• Buddy Baker, won 19 times in NASCAR’s premier series, including the Daytona 500 and Southern 500

 

• Red Byron, first NASCAR premier series champion, in 1949

 

• Ray Evernham, three-time NASCAR premier series championship crew chief

 

• Red Farmer, three-time Late Model Sportsman champion; 1956 Modified champion

 

• Ray Fox, legendary engine builder, crew chief and car owner

 

• Joe Gibbs, combined for nine car owner championships in premier and XFINITY series

 

• Ron Hornaday Jr., four-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion

 

• Harry Hyde, 1970 NASCAR premier series championship crew chief

 

• Alan Kulwicki, 1992 NASCAR premier series champion

 

• Bobby Labonte, won a championship in both the premier series and XFINITY Series

 

• Hershel McGriff, 1986 NASCAR west series champion

 

• Roger Penske, combined for four car owner championships in premier and XFINITY series

 

• Larry Phillips, only five-time NASCAR weekly series national champion

 

• Jack Roush, five-time car owner champion in NASCAR’s three national series

 

• Ricky Rudd, won 23 times in NASCAR’s premier series, including the 1997 Brickyard 400

 

• Ken Squier, legendary radio and television broadcaster; inaugural winner/namesake of Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence

 

• Mike Stefanik, winner of record-tying nine NASCAR championships

 

• Waddell Wilson, won three NASCAR premier series championships as an engine builder

 

• Robert Yates, won NASCAR premier series championship as both an engine builder and owner

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. admits he’s “having fun with it,” but suggests that he and Ryan Blaney will chat about recent on-track incidents involving the two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers.


While he said he doesn’t think it’s crucial, Earnhardt said Tuesday that “I think it would be good for us to have a couple of conversations.”

 

Earnhardt met with members of the media during an appearance at the South Carolina Governor’s Mansion in support of this year’s Bojangles’ Southern 500, scheduled for Sept. 3 at Darlington Raceway.

 

Blaney, the 23-year-old driver of the No. 21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing, took issue with Earnhardt’s driving last month during the Camping World 500 at Phoenix Raceway, calling the series’ 14-time most popular driver a derogatory term over his team’s radio and incurring the wrath of Earnhardt Nation.

RELATED: Blaney clears air about Dale Jr. comment

 

This past weekend at Martinsville Speedway, contact between the two eventually led to a spin by Earnhardt.

 

“He did call and leave a message — ‘Just bad timing, it wasn’t intentional’ and all that stuff,” Earnhardt said, “and I don’t think it was. But you remember those things just to make sure down the road if it happens again you’re kind of like ‘what the heck?’

 

“But we’ll sort it out. I usually don’t have a problem figuring out a way to work things out. We either do it off the track or on the track.”

RELATED: Junior declines Blaney’s call

 

It’s noteworthy that Blaney, in just his second full season in the Monster Energy Series, lives in a house located next to Earnhardt’s home.

 

“We can’t seem to stay away from each other,” Earnhardt said. “I raced him a little too hard I guess, in his opinion, at Phoenix and he called me a dirty name. We’ve had a little fun about that. And then this weekend (at Martinsville), I kind of ran him into the fence on the front straightaway and then coming off the turn I got loose and he spun me out.

 

“It was frustrating. I was glad I didn’t hit anything. We rebounded really quickly so I wasn’t too upset with it. I’m having a lot fun with it; kind of messing with him a little bit about it.

 

“We’ve talked some. We haven’t talked since the Martinsville race but we will eventually and we’ll get an opportunity to smooth it out.”

 

• Although he is winless on the season and 25th in points, Earnhardt said it’s not for a lack of confidence or a carry-over from last year when he missed the final 18 races while recovering from a concussion.

 

He has only one finish inside the top 15 through the season’s first six races and only three of 16th or better.

RELATED: Dale Jr.’s 2017 stats | Career stats for Earnhardt

 

“I feel like I feel and understand the car, what I need to feel from the car as far as how it’s handling and how to communicate with (crew chief) Greg (Ives),” he said. “All those things are where they need to be. I don’t think I’ve lost a step; I’m doing my own self-analysis there and being really honest with myself.

 

“I’m healthy and I think I can go out there and do as good of a job as I did before the injury last year. As a company, we want to find a little more speed in our cars; me and Greg are still polishing our communication and how we conduct ourselves throughout the race weekend.

 

“I saw a huge gain in not only the speed of the car this weekend but how me and Greg did business. And I was really proud of that. I was proud of how much of a leader he was; he did a lot of things that I liked, that I know he’s capable of and I’ve seen before.”

 

That confidence is contagious and it’s important to the welfare of the team.

 

“We can’t let these struggles bring all the team down, we have to stay positive,” he said. “Because when we show up, we could show up this weekend with the opportunity to win and if we don’t have our head on straight, we’re not going to be able to get that done.”

 

The series heads to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for Sunday’s running of the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

“Everybody’s still got their chin up,” Earnhardt said, “and expecting our car to start seeing results real soon.”

 

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Name: Tonya
Current City: Roanoke, VA
Member since: 2008

Getting to know Tonya:

Q. Why did you join the Official NASCAR Fan Council?

“I think the Fan Council is a great place to voice my passion for the sport I love so much.”

Q. How did you first become interested in NASCAR?

"I first became interested in NASCAR from my dad. He was watching a race one day in the early 90’s and told me to come over and watch this guy race. It was Dale Earnhardt. I have been hooked ever since."

Q. What makes NASCAR special for you?

"NASCAR feels like a big family not just a sport and I am proud to be a part of it".

Q: Do you have any favorite NASCAR memories or traditions?

"I have two favorite NASCAR memories. The first is watching Dale Earnhardt race in person for the first and only time at my home track, Martinsville Speedway, in the early 90’s. He finished second to Jeff Gordon that day. My second favorite NASCAR memory is watching Dale Jr. win at Martinsville. It’s the only race I have seen him win in person and it was AWESOME"!

Q: Do you have a favorite in any of the following categories?

Driver: "Dale Earnhardt Jr."

Track: "Martinsville."

Memorabilia: "Even though I am a huge Dale Jr. fan, I am an even bigger NASCAR fan so I cherish all of my memorabil"ia.

Q: If you could go to any NASCAR race/track, where would you go?

"I haven’t been to Daytona yet so that’s first on my list."


Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

"NASCAR races, movies, bowling, reading, shopping, exercise, and spending time with my family."

Q: Tell us about your family. Do you have children and/or pets?

"My family includes my parents, sister, and a cat named" Maze.

Q: What’s your dream car?

"Synergy Green .Camaro”


Q: If you could go anywhere in the world on a dream vacation, where would you want to go?

"VIP trips to The Daytona 500 and Ireland." 


From all of us at NASCAR, we thank Tonya for her continued support and look forward to hearing from her in 2017.

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BUY TICKETS: See the races at Texas

Joe Gibbs Racing announced Wednesday that NASCAR Next product Kyle Benjamin will drive in four NASCAR XFINITY Series events for the team this season.

 

The 19-year-old Benjamin is scheduled for his XFINITY debut April 29 at Richmond International Raceway, driving JGR’s No. 20 Toyota. He’ll also race the No. 20 at Pocono Raceway (June 10) before taking a turn behind the wheel of the team’s No. 18 Toyota at Iowa Speedway (July 29) and Kentucky Speedway (Sept. 23).

 

"I’m thrilled for the opportunity to drive a Toyota in the XFINITY Series for Joe Gibbs Racing," Benjamin said in a release provided by the team. "This is going to be an incredible experience. JGR is a first-class organization, and I’m looking forward to learning about how they operate and prepare for each race."

 

Benjamin finished second in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East last season, netting three victories and five pole positions in 14 races. The Easley, South Carolina native is also a two-time winner in ARCA competition who has built upon his success as a prodigy working his way up through go-karts, Bandoleros and Super Late Model ranks.

 

"Kyle has proven to be a quick learner throughout his career," said Steve deSouza, JGR’s executive vice president of XFINITY and development. "All you have to do is look at his history and it’s rather impressive to see how quickly success came to him at each stage of his development. We’re excited to have him make his debut with our XFINITY program."