Posted on by Brad Norman

Late call for two tires results in top 10s for McMurray, Gordon and Truex Jr.

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Jamie McMurray found out late in Saturday’s Duck Commander 500 that taking two tires actually worked for a short stretch, then used that to his advantage on the final pit stop to secure a surprise top-10 finish.
 
He wasn’t the only one, either.

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McMurray served as the test case following pit stops on a Lap 229 caution, jumping from outside the top 10 to running third on the ensuing restart after a two-tire call. When another caution came at Lap 251, McMurray had only fallen three positions to sixth — and with the leaders all pitting again, the No. 1 team could then take four tires and be on even footing with the race’s strongest cars.
 
That gleaning was on the mind of multiple teams when the final caution at Texas Motor Speedway, host of the seventh Sprint Cup Series race of the year, sent cars down pit road on Lap 311 (of 334). McMurray again took two tires, but so did Jeff Gordon, Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr.

Larson was hit with a pit road penalty, but the other three drivers all went on to claim top-10 finishes on a night where none of their cars consistently ran there. McMurray finished sixth, with Gordon in seventh and Truex Jr. in 9th.
 
"We did two (tires) two other times in the race and it worked out really well for us," McMurray said on pit road after the race. "I thought we had a legitimate shot at winning … but once the guys with four tires got clear, their cars were a little better than ours and they had better tires. You just can’t hold them up here.
 
"But the cautions fell right where there was a little bit of tire strategy, guys staying out and guys doing two (tires). I think that just makes for really good racing."

Gordon may have been the most fortuitous to earn a top-10, his fourth of the season, all of which have come consecutively. The No. 24 was a tick slower than his Hendrick Motorsports teammates’ Chevrolets throughout the weekend, although Gordon finished one spot ahead of Kasey Kahne.
 
When the sun went down, so did Gordon’s position on the board. By Lap 115, he hovered around 15th place until the final pit stop. The end-race scenario was reminiscent of last year’s spring Texas race when a two-tire call lifted Gordon to a second-place finish.
 
"That was a great gamble, great call by (crew chief) Alan (Gustafson), and we saw early some guys take two tires and made it work for a short period of time," Gordon said after his run. "I don’t know, we just struggled. I’m not really sure where we are missing it. Obviously our teammates have it worked out because all of them were fast, and obviously we have got some work to do and I have got to figure this package out."

Someone who has been comfortable in this package all year is Truex, who continued his career best start to a season. The Furniture Row Racing driver struggled with both handling and slow pit stops, particularly after a Lap 296 caution when he came down pit road in eighth place and lost ground.
 
The late-race rally kept Truex’s streak alive; he’s finished in the top 10 in every race so far this season. Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano are the only drivers who can match that distinction. Prior to this year, the last driver to open a season with seven straight top-10s was Jimmie Johnson in 2005.
 
"At the end we had to start doing some strategy stuff to get our track position back, and probably gave up a few spots doing it," Truex said. "I think it was the right call. We’re taking some gambles and they’ve been paying off."

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Posted on by Brad Norman

JGR owner indicates that 18-year-old will be in Cup car sooner than later

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Erik Jones‘ first NASCAR XFINITY Series win came in the best possible way for the 18-year-old: A Texas tangle that saw the teenager outgun veterans Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski.
 
Jones may have the opportunity to run with those guys again soon. And don’t be surprised if that chance comes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

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The Byron, Michigan native has emerged as one of the brightest young stars in NASCAR, and certainly the top prospect in the Joe Gibbs Racing stable. It gives team owner Joe Gibbs the enviable task of programming Jones’ career and determining when, and in what manner, he should be elevated.
 
"There’s no question that at some point very quick, he’s going to be in a Cup car some," Gibbs said after Jones’ eye-opening win. "I think we have a bit of a strategy there that we talked about. I think he’s ready to go at any time. We’ll just work with that as we go forward."
 
Gibbs didn’t give a specific timeline, but his verbiage and body language at the podium in the media center following Jones’ win in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 suggested that might happen sooner rather than later. The JGR shop has four Cup cars, one of which — the No. 18 of Kyle Busch — has David Ragan in as a substitute driver while Busch heals from a broken leg.
 
There’s also the option of putting Jones in a fifth company car for a handful of races, much like Hendrick Motorsports did with Chase Elliott. A team can only have a maximum of four full-time cars, but NASCAR rules allow a fifth entry for a maximum of seven races to allow a rookie driver to become familiar with top-level competition.
 
More than anything else, a full slate is holding Jones back. He’s running full time in the Truck Series in the No. 4 Toyota of Kyle Busch Motorsports (and is third in the points standings), and has sponsorship from GameStop for 10 XFINITY Series races.
 
"We felt like he had a full plate this year because he’s running for a championship in Trucks, so Kyle (Busch) wanted him to do that, and we all did, too," Gibbs said. "Then we tried — he’s maxed out as far as the number of XFINITY races he can run because some of them conflict with Trucks.
 
"(But) we are really proud of him to be able to do what he’s done. The big thing is, he beat some big people — those are good cars up front in really quality stuff. He should be proud of himself."
 
Gibbs has a case study when it comes to promoting a young teenage hotshot. Joey Logano jumped into the No. 20 full time when he was 18.
 
Four full-time seasons didn’t yield the results the driver or the team wanted — and expected — leading to Logano leaving the company for a ride with Team Penske. As last year’s spot in the Championship 4 suggests, Logano has emerged as one of the sport’s top drivers.
 
"I will say this of Joey right now, the guy’s a star," Gibbs said. "Whatever happened in the past, it certainly paid off now. I think Erik’s situation is different from that. You look at it totally different, (but) I think that you do learn from things in the past. We know that Erik’s on the fast track, so it’s just a matter of when."
 
Jones demonstrated Friday night he’ll be ready to answer that call whenever it comes. He powered past Earnhardt Jr. on Lap 151 and led the rest of the way, his sweep down low past the No. 88 Chevrolet coming after a 10-lap stretch where Jones was faster than Junior but had to figure out a way around the veteran.
 
Part of Jones’ ploy included bumping Junior’s car, a not-so-subtle message that Jones felt he was faster and was being held up.
 
Once the pass was complete, he had to hold off Brad Keselowski on a restart with 26 laps to go. He did.
 
It was the type of showing that drew praise from both veterans, who know they may see him again soon — and in the Sprint Cup Series.
 
"Yeah, it was (special)," Jones said. "Especially with Dale with the battle we had there. … That was two guys giving 100 percent and giving it all they got, saving nothing. That’s how you’re supposed to race."

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Junior discusses how he prevailed through Texas troubles for top-three finish

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Five hundred miles of racing isn’t an easy feat. Tack on the intensity of a night race and a roller-coaster-like track like Texas Motor Speedway, and any driver would be wiped. 

Just ask Dale Earnhardt Jr.

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"It’s a long race, and you get mentally prepared for it because it’s pretty tough," Earnhardt said after finishing third in Saturday’s race at the Lone Star track. "It feels almost like the (Coca-Cola) 600 in some ways. It’s a slick old track, and the pace slows down.  You work your guts out in there driving that car around there because the track is so slick, so it’s a very physical race."

It was a mountainous 500 miles for Junior, as the No. 88 driver spent much of the night climbing through the field. A loose wheel in the beginning of the race forced Earnhardt to make another trip down pit road, putting him 30th for the restart at Lap 37 and forcing him to battle toward the front.

"It just seemed like everything was going against us," Earnhardt said. "And we were having trouble sort of beginning our race and getting into a rhythm, and we had to pass a lot of cars tonight."

And with NASCAR allowing the teams to police their own lug nuts, Earnhardt commended his crewmembers for their immediate honesty after pit stops, which helped them rebound quickly.

"If your tire guy done makes a mistake … and says ‘look, man, I made a mistake,’ you catch it right then, right under the caution, you get it fixed, you get a chance to get back going," Earnhardt said. "Otherwise if you don’t speak up, you get a bad vibration, the driver is going to come in, and he ain’t going to knock his head against the fence out there when you think the tire is coming off and you lose a lap.  Then you’re in big trouble." 

While caution flags gave teams a chance to come down pit road for adjustments and fixes, long green-flag runs were few and far between for drivers on Saturday night. For the No. 88 car, that proved to be yet another challenge in the Lone Star State.

"It was raining debris out there for a while, and we were needing some green‑flag runs to get some of the track position back that we were having trouble keeping," Earnhardt said.  

Lengthier green flag stretches seemed to help the No. 88 ride find its groove especially during the last laps of the 500-mile Texas thriller. The final laps also saw Earnhardt impressively rally from 10th to fifth on the restart after a four-tire call with less than 25 laps to go, which spoke volumes for Junior.

"We seemed to have a good pattern of what was working for us and I think by the end of the race we had our car as good as we had it all night," Earnhardt said. "So that’s a good job on the crew chief when the car is the best on the last run."

The No. 88 team has unloaded consistently strong cars this season, posting five of seven finishes inside the top six.  The exceptions — a 36th-place finish at Martinsville last weekend and a 43rd-place result at Phoenix — were products of unfortunate crashes that sent the 88 to the garage.  The initial speed of the cars gives Earnhardt confidence looking ahead to next weekend’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway and beyond.

"We’ve had that speed all year and it’s good to get a good finish in the bank because these last couple weeks have been pretty rough," Earnhardt said on pit road after the race. "We know what we’re capable of — me and Greg are just getting started here. We’re right here on their heels, man."

But perhaps most important for the team’s outlook is Earnhardt’s mentality — time and time again, he’s said that he’s having fun. And his enjoyment bore plentiful fruit for the No. 88 team’s multiple-win season last year.

"Yeah, Jimmie is a six‑time champion — He’s got a hell of a résumé," Earnhardt said. "But I’m glad I’m where I’m at. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else because it doesn’t look like them other cars are much fun to drive."

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News and notes on the entire 43-car field for the Duck Commander 500

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RELATED: Full race results | Updated series standings

1. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson led a race-high 128 laps to eclipse the 1,000 laps-led mark and claim his first spring Texas victory (fifth overall at the 1.5-mile track). | Johnson battles with Harvick, Dale Jr. in final laps

2. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick battled with Dale Earnhardt Jr. for second in the closing laps and despite brushing the wall, managed to snag his series-best fourth runner-up finish of the season. | Harvick discusses contact with Logano

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Junior battled with Kevin Harvick for second in the closing laps before matching his best 2015 result and improving to seventh in the points. | Junior: ‘Everything was going against us’

4. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske.  Logano rocketed up the track shortly after the seventh green flag and saved his car to record his seventh straight top-10 finish of the season.

5. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. Keselowski rallied back from a late-race commitment cone violation to achieve his sixth top-10 this season and hold fourth in the points. | Watch Keselowski hit the commitment cone

6. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing. Opting for two tires during a late-race pit stop was the right call for McMurray, who led the field to green on the Lap 314 restart.

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7. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Gordon gambled by taking two tires late in the race and held on to post his fourth top-10 of the season. He now ranks 13th in the points. | Gordon, Dale Jr. and Harvick talk about finishes

8. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne, the fourth-fastest qualifier, opted not to pit after the Lap 260 caution flag and briefly ran second before settling into the top 10.

9. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Chevrolet, Furniture Row Racing.  Truex, who had better success on longer green-flag runs, held on to achieve his seventh straight top-10 result.

10. Carl Edwards, No. 19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing.  While Edwards had at least a million reasons motivating him Saturday night, his first 10th-place finish of the season boosted him to 14th in the points. 

11. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. A pre-race burrito snafu and an early pit road violation barely affected Hamlin, who came close to recording his fourth top-10 of the season.

12. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Despite qualifying seventh, Newman changed engines before the race and had to climb from the rear of the field.

13. David Ragan, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing.  Ragan capitalized on his team’s speed and balance to overcome a 30th-place starting spot.

14. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Handling was a persistent issue for the pole winner, who led 45 laps in Saturday’s contest.

15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17, Roush Fenway Racing. Two pit road penalties were a distant memory for Stenhouse after he recorded his third top-15 finish of the season.

16. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Patrick continued her strong 2015 run by posting her best Texas result.

17. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush-Fenway Racing.  Biffle ran into the back of Justin Allgaier after Allgaier’s car got loose and slipped up the track early on Saturday night.

18. Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing.  Pit road was a dicey place for Bayne, whose first mishap was contact with another competitor entering and his second was driving through too many pit boxes.

19. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports.  Almirola was hit from behind by Trevor Bayne while both drivers were entering pit road for Lap 220 green-flag stops. Still, Almirola remains ninth in the points.

20. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Late in the race, Dillon reported a vibration that his team addressed during the final caution period.

21. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing. Allmendinger brushed the wall in Turn 3 and shed some debris, which prompted the seventh caution flag of the night.

22. Clint Bowyer, No. 15, Michael Waltrip Racing.  Bowyer saved his car after early contact with a competitor, but later had to make an unscheduled pit stop for a loose left-rear wheel on Lap 84.

23. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing.  Spinning in Turn 4 and bringing out the fourth caution of the night didn’t hinder Kenseth much. Overshooting his pit stall during his final stop, however, was another matter.

24. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Long green-flag runs were better for Stewart, who made up some ground by short-pitting just prior to the Lap 228 caution.

25. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing. Larson improved to run third after opting for two tires late in the race, but his momentum was stalled due to a pit road violation.

26. Sam Hornish Jr., No. 9 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports.  A Lap 260 caution flag gave Hornish the opportunity to return to the lead lap as the Lucky Dog.

27. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing. Mears now has finished every race he’s begun at Texas – a rarity at the raucous Fort Worth track. Mears is now 22 of 22.

28. David Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports.  Gilliland called his car unpredictable and struggled to find the right combination as the 1.5-mile oval transitioned into night-time racing.

29. Brett Moffitt, No. 55 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. With 13 laps left on Saturday, the highest-qualifying rookie reported a tire issue and had to hit pit road.

30. Chris Buescher, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Buescher worked with his team to find balance through the corners of Texas’ 1.5-mile speedway.

31. Michael McDowell, No. 95 Ford, Leavine Family Racing. A late-race gamble not to pit under caution put McDowell back on the lead lap for a limited time.

32. Landon Cassill, No. 40 Chevrolet, Hillman Smith Motorsports. Cassill appeared to sustain a flat tire and slid up the track just past the halfway point on Saturday. 

33. Alex Bowman, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing.  Bowman pitted off schedule in the closing laps due to a shredding right-front tire.

34. Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing. DiBenedetto, making his first Cup appearance on a 1.5-mile oval, struggled to make up laps lost early after starting 42nd.

35. Cole Whitt, No. 35 Ford, Front Row Motorsports.  Whitt frequently opted for the wave-around as his team worked to alleviate a persistent loose-handling condition.

36. Mike Bliss, No. 32 Ford, Go FAS Racing. Running a Texas Tech paint scheme, Bliss recorded his best result in the spring Texas race since finishing 22nd in 2005.

37. Alex Kennedy, No. 33 Chevrolet, Circle Sport. The rookie triggered the first caution flag after spinning in Turn 4 on Lap 32.

38. Josh Wise, No. 98 Ford, Phil Parsons Racing. Wise was sidelined briefly while his team replaced the fuel pump and then had to troubleshoot a subsequent lack of fuel pressure.

39. Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Allgaier made hard contact with the wall on Lap 260 and trailed fluid on his way to the garage between the pit stalls of Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson. 

40. Michael Annett, No. 46 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Annett was running 31st when he blew the right-front tire and made hard contact with the wall to bring out the fifth caution. | Teammates Allgaier, Annett hit the wall at Texas

41. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Menard led a lap prior to his green-flag stop on Lap 212, when he encountered a mechanical issue (broken water line).

42. Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Ford, Wood Brothers Racing. Blaney lined up 13th and attempted to nurse a sputtering engine until the caution flag was waved on Lap 32.

43. J.J. Yeley, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. Yeley rolled off the grid 41st and sustained an engine issue within the first 15 laps.

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See what’s coming this week to NASCAR.com

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Here’s what you’ll see on NASCAR.com this week:

MONDAY: Late cautions on Saturday night in Texas shook up strategy and led to some surprises in the top 10. Plus, Joe Gibbs Racing has a Sprint Cup plan for Camping World Truck regular Erik Jones who claimed his first XFINITY win last Friday night. Other content includes Bristol entry lists for the Cup and XFINITY races.

TUESDAY: FOX NASCAR pit reporter and anchor Steve Byrnes celebrates a birthday as he continues to fight cancer. NASCAR.com senior writer Holly Cain writes about the man for whom Sunday’s Cup race is named. NASCAR.com’s weekly series, Tech Talk, looks back at Texas and ahead to Bristol. Plus, @nascarcasm takes a look at Texas winner Jimmie Johnson‘s Facebook page.

WEDNESDAY: Check out which paint schemes will be on display. at Bristol Motor Speedway. On the anniversary of an inadvertent caution in last year’s spring Cup race at Bristol, look back at five of the craziest finishes in NASCAR history. We plan to have coverage from Kentucky Speedway‘s open test. Also, the latest episode of Team Chevy’s look at Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s car graveyard is on tap.

THURSDAY: The National Motorsports Appeals Panel meets at NASCAR’s R&D Center with the Richard Childress No. 31 Cup team and the Circle Sport Racing No. 33 Cup car. For Bristol #TBT, we look back at the 25th anniversary of Davey Allison’s win over Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon‘s 1997 bump-and-run win over Rusty Wallace. Driver Reports looks ahead to the weekend at Bristol.

FRIDAY: Get all the on-track action slated for Bristol — Sprint Cup Series practice and qualifying and two XFINITY Series practices — throughout the day.

Also coming this week: NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell looks back at competition rulings at Texas and looks forward to Bristol … "NASCAR Illustrated" has its weekly "Herman Unplugged" feature with racer and commentator Kenny Wallace … Catch 8 Tweets You Might Have Missed … Scroll through an image of every car in next Sunday’s Sprint Cup race … @nascarcasm has a mock penalty sheet structure and looks back at Michael Waltrip‘s dropped taco on Denny Hamlin‘s car.

Posted on by Staff Report

Get full lineup of NASCAR programming for the week

RELATED: See the full weekend schedule

All times ET

Monday, April 13
10 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Duck Commander 500 (re-air), FOX Sports 1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America Live, NBC Sports Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2
8 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Duck Commander 500 (re-air), FOX Sports 1

Tuesday, April 14
11:30 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 (re-air), FOX Sports 1
5 p.m., NASCAR America Live, NBC Sports Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2

Wednesday, April 15
5 p.m., NASCAR America Live, NBC Sports Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2
8 p.m., The 10: Greatest Bristol Moments (re-air), FOX Sports 2

Thursday, April 16
5 p.m., NASCAR America Live, NBC Sports Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
1 a.m., NASCAR K&N Series West – Irwindale (re-air), NBC Sports Network
2 a.m., The List: Memorable Moments (re-air), NBC Sports Network
2:30 a.m., The List: Rookie Seasons (re-air), NBC Sports Network

Friday, April 17
Noon, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1
1:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, FOX Sports 1
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, FOX Sports 1
3 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, FOX Sports 1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 1
6 p.m., The 10: Greatest Bristol Moments, FOX Sports 1

Saturday, April 18
2 a.m., NASCAR K&N Series West – Irwindale (re-air), NBC Sports Network
3 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice (re-air), FOX Sports 1
4:30 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (re-air), FOX Sports 1
7 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (re-air), FOX Sports 1
8:30 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1
9:30 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 1
11 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, FOX Sports 1
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, FOX Sports 1
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, FOX Sports 1
1 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: XFINITY, FOX Sports 1
1:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series: Drive to Stop Diabetes 300, FOX Sports 1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR K&N Series West – Irwindale (re-air), NBC Sports Network

Sunday, April 19
3 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series: Drive to Stop Diabetes 300 (re-air), FOX Sports 1
5 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice (re-air), FOX Sports 1
11:30 a.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FOX Sports 1
12:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay – Texas, FOX
1 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500, FOX
1 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500, FOX Deportes
4 p.m., TUDOR United Sports Car Championship: Grand Prix (tape), FOX Sports 1
6 p.m., NASCAR Victory Lane, FOX Sports 1

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See how the postseason picture looks through seven races

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Posted on by Brad Norman

Drivers make contact near end of Saturday night’s race

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FORT WORTH, Texas — In the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway since last fall’s pit-road brawl, there were again plenty of jabs Saturday night in the Lone Star State. These were of the verbal variety.

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Kevin Harvick had direct words for Joey Logano after yet another on-track run-in between the two, one in which Harvick smacked Logano’s No. 22 Ford with his bumper, sending the Team Penske driver careening up the track and nearly into the wall during the closing laps of the Duck Commander 500.

It didn’t ruin the day for either — Harvick would finish second to Jimmie Johnson, and Logano rallied from the near-disaster to claim fourth — but fanned the flames of a rivalry that dates back to last year.

"He blocked, and I knocked him out of the way. I’m tired of him blocking," Harvick said succinctly on pit road following the race. "That’s the chance you take when you block."

Logano climbed from his car following the race and glowered in the direction of Harvick’s No. 4 Chevrolet. He took a swig of Coke and cast his eyes in the direction of the reigning Sprint Cup Series champion one more time, not even perking up when teammate Brad Keselowski came over for a lively pep talk.

The two cars were parked less than 50 feet from each other, but it was clear there remains a large gulf between the two, one that was filled with a humming tension under the bright Texas lights.

It’s a chasm that deepened severely last year ahead of the title race at Homestead-Miami Speedway when Harvick did his best to get into Logano’s head with his answers at the championship press conference.

This time, Logano — although frustrated – better understood Harvick’s position.

"It’s hard racing," Logano said. "It’s understandable. I expect to get raced the way I race people, and I would do the same thing. I felt like I had to guard that position. I felt like if he got by me there I wouldn’t have the opportunity to get back by him and I felt like I would have lost the race that way."

"I get it," Logano added moments later, almost as if he needed more self-convincing. "Early in the race that’s not acceptable. End of the race we’re racing for the win. I’d do the same thing."

Despite the fireworks, there was no pit-road incident this time — and the two have had one terse discussion already this year, at Daytona after the Sprint Unlimited — but the chance of confrontation was on the mind of both teams.

"You need to stop with that (4) so we don’t have a situation on pit road after the race," spotter Tab Boyd told Logano over the radio.

"Be ready for anything with that 22 bunch," was the call on Harvick’s radio channel. "You never know."

That wasn’t the only intriguing late-race radio talk. One exchange demonstrated how Harvick’s frustration with being blocked wasn’t just limited to Logano.

Johnson, who led a race-high 128 laps, outlasted the Stewart-Haas Racing driver over the final frenetic laps, but "Six-Time" also drew the ire of "Happy," whose nickname didn’t match his feelings on the end-of-race sequences.

"You might want to remind the (expletive) what happened to the 22 when he blocked," Harvick hollered into his radio, referencing Johnson, who would later claim he didn’t hold up the No. 4.

Blocking clearly is something that’s unacceptable to Harvick, who has been absolutely dominant this year. He has two wins, leads the points standings … and his 96 laps led Saturday was his third-lowest total in the season’s seven races.

"I think there was a lot of hard racing tonight," Harvick said. "I don’t really like blocking, but I guess you have to do what you have to do."

In Saturday’s case, that went for both Logano and Harvick alike.

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Joe Gibbs’ son spoke with driver, wished he were in Texas

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RELATED: Race recap | Full race results

Joe Gibbs Racing marked Erik Jones‘ first NASCAR XFINITY Series victory in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway Friday night without the presence of J.D. Gibbs, team president and son of team founder Joe Gibbs. The team announced in late March that J.D. Gibbs, 46, is undergoing treatment for symptoms impacting brain function, possibly from past head injuries.

RELATED: Medical condition curtails J.D. Gibbs’ JGR role

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Gibbs’ symptoms include speech and processing issues. The eldest son of Joe Gibbs is continuing most of his day-to-day functions at the team’s shop in Huntersville, North Carolina, but his presence at NASCAR tracks will be limited.
 
"J.D., we talked to him tonight," Joe Gibbs said during Jones’ post-race news conference. "Erik talked to him and J.D… is special. I talked to him tonight and he said, ‘Man, I wish I could be there.’ So that’s something that… gets to you. He’s doing good."
 
Carl Edwards, who is in his first season of driving for JGR, said J.D.’s condition has inspired the entire organization. "For me, it showed me how tough everyone at JGR is," Edwards said. "Coach Gibbs and J.D., for them to be dealing with something like this and to do it with such strength is amazing and so, yeah, I think for all of us it’s a moment of perspective and something that can rally us to do the best we can to best represent our team and to give Coach something really positive."

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Six-time champ gets first spring win at 1.5-mile track

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MORE: Full race results | Updated series standings
Related: Flat Jimmie in Victory Lane | Flat Jimmie visits Chad Knaus

FORT WORTH, Texas—Jimmie Johnson continued his recent domination of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday night, rallying after a late pit stop for a victory in the 19th annual Duck Commander 500.

Johnson, the six-time NSCS champion, took the lead on Lap 321 of 334 when he drove under and past Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick exiting the dogleg of Texas’ high-banked, 1.5-mile quad-oval. The final 14 laps featured a battle between Johnson and Harvick, the reigning series champion, who finished second despite scraping the Turn 4 wall on Lap 331.

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All-time premier series wins

Rank Driver Wins
1. Richard Petty 200
2. David Pearson 105
3. Jeff Gordon 92
4t. Bobby Allison 84
4t. Darrell Waltrip 84
6. Cale Yarborough 83
7. Dale Earnhardt 76
8. Jimmie Johnson 72
9. Rusty Wallace 55
10. Lee Petty 54

Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Pro Services Chevrolet SS, finished 1.107 seconds ahead of Harvick and his No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS. Johnson, of Hendrick Motorsports, posted his 72nd career victory in 478 NSCS starts.

"The end of the race was nutty," said Johnson, who said he woke up sick Saturday morning and addressed the media post-race through a scratchy voice. "Those last three pit stops with the varied tire strategies, our car wasn’t handling like it did when we were leading. The third one (on Lap 310), our car was really, really good and I was able to work our way forward. The No. 4 was having trouble with the No. 1 (of McMurray) and slid up…and I thought I had it under control. Just a lot of great racing; the (worn-out) surface of this racetrack allows that to happen."

Johnson scored his fifth win at TMS and third in his last six starts, but his first victory in the spring event. Johnson earned his first win of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a sister 1.5-mile layout to TMS, in the second race on the schedule.

"I think the tracks with high-wear and bumps…I think the surface fits my style and Chad’s style and what we do together," Johnson said in reference to crew chief Chad Knaus.

"This is a racetrack that falls into Jimmie’s liking," said Knaus, still sporting his Victory Circle Stetson. "Do we always race at night (here) in the spring? We’ve run very, very well here in the spring race so I think it was just circumstances that we hadn’t been able to pull it off previously. Nothing specific."

Johnson pitted with most of the lead pack during the race’s eighth and final caution period on Lap 310, when Knaus played it safe with a call for four Goodyear tires. Four drivers—McMurray, Kyle Larson, four-time series champion Jeff Gordon and Martin Truex Jr.—opted for right side tires only. Johnson exited pit road in seventh after Larson was penalized for driving through too many pit boxes.

Johnson moved into third on Lap 317, behind leader McMurray and Harvick. Johnson completed his charge to the front on Lap 321, with Harvick taking second and Dale Earnhardt Jr. also passing McMurray. Earnhardt moved around Harvick on Lap 326 for second before Harvick returned the favor on Lap 329. Harvick then lost momentum on Lap 331 when he slid and scraped the wall in Turn 4 but still managed to maintain second. By then, Johnson was headed to the white flag.

Earnhardt, Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, finished third in his No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS. Joey Logano, last year’s Texas spring race winner and the reigning Daytona 500 champion, finished fourth in the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion. Brad Keselowski, the 2012 NSCS champion and Logano’s Team Penske shopmate, finished fifth in the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford.

"I had the car I anticipated I would have," said Earnhardt, who scored his 15th top-10 finish in 26 races at TMS. "We made some good adjustments. We seemed to have a good pattern of what was working for us and I think by the end of the race we had our car as good as we had it all night.

"I like racing here. I think it was a good show. It was raining debris out there for a while and we needed some green-flag runs to get some of the track position back that we were having trouble keeping. Finally the rain shower of debris ended and we were able to finish the race."

Johnson led on nine occasions for a race-high 128 laps to become the third driver to record wins in the spring and fall races at Texas, joining Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards, both of Joe Gibbs Racing. Harvick, a two-time winner this season for Stewart-Haas Racing, led nine times for 96 laps.

Harvick’s desire to get his first win at TMS in 25 starts was evident on Lap 314, when he nudged the rear bumper of Logano’s car and moved him out of the way while battling for third.

"Yeah, it’s fine," said Harvick. "Like the No. 22, you knock them out of the way and that’s the chance you take when you block." Harvick setted for his 13th top-10 finish in those 25 TMS starts and his seventh top 10 in 2015.

Logano classified Harvick’s move as "hard racing," then admitted he was blocking. "It’s the end of the race. I blocked him and he got into me," Logano said. "I get it. Early in the race that’s not acceptable. End of the race, we’re racing for the win. I’d do the same thing."

Harvick exited Texas with a 25-point (306-280) lead over Logano in the points standings, with Truex, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet SS, third and 40 points out of the lead after a ninth-place result.

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