Follow the Texas Nationwide race with live Lap-by-Lap reports
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21 Means 21 Pole Award winner Alex Bowman gets first pick
Winning his second pole of the sason at Texas Motor Speedway, Alex Bowman earned the first stall off at pit-road exit for his No. 99 Toyota. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender will lead the field to green in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
NASCAR Nationwide Series championship contenders Austin Dillon and Sam Hornish Jr. will be four stalls away from each other. Dillon chose the eighth stall for his No. 3 Chevrolet; Hornish chose the fourth stall for his No. 12 Ford.
Running all three national series races this weekend, Brad Keselowski has an opening in front of him at stall 14 for his No. 22 Ford while Kyle Busch will pit in the sixth stall with his No. 54 Toyota.
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Ford drivers to appear live from Texas
Watch the video below for today’s USO Google Hangout at Texas Motor Speedway.
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Watch live interviews with the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge top finishers
Coors Light Pole Award-winner Carl Edwards has first stall for Sunday’s race, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN
RELATED: Full Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage
After winning the Coors Light Pole Award, Carl Edwards had first choice of pit stalls and chose the No. 1 box at the exit of pit road, heading into Turn 1.
Brad Keselowski is in the 14th pit stall with an opening in front of him, and Paul Menard has the last pit stall with a front opening in the 35th box, eight stalls from the entrance to pit road out of Turn 4.
Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup co-leader Jimmie Johnson is in the 43rd stall at the entrance of pit road. His fellow co-leader, Matt Kenseth, is in the 34th stall with an opening behind him.
Kenseth’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Kyle Busch, is in the 13th stall, also with an opening behind him. Kevin Harvick is in the 18th stall, five off of the start/finish line.
Watch the AAA Texas 500 on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN.
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Follow along as drivers compete for the Coors Light Pole award
Sauter finishes second, Busch with a DNF
FORT WORTH, Tex. — Dominating the action from start to finish, Ty Dillon ran away with Friday night’s WinStar World Casino 350 at Texas Motor Speedway, leading 130 of the 147 laps in the 20th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race of the season.
The driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet pulled away from Johnny Sauter after taking the lead for the final time on Lap 117. Dillon was shuffled back to third after a restart on Lap 107, but overtook Ryan Blaney for the top-spot 10 laps later.
Sauter passed Blaney for the second spot on Lap 121, and Blaney subsequently faded to 15th at the finish. Ron Hornaday Jr. ran third, followed by Brendan Gaughan and Justin Lofton.
"I wasn’t going to let this race get away from me," said Dillon, who rallied from a rough week at Martinsville, where he and Kevin Harvick wrecked during close racing and exchanged pointed barbs thereafter. "Its happened too many times this year, and I was going to do whatever it takes."
The victory was Dillon’s second of the season and the third of his career. He finished 2.663 seconds ahead of Sauter after holding a lead of more than three seconds during the closing laps.
About the only anxious moment for Dillon had come on Lap 99, when the engine in Kyle Busch‘s No. 51 Toyota blew as Dillon ran right behind him.
"I didn’t know if I was heading for the wall or what was going to happen," Dillon said. "But, luckily, I don’t think he put down too much oil, and I was just below him, just to keep from getting in it."
After small air-pressure adjustments throughout the race, Sauter’s No. 98 Toyota loosened up a bit too much during the final 41-lap green-flag run.
"Ten laps into that last run we were just a tick too free," Sauter said. "I don’t know if we ever had anything for the 3 truck, though. We’ve won here before, and I was running a harder, faster pace than I ever have. So their truck must have been phenomenal."
Series leader Matt Crafton came home 10th and holds a 46-point edge over sixth-place finisher James Buescher and 47 points over Dillon with two races left in the season. Crafton can wrap up his first series title with finishes of 18th or better in the final two races.
Crafton can lock up the championship next Friday at Phoenix if he finishes the race with a lead of 49 points or more. He needs only a 41-point edge if he takes the green flag the following week at Homestead.
Rookie Darrell Wallace Jr., last week’s winner at Martinsville, finished seventh, followed by Miguel Paludo, John Wes Townley and Crafton.
The victory was the 100th across all three of NASCAR’s top touring series for No. 3 vehicles fielded by Richard Childress Racing.
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Johnson third, Kenseth sixth as title fight heads to its peak
RELATED: Lineup for AAA Texas 500 | Edwards set up for strong finish
FORT WORTH, Texas — Carl Edwards blistered Turns 3 and 4 at the end of a hair-raising qualifying lap that was fast enough to win the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series‘ AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
The 40th of 43 drivers to make a qualifying attempt in Friday’s time trials at the 1.5-mile track, Edwards covered the distance in 27.535 seconds (196.114 mph) to edge fellow Ford driver Brad Keselowski (196.100 mph) for the top starting spot in the eighth Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race by .002 seconds.
Jimmie Johnson (195.943 mph) qualified third, three positions ahead of Matt Kenseth (195.518 mph), who is tied with Johnson for the top spot in the series standings with three Chase races left. Third-place Jeff Gordon, who trails the leaders by 27 points, earned the eighth starting spot, one position behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Paul Menard (195.837 mph) qualified fourth, .008 seconds faster than fifth-place starter Kyle Busch (195.780 mph), who is fifth in the Chase standings, 36 points behind Kenseth and Johnson.
The Coors Light Pole Award was Edwards’ first at Texas, his second of the season and the 13th of his career. Edwards is a three-time winner at TMS, tops in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
"The late draw saved us there," said Edwards, whose No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford slipped off Turn 2 on the money lap. "That wiggle … the car got loose off of (Turn) 2, and I definitely saw our pole hopes fade right there. I did not think it was going to happen.
"But then it went through (Turns) 3 and 4 really, really well. I don’t know that anybody could have gone through there much better. That car was very fast through there. And the engine ran so well… Overall, I believe the car is a lot better than that lap even."
Johnson’s hopes for a pole ended with a light brush with the wall off Turn 4, as all three of the top qualifiers navigated the track on the knife edge of near disaster.
"I hate to admit it, but at one point, I think I had my eyes shut, because I knew there was going to be contact — I just didn’t know how much," Johnson said. "I just grazed the wall and scratched the sticker on the bumper cover and the taillight on the back of the car.
"Watching Brad’s lap, he was in the throttle early as well and lost some time off of (Turn) 4. When the 99 came through, his moment was in (Turns) 1 and 2, but he had a really good 3 and 4 and was able to nip us both there."
For his part, Keselowski felt he left some speed on the race track.
"We had a really decent lap, for sure, but I thought I left a little bit out there," Keselowski said. "I know we’re starting up front, but I also know we left a little out there, so I’m a little disappointed in myself."
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Previous success at final three tracks hints at good things to come
FORT WORTH, Texas — Carl Edwards ended the regular season in Richmond Victory Lane and better yet, atop the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings.
He was full of hope and conviction that he could make a run at the championship even as his ranking dropped to fourth when the points standings were reset for the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
But a 35th place at Dover three weeks later derailed his quest in what’s been a top-heavy Chase absent of mulligans.
So Edwards’ joy in winning the pole position for Sunday’s AAA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway was genuine and invigorating — a bright spot in a Chase of missed opportunity. With three races remaining, he’s ranked 10th, 76 points behind co-leaders Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson.
"When the Chase started, truly we sat and thought with the two wins and leading the points that we could go out and lead these last 10 races and win this thing," Edwards said Friday after a near track record 196.114 mph in the No. 99 Aflac Ford.
"It has not happened that way obviously. Some guys have really stepped it up. For Jimmie and Matt and those guys and the 29 bunch with Kevin (Harvick) and now Jeff Gordon is back in the mix.
"As a company, everyone has recognized that at Roush Fenway Racing. I spent an hour or two with (general manager) Robbie Reiser this week and that man is working as hard as anybody I have seen to make sure that we can beat these guys. Not just this year but next year and beyond. We recognize that we need to be better."
With the exception of the Dover disappointment, Edwards’ results in the Chase are decent, if not highlight reel. He has finished 12th or better in four of the seven races, including a fifth place at Kansas. However, after leading 447 laps in the regular season, he’s led only three laps in the Chase.
His showing this week at Texas is no surprise. His three victories here is the most of any driver in the field and he’s one of only two people to score a Texas season sweep (2008).
He arrives in Phoenix next week as the track’s most recent winner, scoring his career second victory there this spring. He has won three poles at the one-miler and his 11.8 average finish is among the series’ best.
It’s a similar success story at Homestead-Miami, where the season concludes in the Nov. 17 Ford Ecoboost 400. He has a pair of wins and a pair of poles there and five top-five finishes in nine starts.
It may be more common for drivers out of Chase contention to toe the "we’ll get ’em next year" party line, but Edwards is a consummate optimist.
"I would like to win the championship, but I don’t know if that is in the cards," Edwards said smiling. "I can tell you that we will go to these last three races to win all three races. There is nothing we are not bringing to the race track equipment wise, effort wise and we are coming to win.
"I’d really like. … no matter what the points situation to finish the season strong because I feel it will help us get started next season. There are a lot of things changing, but overall it would help to keep the guys motivated and everyone looking forward. Wins would be great."
"I couldn’t pick a better three tracks to go to. I love racing here and we ran really well at Phoenix — and Homestead for some reason perfectly suits me and the way our cars work and the engine. We should be really good.
"At the very least we will have a good time and have some fun which is something that is easy to forget. That is a big part of it."
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Tamed down message just fine with Patrick
RELATED: Full Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage
Danica Patrick said she was excited to confirm the news this week that she will appear in a 2014 Super Bowl commercial for her sponsor GoDaddy.
But, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver insists, she never takes it for granted despite starring in more Super Bowl ads (12) than any other celebrity.
"I’ve never been 100 percent certain I am in until they tell me," Patrick said Friday from Texas Motor Speedway, where she helped present a $50,000 check on behalf of GoDaddy to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
"Their creative is very important. … I was really happy last year when they had me and I’m really happy again."
The advertising campaign for GoDaddy has had a noticeably different look recently, focusing its marketing efforts on defining the company’s services for small businesses versus grabbing attention with the racy ads that have brought attention in recent years.
GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving told the Associated Press this week there will be two spots during the Super Bowl and Patrick will be in one if not both.
It was a vote of confidence for NASCAR’s Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate.
"Definitely when you have transitions within companies … you hope you’re part of those decisions for a long time," Patrick said.
"It’s important that my sponsor benefits the most and their company grows and I want to help them do that."
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