This weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday's Samsung 500. To help you make your fantasy racing picks, RacingOne brings you our weekly detailed look at some of the field for the 334-lap event.
Who's HOT at Texas
Jeff Burton is the only multiple winner.
Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin lead all drivers with five top fives each.
Jimmie Johnson holds the best average finish at 9.2.
Tony Stewart leads all drivers with 453 laps led.
Denny Hamlin has finished in the top 10 in four of his five starts.
Keep an Eye on at Texas
2000 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. will pilot the same car that finished second at Las Vegas.
Kyle Busch is the most recent winner at Atlanta, a track similar to Texas.
Texas is Martin Truex Jr's best track on the circuit based on finishing average.
2005 Fall Texas Winner Carl Edwards will be racing the same car that ran strong at Atlanta before mechanical failure.
RCR teammates Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer will be back behind the wheel of cars that posted top 10s at Atlanta.
Greg Biffle, who won the 2005 race, has had a contending car in other Texas races only to be snake bit by bad luck.
Track Performers
Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are tied for the lead with nine wins on tracks exactly 1.5-miles in length. Mark Martin and Tony Stewart are tied for second with seven wins apiece. Defending race winner Jeff Burton rounds out the top five in wins with six. Martin leads all drivers with 48 top-10 finishes, followed by Gordon with 45. Ryan Newman is the current pole leader on 1.5-mile tracks with 11. Jeff Burton and Gordon lead all drivers that have made the last nine starts on 1.5-mile tracks (2007-2008) in finishing average at 11.8 and 12.0, respectively.
Texas Rookie Report Dario Franchitti and Regan Smith are tied in the rookie standings heading to Texas. Franchitti, Sam Hornish Jr. and Michael McDowell all made their track debut at TMS in last fall's NASCAR Nationwide Series race. McDowell had the best finish of 20th. Smith has made five NASCAR Nationwide starts at the track, with a best finish of 15th coming in his debut there in 2003. Smith and McDowell are the only rookies with a guaranteed spot in Sunday's race. The 2008 rookie class struggled at the similar Atlanta track a few weeks ago, with Hornish having the best finish of 25th there. Rookie Standings
Qualifying Tidbits Ryan Newman and Bobby Labonte are the only multiple pole winners at Texas Motor Speedway. Brian Vickers won the pole for the 2006 fall race driving the No. 25 Chevrolet, stopping Dodge's consecutive pole streak at three. Vickers broke Bill Elliott's 2002 track record with a lap of 196.235 mph. Qualifying for this event last year was rained out. Martin Truex Jr. won the pole for the fall race, which marked his first and only so far in his Sprint Cup career. Labonte leads all drivers that have started every event, with a 10.5 starting average. Matt Kenseth won the 2002 race from the 31st starting position, the furthest of any driver. Only three races have been won from outside the top 10.Past Pole Winners | Starting Positions of Texas Winners
Texas Loop Data Stat Leaders (2005-2007)
*Fastest Early in a Run
*Fastest Late in a Run
Avg. Running Position
1. Tony Stewart
1. Martin Truex Jr.
1. Tony Stewart - 7.7
2. Jimmie Johnson
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2. Matt Kenseth - 10.4
3. Greg Biffle
3. Tony Stewart
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 10.4
4. Matt Kenseth
4. Matt Kenseth
4. Jimmie Johnson - 10.4
5. Martin Truex Jr.
5. Reed Sorenson
5. Martin Truex Jr. - 10.8
Laps in Top 15
*Quality Passes
*Driver Rating
1. Tony Stewart - 1786
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 229
1. Tony Stewart - 109.3
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 1706
2. Kurt Busch - 222
2. Jimmie Johnson - 104.1
3. Jimmie Johnson - 1528
3. Tony Stewart - 198
3. Matt Kenseth - 103.2
4. Kurt Busch - 1464
4. Jimmie Johnson - 191
4. Denny Hamlin - 100.1
5. Matt Kenseth - 1457
5. Martin Truex Jr. - 190
5. Kurt Busch - 98.0
*Fastest Early In a Run: Ranks each driver during the first 25 percent of laps run since a pit stop. *Fastest Late In a Run: Ranks each driver during last 25 percent of laps run since a pit stop. *Quality Passes: Passing a car running in the Top 15 while under a green flag. *Driver Rating : Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
RacingOne Staff Picks
Jeff Wackerlin: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Pete Pistone: Greg Biffle Rachael West: Tony Stewart Kym Opalenik: Jeff Burton
Top 20 Driver Notes - Ordered by Current Standings
1. Jeff Burton: Burton's win last spring gave his the distinction of being the only multiple winner at Texas Motor Speedway. The victory was one of six top 10s in 14 starts at the track with Richard Childress Racing. Burton led one lap in the race he won, which marked his first lap led at TMS since 2000. Burton's first eight starts at TMS came with Roush Racing. In that span he captured one win (the inaugural race in 1997) and three top 10s. This weekend Burton will pilot a brand new chassis (No. 243) in the Samsung 500.
2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick broke a streak of five consecutive finishes outside the top 10 at Texas Motor Speedway by finishing fifth and third, respectively, in 2006. Last year in this event, Harvick posted his worst finish in 10 starts at TMS after finishing 29th. After bouncing back to finish 10th last fall, Harvick will look for his sixth top 10 at TMS on Sunday, driving the same car (chassis No. 238) that most recently finished seventh at Atlanta last month.
3. Greg Biffle: Biffle won the 2005 spring event at Texas Motor Speedway after leading 219 laps. The win was his first of two top 10s in eight starts at TMS. His other came last April when he finished sixth, ending a streak of three consecutive finishes of 20th or worse. In the 2006 spring race, Biffle had another contending car until his No. 16 Ford got hit from behind by Kurt Busch's No. 2 Dodge on the backstretch. Biffle was faced with more bad luck in the 2005 fall race after he was forced to pit on lap 49 when he felt a vibration in his car. After a green flag pit stop, he dropped back one lap behind the leader. Biffle was not the same after the stop, suffering a spin later in the race and coming home with a 20th-place finish. In 2004, he ran in the top-five before the engine expired in the No. 16 Ford. This weekend Biffle will debut a new car (chassis RK-76) in the Samsung 500.
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr: Texas Motor Speedway is the site of Dale Earnhardt Jr's first Sprint Cup Series victory. The triumph was one of seven top 10s at the track. In his first two starts he combined to lead 213 of his 362 laps led at the track. Junior's last top 10 at TMS came in the 2006 fall event when he finished sixth. Last year in the spring race, Earnhardt Jr. looked like a contender to return to victory lane until he got run over by Kyle Busch in a late race skirmish that ended his day. This weekend Junior will make his Texas debut with Hendrick Motorsports driving the same car (chassis No. 488) that finished second at Las Vegas.
5. Kyle Busch: Busch's two top 10 in six starts at Texas Motor Speedway came in the last two fall events when he finished fourth in both. This weekend he will shoot for his first top 10 in the spring race when he makes his first track start in a Toyota.
6. Tony Stewart: Stewart will make his 327th career Sprint Cup start and 13th at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday. Stewart collected his first Cup win at Texas in the 2006 fall race. The win was his seventh, and last, top 10 at the track. Besides an 11th-place finish last fall, Stewart's remaining four finishes have been 23rd or worse, with the last one (25th) coming last April. This weekend, Stewart will be back behind the wheel of the same car (chassis No. 203) that finished seventh at California.
7. Kasey Kahne: Kahne won the 2006 spring race at Texas Motor Speedway after leading 63 laps from the pole. Kahne has started in the top five in four out of the seven races he has competed in. His starting average was best among all drivers up until last year when he qualified 34th and 25th, respectively. Outside of the win and a second-place finish, Kahne's other performances at TMS have resulted in finishes of 18th or worse.
8. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin's finishing average at Texas Motor Speedway took a hit last fall when he came home 29th. The finish was his first outside the top 10 in five starts. In that race Hamlin led 45 laps and battled for the lead before making contact with the outside wall. On Sunday Hamlin will be driving the same car (chassis No. 189) that finished 15th in its debut at Atlanta.
9. Jeff Gordon: Texas Motor Speedway is one of two tracks on the schedule where Gordon has yet to visit victory lane. One of Gordon's closest runs to victory at TMS came in 2004 when he led 46 laps en route to a third-place finish. In that event, Gordon lost the lead after he was forced to switch to a back-up battery with 26 laps to go. Last year in this event, Gordon helped lower his finishing average to 15.2 after finishing fourth from the pole. In that event, he led 173 of his 326 laps led at the track. In the fall race he finished seventh for his third consecutive top 10.
10. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson is coming off his first win at Texas Motor Speedway after leading nine laps in the fall of 2007. Last year in this event, Johnson's Texas finishing average took a hit, dropping to 9.2, after a crash took him out of contention. His 38th-place finish was his only DNF and only finish outside the top 12 in nine starts at TMS. Johnson, who has finished in the top 10 seven times at Texas, will be driving the same car (chassis No. 465) that finished second at California.
11. Ryan Newman: Outside of a win in the 2003 event and a fifth-place run last fall, Texas Motor Speedway has not been kind to Newman. His lone victory boosted his finishing average to 25.8, the worst among all drivers that have at least one victory. He earned his first pole at TMS in the 2005 spring event and led one of his 80 laps at the 1.5-mile speedway, but finished 16th. He went on to win the pole for the fall event but went to a back-up car after crashing on his second qualifying lap. This weekend Newman will race a brand new car (chassis PRS-558) in the Samsung 500.
12. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer has competed in four Sprint Cup races at Texas Motor Speedway with his best finish, of fifth, coming in the fall of 2006. That finish is Bowyer's only inside the top 15, giving him an overall average finish of 14.8. This weekend he will be driving the same car (chassis No. 237) that finished sixth at Atlanta last month.
13. Martin Truex Jr: Texas Motor Speedway is Truex Jr's best track on the circuit based on his 9.4 finishing average. In five starts, Truex has posted three top 10s and has yet to finish outside the top 15.
14. Carl Edwards: Edwards has one victory at Texas Motor Speedway, which came in the 2005 fall event. In that race, he took on fresh tires during a pit stop with 15 to go and charged through the field after restarting sixth, en route to his fourth of nine Sprint Cup victories. In the 2006 spring race, Edwards looked strong again, leading 50 laps, until an accident charged him with his first, and only, DNF at the track. Since then, Edwards has yet to lead a lap at TMS and has posted an average finish of 17.7 in the three races. This weekend's chassis (No. 570) is the same car that led 33 laps at Atlanta before the engine expired.
15. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth has recorded an average finish of 4.2 in his last five starts at Texas Motor Speedway. Four of the finishes marked his first top fives at the track since winning the 2002 event. In 2005, Kenseth dominated the 334-lap fall race by leading 149 laps from his best Texas qualifying effort of third. Kenseth will pilot the same car (chassis RK-550) that finished fifth at California.
16. Kurt Busch: Texas Motor Speedway is Busch's best 1.5-mile track on the circuit based on his 12.0 finishing average. Busch is coming off his seventh top 10 at TMS after finishing eighth last fall. The 2006 spring race marked his first race at Texas with Penske. He finished 34th in that event, one day after winning his first Busch race with the team. Last year in this event, Busch had an interesting race this spring after he started the race in a back-up car and without crew chief Roy McCauley. He led 42 laps in that race before falling back to the last car on the lead lap when the leaders pitted under caution and was able to go on to an 11th-place finish. This weekend, Busch will take to the track in a brand new car (chassis PSC-557) in the Samsung 500.
17. Juan Pablo Montoya: Texas Motor Speedway is Montoya's best 1.5-mile track that he has made two or more starts at based on his 16.5 average finish. Last April, Montoya began the day 16th and stayed near the front most of the day and overcame a pit road miscue to finish eighth in his first Cup start at TMS. This weekend he will pilot that same chassis (No. 744) that finished 19th at Las Vegas after being brought out as a backup.
18. Brian Vickers: Vickers has yet to finish in the top 10 at Texas Motor Speedway in seven starts. Last year he finished 14th and 23rd, respectively, in his first two track starts with Red Bull Racing.
19. David Ragan: Ragan has posted a 38.0 average finish in his two starts at Texas Motor Speedway. Last year he finished 37th after a crash took him out of contention. Ragan's luck has been much better in the Nationwide and Truck Series at TMS where he has combined to post three top-10 finishes. This weekend Ragan will shoot for a decent finish at Texas driving the same car (chassis No. RK-561) that finished seventh at Las Vegas.
20. Elliott Sadler: Sadler has competed in three races at Texas Motor Speedway with his current team, Gillett-Evernham Motorsports. Sadler's best finish with the team came last fall when he came home 12th. Prior to GEM, Sadler ran nine races with the Woods Brothers and Yates Racing. Two of his three top 10s came with Yates, including a win in this event in 2004.
