{"id":40298,"date":"2022-09-22T12:28:11","date_gmt":"2022-09-22T17:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=40298"},"modified":"2022-09-22T12:28:11","modified_gmt":"2022-09-22T17:28:11","slug":"nascar-weekend-preview-texas-motor-speedway-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2022\/09\/22\/nascar-weekend-preview-texas-motor-speedway-4\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR Weekend Preview: Texas Motor Speedway"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain<\/em><\/p>\n

NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/b><\/p>\n

NASCAR Playoffs Round of 12 speeds into Texas <\/b><\/p>\n

The 2022 version of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs are proving to be as competitive as any in recent memory, and now the Round of 12 begins this Sunday afternoon with the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

\"\"

Daniel Suarez, driver of the #99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, Tyler Reddick, driver of the #8 Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet, and Austin Dillon, driver of the #3 Bass Pro Shops\/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Open at Texas Motor Speedway on May 22, 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Buda Mendes\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The 12 championship eligible drivers are separated by only a slight 34 points from top to bottom \u2013 from points leader Chase Elliott to series rookie Austin Cindric in 12th place. Only 21 points separate Elliott from his Hendrick Motorsports teammate in fourth place, Kyle Larson. The two drivers, the most recent NASCAR Cup Series champions \u2013 Elliott in 2020 and Larson the reigning title holder.<\/p>\n

While non-Playoff drivers swept the Round of 16 Playoff races, Texas has a winning history with those currently still vying for the big trophy. Larson\u2019s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet led a dominating 256 of the 334 laps from pole position to earn his Playoff win on the Texas high banks last year. It was one of three consecutive Playoff victories \u2013 and five total \u2013 that propelled the 30-year-old Californian to his first series championship.<\/p>\n

Larson would love to reclaim that Texas giddy-up going forward. After a 10-win career-best year in 2021, he\u2019s had only two victories this year \u2013 the last coming on the Watkins Glen, N.Y. road course five races ago.<\/p>\n

Only one other current Playoff driver has won a Playoff race at Texas: Denny Hamlin, who took the trophy in 2010. The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, who is ranked sixth in the Round of 12 Playoff reseeding, has three wins total at the track.<\/p>\n

Hamlin would concede he had an up-and-down regular season, but the perennial championship contender has certainly been on his game in the Playoffs, with two runner-up finishes (at Darlington, S.C. and Kansas) and a ninth-place showing at Bristol, Tenn. last week. With Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch\u2019s elimination from title contention, the JGR team opted to swap pit crews so now Hamlin will have Busch\u2019s group going forward, and vice versa.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to be a very important race,” Hamlin said. \u201cWith the unknowns of [upcoming Playoff races] Talladega (Ala.) and the Charlotte ROVAL, we\u2019re looking at Texas as a place we can go run up front, try to maximize our points and be in contention for the win.”<\/p>\n

The only other Playoff driver with a Texas trophy is Team Penske\u2019s Joey Logano, who is second to Elliott in the standings by 15 points. He won in the Spring at Texas in 2014.<\/p>\n

Busch is the winningest active driver at Texas with four victories \u2013 including the 2020 Playoff race, but he was eliminated from championship contention last week. Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon \u2013 also eliminated from the Playoffs after Round 1 \u2013 is also on that short list of Texas winners, earning his trophy in the 2020 Spring 500-miler.<\/p>\n

Kevin Harvick is the winningest active Playoff race winner at Texas, but he was eliminated from the Playoffs last week. The driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford leads all active drivers with three Playoff wins at the 1.5-miler \u2013 the last Fall victory coming in 2019.<\/p>\n

The track boasts a certain unpredictability now that seven-time race winner Jimmie Johnson has retired from fulltime competition. There have been five different winners in the last five Texas Motor Speedway races \u2013 Hamlin, Harvick, Dillon, Busch and Larson.<\/p>\n

Playoff driver Ryan Blaney, who is still racing for his first points-paying trophy of the season, won the All-Star race there in May and goes into this weekend ranked eighth \u2013 in the final transfer position to the Round of 8 on points \u2013 hoping to match his Spring effort.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, four of the five first-time Playoff contenders have advanced to this second round. Trackhouse Racing\u2019s Ross Chastain, a two-race winner in 2022, is third in points. Stewart-Haas Racing\u2019s Chase Briscoe is ninth in the standings. Trackhouse Racing\u2019s Daniel Suarez is 11th and Team Penske\u2019s Cindric \u2013 who won the Daytona 500 \u2013 is ranked 12th.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe clean and let the other teams make the mistakes,” Larson said of the tact used by his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team. \u201cHonestly, if you can just finish you don\u2019t have to do anything crazy in the first couple rounds. Don\u2019t take yourself out of stage points or a good finish and you can advance.”<\/p>\n

A victory automatically advances a Playoff driver to the Round of 8.<\/p>\n

Practice for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 is Saturday at 12:35 p.m. ET followed by qualifying at 1:20 p.m. ET \u2013 both will be carried on the USA Network and NBC Sports App.<\/p>\n

NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs get underway in the Lone Star State<\/b><\/p>\n

After a dramatic regular season finale to set the 12-driver NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff field last week, the seven-race Playoff portion of the schedule starts with Saturday afternoon\u2019s Andy\u2019s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

Veteran A.J. Allmendinger became the first driver to win back-to-back Regular Season Championships. But Noah Gragson takes the No. 1 seed and \u201cfavorite\u201d tag into Saturday\u2019s Playoff-opening race. The 24-year-old Las Vegas native has won the last three races coming to Texas and boasts a six-win tally on the year \u2013 already doubling his previous season high mark for victories with seven races to go.<\/p>\n

A fourth straight win this week at Texas Motor Speedway \u2013 a venue he has never won at before \u2013 would tie a 40-year-old series record. Sam Ard (1983) is the only driver in series history to win four consecutive races.<\/p>\n

Gragson has earned a series best 15 top fives in the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet and a series-high 13 stage wins. In just the last eight races, Gragson has four wins, six top-five and seven top-10 finishes. And he carries a 13-point edge over Joe Gibbs Racing\u2019s Ty Gibbs as the first three-race elimination round of the championship begins.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a wild month for this No. 9 Bass Pro Shops team, winning the last three races,” Gragson said. \u201c(Crew chief) Luke (Lambert) and our team are really hitting a stride and there\u2019s no better time to do that than in the Playoffs. We\u2019ve got a big head of steam and we\u2019re going to keep that hot streak going this weekend at Texas.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t wait to get the Playoffs started on the right foot this weekend.”<\/p>\n

Gragson\u2019s closest competitor all season, Gibbs, the driver of the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, has five wins. But after winning three times in a five-race stretch in the opening months of the season, he has only a single win since July 2 \u2013 at Michigan, six races ago. Gibbs has 10 top-fives and 16 top-10 finishes but has a pair of finishes 27th or worse in the five races since Michigan \u2013 including the worst finish of his young career (36th place) last week at Bristol, Tenn.<\/p>\n

A couple veterans are poised to keep the young Gragson and Gibbs honest in the Playoffs. JR Motorsports\u2019 Justin Allgaier, 36, is ranked third, only 18 points behind his teammate Gragson. And the driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet has led a series-best 726 laps this year. His 12 top-five finishes are second only to Gragson. His best finish at Texas is runner-up in Spring, 2021.<\/p>\n

Kaulig Racing\u2019s Allmendinger, 40, has three victories and a series-best 23 top-10 finishes in the No. 16 Chevrolet. That means he\u2019s finished outside the top-10 in only three races this entire season and he trails Gragson by only 19 points.<\/p>\n

The remainder of the Playoff grid is composed of Josh Berry, Austin Hill, Brandon Jones, Jeremy Clements, Sam Mayer, defending series champion Daniel Hemric, Riley Herbst and Ryan Sieg.<\/p>\n

Berry and Mayer are teammates with Gragson and Allgaier marking the first time in JR Motorsports team history that it has four Playoff cars qualify for the Playoffs.<\/p>\n

No current fulltime Xfinity Series driver has won a Xfinity race at on the 1.5-mile Texas high banks.<\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series driver Tyler Reddick won the Xfinity Series race at Texas this Spring by a full 1.8-seconds over fellow Cup Series driver William Byron. Current Playoff drivers Mayer, Allgaier and Hill rounded out the top five. Gibbs finished 12th. Gragson won Stage 1 but was involved in a six-car crash on Lap 89.<\/p>\n

John Hunter Nemechek is the defending winner of this Playoff race, leading a race best 71 laps and taking the victory in 2021 by 1.316-seconds over eventual series champ Hemric. Gragson, Allgaier and Austin Cindric rounded out the top five. Nemechek will be competing this weekend driving the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.<\/p>\n

Of note, Richard Childress Racing\u2019s Sheldon Creed won the 2020 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at the track. And Jeb Burton also has a Truck Series win (2013) at Texas as well.<\/p>\n

Practice for the race is slated for 10:35 a.m. ET on Saturday followed by qualifying at 11:05 a.m. \u2013 both on USA Network and streamed on the NBC Sports App.<\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n

Next Race: AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500<\/b><\/p>\n

The Place: Texas Motor Speedway<\/b><\/p>\n

The Date: Sunday, September 25<\/b><\/p>\n

The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET<\/b><\/p>\n

The Purse:<\/b> $8,455,617<\/b><\/p>\n

TV: USA, 2:30 p.m. ET<\/b><\/p>\n

Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)<\/b><\/p>\n

Distance: 501 miles (334 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 105),<\/b><\/p>\n

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 210), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 334)<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/u><\/b><\/p>\n

NASCAR Xfinity Series<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n

Next Race: Andy\u2019s Frozen Custard 300<\/b><\/p>\n

The Place: Texas Motor Speedway<\/b><\/p>\n

The Date: Saturday, September 24<\/b><\/p>\n

The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET<\/b><\/p>\n

The Purse:<\/b> $1,434,537<\/b><\/p>\n

TV: USA, 3 p.m. ET<\/b><\/p>\n

Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)<\/b><\/p>\n

Distance: 300 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),<\/b><\/p>\n

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain NASCAR Wire Service   NASCAR Playoffs Round of 12 speeds into Texas  The 2022 version of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs are proving to be as competitive as any in recent memory, and now the Round of 12 begins this Sunday afternoon with the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":39223,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11,13],"tags":[16,21],"class_list":["post-40298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","category-texas-motor-speedway","tag-nascar","tag-texas-motor-speedway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-1398714764-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1708&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-atY","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40298"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40299,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40298\/revisions\/40299"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}