{"id":45343,"date":"2024-04-11T23:00:30","date_gmt":"2024-04-12T04:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=45343"},"modified":"2024-04-12T13:20:20","modified_gmt":"2024-04-12T18:20:20","slug":"nascar-weekend-preview-texas-motor-speedway-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/11\/nascar-weekend-preview-texas-motor-speedway-6\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR Weekend Preview: Texas Motor Speedway"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A general view of the iconic garage sign at the NASCAR Cup Series Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on September 24, 2023 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Michael Haag\/Raceday San Antonio)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

NASCAR Wire Service <\/em><\/p>\n

Texas could be a great place for those looking for their first win this season<\/b><\/p>\n

Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron arrives in Fort Worth this weekend both the most recent NASCAR Cup Series winner \u2013 at Martinsville, Va. last week \u2013 and also the defending winner of Sunday\u2019s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

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NASCAR Hall of Famer Rick Hendrick team owner of Hendrick Motorsport (L) and William Byron, driver of the #24 Liberty University Chevrolet, celebrate Hendrick Motorsports’ 300th NASCAR Cup Series win after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on September 24, 2023 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

It\u2019s been that kind of season for the 26-year old Charlotte native. But winning back-to-back races at the 1.5-mile Texas high banks has proven to be quite the task in recent years. The last driver to do so was another Hendrick star, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson who actually won three straight in the 2014-15 seasons. Johnson, owner-driver of Legacy Motor Club, will be making his second start of the season this week at Texas, where he is the all-time winningest driver (seven victories).<\/p>\n

Texas has certainly proven to be its own unique challenge and that may open the door for a handful of drivers high in the rankings still racing for their first victories of the year.<\/p>\n

Hendrick\u2019s Kyle Larson leads Joe Gibbs Racing\u2019s Martin Truex Jr. by 14 points in the standings. Larson, last year\u2019s Texas runner-up and the 2021 race winner, spent part of this week participating in the Indianapolis 500 open test in preparation to run racing\u2019s great \u201cDouble\u201d the Indy 500 and NASCAR\u2019s esteemed Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, N.C. in the same day.<\/p>\n

Truex, the 2017 series champion has never won at Texas but has three runner-up finishes. His No. 19 JGR Toyota has led laps in four of the last five races. And 12 of 34 career wins have come on 1.5-mile tracks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been one of those places where we have been snakebit a lot,” Truex said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had some good runs, we\u2019ve had some struggles at times since they repaved it. Just one of those things, but I feel confident going there with what we have that we\u2019ll run well, especially how we ran there the last couple of years.<\/p>\n

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NASCAR driver Chase Elliott at the NASCAR Cup Series Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on September 24, 2023 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Michael Haag\/Raceday San Antonio)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been tough, we\u2019ve gotten a lot of poles there and led a lot of laps, but we just haven\u2019t been able to win there.”<\/p>\n

Truex is one of three drivers ranked among the top-6 still looking for that first win of this season. Reigning series champion Ryan Blaney and 2020 series champion Chase Elliott are the other two.<\/p>\n

Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford, has top-10 finishes in eight of the last 10 Texas races winning the pole position and finishing runner-up in 2018. He has top-five finishes in four of the eight races this season, including both 1.5-mile tracks with a season-best runner-up at Atlanta in February. He\u2019s coming off a fifth-place finish at Martinsville last week.<\/p>\n

Elliott scored his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Texas in 2014. The driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet finished top-10 in half of his 13 NASCAR Cup Series starts at the track, with a career best showing of fourth-place in 2016. He\u2019s had only a single top-10 in the last seven races, however.<\/p>\n

This season marks a huge turnaround for the former champ, who missed seven races last year recovering from a skiing injury and a suffering a one-race suspension. He\u2019s ranked sixth in points, only 51 points off the pace of his Hendrick teammate Larson and is coming off back-to-back top five efforts at Richmond, Va. and Martinsville.<\/p>\n

Where a driver starts on the Texas high banks has proven to be especially key to where a driver finishes. More than 76 percent of the races have been won from a top-10 starting position. So far this season, Elliott and Team Penske\u2019s Joey Logano lead the series with six top-10 starts, however, neither driver has won a race.<\/p>\n

A 45-minute practice session is set for 10:35 a.m. ET on Saturday followed by Busch Light Pole Qualifying at 11:20 p.m. ET., both will be televised live on FS1.<\/p>\n

Since the repave, Allgaier has Texas dialed-in<\/b><\/p>\n

Veteran Justin Allgaier has plenty of reason to feel especially optimistic about this Saturday\u2019s NASCAR Xfinity Series Andy\u2019s Frozen Custard 300 (1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). A year ago, he started on pole position, led a race best 133 of the 200 laps but finished fifth as John Hunter Nemechek claimed the trophy leading only seven laps on the afternoon.<\/p>\n

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Justin Allgaier, driver of the #7 BRANDT Chevrolet, enters his car prior to the NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 04, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, had another trophy near-miss this season, claiming both stage wins and leading 52 consecutive laps in the closing portion of the Phoenix race when he crashed with a tire problem only three laps shy of the checkered flag.<\/p>\n

The near-misses are something drivers always remember, but Allgaier goes into the weekend feeling more motivated than frustrated. He\u2019s got a promising record at the Texas 1.5-miler. He\u2019s had 14 top-10 finishes in 26 starts and led at least 20 laps in five of the last seven races.<\/p>\n

\u201cTexas has been a really strong track for us since the repave,” Allgaier said. \u201cWe came so close here in the [2023] Fall of bringing home the win and I know that we will have the same speed again this weekend.”<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll certainly need it in a similarly highly-motivated field. The championship points leader, Joe Gibbs Racing\u2019s Chandler Smith holds a 35-point edge over reigning series champion, Stewart-Haas Racing\u2019s Cole Custer. Smith is the only driver in the series to earn top-10 finishes in all seven races this season. And his 242 laps led is most among fulltime drivers.<\/p>\n

Smith and Richard Childress Racing\u2019s Austin Hill each have two wins this season \u2013 the only fulltime championship contenders to hoist a trophy. Smith finished fourth at Texas last year in his only previous start.<\/p>\n

Custer is the only former Texas winner among the 2024 championship contenders and has quite the Lone Star resume himself. The driver of the No. 00 SHR Ford has six top-10 finishes \u2013 four top-five – in seven Texas starts, including the 2018 victory.<\/p>\n

The always exciting Dash 4 Cash incentive program returns this week with Allgaier, his JR Motorsports teammate Sam Mayer along with Chandler Smith and his JGR teammate Sheldon Creed all eligible for the big $100,000 prize. The bonus will be awarded to the highest finisher of the four drivers.<\/p>\n

The top four eligible drivers coming from the Texas race will compete for the big money at Talladega Superspeedway next Saturday.<\/p>\n

Of note, Ryan Truex returns to competition this week driving the No. 20 JGR Toyota that Aric Almirola drove to victory last weekend at Martinsville, Va. And NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series standout Daniel Dye will make his second Xfinity Series start of the year driving the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. Truck series championship contender Corey Heim is entered in the No. 26 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota and former NASCAR Cup Series driver Matt DiBenedetto will drive the No. 38 RSS Racing Ford.<\/p>\n

Practice for the Andy\u2019s Frozen Custard 300 begins Friday at 6 p.m. ET followed by qualifying at 6:30 p.m. ET \u2013 both will be televised on FS1.<\/p>\n

CRAFTSMAN Truck Series standings remain tight heading into Texas<\/b><\/p>\n

NASCAR\u2019s second straight triple-header weekend kicks off with the SpeedyCash.com 250 on Friday night (8:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with a tight battle atop the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series standings and a history of dramatic Texas Motor Speedway endings.<\/p>\n

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Carson Hocevar, driver of the #42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 01, 2023 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Carson Hocevar led only the last lap in claiming last year\u2019s race with the evening\u2019s most dominant driver, Nick Sanchez finishing a frustrating 16th-place after being collected in a last lap wreck. Sanchez, driver of the No. 2 REV Racing Chevrolet had led 168 of the 172 laps and swept both stage wins.<\/p>\n

There are three former Texas race winners among the fulltime competitors this week \u2013 Stewart Friesen (2022), Ty Dillon (2013) and the only multi-time Texas winner on the grid, former three-time series champ Matt Crafton who won in Fort Worth in 2014 and \u201915.<\/p>\n

Kyle Busch and Johnny Sauter \u2013 both five-time Texas truck race winners \u2013 are also entered this week.<\/p>\n

ThorSport Racing\u2019s Ty Majeski arrives in Texas the championship points leader by seven-points over both TRICON Garage\u2019s Corey Heim and McAnally-Hilgemann\u2019s Tyler Ankrum. The season\u2019s only multi-time race winner, McAnally-Hilgemann\u2019s Christian Eckes \u2013 last week\u2019s Martinsville, Va. champ \u2013 is ranked fourth, a mere 11-points off the lead. Eckes\u2019 306 laps led this season is nearly three times that of the next closest mark \u2013 Majeski\u2019s 117 laps out front.<\/p>\n

Neither Majeski atop the championship nor Eckes, the winningest driver of the season, have celebrated in Texas Motor Speedway\u2019s iconic Victory Lane, but both have strong records on the 1.5-mile high banks. <\/p>\n

Majeski has two top-five finishes in three starts \u2013 finishing fifth and fourth in the last two races \u2013 although he has never led a lap at the Fort Worth track. Eckes has two runner-up finishes in four starts \u2013 leading 52 laps and finishing second in 2020 and leading 40 laps and finishing second in 2022.<\/p>\n

Rajah Caruth (Las Vegas) and Kyle Busch (Atlanta) are the season\u2019s previous 1.5-mile track race winners.<\/p>\n

Practice for the SpeedyCash.com 250 is Friday at 4:05 p.m. ET followed by Cometic Gasket Pole Qualifying at 4:35 p.m. ET \u2013 both televised live on FS1 before the race.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Holly Cain NASCAR Wire Service  Texas could be a great place for those looking for their first win this season Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron arrives in Fort Worth this weekend both the most recent NASCAR Cup Series winner \u2013 at Martinsville, Va. last week \u2013 and also the defending winner of Sunday\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43642,"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-45343","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\/2023\/09\/IMG_4289.jpg?fit=2000%2C1333&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-bNl","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45343","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45343"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45343\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45344,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45343\/revisions\/45344"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}