Texas Motor Speedway
500 miles. Nascar's first night race of the season was at Texas Motor Speedway and was 500 miles. That is one of my first thoughts after this race. I am not the only one who thinks this past Saturday's race should have been 400 miles not 500. The race was just drawn out throughout the night and would have been more exciting if it was 100 miles shorter.
Now on to the important stuff, the actual product on the track, or the stuff Denny Hamlin gets fined for talking about. The race didn't bring too much excitement on the night, but that happens at Texas when it gets drawn out with minimal cautions. Martin Truex Jr had one heck of a night. He has been on quite the win less streak (check out "We're Going Streaking) and it looked like Saturday night might be the night. A late caution came out for debris while Truex was leading and it was a race off pit road. That race resulted in Kyle Busch and his first pit box stall getting the win after a fast stop and Truex coming out second. On the restart Kyle pulled away like he had a few other times during the race and never looked back. If you are counting, that is another weekend sweep for Kyle, the second time he did that this season.
If you missed it, or need a refresher, check out the full race results here. Now lets just get into the Rising, Coasting, and Falling drivers after Nascar's trip to Fort Worth.
Rising, Coasting, and Falling Drivers after Texas Motor Speedway (The NRA didn't pay me to use their name in this article, sorry guys).
Rising:
- Martin Truex Jr- Now, Truex had his car fail a post race inspection, which I am sure we will hear more about on Tuesday, but that will not take my opinion away about the fact that he had a great race. He came away from Texas 2nd after leading 142 laps and having a great shot of breaking his win less streak. Maybe this will get him fired up to get the win this year?
- Kyle Busch- Its hard to say his stock can rise any more, but a win and a weekend sweep will get you on this list anyways. He led the most laps on the night and really couldn't be touched after his pit crew got him back out in first after a late race restart. Also, he now notched his second win on the season after JJ did so last week at Martinsville
- Carl Edwards- What a ride of emotions for fans of back flip Carl. Almost the whole race it seemed like Carl was having some kind of engine problem. This problem looked like it would get in his way of a quality finish, but then the race had 22 laps left and he was in the top 5. Carl ended his long day with a hard earned 3rd.
- Honorable Mention: Ryan Newman, Aric Almirola, and Brian Vickers
- Kasey Kahne- This is the kind of finish that keeps you in a title chase. Kahne did not have a great day, a few times he was seen slipping farther back. At the end of the race he finished up 11th which is his worst finish in the last 5 races.
- Matt Kenseth- See Kasey Kahne. He fought on the day to finish 12th and keep a good run towards a Chase spot going. He still sits in 11th place in points but has been very strong this year.
- Honorable Mention- Kevin Harvick (Always seems to be in this spot this year, that's three 13th place finishes in a row. Good or Bad luck??) and Clint Bowyer.
- Juan Pablo Montoya- JPM had a good spot to start on Saturday, but never seemed to figure out the car when it mattered. Sadly, the 20th place finish was his best in 4 races but he started top 10. The previous three starts were 14th, 12th, and 17th. JPM can find a decent starting position but cant seem to race to the front.
- Tony Stewart- Well, another race, and another sighting of Smoke on the Falling list. I'm not sure how much farther he can fall but he will find himself on this list each week if he can not figure out what to do. Each week it is less likely he will find his way out of the hole, so he better get it going soon.
- Dishonorable Mention: Dale Earnhardt Jr, Casey Mears, and Kurt Busch.
- Kyle Busch (LW-2)- Up to 3rd in the season standings and notching his 2nd win of the season Kyle is the hottest driver right now hands down. In his last 5 he has finished in the top 5 each time. Also note, he hasn't qualified higher then 13th all year (only 2 times has he qualified higher then 4th in 7 races).
- Jimmie Johnson (LW-1)- JJ had a tough day at Texas. At the end of the race he just didn't have the car figured out which is unlike the #48 team. JJ still managed a 6th place finish which is a tribute to that team and driver.
- Brad Keselowski (LW- 4)- Well BK was heated after the race. Last week's pit stall incident and now this week feeling like the Penske team is being "targeted." BK and Logano had rear housings taken from them and had to scramble to replace them. BK then scrambled from a harsh start of the night to a 9th place finish. He is still 2nd in points, but news will come out around Tue about potential penalties.
- Kasey Kahne (LW-3)- Not the best day for Kahne and yet he finished 11th. That is the kind of fight needed in a Championship run.
- Greg Biffle (LW-6)- Biffle had a long night in the middle of the pack, but as the race closed down Biffle dialed it in and made a run to the front. Too bad it was too late, Biffle still finished 4th.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-5)- Jr hit a speed bump after Martinsville and how did he handle it? Well with more bad luck. A rough day after a low battery and bad pit call left Jr behind picking up the pieces and getting all he could out of it. Jr finished 29th and could use a strong finish next week at Kansas.
- Carl Edwards (LW-9)- Who sits 5th in points? Most fans wouldn't answer Carl Edwards. He has been quiet ever since his streak breaking win at Phoenix. Since then he has 3 top 5's and his lowest finish was 18th at Bristol. Carl had a long day at Texas yet finished Saturdays race in 3rd place.
- Matt Kenseth (LW-8)- Kenseth had a strong run at Martinsville considering he never runs well there, this week he salvaged a 12th place finish on a mediocre night. This kind of finish maybe the thing he needs down the stretch if he wants to make a run.
- Clint Bowyer (LW-7)- Flipping spots with Kenseth and losing ground on Carl, Bowyer still makes the rankings. Bowyer had a slip up at Texas and finished 15th. Bowyer is still 8th in the standings but has had troubles with consistency early on.
- Joey Logano (LW-NR)- Logano is the lone new driver to the rankings this week, this coming after dropping out last week after Martinsville. JoLo started the night at the back of the field and fought his way to the front. JoLo sitting 9th in points, finished with his second top 5 of the season on Saturday (5th).
Just Missed: Kevin Harvick (Just can not get over the hump), Jamie McMurray, and Brian Vickers
Look back at the Texas Preview: Here
Tweets of the Week, get'em Here
Top 15 for the Driver Spotlight driver, Mark Martin. Check out last weeks article: Here
Let's get ready for a Sunday race at Kansas!
**Edit: Brad Keselowski has not been penalized for his post race comments after Texas. More to come about rear housing that was taken from the #2 and #22. Also, Truex assesed a 6 point deduction for failing post race inspection.**
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