2016 NASCAR Week 7 Preview: Texas

Duck Commander 500

Texas Motor Speedway

By Richard Tix

Well short track racing at Martinsville Speedway was fun as always. Lots of guys were on a roller coaster from start to finish and many of them fought back. Kyle Busch dominated the weekend and has looked to be as strong as he was to finish 2015 (five top 5's in six races).

So, can Kyle be stopped?

This week, time will tell as we go to Texas Motor Speedway. TMS will be NASCAR's first Saturday Night Race of 2016 and is bound to bring the excitement of racing under the lights. As if NASCAR hasn't had a hot enough start, a night trip to the Lone Star State should continue the roll even longer.

Lately TMS has produced some decent racing. The restarts have been a blast especially late in the race (see last Falls Chase race). Adding that into the new low downforce package on a Saturday night and the Duck Commander 500 is one you might not want to miss.

**This section is just a quick look at some of Cup drivers latest finishes. This is not a tool for fantasy purposes and NBTW only is looking at end results. No deep statistic's are involved, but rather it is just a quick way to get ready for the race and get caught up on who has finished well at each track**

The Good

• Jimmie Johnson- JJ is hands down the most dominate driver right now at Texas. In fact, he has the most wins, most top 5's (tied), and most top 10's in TMS history. He has five wins in his last seven races here.
• Kevin Harvick- Harvick has three staright top 3 finishes at Texas, but none resulted in wins. In fact, he has yet to win at Texas even after six top 10's in the last eight races. He has led a lap at Texas in all of his last four starts here (all with SHR).
• Brad Keselowski- BK is the second guy on this list that doesn't have a win at Texas, which is weird to say in the #NBTW "Good" category. However, both he and Harvick have been really good here lately and have just missed wins. BK has six top 10's in the last seven races including two runner up finishes.
• Extra Credit- Kyle Busch

The Middle

• Martin Truex Jr- Truex has had a ton of mixed results at Texas Motor Speedway. Last year he left with two top 10's, but the previous five finishes were 19th, 18th, 14th, 2nd, and 13th. Bit of unpredictability there. 

The Bad

• Kyle Larson- Larson does have two top 10 finishes at Texas, but his other three are finishes of 37th, 25th, and 23rd. He probably has the best chance of anyone on this list to finish in the top 5 this weekend.
• Austin Dillon- NASCAR's last trip here Dillon showed improvement finishing 11th, but his previous five only resulted in one top 20. He only has one race where he ran more then 50% of the race in the top 15 (last years 11th place finish) and only one other race where he was above 5% (49% in the 2014 second TMS race).
• Ryan Newman- Texas tends to be a track where big power comes into play, and lately RCR just hasn't had that. Leaving Newman with some sub par finishes (22nd, 12th, 15th, and 16th are his last four).

About the Track

Track Stats

• Jimmie Johnson has three straight wins and also five of the last seven.
• Only three drivers have won back to back times here (Jimmie Johnson 2014/15, Hamlin-Both 2010 and Edwards- Both 2008). JJ won three straight from 2014-2015 (two in 2015).
• Manufacturer wins- Ford: 12, Chevy: 12, Toyota: 3, and Dodge: 3. 30 total races.
• Race has been won from the pole 3 times in 30 races. Twice in the last seven races.
• Jeff Burton won the first Texas Motor Speedway race in 1997. He led 60 of 334 laps.
• Dale Jarrett won the first Texas Motor Speedway pole in 1997. He led 42 laps.
• Jeff Gordon is the only driver to run all 30 races at Texas.
• Of current drivers: Jimmie Johnson has the most wins (6). Carl Edwards has the second most (3).

Track Info

• Surface
• Asphalt
• Length
• 1.5 miles
• Banking
• Turns- 24 degrees

Texas Motor Speedway
Race	Date	Cars	Winner(s)	St	Make / Model
1997-06	4/6/1997	43	Jeff Burton	5	Ford
1998-07	4/5/1998	43	Mark Martin	7	Ford
1999-06	3/28/1999	43	Terry Labonte	4	Chevrolet
2000-07	4/2/2000	43	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	4	Chevrolet
2001-07	4/1/2001	43	Dale Jarrett	3	Ford
2002-07	4/8/2002	43	Matt Kenseth	31	Ford
2003-07	3/30/2003	43	Ryan Newman	3	Dodge
2004-07	4/4/2004	43	Elliott Sadler	19	Ford
2005-07	4/17/2005	43	Greg Biffle	5	Ford
2005-34	11/6/2005	43	Carl Edwards	30	Ford
2006-07	4/9/2006	43	Kasey Kahne	1	Dodge
2006-34	11/5/2006	43	Tony Stewart	8	Chevrolet
2007-07	4/15/2007	43	Jeff Burton	2	Chevrolet
2007-34	11/4/2007	43	Jimmie Johnson	8	Chevrolet
2008-07	4/6/2008	43	Carl Edwards	2	Ford
2008-34	11/2/2008	43	Carl Edwards	16	Ford
2009-07	4/5/2009	43	Jeff Gordon	2	Chevrolet
2009-34	11/8/2009	43	Kurt Busch	3	Dodge
2010-08	4/19/2010	43	Denny Hamlin	29	Toyota
2010-34	11/7/2010	43	Denny Hamlin	30	Toyota
2011-07	4/9/2011	43	Matt Kenseth	4	Ford
2011-34	11/6/2011	43	Tony Stewart	5	Chevrolet
2012-07	4/14/2012	43	Greg Biffle	3	Ford
2012-34	11/4/2012	43	Jimmie Johnson	1	Chevrolet
2013-07	4/13/2013	43	Kyle Busch	1	Toyota
2013-34	11/3/2013	43	Jimmie Johnson	3	Chevrolet
2014-07	4/7/2014	43	Joey Logano	10	Ford
2014-34	11/2/2014	43	Jimmie Johnson	3	Chevrolet
2015-07	4/11/2015	43	Jimmie Johnson	5	Chevrolet
2015-34	11/8/2015	43	Jimmie Johnson	8	Chevrolet

Weekend Articles

• Entry List
• TV Schedule
• Power Rankings

2016 NASCAR Texas Motor Speedway Entry List

Duck Commander 500

By Richard Tix

The official Texas Motor Speedway Entry List for the Duck Commander 500 (From: Jayski.com)

2016 Texas NASCAR Schedule: Duck Commander 500

Duck Commander 500

By Richard Tix

**All Times are Eastern Timezone (ET)**

Thursday April 7, 2016

• 4-5:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series practice- FS1
• 5:30-6:55 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice- FS1
• 7-7:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice- FS1

Friday April 8, 2016

• 2:45 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifyin- FS1
• 4:45 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying- FS1
• 6:30-7:50 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Series final practice- FS1
• 8:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 (200 laps)- FS1

Saturday April 9, 2016

• 7:30 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Duck Commander 500 (334 laps,)- FOX

2016 NASCAR Pit Road Week 6: Martinsville

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

STP 500

Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

By Richard Tix

NASCAR left the West Coast for a more "classic" NASCAR feel. Racing back at its "roots." Short track racing at NASCAR's oldest current track the way we started out. Bumping, banging, and no aero dependency.

All of these reason's are a part of why I wan't big on Martinsville's idea to sell tickets with the Matt Kenseth vs Joey Logano wreck fest of 2015. I think they could easily have marketed the race by taking a look back at older races year by year up until Jeff Gordon's final win. Snap shots of late passes, classic burn outs, and Jeff Gordon celebrating.

Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

It was a miss by Martinsville to not only touch on the "old school" NASCAR fans, but also show the "new" fans the tradition and classic NASCAR before there time. It was a way to mix in both markets and avoid using the black eye that was Kenseth vs Logano.

Now, it is not my job to sell tickets so Martinsville has every right to do what they see as fit, but I thought of all tracks they have the best one to market the old style with new excitement. Call me a hybrid fan (some old school with an understanding of new school), but that's just how I saw it.

As for the race, it was another good one in the 2016 season that has had a ton of them. The racing up front wasn't that exciting, but the fighting and jocking for position through the field was pretty good. The teammate rivalry between Austin Dillon and Paul Menard was an overview of what fan's got to see through the field. Tempers flared and emotions got the best of some guys. That is what short track racing in NASCAR is all about and why many (myself included) wish we had more short track stops on the schedule.


**2016 STP 500 Results**

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 6 (Week 5)

1. Kyle Busch (LW-3)- The top spot keeps changing hands weekly. KB picked up the win at Martinsville and now has five top 5 finishes in the first six races of 2016. Finish: 1st
2. Jimmie Johnson (LW-1)- Considering it's Martinsville we just left, Sunday was a bad day for JJ. He wasn't really a big time contender and finished as such. Finish: 9th
3. Carl Edwards (LW-4)- Another tough day for Carl that he and the team fought through and finished with a respectable run. This type of run has been happening too often for Carl, but they have made the best of it so far. Finish: 6th
4. Kevin Harvick (LW-3)- Good car all day, rough finish. The outside line at Martinsville is hard on anyone, let alone a week in which the Goodyear's weren't laying any rubber down. He fell off but it shouldn't take away from how well he ran most of the day. Finish: 17th
5. Brad Keselowski (LW-7)- Strong early. Penalty. Stuck mid pack. Then a run to the front. Just like Carl, Jr, and Denny, BK fought through a lot Sunday. In the end the No. 2 just didn't have short speed to contend with everyone so they gambled with four tires on the last stop. Finish: 5th
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-5)- Speaking of a long day and fighting through, Junior and team had one of the longest. He spun early and was stuck in traffic most of the day. However, he came up with a decent finish to save all the work they put in. Finish: 14th
7. Austin Dillon (LW-11)- AD and Paul Menard was some of the best action of the day. Not only was it good because they are teammates, but man were they driving each other hard. In the end both had great days and AD added to his impressive 2016 start. Finish: 4th
8. Joey Logano (LW-8)- Pole winner JoLo dropped early and dropped fast. Even later in the race he was still hanging in back to many fan's surprise. The team kept fighting and had a decent finish, but it should have been much better. Finish: 11th
9. Kurt Busch (LW-9)- Not a bad car, but not a winning car most of the day. It was Kurt's second non top 10 of the season after starting out with four straight top 10's. Finish: 13th
10. Denny Hamlin (LW-6)- Denny Hamlin had a fast car on Sunday but hurt himself first with a pit penalty and then coming in too hot on a corner and "wheel hopping." That corner put him in the wall and ruined fight back to the front. Finish: 39th
11. AJ Allmendinger (LW-NR)- It wasn't just the impressive run this past Sunday (though it was fun to watch him push to the front late), but he now has back to back top 10's. He is also 12th in the points and will have a good shot at the road courses again this season. Finish: 2nd
12. Martin Truex Jr (LW-10)- What's going on with the No. 78? Is it that the gray area they were trying to get through is catching up? Did they just lose it during that time? They started off like it was still 2015, but have struggled as of late. Finish: 18th

Dropped Out: Chase Elliott (12th)
Just Missed: Paul Menard and Kyle Larson