With six different Sprint Cup Series winners in the first six races for the season, the question now is, will there be a seventh different winner at Texas Motor Speedway?
Kurt Busch set a Chase for the Sprint Cup era record the moment he hit the finish line to close last Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway – six different winners in the first six races of the season. More amazing is that Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson – the top two winners in the 2013 season – are not among that group. Neither are marquee winners Kasey Kahne or Greg Biffle or Jeff Gordon or Denny Hamlin.
Many expect that list of different winners to grow and maybe as soon as this weekend. If that happens, here are a couple nuggets to keep in mind.
The last time there were seven different winners in the first seven races was 2003.
The record for different winners to start the season is ten, in 2000.
In neither of those seasons, were there more than 16 winners after 26 races. There were 13 different winners after 26 races in 2000, and 16 different winners after 26 races in 2003 – and the points leader at that time, Matt Kenseth, was indeed one of them.
So historically speaking, it’s a very safe assumption that the six different winners thus far are safely in the Chase after Richmond.
Who might join that list at Texas? Well, the names above all should contend.
Johnson dominated the last time the series raced at Texas – more on him later. Biffle is a two-time champion and has finished in the top-ten in ten of the last 11 races at Texas. Kenseth has two wins here – though both were while under the Roush Fenway umbrella – and finished fourth in last year’s Texas Chase race. Hamlin swept the 2010 races at Texas, but has finished in the top-ten only once in his last five starts – he missed last spring’s Texas race with a back injury.
Tony Stewart is an intriguing watch. Owner of two Texas wins, he looks to join teammates – and employees – Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick on the 2014 wins list, and eventually the Chase. Stewart has a pole starting position for Sunday’s race.
Now back to Jimmie Johnson – his statistics to open the 2014 season suggest he has won multiple races, is crushing everyone else in points, and maybe set a record for the earliest Chase for the Sprint Cup cinch in the history of the playoff system.
Factually, of course, none of that is true. He’s winless, fifth in points and far from a Chase berth. At least for now…
Expect Johnson’s luck to shift. Check out the numbers as he heads into the Duck Commander 500 this weekend. He leads the series in driver rating (115.6), average running position (8.7), laps led (493), fastest laps run (200) and is tied for the lead in top-five finishes with four. He has led more than 100 laps in the last two races – including 296 laps at Martinsville.
So, presumably, those types of numbers will lead to a victory sooner over later. Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway might be the time and place. In three of the last four races, Johnson has tallied triple-digit led figures – and has finished in the top-six in the last four races – two of those were wins.
Johnson has an average finish of 8.7 at Texas, second only to Matt Kenseth’s 8.3.
Brad Keselowski’s story is a tale-of-the-tape and made for Texas Motor Speedway, whose staff always capitalizes on drama.
Keselowski and Kurt Busch fired verbal daggers in each other’s direction after Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway and who knows, this grudge match might boil over into this weekend’s race at Texas.
Never shy about speaking their minds, these two drivers have compiled an all-star list of feuding dance partners. Keselowski has verbally sparred with the likes of Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch; Kurt Busch, whose career extends a tad further back, has had on- and off-track bouts with drivers, Jimmy Spencer, Ryan Newman and even current teammates Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart.
Interesting points though, are that both Keselowski and Busch back up their words with astounding success on the race track. Both are Sprint Cup Series champions – Busch in 2003 and Keselowski in 2012. And both are strong at Texas. Keselowski enters the weekend with three consecutive top-tens there, including a runner-up finish in 2012. Busch has a win at Texas – in 2009, while racing with Penske Racing.
And the Rookie battle continues with Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson neck and neck on top of the 2014 Rookie of the Year standings through six races. Larson holds a scant two-point edge over Dillon.
While Larson has been flashy and a contender for wins, Dillon has been consistent and relatively quiet since the Daytona 500 – and now finds himself in the top-ten in points.
Dillon is ninth in the Sprint Cup point standings as a result of his consistency. Despite Larson’s close runner-up finish at Auto Club Speedway, he is 19th in series points outside the Chase cutoff.
The opposite styles on the track have kept the Rookie of the Year points tight and Texas Motor Speedway could turn out as a turning point in the Rookie battle. Larson’s first Sprint Cup start at Texas came last fall, with a 36th-place finish three laps down. His stats from two Nationwide starts are not much better, with an average-finish of 20.5.
Though this will be Dillon’s first Sprint Cup start at Texas, he has four starts, and an average finish of 4.8 at the track in four Nationwide starts.
Each of the six 2014 Sprint Cup winners are former champions in either the Nationwide or Camping World Truck Series. Will the 2013 Nationwide champion, Austin Dillon become the seventh, and leave Texas with a new cowboy hat?
Roush Fenway Racing has owned Texas Motor Speedway since the track’s inaugural event in 1997. Jeff Burton won the first ever Sprint Cup Series race at Texas driving for Roush Fenway Racing.
As an organization across NASCAR’s three national series, Roush Fenway Racing has 18 wins, 74 top-fives and 3,478 laps led at Texas. Needless to say, Roush Fenway is a prime contender this weekend.
The driver of the No. 99, Carl Edwards is tied for the most Sprint Cup wins at Texas with three victories. Roush Fenway teammate Greg Biffle has two Sprint Cup wins and the third-best driver rating at the track over the past nine races. The third driver on the Roush Fenway lineup, Ricky Stenhouse Jr has shown he is ready to carry his Nationwide success over to the Sprint Cup level this year. Stenhouse has one win and 100 laps led at Texas in the Nationwide Series.
This Sunday’s race poses a perfect opportunity for Stenhouse to shake off some of the sophomore slump vibes that have plagued the 2013 Rookie of the Year. Stenhouse has finished 34th and 40th at Auto Club Speedway and Martinsville Speedway, respectively. Stenhouse wants to turn the tide at Texas this weekend.
Kyle Busch won the Coors Light Pole at Martinsville, making it six different pole winners in the first six races. That hasn’t happened since 1998. And now Tony Stewart has the pole for Sundays Duck Commander 500, making it seven different pole winners for the first seven races.
The Kyle Busch laps led milestone watch continues. He now stands at 9,960 career laps led, 40 away from becoming the 15th driver in NASCAR national series history to accomplish the feat. In 17 races at Texas Motor Speedway, Busch has led 40 or more laps five times.
Keep an eye to the weather conditions at Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday, with rain in the forecast, there’s the potential for a rain delayed race.