NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Next Race: Duck Commander 500
The Place: Texas Motor Speedway
The Date: Saturday, April 11
The Time: 7:30 p.m. (ET)
TV: FOX, 7 p.m. (ET)
Radio: PRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90
Distance: 501 miles (334 laps)
Logano Looks To Lasso Texas Competition
Last spring, Joey Logano wrangled in the competition at Texas Motor Speedway and two-stepped into Victory Lane.
The 24-year-old Team Penske driver will attempt to repeat his spring Lone Star Statement, a feat no driver has ever accomplished, in Sunday’s Duck Commander 500.
After a breakout five-win season last year and a fourth-place final standings finish, Logano has picked up in 2015 right where he left off. In addition to his Daytona 500 win, the No. 22 Ford driver claims top-ten finishes in all six races and is tied with a series-best two Coors Light Pole Awards. Logano ranks second in the standings, trailing Kevin Harvick by 24 points.
In his last five Texas starts, Logano claims finishes of 12th, first, third, fifth and 11th.
And by the way, the record for consecutive top-tens to start a season is 11, by Morgan Shepherd in 1990.
Joe Gibbs Racing Aims To Build On Stellar Showing
Denny Hamlin’s win at Martinsville Speedway on March 29 gave Joe Gibbs Racing its first victory since May 4, 2014 at Talladega Superspeedway (also won by Hamlin).
The No. 11 FedEx Toyota driver’s performance led strong showings posted by the other three Joe Gibbs Racing competitors. Matt Kenseth finished fourth, while David Ragan placed fifth. Carl Edwards ran up front most of the race, logging a 7.5 average running position, but ultimately finished 17th following a late race spin.
Joe Gibbs Racing will try to continue their momentum Saturday at Texas where Edwards (three), Hamlin (two) and Kenseth (two) all have multiple wins to their credit.
Relive Denny Hamlin’s Martinsville run here.
Johnson Attempts To Rebound From Martinsville At Another Favorite Track
For the third consecutive week, Jimmie Johnson will travel to a track where he leads all active drivers in wins – Texas Motor Speedway. The six-time series champion has four victories at the 1.5-mile track.
Despite previous success at Martinsville – a track where he owns eight wins – Johnson struggled, finishing 35th.
He will attempt to rebound from that performance at Texas, a place he won last fall. In addition to his four victories, Johnson claims 11 top-fives, 17 top-tens, one Coors Light Pole Award and a series-high 889 laps at the 1.5-mile track. The No. 48 Chevrolet driver also claims the second-best driver rating (105.7) and the third-best average running position (10.9) at Texas.
Parity Reigns Supreme At Texas
Although Jimmie Johnson has won the last three fall Texas races, the spring race there has been a party of parity.
Fourteen different drivers have won in 18 Texas spring races, including ten active competitors: Joey Logano (2014), Kyle Busch (2013), Greg Biffle (2012, ’05), Matt Kenseth (2011, ’02), Denny Hamlin (2010), Jeff Gordon (2009), Carl Edwards (2008), Kasey Kahne (2006), Ryan Newman (2003) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2002).
Recent results at 1.5-mile tracks show that a new winner could join the group – Kevin Harvick or Brad Keselowski. In 13 races at 1.5-mile tracks since 2014, Harvick and Keselowski are with Johnson for the wins lead with three victories each.
Superstar(ter): Menard strong out of the gates again
Overused sports cliché No. 1:
“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”
Paul Menard understands it all too well.
For the last six years, Menard has been no lower than 14th in the points standings after the first six races, but has never finished higher than 16th (2012) or made the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
This season, the No. 27 Chevrolet driver is in a familiar position after six races – sixth. He claims a best finish of fourth at Auto Club and has placed better than 15th in four events.
He will attempt to continue his solid showings in Saturday’s Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, a track where he claims one top-five and three top-10 finishes in 17 starts.
Maybe this will be the year he stays consistent and embodies overused sports cliché No. 2:
“It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
Roush Revival?
The 2015 season has not been ideal for Roush Fenway Racing.
The storied organization has only one top-ten finish – Greg Biffle’s tenth-place showing at Daytona. A 12th-place finish by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at Phoenix was its next-best performance.
Roush Fenway Racing’s results show in the standings where its trio of Biffle, Stenhouse and Trevor Bayne rank 20th, 25th and 28th respectively.
But Roush teams feel they are now ready for a Texas turnaround.
The organization boasts a track-record nine victories at the Fort Worth oval, three more than Hendrick Motorsports. One of his best courses, Biffle claims two wins, eight top-fives (36.4%) and 13 top-tens (59.1%) in 22 starts at Texas.