NASCAR Kevin Harvick

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NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Preview

OReillyChallenge_2011

NASCAR XFINITY Series teams are racing 300 miles over 200 laps in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, November 5th at 3:30 pm ET. Television coverage is on NBC with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

 

What to Watch For: Texas marks the penultimate race of the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase Round of 8. Elliott Sadler (12 points above Erik Jones on the cutoff line) leads the Chase Grid, followed by Daniel Suarez (+12), Blake Koch (+5), Justin Allgaier (0, currently holds tiebreaker over Erik Jones), Erik Jones (0), Ryan Reed (-2), Brendan Gaughan (-17) and Darrell Wallace Jr. (-18).

The Round of 8 drivers’ career average finishes at Texas: Erik Jones (2.3), Elliott Sadler (12.1), Justin Allgaier (12.5), Daniel Suarez (13.3), Darrell Wallace Jr. (13.3), Ryan Reed (16.2), Brendan Gaughan (19.4) and Blake Koch (31.5). Jones is the lone Chase contender who has won at Texas Motor Speedway (2015). Continue reading

Austin Dillon Edges Hard-Luck Joey Logano for Texas Pole

 

Austin Dillon, driver of the #3 Realtree/Bad Boy Chevrolet, poses with the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying for the pole position during Salute to Veterans Qualifying Fueled by Texas Lottery for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 4, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo - Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Austin Dillon, driver of the #3 Realtree/Bad Boy Chevrolet, poses with the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying for the pole position during Salute to Veterans Qualifying Fueled by Texas Lottery for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 4, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Just because Austin Dillon is no longer in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, that doesn’t mean the driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet has forgotten how to go fast.

Dillon sped around 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway in 28.081 seconds (192.301 mph) in the final round of Friday’s knockout qualifying session to earn the pole for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at 2 pm ET on NBC, the second race in the Chase’s Round of 8. Continue reading

Edwards Finds Bright Spot in Challenging Position

Carl Edwards, driver of the #19 Sport Clips Toyota, practices for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 4, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo - Robert Laberge/Getty Images
Carl Edwards, driver of the #19 Sport Clips Toyota, practices for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 4, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo – Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Count on Carl Edwards to find the silver lining in last Sunday’s hard crash at Martinsville.

The wreck left Edwards last in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings, 32 points behind Joe Gibbs Racing teammate in fourth place.

Realistically, Edwards must win either on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway or the following week at Phoenix to preserve a shot at the Sprint Cup championship. But Edwards found a source of optimism—namely the two tracks that chose out the Chase’s Round of 8. Continue reading

Kevin Harvick Stumbles in Martinsville

Photo - Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
Photo – Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

Like the first two rounds in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick likely finds himself in a must win position to send him into the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in three weeks.

Harvick’s No. 4 Chevrolet was never a factor in Sunday’s Goody’s 500 at Martinsville Speedway, in fact, none of the Stewart-Haas Racing cars were. Harvick led the SHR brigade with a 20th place finish, while teammate and fellow Chase Kurt Busch were 22nd followed by Danica Patrick 24th and co-owner Tony Stewart 26th. Continue reading