NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, AAA Texas 500 at Texas Preview

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams are racing 334 laps over 501 miles in the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, November 6th at 2 pm ET. Television coverage is on NBC with radio coverage available on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

 

What to Watch For: Jimmie Johnson goes for his fifth straight fall win at Texas as he attempts to tie NASCAR Hall of Famers Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty with a record seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

Drivers try to move into the top-four of a Chase Grid led by Johnson (clinched berth in Championship 4 with win at Martinsville), followed by Denny Hamlin (six points above Joey Logano on the cutoff line), Matt Kenseth (+6), Kyle Busch (+4), Joey Logano (-4), Kevin Harvick (-16), Kurt Busch (-18) and Carl Edwards (-32). 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

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

Jimmie Johnson’s Win at Martinsville Brings Talk of Seventh Title to Forefront

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Mr. Martinsville is back – and with him, a realistic shot at a record-tying NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

Winless at the 0.526-mile short track since the spring race of 2013, Jimmie Johnson ended his “drought” on Sunday with a victory in the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 and earned a berth in the Championship 4 race, set for Nov. 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

In winning for the ninth time at Martinsville, the fourth time this season and the 79th time in his career, Johnson didn’t take the lead until he passed Denny Hamlin for the top spot on lap 409 of 500. Continue reading

Hamlin Hopes to Lock Up Championship 4 Berth

Photo - Getty Images

Photo – Getty Images

Denny Hamlin’s championship aspirations came 0.006 seconds away from evaporating at Talladega last Sunday. Fortunately for the No. 11 Toyota driver, he beat Kurt Busch to the finish line by 0.006 seconds (approximately two feet) for a third-place result that earned him the final spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Round of 8 over Austin Dillon.

Now holding the same amount of points as the remaining eight Chase-eligible drivers, Hamlin is back at square one heading into Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at his hometown track – and also one of his best tracks – Martinsville Speedway at 1 pm ET on NBCSN. Continue reading