4/11/2013
Jim Fitzgerald
“The future is like a
corridor into which we can see only by the light coming from behind.”
–Edward Weyer, Jr.
They say that everything is bigger in the Great State of
Texas, and among the list of “everything,” you would have to include the
anticipation for the upcoming race at Texas Motor Speedway. We go back under the lights this Saturday for
the first time since the Sprint Unlimited at Daytona in February, so we’ll have
our first full field night race with the Generation Six car. Let’s look at the track specs!
The Track:
Location: Dallas/Ft.Worth,
Texas
Length: 1.5 Mile Quad Oval
Banking: 24 degrees in turns 1-2; 24 degrees in turns
3-4; 5 degrees on the backstretch, 5 degrees on the front
Pit Road Speed:45 MPH
The Race:
334 Laps/ 501 Miles
Defending Champion: Greg Biffle, 160.577 MPH
Most recent winner: Jimmie Johnson, 136.117 MPH
Track Record: Greg Biffle, 160.577 MPH- April, 2012
Race Record: Greg Biffle, 160.577 MPH- April 2012
Qualifying record: Brian Vickers, 196.235 MPH- November
2006
TV:FOX, 7:30 PM EST
The History:
April 11, 1995-Construction begins on the Texas Motor
Speedway.
April 5, 1997-Mark Martin wins the first NASCAR
sanctioned race at the facility.
April 6, 1997- Jeff Burton wins the first Cup series race
at Texas. Qualifying for this event was
cancelled due to weather issues.
April 29, 2001- A 600 mile event for the CART series was
to be held. More than 80% of the drivers
complained of dizziness during practice for the event. CART cancelled the race two hours before the
event was to begin.
2005-Texas is given a second annual NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series race.
2011-The spring race at Texas was moved to Saturday
night.
Carl Edwards leads all active drivers in wins with
three. Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Greg
Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Burton and Jimmie Johnson have two each, while seven
other driver have one win.
Four drivers have competed in all of the races held at
Texas. Jeff Burton,
Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin.
Enough of the rear view mirror. What can we see out of the front windshield?
The
Contenders:
Who do I think will have a shot to win at Texas?
Matt Kenseth: In order to
win a race you have to be in contention to win.
Kenseth leads all active drivers in top five finishes at Texas, and he
also leads all drivers in laps led at the 1.5 mile quad oval. In 21 starts, Kenseth has two wins, 12 top fives, and 15 top tens. He also has four finishes not on the lead lap
which bring his average finish at the track down to 8.3. Can he find the same results in a car not
built by Roush Fenway?
Greg Biffle: Biffle has
been quiet for most of this young season, but even the quietest dogs will still
get to barking if the conditions are right.
Biff has two wins, 7 top fives and 11 tops
tens to his credit at Texas, and he is also the race’s defending champion.
Jimmie
Johnson: Right now, you certainly cannot pick against him. He leads the series in wins so far this year
after putting a hurting on the rest of the field at Martinsville. Johnson’s record at Texas is just as good as
anyone else’s with two wins, 9 top fives and 14 top
tens.
Mark Martin: Martin only
has one win at Texas, and it was in 1998, but there are 6 top ten finishes in
his last ten races here, three of those in the top five. Martin will crawl back into his familiar No.
55 this week, and I expect all of the MWR cars to be fast on this track layout.
Carl Edwards: It may be
the House that Bruton Built, but it has been owned by
Jack Roush. Nine of the twenty-four
races that have been held here have been won by a Roush Fenway Ford, and three
of them have come from Carl Edwards.
Edwards has already seen resurgence this season, grabbing a win at
Phoenix after a long dry spell. Texas
would be the perfect place to keep the winning going for both Edwards and his
car owner.
DARK HORSE
PICK-Kurt Busch: Busch is still working out the kinks getting into the
No. 78 Furniture Row ride, but that doesn’t mean an old dog needs to learn new
tricks. Busch won at Texas in 2009, and
also finished in eighth place in his first run with Furniture Row here in the
fall of 2012.
There are my picks for this week at Texas, but let’s look
back and see how I did with my Martinsville picks.
Jimmie
Johnson: I can’t say I’m surprised or should be given much credit
for this. It was Johnson. It was Martinsville. It was the win.
Mark Martin: Surprisingly not a factor for much of the
day. Finished in 10th.
Ryan Newman: A late
penalty killed any chance Newman had, and he finished 31st.
Tony Stewart: Not a great
day for the three time Martinsville winner, and he finished 17th.
Jeff Gordon: Though Gordon never led, he was able to drive
back up through the field after a pit road error, and piloted his car to a
third place finish.
Dark Horse
Pick: Jeff Burton: Finished 18th.
This week, my numbers are a win, two top fives, three top tens, and a 17th,
18th, and 31st.
Rough. At least I got a win.
Race Pro Picks!
Before we get to the Texas picks, let’s back it up and see
how our pros did at Martinsville.
Player |
Selection |
Race Pts |
Previous Pts |
Total Pts |
Wins |
DNFs |
Alabama |
24 |
41 |
191 |
232 |
0 |
0 |
Mr. Seven |
1 |
37 |
149 |
186 |
0 |
0 |
PattyKay |
2 |
38 |
147 |
185 |
0 |
0 |
Jim |
39 |
13 |
167 |
180 |
0 |
1 |
Brian |
48 |
48 |
125 |
173 |
1 |
1 |
Nate |
11 |
34 |
118 |
152 |
0 |
1 |
Wow, one of us finally got a win! Here are our picks for the NRA 500 at Texas,
at 7:30 PM on FOX:
PattyKay: And here we are at Texas.
When Bruton built this thing, rumor had it that he
built it solely for Jack Roush, and it seemed that nothing but a Ford could win
on her high banks. With that said, my Mom didn't raise a fool in this child.
When I see that Johnson/Knaus train get on track as
they did last week, I'm going to ride that baby until it derails. I'm riding
the Jimmie Johnson Express this week. The only other guy I see as worthy
competition is Matt the Brat Kenseth, and my jury is
still out on whether he can do in a Toyota what he did in a Roush Ford. Cousin
Carl and Da Biff might be in the mix, but I'm betting when they get to the
checkers, it's the #48 haulin' the freight!
Brian: I have always thought of Texas as a
Roush track, but this season it seems to me, to be more about the driver and
less about the car set up....maybe the Generation 6 has finally equaled the
field....nah, I doubt it, it's still all about money, and it doesn't matter
where Matt Kenseth drives, he runs up front in Texas. I like Biffle, I even
like Harvick, the cry-baby of the series, but I see me shopping at Dollar
General this week, stocking up on useless stuff to throw at the screen during
this week's race. Matt Kenseth to the Winner's Circle.
Nate: Carl Edwards. Three wins, five top fives
and seven top tens, and has led almost 500 laps
here. Roush has owned this track, and
now that Edwards has Kenseth’s old pit crew and probably Kenseth’s old
equipment, I think he’ll take over Kenseth’s results of five consecutive top fives in the last five races here, and he will be the force
to be reckoned with this weekend. Carl Edwards to win…‘Nuff said.
Mr. Seven: My
pick of Jamie McMurray last week was genius!
Wait until you see who I pick this week!
I guess I’m actually kind of curious about that myself.
(Editors Note: Mr. Seven will be given credit for the points
of the seventh place finishing driver each week.)
Alabama: I'm still dizzy! I looked at many drivers and wound up
with a pool of 13 different drivers. 13! Any one of them could pull this off.
The Generation 6 was considered as a factor here. When I'd finished my
figuring, in my point system, the top 3 were: 48, 20, and 88, with the 5 and
the 2 thrown in as spoilers (due to a variable I threw in at the last minute...which
only clouded up the picture more, but...). The 99 is impressive with his three
wins here and was a serious contender for a long time. However, the 48 and the
20 finished in a DEAD HEAT on the top of my system. They seem to own this
track. Roush Racing has 9 wins here if I counted correctly, but "JJ"
has done extremely well here, as well. They both have only one DNF at Texas,
but Matt had his in his very first race here, and won this race as recently as
two years ago. This was really a tough one, but the deciding factor was: I like
Matt better.
Jim: At first I was surprised, even at myself, that no one
picked or even mentioned defending Cup Series Champion Brad Keselowski. He did finish second in the fall race last
season to Jimmie Johnson and led 75 laps in the process. However I’m not sure I’m ready to let the dogs
out on that pick as every other finish by BK here has been abysmal or slightly
better, and he shows an average finish 22.7.
Pass. Instead, I think I am going
to go with someone else everyone has overlooked, and that is Clint Bowyer. Seven of his last ten starts at Texas have
resulted in top ten finishes. I’m taking
Clint Bowyer for my pick this week.
So, there are my challengers and our pro picks for the NRA
500 at Texas. Someone is going to walk
away with two six-shooters and a trophy made of spurred boots. Is it one of our picks? One of your favorites? You’re going to have to wait until Saturday
night to find out!
“I’ve got spurs, that jingle jangle jingle…”
-Gene Autry
Remember to follow me on Twitter @Forewasabi Sometimes I give stuff away.