Mash The Gas: Texas Preview

Joey Logano was the last-lap victor at Texas Motor Speedway in the 2014 Duck Commander 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, can he do it again Saturday night? [Getty Images for NASCAR]

By Dan Margetta and John Wiedemann

After the Easter break, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is back at it under the lights on Saturday night as the Texas Motor Speedway hosts the Duck Commander 500.

The Texas circuit is another of the 1.5 mile ovals that make up a majority of the schedule and drivers who have performed well on similar tracks this season should also run well here.

It’s the first night race of the season and here are some drivers to watch as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to action in Texas…

Matt Kenseth (Dan Margetta)
This weekend seems to have a Matt Kenseth kind of feel to it as the series heads to one of his favorite tracks. Kenseth owns the best driver rating and his 8.9 average finishing position is tops in the garage as well. So far in 2015, Kenseth and the #20 team have found the raw speed that was lacking a year ago and while they have yet to find victory lane, they have had several strong runs. That could change Saturday night as Kenseth, who enters this weekend at 10-1 odds to win, tends to shine at Texas and is a strong candidate to end his long winless streak.

Kevin Harvick (John Wiedemann)
After the “top two” streak breaking race at Martinsville, Kevin Harvick is set to start a new streak where the last one started, Texas Motor Speedway. Last season, Harvick lost an engine just after taking the lead 26 laps into the race. Even with that 42nd place finish, Harvick’s stats are still pretty darn good at Texas. In the last ten races at the track, Harvick has six top tens, including a second place finish in last year’s fall race. Over the last nine Sprint Cup Series races, Harvick is perfect with nine top ten runs. I look for him to finish in victory lane on Saturday, keeping his top ten streak very much alive.

Jimmie Johnson (DM)
Jimmie Johnson won in Atlanta earlier this year and his 6-1 odds for Texas show he is considered a favorite. Throw in that he has won three of the last five races held here and again he would be many people’s pick to win again. However since the Atlanta victory, the #48 team has struggled a bit and the testy radio exchanges between driver and crew chief during the last race at Martinsville, a place where they literally own the stat book, have some questioning the communication. Fiery radio traffic between Johnson and Chad Knaus are nothing new but Texas would be a good place to remind everyone the #48 team is a force to be reckoned with.

Joey Logano (JW)
This race is the perfect place for Joey Logano to pick up his second win of the season. The defending champion of the Duck Commander 500, Logano led the most of the last half of the race last season but had to make a last lap pass of Jeff Gordon in overtime racing to grab the victory. Logano’s fast Penske Ford should again be at the front of the pack. Logano’s #22 has been one of the best at mile and a half tracks and should be again on Saturday night. What to watch for could be a spirited battle between Logano and Kevin Harvick. That would make for must see TV.

Kurt Busch (DM)
Kurt Busch didn’t compete on the other 1.5 mile tracks this season due to his suspension but he enters the Texas weekend listed as a 6-1 favorite. That’s mostly because Busch and the #41 team appear to be one of the few that can match the dominant Kevin Harvick over the last few weeks. Busch’s record at Texas doesn’t really stand out but based on this team’s performance since Busch’s return, it appears he and crew chief Tony Gibson have really clicked, making them a contender for the win wherever they go.

Carl Edwards (JW)
The former Roush-Fenway Racing driver has had much success in the past at Texas Motor Speedway. Now it is time to see if he can bring back those finishes with his new Joe Gibbs Racing team. The three time Texas winner needs a boost as he currently is tied for sixteenth in the standings with no wins yet this year. Joe Gibbs drivers led at both mile and a half races this season and Edwards ran well in both, well before wrecking Kasey Kahne at Las Vegas he was running well. Watching how Edwards and JGR teammates run this weekend will be a good sign to see where they are headed for the rest of the season. Running well and having the speed to compete for the victory at Texas will mean they are ready to compete for a championship. If they struggle, it will be a long season of playing catch up.

Roush-Fenway Racing (DM)
It’s no secret the Roush-Fenway team has not performed to the standards we are used to seeing from the organization. All season long, we’ve been told to wait until Texas when their upgraded equipment would hit the track for the first time. Well, we are at Texas and it’s time to see if they have really righted the ship and turned the tide. Their drivers have astronomical odds this week with Greg Biffle coming in at 75-1 despite being among the top rated drivers at Texas and Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. both listed as 500-1 longshots. While a victory is not imperative, this is a performance based sport and one of these drivers needs to spend some time near the front of the field Saturday night to provide a light at the end of the tunnel and show some improvement.

Martin Truex Jr. (JW)
While he shouldn’t be considered a long shot based on how well he has run this season, it would be a huge break through to see Martin Truex Jr. firing six guns in victory lane at Texas. Truex had a forgettable season last year and has been doing a lot of putting those results in the past. Every single event on the schedule has seen Truex finish in the top ten so far in 2015. Truex has led laps in four out of six points paying races and had his best finish of second at Las Vegas, another mile and a half track. Already with more top ten finishes than last season, Truex should continue that success Saturday and could just find his way to victory lane.

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