The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway to continue the playoffs Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, post-race show on Peacock).
This is the first race of the Round of 12. Tyler Reddick, who is three points above the cutline, is the defending winner.
Here is a look at the drivers to keep an eye on during the Sunday afternoon race at Texas.
FRONTRUNNERS
Kyle Larson
Points position: 4th
Best finish this season: 1st (Richmond I, Martinsville I, Darlington II)
Past at Texas: Two top-10 finishes in his past two starts with one win. He also won the 2021 All-Star Race at Texas. He has three DNFs in his past seven starts at the 1.5-mile track. Larson has the best average finish in this season’s playoffs (2.3) with one win.
Denny Hamlin
Points position: 3rd
Best finish this season: 1st (Kansas I, Pocono, Bristol)
Past at Texas: He has 32 career starts with 15 top-10 finishes, seven top fives, three wins and only one DNF. Hamlin has finished 11th or better in his past three Texas starts. He has an average finish of 9.3 in this season’s playoffs with one win (Bristol).
Kyle Busch
Points position: 6th
Best finish this season: 1st (Fontana, Talladega I, Gateway)
Past at Texas: Eighteen top-10 finishes, 14 top fives and four wins in his past 32 Texas starts. His streak of five top-10 finishes came to an end last season with a crash. This was his first career DNF at Texas. Busch has led 628 laps since 2012.
Ryan Blaney
Points position: 11th
Best finish this season: 1st (Charlotte)
Past at Texas: He has only finished worse than eighth once in his past nine starts at Texas. He finished 37th in spring 2019 due to a mechanical issue. No points-paying wins at Texas but won last season’s All-Star Race. Blaney finished fourth in the playoff race last season.
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
Chris Buescher
Points position: 5th
Best finish this season: 1st (Richmond II, Michigan, Daytona II)
Past at Texas: He has 13 career starts with a career-best finish of 15th, zero laps led and two DNFs. He is 10 points above the cutline entering the Round of 12 and needs a strong performance to keep himself in contention for a spot in the Round of 8.
Christopher Bell
Points position: 7th
Best finish this season: 1st (Bristol Dirt)
Past at Texas: He has four career starts at Texas with two third-place finishes and two finishes worse than 21st. These finishes mirror the inconsistency of Bell’s current campaign which includes five top-10 finishes and four finishes of 13th or worse in his past nine races.
Ross Chastain
Points position: 9th
Best finish this season: 1st (Nashville)
Past at Texas: He has made six career starts at Texas with a career-best finish of 13th in last season’s race. He has three top-10 finishes in the past 13 races of this season. Chastain enters the Round of 12 three points below the cutline.
Martin Truex Jr.
Points position: 1st
Best finish this season: 1st (Dover, Sonoma, New Hampshire)
Past at Texas: He has 17 top-10 finishes in 33 career starts at Texas with six DNFs. This includes the past two Cup races at the 1.5-mile track. A runner-up behind Kyle Busch in 2020 is his lone finish better than 25th in the past four races there.