The Cup Series makes its only appearance this season at Texas Motor Speedway today.
Kyle Larson will lead the field to the green flag after winning his third consecutive pole this season. His qualifying lap was 190.369 mph — the fastest pole lap at a 1.5-mile trace in the Next Gen car.
Here are three things to watch in Sunday’s race (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1)
Treacherous track
Former Cup champions Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson each hit the wall in practice Saturday morning.
Grip is key at Texas with speeds close to 190 mph. If a driver gets out of the groove, the traction goes away quickly and the car will head toward the wall. Sketchy is a word that often is used to describe this track.
In five of its last six Cup races, there have been at least seven cars that failed to finish.
Ten cars were eliminated in last fall’s playoff race due to damage from an accident. Among those who were eliminated in that race because of such damage were Busch, Ryan Blaney, Ty Gibbs and Kyle Larson, who led 99 laps in that race.
Hendrick vs. Gibbs
William Byron’s victory last weekend at Martinsville continued the dominance of Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing. Those two organizations have combined to win seven of the season’s eight races — including the last six in a row.
Hendrick Motorsports has won four of the season’s first eight races. Joe Gibbs Racing has won three of the season’s first eight races. The only race not won by either organization this year was Atlanta. Daniel Suarez won that race for Trackhouse Racing.
Four of the first six starters in today’s race at Texas are with Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing. Kyle Larson (Hendrick) starts on the pole and is joined on the front row by Ty Gibbs (JGR). Christopher Bell (JGR) starts third. Byron (Hendrick) starts sixth.
A new winner?
Two drivers have combined to win the last four Cup races — William Byron and Denny Hamlin. Byron won at Circuit of the Americas and Martinsville. Hamlin has won at Bristol and Richmond. The last time someone other than those two won was a month ago when Christopher Bell won at Phoenix.
Only five drivers have won in the first eight races of the season. Among those seeking their first win of the season are: Martin Truex Jr. (second in points), reigning Cup champion Ryan Blaney (fifth), Chase Elliott (sixth), Ty Gibbs (seventh), Ross Chastain (eighth), Tyler Reddick (ninth) and Alex Bowman (10th).
