Driver Averages | Laps Led Leaders | Driver Ratings | Past Winners
Detailed driver notes and statistics to help set your fantasy racing lineup for Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Who’s HOT at Texas Motor Speedway
- Kevin Harvick, who won last fall, has the best average finish (2.5) in the two races since the track was repaved, which included re-profiling of Turns 1 and 2.
- Jimmie Johnson has won six of the last 11 races at Texas, including this event last year. However, he’s yet to finish in the top 10 in the last five races at 1.5-mile tracks.
- Martin Truex Jr. has finished in the top 10 in his last six starts and combined to lead 156 laps in both races last year.
- Chase Elliott has finished ninth or better in his four starts.
- Joey Logano has the best average finish (3.8) in the last four races
- Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney posted respective average finishes of 5.5 and 9.0 in the two races last season. Blaney also led a race-high 148 laps in this event year and earned the most stage points at TMS in 2017.
- Kyle Busch finished in the top five in five straight starts, including a win in this event in 2016, up until Texas was repaved. He also finished second at Las Vegas last month for the first of four straight top-three finishes in 2018.
Keep an Eye On at Texas Motor Speedway
- Kyle Larson (6.0), Erik Jones (9.5), Denny Hamlin (10.5) and Clint Bowyer (10.5) each rank in the top 10 in average finish in the two races at 1.5-mile tracks this season. Larson ranked third in stage points earned at TMS in 2017.
- Kurt Busch (9.5), Jamie McMurray (12.5) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (13.0) each rank in the top 10 in the two races since Texas was repaved.
- Aric Almirola (finished 10th at Las Vegas), Blaney, Elliott and Truex Jr. participated in the Goodyear tire test at Texas in January. This year’s tire combination will feature a new left-side tire.
- Paul Menard finished ninth at Las Vegas for his first top 10 at a 1.5-mile track this season with the Wood Brothers.
*Best Average Finish at Texas
| Last # of Races | Driver | Average Finish |
| Two Races | Kevin Harvick | 2.5 |
| Four Races | Joey Logano | 3.8 |
| Six Races | Kevin Harvick | 4.3 |
| Eight Races | Brad Keselowski | 8.5 |
| Ten Races | Jimmie Johnson | 7.8 |
* – The best average finish is based off a driver entered in the race who has competed in every race during that time span.
Laps Led Leaders at Texas
| Last # of Races | Driver | Laps Led |
| Two Races | Martin Truex Jr. | 156 |
| Four Races | Martin Truex Jr. | 363 |
| Six Races | Martin Truex Jr. | 364 |
| Eight Races | Brad Keselowski | 450 |
| Ten Races | Jimmie Johnson | 598 |
Click Here to view all laps led leaders at Texas Motor Speedway over the past 10 races.
Texas Loop Data Stat Leaders (2005-2017, 26 Races)
| Average Running Pos. | Laps in Top 15 |
| 1. Chase Elliott – 9.7 | 1. Jimmie Johnson – 6,553 |
| 2. Jimmie Johnson – 10.9 | 2. Kevin Harvick – 5,964 |
| 3. Kyle Busch – 11.4 | 3. Martin Truex Jr. – 5,845 |
| 4. Martin Truex Jr. – 11.7 | 4. Kyle Busch – 5,701 |
| 5. Kevin Harvick – 12.9 | 5. Kasey Kahne – 5,387 |
| Fastest Laps Run | Driver Rating |
| 1. Jimmie Johnson – 697 | 1. Jimmie Johnson – 105.5 |
| 2. Kyle Busch – 440 | 2. Kyle Busch – 100.5 |
| 3. Brad Keselowski – 319 | 3. Chase Elliott – 97.1 |
| 4. Martin Truex Jr. – 307 | 4. Martin Truex Jr. – 95.5 |
| 5. Kasey Kahne – 280 | 5. Kevin Harvick – 93.0 |
Top 10 Stage 1 &2 Points Earned at Texas (Spring and Fall Race)
| Driver | Points Earned |
| Ryan Blaney | 31 |
| Kevin Harvick | 30 |
| Kyle Larson | 29 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 26 |
| Jamie McMurray | 16 |
| Kurt Busch | 15 |
| Denny Hamlin | 13 |
| Chase Elliott | 12 |
| Brad Keselowski | 9 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 9 |
2017 Spring Texas Stage Finishes
| Stage 1 | Stage 2 |
| 1. Ryan Blaney | 1. Ryan Blaney |
| 2. Martin Truex Jr. | 2. Jimmie Johnson |
| 3. Jamie McMurray | 3. Jamie McMurray |
| 4. Kevin Harvick | 4. Kyle Larson |
| 5. Brad Keselowski | 5. Chase Elliott |
| 6. Kyle Larson | 6. Kurt Busch |
| 7. Clint Bowyer | 7. Kevin Harvick |
| 8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 8. Brad Keselowski |
| 9. Joey Logano | 9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| 10. Kyle Busch | 10. Martin Truex Jr. |
Rookie Report
Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates William Byron and Darrell Wallace Jr. each will be making their first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Texas Motor Speedway. Both have made multiple starts in the Xfinity Series at the 1.5-mile track with Wallace scoring the best finish (sixth) since the track was reconfigured and repaved. Byron, who leads the rookie standings by 11 points, won at Texas in the Camping World Truck Series in 2016. Byron finished ninth or better in his four combined starts in the NXS and NCWTS at Texas. Wallace led 51 laps in 2014 fall Truck race at Texas before an engine issue took him out of contention, snapping a streak of three straight top 10s at the track.
MRN.com Staff Picks
Jeff Wackerlin: Martin Truex Jr.
Pete Pistone: Kyle Busch
Robbie Mays: Kyle Busch
Tyler Burnett: Brad Keselowski
Driver Notes – Ordered by Average Finish (Top 15) in the Last Five Races at Texas
Kevin Harvick is the only driver that has finished in the top 10 in each of the last seven races at Texas Motor Speedway. He combined to lead 115 laps last season in the two races and won in the fall. Harvick, who has won the two races at 1.5-mile tracks this season, will return in the same chassis (No. 010) that he finished sixth with at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last year. His 2.5 average finish in the two races since Texas was repaved and reconfigured ranks first among all drivers. Along with Martin Truex Jr., Harvick is the only other driver that has finished in the top 10 in the last 11 races at 1.5-mile tracks dating back to this event last year.
Martin Truex Jr. has finished ninth or better in his last six starts at Texas Motor Speedway, including a second-place finish last fall after leading 107 laps. Truex has dominated the 1.5-mile tracks since the start of the 2017 season, posting seven wins and an average finish of 2.8 in the 13 races. He finished in the top five at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway this season. Texas is one of two 1.5-mile tracks Truex has yet to win at. His 5.0 average finish in the two races since Texas was repaved and reconfigured is tied for second best among all drivers. Truex did participate in the Goodyear tire test in January at Texas.
Chase Elliott has finished in the top 10 in all four of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway. Elliott finished 34th in the last race at a 1.5-mile track (Las Vegas Motor Speedway) after Kurt Busch crashed into him. The finish snapped Elliott’s streak of seven straight top 10s at 1.5-mile tracks. Elliott did participate in the Goodyear tire test in January at Texas.
Kyle Busch finished 15th and 19tnh, respectively, last season at Texas Motor Speedway to snap a streak of five consecutive top fives that includes a win in this event in 2016. Busch, who also won the 2013 spring race, has finished in the top 10 in the last three races at 1.5-mile tracks, including two runner-up finishes.
Jimmie Johnson scored his seventh win at Texas Motor Speedway in this event last season. His 18 laps led in that event was his most since leading 128 in the 2015 spring race. Johnson struggled last fall at Texas, posting his worst finish (27th) in the last 16 races at Texas. Johnson finished 12th in his last outing at a 1.5-mile track (Las Vegas Motor Speedway) with the new Camaro ZL1.
Brad Keselowski finished sixth and fifth, respectively, last season at Texas Motor Speedway. Keselowski has two runner-up finishes at Texas, including the 2015 fall race where he led 312 laps from the pole. Keselowski’s 5.5 average finish in the two races since Texas was repaved and reconfigured ranks fourth among all drivers.
Kurt Busch finished in the top 10 in both races last season to give him a 9.5 average finish since Texas Motor Speedway was repaved and reconfigured. Busch has two poles and five top 10s in his eight track starts with Stewart-Haas Racing. He won the 2009 fall race with Team Penske. Busch led 52 laps and finished eighth in the first race at a 1.5-mile track (Atlanta Motor Speedway) in 2018, but crashed out of the second at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Joey Logano has the best average finish (3.8) in the last four races at Texas Motor Speedway. He led 38 laps and finished third in this event last season. Logano, who won this race in 2014, has finished seventh or better in the last four races at 1.5-mile tracks dating back to the 2017 fall race at Texas.
Jamie McMurray finished seventh in this event last year for his fourth top 10 in the last seven races at Texas Motor Speedway. McMurray has yet to finish in the top 10 in the last five races at 1.5-mile tracks, including a 27.5 average finish in the two races this season. Last year, McMurray ranked fifth in stage points earned at Texas.
Erik Jones is coming off his first top 10 at Texas Motor Speedway in three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts there. This season Jones has posted 9.5 average start and finish in the two races at 1.5-mile tracks.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has finished 16th or better in the last four races at Texas Motor Speedway with his best finish coming last fall, 12th. Stenhouse has yet to finish in the top 10 in the 13 races at 1.5-mile tracks dating back to the start of the 2017 season.
Daniel Suarez posted a 16.5 average finish in the two races last season at Texas Motor Speedway with his best finish coming in the fall, 14th. That finish is his best in the last five races at 1.5-mile tracks dating back to the 2017 Kansas fall race.
Kasey Kahne will be making his first start at Texas Motor Speedway with Leavine Family Racing. Kahne is coming off his best finish with LFR at a 1.5-mile track, 19th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Kahne won this event back in 2006 with Evernham Motorsports and finished 11th or better in seven of his last 10 starts at the track with Hendrick Motorsports.
Denny Hamlin led 65 laps and finished third last fall for his second top 10 in the last three races at Texas Motor Speedway. Hamlin finished 17th at the last race at a 1.5-mile track (Las Vegas Motor Speedway) to snap a streak of eight consecutive top 10s at an intermediate track dating back to the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Last year, Hamlin ranked seventh in stage points earned at Texas.
AJ Allmendinger scored his last of two top 10s at Texas Motor Speedway back in the 2011 fall race when he drove for Richard Petty Motorsports. He finished 16th last fall for his fifth top 20 in his eight starts with JTG Daugherty Racing. Allmendinger has not finished in the top 10 in the 13 races at 1.5-mile tracks dating back to the start of the 2017 season.
Be sure to watch the “Inside Line” fantasy racing show at MRN.com on Friday at 12 p.m. ET hosted by Tyler Burnett and Robbie Mays.
