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NASCAR - Sprint Cup - AAA Texas 500 Preview
From The Sports Network
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| DATE: Sunday, Nov. 4 |
| SITE: Texas Motor Speedway (1997) -- Fort Worth, Texas |
| TRACK: 1.5-mile oval - 2,250 feet (Frontstretch); 1,330 feet (Backstretch) |
| CAPACITY: 138,122 (Total Permanent Seating) |
| ANNUAL: 8th |
| TELEVISION: ESPN |
| ANNOUNCERS: Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett, Andy Petree |
| RADIO: Performance Racing Network (PRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio |
| START TIME: 3 p.m. ET/Green Flag: 3:16 p.m. ET |
| DEFENDING CHAMPION: Tony Stewart |
| RUNNER-UP: Carl Edwards |
| POLE WINNER: Greg Biffle (Finished fifth) |
| LAPS: 334 |
| MILES: 501 |
| QUALIFYING RECORD: Brian Vickers, 2006 (196.235 mph) |
| RACE RECORD: Greg Biffle, 2012 (160.577 mph) |
| TOTAL PURSE: $6,969,209 |
| PAYOUTS: 1st Place - $484,783; 2nd - $361,566; 3rd - $231,883 (2001 figures) |
| 2011 Finish |
| Finish | Driver | Start | Finish | Driver | Start |
| 1 | Tony Stewart | 5 | 6 | Jeff Gordon | 23 |
| 2 | Carl Edwards | 7 | 7 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | 6 |
| 3 | Kasey Kahne | 9 | 8 | Martin Truex Jr | 19 |
| 4 | Matt Kenseth | 3 | 9 | Clint Bowyer | 18 |
| 5 | Greg Biffle | 1 | 10 | A.J. Allmendinger | 26 |
| 2011 AAA Texas 500 Facts and Figures |
| AVERAGE SPEED: 152.705 m.p.h. |
| TIME OF RACE: 3 hours, 16 minutes, 51 seconds |
| MARGIN OF VICTORY: 1.092 seconds |
| CAUTION FLAGS: 5 for 21 laps |
| LEAD CHANGES: 23 among 10 drivers |
| POLE WINNER: Greg Biffle (193.736 mph) |
| Past AAA Texas 500 Winners (Starting Position) Car -- Speed |
| 2011 -- Tony Stewart (5th) -- Chevrolet -- 152.705 mph |
| 2010 -- Denny Hamlin (30th) -- Toyota -- 140.456 mph |
| 2009 -- Kurt Busch (3rd) -- Dodge -- 147.137 mph |
| 2008 -- Carl Edwards (16th) -- Ford -- 144.219 mph |
| 2007 -- Jimmie Johnson (8th) -- Chevrolet -- 131.219 mph |
| 2006 -- Tony Stewart (8th) -- Chevrolet -- 134.891 mph |
| 2005 -- Carl Edwards (30th) -- Ford -- 151.055 mph |
| Past AAA Texas 500 Pole Winners (Finish) |
| 2011 -- Greg Biffle -- 5th |
| 2010 -- Elliott Sadler -- 23rd |
| 2009 -- Jeff Gordon -- 13th |
| 2008 -- Jeff Gordon -- 2nd |
| 2007 -- Martin Truex Jr -- 3rd |
| 2006 -- Brian Vickers -- 27th |
| 2005 -- Ryan Newman -- 25th |
| Last Race Results |
| RACE: Tums Fast Relief 500 (Oct. 28) |
| SITE: Martinsville Speedway -- Martinsville, Va. |
| MILES: 263 |
| LAPS: 500 |
| WINNER: Jimmie Johnson |
| RUNNER-UP: Kyle Busch |
| THIRD: Kasey Kahne |
| FOURTH: Aric Almirola |
| FIFTH: Clint Bowyer |
| POLE WINNER: Jimmie Johnson (Finished first) |
| TIME OF RACE: 3 hours, 23 minutes, 9 seconds |
| AVERAGE SPEED: 77.677 mph |
| MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.479 second |
| CAUTION FLAGS: 11 for 64 laps |
| LEAD CHANGES: 22 among 9 drivers |
| LAP LEADERS: J. Johnson 1-47; T. Kvapil 48; J. Johnson 49-67; J. Gordon 68-98; |
| J. Johnson 99-106; J. Gordon 107-146; B. Vickers 147-164; D. |
| Hamlin 165-170; J. Johnson 171-182; C. Bowyer 183-200; J. Johnson |
| 201-204; J. Gordon 205-225; C. Bowyer 226-234; J. Johnson |
| 235-237; C. Bowyer 238-349; D. Hamlin 350-355; B. Vickers |
| 356-364; M. Kenseth 365; K. Kahne 366-377; C. Bowyer 378-392; J. |
| Johnson 393-477; B. Keselowski 478-485; J. Johnson 486-500. |
| AAA Texas 500 Entry List |
| Car | Driver, Hometown | Car/Name |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray (Joplin, MO) | Chevrolet/McDonald's |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski (Rochester Hills, MI) | Dodge/Miller Lite |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne (Enumclaw, WA) | Chevrolet/hendrickcars.com |
| 9 | Marcos Ambrose (Launceston, Australia) | Ford/Mac Tools |
| 10 | Danica Patrick (Roscoe, IL) | Chevrolet/GoDaddy.com |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin (Chesterfield, VA) | Toyota/FedEx Office |
| 13 | Casey Mears (Bakersfield, CA) | Ford/Geico |
| 14 * | Tony Stewart (Columbus, IN) | Chevrolet/Mobil 1/Office Depot |
| 15 | Clint Bowyer (Emporia, KS) | Toyota/5-Hour Energy |
| 16 | Greg Biffle (Vancouver, WA) | Ford/3M |
| 17 | Matt Kenseth (Cambridge, WI) | Ford/Roush Fenway Racing |
| 18 | Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, NV) | Toyota/Snickers |
| 19 | Mike Bliss (Milwaukie, OR) | Toyota/Plinker Tactical |
| 20 | Joey Logano (Middletown, CT) | Toyota/The Home Depot |
| 21 | Trevor Bayne (Knoxville, TN) | Ford/Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire |
| 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. (Defiance, OH) | Dodge/Shell/Pennzoil |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon (Vallejo, CA) | Chevrolet/Drive to End Hunger |
| 26 | Josh Wise (Riverside, CA) | Ford/MDS Transport |
| 27 | Paul Menard (Eau Claire, WI) | Chevrolet/Menards/Quaker State |
| 29 | Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield, CA) | Chevrolet/Rheem/Budweiser |
| 30 | David Stremme (South Bend, IN) | Toyota/Inception Motorsports |
| 31 | Jeff Burton (South Boston, VA) | Chevrolet/Caterpillar |
| 32 | Ken Schrader (Fenton, MO) | Ford/Federated Auto Parts |
| 33 | Stephen Leicht (Asheville, NC) | Chevrolet/TBA |
| 34 | David Ragan (Unadilla, GA) | Ford/Certainteed-31W |
| 36 | Dave Blaney (Hartford, OH) | Chevrolet/Tommy Baldwin Racing |
| 37 | J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, AZ) | Chevrolet/TBA |
| 38 | David Gilliland (Riverside, CA) | Ford/TBA |
| 39 | Ryan Newman (South Bend, IN) | Chevrolet/Quicken Loans |
| 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya (Bogota, Colombia) | Chevrolet/Huggies |
| 43 | Aric Almirola (Tampa, FL) | Ford/Farmland |
| 47 | Bobby Labonte (Corpus Christi, TX) | Toyota/Wounded Warrior Project |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon, CA) | Chevrolet/Lowe's |
| 51 | A.J. Allmendinger (Los Gatos, CA) | Chevrolet/Phoenix Construction |
| 55 | Mark Martin (Batesville, AR) | Toyota/Aaron's Dream Machine |
| 56 | Martin Truex Jr. (Mayetta, NJ) | Toyota/NAPA |
| 78 | Kurt Busch (Las Vegas, NV) | Chevrolet/Furniture Row |
| 79 | Kelly Bires (Mauston, WI) | Ford/United Supermarkets |
| 83 | Landon Cassill (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Toyota/Burger King |
| 87 | Joe Nemechek (Lakeland, FL) | Toyota/AM FM Energy Wood&Pellet |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Kannapolis, NC) | Chevrolet/Diet Mt. Dew/Nat Guard |
| 91 | Reed Sorenson (Peachtree City, GA) | Chevrolet/Plinker Tactical |
| 93 | Travis Kvapil (Janesville, WI) | Toyota/Dr. Pepper |
| 95 | Scott Speed (Manteca, CA) | Ford/TBA |
| 98 | Michael McDowell (Glendale, AZ) | Ford/Phil Parsons Racing |
| 99 | Carl Edwards (Columbia, MO) | Ford/Aflac |
| Leading Contenders (Finish last seven years) |
| Driver | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | | |
| Tony Stewart | 6th | Won | 11th | 16th | 6th | 11th | Won | | |
| Carl Edwards | Won | 15th | 26th | Won | 39th | 19th | 2nd | | |
| Kasey Kahne | 42nd | 33rd | 18th | 24th | 33rd | 13th | 3rd | | |
| Matt Kenseth | 3rd | 12th | 2nd | 9th | 3rd | 2nd | 4th | | |
| Greg Biffle | 20th | 35th | 33rd | 5th | 8th | 5th | 5th | | |
| Jeff Gordon | 14th | 9th | 7th | 2nd | 13th | 37th | 6th | | |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr | 8th | 6th | 14th | 20th | 25th | 25th | 7th | | |
| Martin Truex Jr | 15th | 14th | 3rd | 8th | 14th | 38th | 8th | | |
| Clint Bowyer | --- | 5th | 19th | 4th | 7th | 7th | 9th | | |
| Kevin Harvick | 16th | 3rd | 10th | 7th | 5th | 6th | 13th | | |
| Jimmie Johnson | 5th | 2nd | Won | 15th | 38th | 9th | 14th | | |
| Ryan Newman | 25th | 34th | 5th | 28th | 12th | 20th | 16th | | |
| Mark Martin | 2nd | 22nd | 34th | 12th | 4th | 3rd | 19th | | |
| Denny Hamlin | 7th | 10th | 29th | 17th | 2nd | Won | 20th | | |
| Brad Keselowski | --- | --- | --- | 19th | 35th | 33rd | 24th | | |
| Kyle Busch | 21st | 4th | 4th | 6th | 11th | 32nd | --- | | |
| Mover of the Week |
| Brad Keselowski - Started in the 32nd position and finished sixth |
| Sports Network Selections |
| Pick to Win - Jimmie Johnson |
| Dark horse - Matt Kenseth |
| Last Week's Pick to Win (Tony Stewart) - Finished 27th |
| Last Week's Darkhorse (Kyle Busch) - Finished second |
| NOTES: |
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Tony Stewart might be the defending race winner, but Jimmie Johnson is the
points leader heading into the final three races in the Chase for the Sprint
Cup Championship.
Johnson, who started on the pole, grabbed a two-point lead over Brad Keselowski
with his victory last week at Martinsville. With just 14 laps remaining,
Johnson took the lead and held on for his fourth win of the season and sixth
top-10 finish in the last seven races.
Although he finished 14th last year, Johnson has had great success in Texas,
posting a 9.2 average starting position and a 9.7 finish. In all, he has led
275 laps in 18 Texas starts with one win and 13 top-10 finishes. Johnson has
four top-10s in his last five starts in the Lone Star State, including a
runner-up finish this past April.
Last season, Stewart led 173 of 334 laps, but had to come from behind in the
closing laps to grab the win. Jeff Burton held the lead late in the race when
he opted not to pit during the final round of stops, but Burton ran out of fuel
with five laps to go, allowing Stewart to take the top spot for good.
Stewart has struggled in the Chase and stands 10th, 71 points behind Johnson.
Despite three wins and 15 top-10s this year, Stewart has only one top-10 in the
last five races to fall well back.
In 2010, Denny Hamlin grabbed the lead from Mark Martin with 29 laps remaining,
but an incident involving Patrick Carpentier set up a three-lap shootout to the
finish. After the restart, Matt Kenseth made a furious charge for the lead, but
Hamlin held Kenseth off at the finish by 0.5 seconds for his series-leading
eighth win of that season. He scored a season sweep at the fast 1.5-mile Texas
track. His win here in the spring of 2010 came nearly three weeks after he
underwent surgery for a torn ACL in his left knee. Despite the win, Hamlin
finished second to Johnson in the Sprint Cup chase.
Kurt Busch conserved enough fuel to win at TMS in 2009. Busch inherited the
lead when his younger brother, Kyle, ran out of fuel with less than three laps
remaining. Kyle Busch led 232 of 334 laps, but wound up 11th after coasting
into the pits for fuel. The margin of victory was 25.686 seconds over Denny
Hamlin.
Carl Edwards raced to victory at Texas Motor Speedway in 2008, as he easily
defeated pole sitter Jeff Gordon by over eight seconds. Edwards, who started
16th on the grid, led five times for 212 laps while posting one of his nine
wins that season. Since winning nine times in 2008, Edwards has just three
wins to his credit.
In 2007, Jimmie Johnson avenged his runner-up finish the previous season with
a victory over Matt Kenseth for his ninth win of that campaign. Johnson won by
0.944 of a second, as he recorded win No. 32 of 59 career titles. Johnson
reclaimed the lead with just three laps remaining to overtake Kenseth. Pole
sitter Martin Truex Jr. finished third, while Kyle Busch placed fourth after
leading for a race-high 153 laps.
Stewart clipped Johnson in '06 by less than a second for his 29th career Sprint
Cup title. Stewart, who now has 47 victories to his credit, started eighth on
the grid and led for a race-high 278 laps. Pole sitter Brian Vickers led for
only five laps and finished 27th. Stewart reclaimed the lead on lap 324 for the
eighth time and edged out Johnson by 0.272 of a second.
This and That from Texas Motor Speedway: The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at
Texas Motor Speedway was on April 6, 1997. There have been 23 NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series races at the speedway, one per season 1997 through 2004 and two races
per year since 2005. Four drivers have competed in all 23 Texas races: Jeff
Burton, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin. Kenseth started 31st en
route to his victory at Texas in 2002, the deepest in the field that a race
winner has started.
The pole sitter has never won this race, and in the 23 previous races at Texas
Motor Speedway, only one from the top qualifying position has crossed the
finish line first (Kasey Kahne, April 2006). Seventeen of the 23 races have
been won from a top-10 starting position.
Back in 2005, Edwards won for the fourth time that year, as he sneaked
past Martin by less than a second to capture the inaugural running of this
race. Edwards, who led five times for a total of 82 laps, reclaimed the lead on
the second-to-last lap for the win. Pole sitter Ryan Newman finished 25th,
while Kenseth, who led three times for 149 laps, finished third.
The penultimate race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship takes place
at Phoenix International Raceway with the Nov. 11 AdvoCare 500. Kahne won last
year's race there.
10/31 16:13:49 ET
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As of October 31, 2012, at 04:14 PM ET
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