Larson Dominates in Texas, Clinches Spot for Championship Finale

Kyle Larson won the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 on Sunday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway to lock himself into the Championship Round of the Playoffs.

Larson was dominant on Sunday, and led a race-high 256 laps after starting from the pole.

In his first race back at Texas after a dominant All-Star Race victory earlier in the summer, Larson said this was one of the best cars he’s ever had using NASCAR’s 550 HP package.

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“I knew we’d have a good shot to win today, our car was amazing,” Larson said.  “That was probably the best 550-package intermediate car we’ve had all year.”

While dominant throughout the race, Larson had to hold onto the lead over numerous restarts in the race’s final 50 laps.  Brad Keselowski, Tyler Reddick and William Byron all challenged for the lead over the final restarts, but Larson was able to hold off all challengers on his way to victory lane.

Larson said the pushes from those restarting behind him helped him hold onto the lead restart after restart.

“I really tried to stay patient on the throttle and keep them to my back bumper,” Larson said.  “Thankfully I was able to just barely clear them every time into 1 and not have to worry about having to fight off of 2.”

Larson will now have three weeks to prepare for the Championship Round at Phoenix, and he said his team can put more resources towards their car to fight for a Cup Series title.

“I definitely think we can shift a little more to our Phoenix car,” Larson said.  “I think we should have a good shot; our team’s been so strong all year long, might as well close it out now.”

Byron finished second to his teammate on Sunday and was the highest-finishing non-Playoff driver; he was also one of the few drivers who could hang with Larson throughout most of the race.

Byron said he and his team will continue to fight for wins even after they were eliminated from Playoff contention.

“This week we had a pretty good run and had a shot at a win,” Byron said.  “We just never quite got control.  I think [Larson] was definitely better than us the first stage, and then I was right there with him the rest of the time.”

“We’re here to stay. We’ve got a got a good…young team, myself included.  I think we’re building something there for years to come.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Larson

2. William Byron

3. Christopher Bell

4. Brad Keselowski

5. Kevin Harvick

6. Ryan Blaney

7. Chase Elliott

8. Kyle Busch

9. Tyler Reddick

10. Daniel Suarez

11. Denny Hamlin

12. Erik Jones

13. Matt DiBenedetto

14. Austin Dillon

15. Chase Briscoe

16. Kurt Busch

17. Michael McDowell

18. Aric Almirola

19. Cole Custer

20. Corey LaJoie

21. Chris Buescher

22. BJ McLeod

23. David Starr

24. Garrett Smithley

25. Martin Truex Jr.

26. Josh Bilicki

27. Timmy Hill

28. Ross Chastain

29. Anthony Alfredo

30. Joey Logano

31. Quin Houff

32. Bubba Wallace

33. Alex Bowman

34. Ricky Stenhouse

35. Ryan Newman

36. Ryan Preece

37. Justin Haley

38. Cody Ware

39. Joey Gase

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Busch Finally Wins During Wet Texas Weekend

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kyle Busch won the Autotrader EchoPark 500 from Texas Motor Speedway on Wednesday afternoon to pick up his first win of 2020.

Busch had to wait a few days to pick up his first victory of the year, as a consistent mist stayed in the Fort Worth area for three days.  The race began on Sunday afternoon, but was red-flagged after just 51 laps, and did not resume until Wednesday afternoon.

Busch used pit strategy to get to the front, and he was able to use fuel mileage to get the victory.  After pitting before the rest of the field, Busch had to save fuel over the final 60-lap run.  He was able to save enough to hold off his teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the closing laps.

Busch said he had to work hard over the final run to keep his fuel mileage right on the numbers.

“Kept getting great leadership and mentoring from [Crew Chief Adam Stevens],” Busch said.  “Just kept talking to me, reminding me about saving and being able to do what I could.  Trying to stay in the draft as much as I could on the straightaways.”

Busch, who was eliminated from the Playoffs at the end of the last round, extended his streak of consecutive years with a victory to 16 with his win on Wednesday.

Busch said he believes his team is set up to contend again next year.

“This one means a lot just to keep the 16 going,” Busch said.  “Everyone thought we were duds, but we don’t give up.  We’re ready to fight next year; we’ll be back.”

Truex came into Texas needing a win to advance to the final round of the Playoffs, but came up one spot short.

Now Truex has one more chance to race for a championship at Phoenix, and he said he believes he can contend at Martinsville to lock himself in.

“Excited about Martinsville; I know we can win there,” Truex said.  “Seems like one of those years where we’re just second, third, fourth…we’re right there a lot, but we just needed a little bit more to be better.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Busch

2. Martin Truex Jr.

3. Christopher Bell

4. Ryan Blaney

5. Alex Bowman

6. Brad Keselowski

7. Kurt Busch

8. Matt DiBenedetto

9. Denny Hamlin

10. Joey Logano

11. Austin Dillon

12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

13. William Byron

14. Cole Custer

15. Tyler Reddick

16. Kevin Harvick

17. Clint Bowyer

18. Ryan Preece

19. Ryan Newman

20. Chase Elliott

21. Erik Jones

22. John Hunter Nemechek

23. Aric Almirola

24. Ty Dillon

25. Corey LaJoie

26. Michael McDowell

27. Daniel Suarez

28. Brennan Poole

29. Josh Bilicki

30. Timmy Hill

31. Garrett Smithley

32. Reed Sorenson

33. Quin Houff

34. Chris Buescher

35. Chad Finchum

36. Jimmie Johnson

37. Joey Gase

38. Bubba Wallace

39. Matt Kenseth

40. JJ Yeley

Photos courtesy Jared C. Tilton and Chris Graythen (Getty Images)

Austin Dillon Wins at Texas

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Austin Dillon won the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 from Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Dillon was able to use pit strategy to get to the front late in the race, and he took the lead from teammate Tyler Reddick on a late restart with 22 laps to go.  Dillon continued to lead over two following restarts, and held off Reddick, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch to win his first race of 2020.

Dillon said he was able to change up his restarts to keep the competition behind him in the closing laps.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

“I had to change it up a couple times,” Dillon said.  “Definitely had to earn it; I changed it up.  Waited the second one and went on the last one, so it worked out for me.”

One week after Cole Custer won to lock himself into the Playoffs, and knock Dillon out in the process, Dillon was able to lock himself into the Playoffs. 

Dillon said the victory was the result of his team’s fast cars they’ve been bringing to the track all season.

“This has been coming; we’ve had good cars all year,” Dillon said.  “It means a lot for the family and for our partners.”

Reddick finished second on Sunday for Richard Childress Racing’s first 1-2 finish since 2011.

After getting burned by a mid-race tire strategy call, Reddick said his team worked hard to get back into contention.

“We just couldn’t get our Camaro back in contention after we took right sides,” Reddick said.  “It really shifted the balance of our Camaro and that just put us behind.”

Reddick said he wanted to make sure the battle for the lead was between teammates in the closing laps and didn’t want Logano or Busch to get involved.

“I just wanted it to be between us,” Reddick said.  “I didn’t want to bring other cars into it; make sure we could fight it out.  There was one restart I probably could have…went to his inside.  Unfortunately, we just couldn’t get it done today.”

“Hats off to the 3, all those guys.  Gets one RCR Chevrolet to the Playoffs and now we’re below the cutline.  If we keep running like this, we won’t have to worry about points.”

Unofficial results:

1. Austin Dillon

2. Tyler Reddick

3. Joey Logano

4. Kyle Busch

5. Kevin Harvick

6. Erik Jones

7. Ryan Blaney

8. Kurt Busch

9. Brad Keselowski

10. Aric Almirola

11. Clint Bowyer

12. Chase Elliott

13. Ryan Newman

14. Buba Wallace

15. Michael McDowell

16. Corey LaJoie

17. Matt DiBenedetto

18. Matt Kenseth

19. Chris Buescher

20. Denny Hamlin

21. Christopher Bell

22. John Hunter Nemechek

23. Daniel Suarez

24. JJ Yeley

25. Gray Gaulding

26. Jimmie Johnson

27. Brennan Poole

28. Reed Sorenson

29. Martin Truex Jr.

30. Alex Bowman

31. Josh Bilicki

32. Joey Gase

33. BJ McLeod

34. Quin Houff

35. Ty Dillon

36. Timmy Hill

37. William Byron

38. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

39. Cole Custer

40. Ryan Preece

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Harvick Dominant in Texas Victory

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kevin Harvick won the AAA Texas 500 from Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon to lock himself into the Championship Round of the Playoffs.

Harvick had a dominant car all weekend.  After winning the pole on Saturday, Harvick led 119 laps on Sunday on his way to victory lane.

Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

A penalty on a pit stop forced Harvick to restart in the back, and it looked as though his car struggled in traffic.  After another round of pit stops, Harvick was able to work his way through traffic, and he was able to get past his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Aric Almirola to take the lead.

Harvick said a bad set of tires and a bad restart caused the slow start in the back.

“We had a bad restart one time and we got buried back there,” Harvick said.  “We came in, put another set of tires on, and we were really able to make up some time.”

Harvick now sets his sight on Homestead-Miami Speedway in two weeks, where he will fight for the Championship.

Harvick said his team has been preparing for the finale for awhile.

“We’ve already been going down that road,” Harvick said.  “They’ve already built the car…picked a direction.”

While Harvick locked himself into the finale at Homestead, Denny Hamlin made his road to the championship harder.  After spinning early in the race and damaging the nose to his car, Hamlin finished 28th.

After coming into Texas with a 24-point lead above 5th-place in the standings, Hamlin now sits 20 points below the cutoff.

Hamlin said his team is going to go to Phoenix next weekend looking for a victory.

“The car and effort will be there, that’s for sure,” Hamlin said.  “There’s no doubt in my mind we can go there and win, especially in these circumstances.”

“I like the challenge.  We’re going to go out there and give it our best shot, put our best foot forward and see if we can win next week.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Aric Almirola

3. Daniel Suarez

4. Joey Logano

5. Alex Bowman

6. Martin Truex Jr.

7. Kyle Busch

8. Ryan Blaney

9. Kurt Busch

10. Erik Jones

11. Clint Bowyer

12. Kyle Larson

13. Austin Dillon

14. Matt DiBenedetto

15. Ryan Newman

16. Daniel Hemric

17. William Byron

18. Ty Dillon

19. Chris Buescher

20. Paul Menard

21. John Hunter Nemechek

22. Parker Kligerman

23. Ryan Preece

24. Bubba Wallace

25. Michael McDowell

26. JJ Yeley

27. Landon Cassill

28. Denny Hamlin

29. Joe Nemechek

30. Josh Bilicki

31. Ross Chastain

32. Chase Elliott

33. Quin Houff

34. Jimmie Johnson

35. David Ragan

36. Garrett Smithley

37. Timmy Hill

38. Corey LaJoie

39. Brad Keselowski

40. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Hamlin Overcomes Pit Road Struggles to Win at Texas

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Denny Hamlin won the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 from Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Hamlin did not have an easy day on his way to victory lane.  After getting hit with two pit road penalties throughout the race, Hamlin and his team used pit strategy to get back to the front.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Hamlin said overcoming both penalties showed how strong his car was on Sunday.

“Just a really fast car,” Hamlin said.  “They gave me a fast car; a car fast enough to really pass anyone in the field, so that means a lot.”

The race at Texas was different than those in the past, as this race featured NASCAR’s new aero package.  The package gave drivers more opportunities to draft as they would at a bigger tracks like Daytona or Talladega.

Hamlin said the new rules package changed the way drivers raced throughout the day.

“Definitely a different kind of race trying to draft…trying to get out of everyone’s way,” Hamlin said.  “Proud of this whole FedEx Office team.”

Clint Bowyer was chasing Hamlin down over the final green-flag run, but after Hamlin picked up time during the final pit stop, Bowyer wasn’t able to get close enough to challenge for the win.

After struggling with his car’s handling in practice and getting bit by a controversial call by NASCAR in qualifying, Bowyer said his weekend ended better than it started.

“This car was a little off…all weekend long; it took awhile for our Mustang to get good,” Bowyer said.  “I was a little nervous for the race, and we made some good adjustments.”

“I wanted to catch [Hamlin] bad; he just came out of the pits way too far ahead of me and there wasn’t much I could do about it.”

Unofficial results:

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Clint Bowyer

3. Daniel Suarez

4. Erik Jones

5. Jimmie Johnson

6. William Byron

7. Aric Almirola

8. Kevin Harvick

9. Kurt Busch

10. Kyle Busch

11. Ryan Newman

12. Martin Truex Jr.

13. Chase Elliott

14. Austin Dillon

15. Michael McDowell

16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

17. Joey Logano

18. Alex Bowman

19. Paul Menard

20. Chris Buescher

21. Ty Dillon

22. Ryan Preece

23. Bubba Wallace

24. Matt Tifft

25. David Ragan

26. Matt DiBenedetto

27. Parker Kligerman

28. Corey LaJoie

29. Ross Chastain

30. Landon Cassill

31. BJ McLoed

32. Garrett Smithley

33. Daniel Hemric

34. Reed Sorenson

35. Bayley Currey

36. Brad Keselowski

37. Ryan Blaney

38. Timmy Hill

39. Kyle Larson

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Harvick Dominates in Texas

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kevin Harvick won the AAA Texas 500 from Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

Harvick was dominant all day, and won both stages while leading 177 laps on his way to victory lane.  After chasing down Ryan Blaney late in the race, Harvick held him off on the final restart for overtime to continue his dominance in Texas. 

Harvick said his team has continued to perform well at TMS.

“This place has been really good to me; glad I got to win,” Harvick said.  “For whatever reason, since they repaved this place, this place has kind of fit everything that we do.”

Blaney beat Harvick on a late restart to take the lead, but Harvick was able to get back to the lead before the final caution. 

After watching the way Blaney got around Turns 1 and 2, Harvick said he used the younger driver’s handling against him.

“If [Blaney] wasn’t able to arc it into the corner, he couldn’t finish the corner,” Harvick said.  “He had a hard time staying in the throttle.  I just knew I needed to get down into the corner with him.”

Blaney said he tried to beat Harvick down into the corner, but that his car was so much better at the end.

“That was really the only shot we had to beat him,” Blaney said.  “We got by him one restart, and I just couldn’t hold him off; he was just really good.”

“Just needed to be mistake-free and then some, and we just couldn’t be that.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Ryan Blaney

3. Joey Logano

4. Erik Jones

5. Kyle Larson

6. Chase Elliott

7. Kurt Busch

8. Aric Almirola

9. Martin Truex Jr.

10. Austin Dillon

11. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

12. Brad Keselowski

13. Paul Menard

14. Alex Bowman

15. Jimmie Johnson

16. William Byron

17. Kyle Busch

18. Ryan Newman

19. Jamie McMurray

20. AJ Allmendinger

21. Trevor Bayne

22. Ty Dillon

23. Chris Buescher

24. David Ragan

25. Darrell Wallace Jr.

26. Clint Bowyer

27. Regan Smith

28. Daniel Suarez

29. Michael McDowell

30. Denny Hamlin

31. Parker Kligerman

32. Ross Chastain

33. Reed Sorenson

34. Kyle Weatherman

35. Landon Cassill

36. JJ Yeley

37. Joey Gase

38. Matt DiBenedetto

39. David Starr

40. Corey LaJoie

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Busch Claims Victory in Texas

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kyle Busch won the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 from Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon to pick up his first win of the season.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Busch led a race-high 116 laps on his way to victory lane, but he still had to hold off a hard-charging Kevin Harvick over the final 25-lap run.  Busch has three runner-up finishes this season, and he was finally able to pick up one more position to get to victory lane.

Busch said he was excited to finally get his car to victory lane.

“So cool to be in victory lane…finally this year,” Busch said.  “After Daytona we’ve just been on a roll of finishing really good, and we were really pumped and excited about that, but frustrated at the same time.”

Harvick was catching Busch in the closing laps, but he couldn’t overcome multiple pit road issues that plagued his team throughout the weekend.

Busch said he knew he had to be perfect in the closing laps to hold off Harvick.

“They were probably a tick faster overall, so I just had to do everything I could to hit all my marks,” Busch said. 

Harvick said his car didn’t handle well in traffic once he got back in the pack.

“Kyle’s car was just fast enough that I had to go a whole run to make up that ground that I needed to win,” Harvick said.  “We just didn’t turn as well in traffic.”

“We were just fortunate our Busch Light Ford was as fast as it was to cover up what was just an absolutely pathetic two days on pit road.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Busch

2. Kevin Harvick

3. Jamie McMurray

4. Erik Jones

5. Ryan Blaney

6. Joey Logano

7. Kurt Busch

8. Darrell Wallace Jr.

9. Clint Bowyer

10. William Byron

11. Chase Elliott

12. Trevor Bayne

13. Ty Dillon

14. Michael McDowell

15. Chris Buescher

16. Matt DiBenedetto

17. Kasey Kahne

18. Ross Chastain

19. Cole Whitt

20. Gray Gaulding

21. Landon Cassill

22. Harrrison Rhodes

23. David Ragan

24. AJ Allmendinger

25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

26. Austin Dillon

27. Ryan Newman

28. Alex Bowman

29. Daniel Suarez

30. Paul Menard

31. Reed Sorenson

32. Aric Almirola

33. Brad Keselowski

34. Denny Hamlin

35. Jimmie Johnson

36. Kyle Larson

37. Martin Truex Jr.

Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Harvick Wins at Texas, Will Race for Championship at Homestead

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kevin Harvick won the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday to lock himself into the championship round of the playoffs.

Martin Truex Jr. had a dominant car throughout the day, but Harvick was able to chase down the 78 to pick up the victory in the closing laps.

Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

Harvick said he was happy to finally win at Texas.

“It’s been a long time coming…I’m happy to finally get to victory lane here,” Harvick said.  “I knew we had a really good car…to be able to beat the 78 today, for us, is quite an accomplishment.”

Harvick’s victory locked him into the final round of the playoffs, and he said his team has what it takes to win their second championship in two weeks at Homestead.

“Our cars have improved so much since the playoffs have started,” Harvick said.  “To be here in November winning at Texas for the first time, and to have a chance to go to Homestead and race for the championship is really a huge credit to our people.”

“It’s been a lot of work to get to where we are today.  Really proud of everyone at Stewart-Haas for the things they’ve done, and hopefully we can do it again at Homestead.”

Truex finished second on Sunday, but it was enough to lock himself into the final round of the playoffs.

Truex said he believes his team can continue to dominate and that they can win the championship at Homestead.

“It’s been an amazing season; I love this team,” Truex said.  “We’re really excited about Homestead…we had a good test down there.  I look forward to going down there and getting another win.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Martin Truex Jr.

3. Denny Hamlin

4. Matt Kenseth

5. Brad Keselowski

6. Ryan Blaney

7. Joey Logano

8. Chase Elliott

9. Kurt Busch

10. Erik Jones

11. Kasey Kahne

12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

13. Austin Dillon

14. Daniel Suarez

15. Aric Almirola

16. AJ Allmendinger

17. Danica Patrick

18. Jamie McMurray

19. Kyle Busch

20. Ryan Newman

21. Michael McDowell

22. Chris Buescher

23. Paul Menard

24. Ty Dillon

25. Matt DiBenedetto

26. Landon Cassill

27. Jimmie Johnson

28. Trevor Bayne

29. Cole Whitt

30. David Ragan

31. Reed Sorenson

32. Joey Gase

33. Jeffrey Earnhardt

34. Ray Black Jr.

35. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

36. Clint Bowyer

37. Kyle Larson

38. David Starr

39. Corey LaJoie

40. Gray Gaulding

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images