NASCAR
Can Brad Keselowski or Martin Truex Jr. Finally Earn Their First Texas Win?
Coming into Texas Motor Speedway, 2 drivers are still searching for a victory on the 1.5 mile track. The 2 drivers who have yet to win at Texas are Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. Both of these past champions have been close to their first Texas win, but are still searching for victory lane.
Keselowski Comes Into Texas With Momentum
After last week’s dominating win at Martinsville, Brad Keselowski is riding high into the Lone Star State. Alog with Homestead-Miami, Texas is 1 of just 2 mile-and-a-half tracks where the 2012 champ has yet to win. In previous years however, Brad has been very close to his first Texas win. In 21 starts at Texas Motor Speedway, Brad Keselowski has 5 top 5s, 8 top 10s, and 639 laps led. This includes 2 runner up results at Texas in the Playoffs. The 2015 Playoff race was the closest Brad has been to his first Texas win, as he led 312 laps that day.
With 2 wins already for 2019, the Penske 2 car has to be considered a favorite for their first Texas win. Keselowski has been nearly perfect on 1.5 mile tracks this year. He has the win in Atlanta, and a close 2nd place result in Las Vegas. With Texas being another 1.5 mile track, the 2 should be a strong contender for the win. Brad will race for his 3rd win of 2019 from the 12th position on Sunday.
MTJ Has Been Oh So Close Before at Texas
If Keselowski has been the man to beat on 1.5 mile tracks this year, then Martin Truex Jr. is right in his tire tracks. Truex finished 2nd in Atlanta and 8th in Las Vegas. Truex is known to be a mile-and-a-half master, as he has 10 wins on 1.5 milers since 2016. However, Texas is also 1 of 2 intermediate tracks where Truex has yet to win, along with Atlanta. But he has been oh so close on multiple occasions in Texas. Truex has 4 top 5s, 15 top 10s, and 595 laps led in 27 Texas starts. This includes 2 runner up results, in 2013 and 2017.
Truex was closest to his first Texas win during his championship season 2 years ago. With just 10 laps remaining in the Texas Playoff race, Kevin Harvick passed Truex and went on to win. Truex lost the Texas spring race in similar fashion back in 2013, when Kyle Busch passed him with 20 laps left. The 2017 champ has been close to the victory in Texas, but has yet to execute late in the race. MTJ will go for the Texas win from the 20th starting position on Sunday.
19 Still Looking for Optimal Performance
A Texas win would be Martin Truex Jr’s first victory with Joe Gibbs Racing, and first since July. While the 19 has been strong this year, they lack some speed needed to contend against Keselowski, Logano, or Busch.
Both of these past Cup Series champions have been contenders in past races at Texas, but have yet to put together a full race. They are 2 of the favorites for the win on Sunday, so tune in to see if either can win the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500.
Be sure to follow along for coverage of the Texas race @T101_NASCAR, and follow the writer @PeterStratta.
Photo credit to Leon Hammack via Flickr.
