NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who Will Cowboy Up in Texas Playoff Throwdown?
Now with only 12 contenders, the NASCAR Playoffs ride into Fort Worth for a pivotal battle around Texas Motor Speedway. Victory lane on the 1.5-mile track is only big enough for one car. Who will outlast the competition over 400 miles on Sunday? Texas has proven to be a wildcard race throughout its history, look no further than last year’s treacherous showing. Here are a few ones to watch out for in the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400.
Kevin Harvick
Playoffs or not, few tracks have been better for Kevin Harvick recently than Texas. The No. 4 team has seen TMS victory lane three-straight years in the Playoffs, from 2017-2019. Since this streak, Harvick has two top-fives in four Texas starts, with laps led in three of them. No longer fighting for a championship, pressure and expectations are gone for the Stewart-Haas team. Over the final seven races of his career, Harvick eyes another checkered flag. The 4 may just strike gold one last time at Texas.
“Texas is unique in the fact the two ends are so different,” Harvick said. “When they changed the racetrack, they made the width of the racetrack a lot wider through (turns) one and two than what it used to be. It’s a lot flatter, as well. It’s a very technical corner both in order to get your car positioned correctly and in order to make your car turn and stay in the throttle. You have to have your car handling on one end, and on the other end you just have to be pretty brave and hold the throttle down.”
“Texas has been a good racetrack for us, old configuration or new configuration. It’s one of those places that has just fit what we do. Hopefully, it’s the same way this year, but Texas has been a lot of fun to race at for us.”
Across nine years of the elimination Playoff format, a non-contending driver has won in six seasons. Harvick will aim to extend this streak to send himself out as a NASCAR winner in his 4EVER retirement tour. Texas should be circled on this team’s calendar as one of their final times to put Harvick in victory lane.
Denny Hamlin
Entering Texas with maximum momentum and swagger is Bristol winner Denny Hamlin. The 11 nearly doubled their season-long laps led total in the Round of 16 alone. Hamlin was a few small mistakes away from a dominant three-race sweep, finally grabbing a Playoff checkered flag last week. A three-time winner at Texas, Hamlin foresees another strong Sunday ahead for the FedEx Toyota.
“Texas is an important race for everyone competing in the Round of 12 because you can’t count on being great at Talladega,” Hamlin said. “You can be great and get taken out there. At the Roval, now that they’ve added the Stage cautions, you could get taken out on a restart there, so you just never know. We tested a new tire at Texas this summer, so I feel like we should be pretty good there. Our mindset is that we want to get the work done early in this round and not be sweating points going into the Roval.”
After a 2010 Texas sweep, Hamlin did not see Fort Worth victory lane again until 2019. In the last five races, the 11 only has two top-10s and 15 laps led around Texas. Hamlin’s blistering opening round run has him listed as the Texas co-favorite though. If their Round of 16 speed is any indicator, expect the 11 to be up front early and often.
Kyle Larson
Favored right alongside Hamlin for another Texas triumph is Kyle Larson. The Hendrick 5 team won this race in dominating fashion two years ago, leading 256 laps. Last year’s defense of this win did not see as much performance from Yung Money, but he still ended up ninth. Larson hopes his Round of 12 starts off just like the Round of 16, by parking it in victory lane. This round especially lends to added chaos with Talladega in the mix. Larson is well aware of the unknown ahead and realizes that Texas is a must-perform day.
“Looking ahead to Talladega it’s a little crazy and there is typically a lot of crashes,” Larson said. “So you put a lot of pressure on this race this weekend, or at least I do, to do a good job. I like Texas. Our HendrickCars.com Chevy team won there a couple years ago. We hope to do that again and have another good day.”
Much like Hamlin, Larson had prime winning chances in each of the first three Playoff races. First, fourth and second add up for an unbelievable average finish of 2.33, the best statistical Round of 16 in Playoff history. If Hamlin is favored for every race, then Larson should be right in his tire tracks. Expect these two title heavyweights to have another stunning fight ahead in Texas.
Kyle Busch
Another veteran who can never be counted out at Texas is Kyle Busch. A four-time Lone Star State winner, Busch most recently won at TMS in 2020. Busch’s No. 8 team also won this race a season ago with Tyler Reddick, giving Busch added confidence for this weekend. Thanks to the newly redesigned surface though, Busch said Texas is one of the most perilous stops on the calendar.
“Texas went through a reconfiguration and a repave a few years ago,” Busch said. “I would say this configuration is definitely the most challenging from a driver’s perspective and from a crew chief’s perspective on how to get both ends of the racetrack to feel similar or to feel good, so that makes it tough on all of us.”
“When I first started, Texas had a lot of grip and was really fast and then right before the repave there it was kind of worn out and you’d slide around a little bit more. You could move around the racetrack, though, which was really cool. You could run low, you run middle, you could run high, and it was pretty fun how the place spread out. Now it seems like there’s one particular groove that you want to run in turns 1 and 2 and one particular groove that you want to run in 3 and 4, so it’s really tough to make speed and make passes. The mile-and-a-half package has been really good this year and I’m excited about getting to Texas.”
“I thought it was pretty cool how the 8 team was able to rally, rebound, have a really fast car and be able to win that race. It’d be cool if you’re eliminated and you win you could put yourself back in, but the rules are the rules. I’d say last year’s elimination in the first round for myself and my old team as well as the 8 car getting eliminated in the first round was quite disappointing. It’s a tough situation but then you got to move on and go into the next week. But just being able to score a win late in the year is always important because it lends itself to a strong finish to the season.”
Re-seeded to sixth in points, Busch is in a very tricky position where he must balance his slim buffer to the cut line. The 8 team should be a strong Texas threat, going for their fourth win of the season.
William Byron
Now the co-championship points leader once again, William Byron eyes another winning chance in Texas. Driver 24 has yet to claim victory on this track, but Byron has been among the fastest cars all year long. Right alongside teammate Larson, Byron may be one of the cars to beat Sunday.
“I’m looking forward to Texas,” Byron said. “It will be hot there and slick, which will lead to guys making mistakes. We just need to not be one of them and stay ahead of all that. We need to try to win it or at least maximize our points day. You have to take advantage of every opportunity you get if you want to run for a championship. There’s only 12 cars left. You need to execute. This is the time to really show what you have.”
Even without a past win, Byron is still one of the most consistent drivers at Texas. The 24 is batting .500 in top-10s, with four in eight Texas starts. Byron was runner-up to Larson here in 2021, and has laps led in the last two Texas races. If the 24 can have a clean day execution-wise, they should have the speed to be a front runner.
Martin Truex Jr
The other points leader with Byron is regular season champion Martin Truex Jr. Driver 19 is also still going for his first Texas checkered flag, but he’s been close before. MTJ’s best Texas result was second, coming three different times. Now with a fresh slate at fighting for the championship, Truex hopes to reassert his contender presence at one of his better tracks.
“Texas has always been a good track for us,” Truex said. “Last year, we were leading, and we blew a tire. It’s one of those places that I feel like we’ve been snakebit a lot. We’ve had some good runs, and we’ve had some struggles at times since they repaved it. It’s just one of those things. It’s been up-and-down, but I feel confident going there with what we have this year that we will run well. Especially after we did last year. It’s been tough. Got poles there, led lots of laps, just haven’t been able to win at. Always look forward going there, and I think next week we will have a good shot to win.”
Truex was incredibly lucky to narrowly escape the Round of 16, despite three terrible weeks for the 19 team. Trying to firmly plant his flag in the title battle once again, a banner day may be ahead for MTJ. After this week’s tragic news of Sherry Pollex’s passing, the 19 team will be racing with heavy hearts this weekend. This may be fuel to the competitive fire inside Truex that’s lights-out dominant.
One of 12 remaining Playoff drivers has the chance to leave Texas one step closer to the 2023 championship. The green flag will fly in the Lone Star State Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. If a Playoff member does take the Texas victory, they will be the only driver sleeping comfortably over the next two weeks. Wildcard races ahead have this weekend pinned as a must-perform to secure anyone’s postseason fate.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to James Gilbert/Getty Images
