Congratulations to Denny Hamlin who won his first race of the season at Martinsville and is now virtually qualified for the Chase. Denny had to overcome an early pit road penalty for an uncontrolled tire and fight his way back to the front of the field. Even late in the race he had to pass quite a few cars on a restart and then hold off Brad Keselowski to pick up the win. Great job Denny!
DUCK COMMANDER 500
The series will take a week off to celebrate the Easter holiday weekend and then they will return the following Saturday night to Texas Motor Speedway for the running of the Duck Commander 500. Texas Motor Speedway is very similar to Atlanta Motor Speedway in its configuration, but the temperature should be a bit warmer here than it was in Atlanta earlier this season. The 500-mile race will test engines most of all once again during this race.
Matt Kenseth: I’m going to pick Matt to win his first race of the season at Texas on a Saturday night. Matt has two career wins here and has finished in the top five in thirteen of his twenty-five starts. This team has been getting better and better each week this year and I think this is the type of track that Matt will capitalize on that improvement.
Kevin Harvick: Let’s not rule out Kevin anywhere on the circuit. Even though he didn’t finish in the top two at Martinsville, he managed to lead a bunch of laps there and he will be even better on this fast track. He will probably qualify in the top five once again and lead more laps in this race. He will also be in contention at the end if he can stay out of trouble early in the race.
Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie had a terrible time at Martinsville last weekend and this team wants to forget all about those problems. Jimmie won the race this year at Atlanta, so he should arrive at the track with a great setup under his car. This team is already qualified for the Chase because of the Atlanta win and just needs to keep improving over the weeks so they are ready to go once the Chase starts.
Joey Logano: Joey has been fast all season and should be fast once again at Texas. He sat on the pole at Atlanta and lead a bunch of laps there before settling for a fourth place finish. This team has been very fast early in races this year, but they just haven’t quite made the right adjustments late in the race to stay at the front. Even then, top five and ten finishes are still very good and winning the Daytona 500 is awesome.
Dale Earhardt Jr.: Dale had a rough time at Martinsville, but this team has still been very stout the rest of the year. I think this is the type of track this team really excels at as Dale loves to run the high line on these tracks. He might not qualify in the top ten, but he will be able to make his way to the front and they seem to know how to adjust their car to keep up with the track as the race progresses.
Carl Edwards: Carl looked good at Martinsville until very late in the race and he has three wins under his belt at Texas. Like I said with Matt Kenseth, the Gibbs teams are all looking better and better every week and Carl is still settling in with his new team. It won’t be long before they start winning races.
Martin Truex Jr.: Martin has been very good all season and this team has shown a lot of speed. This weekend should be no different. Evan though Martin has only finished in the top five twice in nineteen starts, I think this team is on top of their game right now. Will they be able to improve as the year progresses and keep up with the big budget teams? That question can only be answered by watching them every week, but for right now they are competitive every week.
Denny Hamlin: Denny has won twice at Texas and has momentum on his side after picking up the win at Martinsville last weekend. Another of the Gibbs drivers who are all getting better every week. This team doesn’t have any pressure on themselves anymore as they have qualified for the Chase. Now they just need to concentrate on staying consistent and getting faster so they feel good about themselves when the Chase starts.
Jeff Gordon: Another late race mistake on pit road cost Jeff a shot at the win at Martinsville. This team has been good all year, but seem to have something happen late in races that takes them out of contention. Jeff only has one career win at this track, but he did finish second in this race last season. Jeff wants to get qualified for the Chase as soon as possible in his last full-time season driving the #24 car.
Kurt Busch: Kurt has always been good at Texas no matter what team he has been driving for. He has also been good in all of the races he has run this season and is still looking for his first win so he can qualify for the Chase. He started out good at Martinsville before losing the handle on his car and fading. Texas should be more to his liking.
YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Yahoo Driver Group A
- Matt Kenseth
- Kevin Harvick
Yahoo Driver Group B
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Carl Edwards
- Kurt Busch
- Kasey Kahne
Yahoo Driver Group C
- David Ragan
- Justin Allgaier
MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT INSERT TRACK NAME
- Matt Kenseth
- Kevin Harvick
- Jimmie Johnson
- Joey Logano
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Dark Horse: Martin Truex Jr.
Stay Away From: Greg Biffle