Today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas: Start time, lineup, TV information and more

By Daniel McFadinApr 11, 2015, 10:00 AM EDT

FORT WORTH – The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series holds its first night race of the 2015 season Saturday with the Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, the first of two annual races on the circuit at the track.

Here are the specifics (all times are ET):

START: Duck Commander and “Duck Dynasty’s” Si Robertson will give the command for drivers to start their engines at 7:38 p.m. ET. The green flag is scheduled for 7:46 p.m.

DISTANCE: The race is scheduled for 334 laps (501 miles) around the 1.5-mile oval.

PRERACE SCHEDULE: The Sprint Cup garage opens at 1:30 p.m., and the driver’s meeting is at 5:30 p.m. Driver introductions begin at 6:40 p.m.

NATIONAL ANTHEM: It will be performed by “Duck Dynasty’s” Reed Robertson at 7:31 p.m.

TV/RADIO: FOX will broadcast the race, starting with a prerace show at 7 p.m. ET. Performance Racing Network will broadcast the race on radio and PRN.com beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET.

FORECAST: The wunderground.com site predicts 72 degrees at race time with 20 percent chance of rain.

LAST TIME(S): In November, Jimmie Johnson won his third Texas race in his last five attempts, but the race will be remembered for a postrace fight between the teams of Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon. A year ago, Joey Logano was a the winner of a rain-delayed race on Monday. It was the first of his five wins in 2014.

FRONT ROW SWEEP: For the second time this year, Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick qualified on the front row. Harvick, who hasn’t won in Cup at Texas, had his streak of eight consecutive top-two finishes snapped two weeks ago at Martinsville Speedway.

FIRST TIMERS: There will be four drivers racing a Sprint Cup car for the first time at Texas – Chris Buescher, Alex Kennedy, Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto. Brett Moffitt, the replacement for Brian Vickers in the No. 55, raced here last November for Premium Motorsports. Two drivers notched their first career Sprint Cup wins at Texas – Jeff Burton in the track’s 1997 inaugural event and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2000.

STARTING LINEUP:

Row 1: Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick

Row 2: Brad Keselowski, Kasey Kahne

Row 3: Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano

Row 4: Ryan Newman*, Paul Menard

Row 5: Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray

Row 6: Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon

Row 7: Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon

Row 8: Martin Truex Jr., Carl Edwards

Row 9: Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin

Row 10: Greg Biffle, Casey Mears

Row 11: Danica Patrick, Rickey Stenhouse Jr.

Row 12: Trevor Bayne, Justin Allgaier

Row 13: Dale Earnhardt Jr., AJ Allmendinger

Row 14: Clint Bowyer, Michael Annett

Row 15: Sam Hornish Jr., David Ragan

Row 16: Cole Whitt, Aric Almirola

Row 17: Landon Cassill, Alex Bowman

Row 18: Josh Wise, Bret Moffitt

Row 19: Mike Bliss, David Gilliland

Row 20: Michael McDowell, Chris Buescher

Row 21: JJ Yeley, Matt DiBenedetto

Row 22: Alex Kennedy

* Going to the rear because of an engine change

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NASCAR Cup playoff standings after Coca-Cola 600

By Dustin LongMay 31, 2023, 8:36 PM EDT

The severe penalty to Chase Briscoe and his Stewart-Haas Racing team Wednesday for a counterfeit part dropped Briscoe from 17th to 31st in the season standings. Briscoe now must win a race to have a chance at the playoffs.

The penalty came a day after NASCAR suspended Chase Elliott one race for his retaliation in wrecking Denny Hamlin in Monday’s Coca-Cola 600. Elliott is 28th in the points. The 2020 Cup champion also needs to win to have a chance to make the playoffs.

Ten drivers have won races, including Coca-Cola 600 winner Ryan Blaney. That leaves six playoff spots to be determined by points at this time. With 12 races left in the regular season, including unpredictable superspeedway races at Atlanta (July 9) and Daytona (Aug. 26), the playoff standings will change during the summer.

Among those without a win this season are points leader Ross Chastain and former champions Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Elliott.

Here’s a look at the Cup playoff standings heading into Sunday’s Cup race at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. Drivers in yellow have won a race and are in a playoff position. Those below the red line after 16th place are outside a playoff spot in the graphic below.

NASCAR issues major penalties to Chase Briscoe team for Charlotte infraction

By Dustin LongMay 31, 2023, 4:41 PM EDT

NASCAR fined crew chief John Klausmeier $250,000 and suspended him six races, along with penalizing Chase Briscoe and the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team 120 points and 25 playoff points each for a counterfeit part on the car.

The issue was a counterfeit engine NACA duct, said Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, on Wednesday. That is a single-source part.

MORE: Updated Cup playoff standings

The team stated that it accepts the L3 penalty.

“We had a quality control lapse and a part that never should’ve been on a car going to the racetrack ended up on the No. 14 car at Charlotte,” said Greg Zipadelli in a statement from the team. “We accept NASCAR’s decision and will not appeal.”

Asked how then piece could have aided performance, Sawyer said Wednesday: “Knowing the race team mentality, they don’t do things that would not be a benefit to them in some way, shape or form from a performance advantage.”

The penalty drops Briscoe from 17th in the season standings to 31st in the standings. Briscoe goes from having 292 points to having 172 points. He’ll have to win to make the playoffs. Briscoe has no playoff points at this time, so the penalty puts him at -25 playoff points should he make it.

Briscoe’s car was one of two taken to the R&D Center after Monday’s Coca-Cola 600 for additional tear down by series officials.

The penalty comes a day after NASCAR suspended Chase Elliott one race for wrecking Denny Hamlin in last weekend’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

NASCAR Championship Weekend returns to Phoenix in 2024

By Dustin LongMay 31, 2023, 9:21 AM EDT

Phoenix Raceway will host the championship races for the Cup, Xfinity, Craftsman Truck and ARCA Menards Series in 2024, NASCAR announced Wednesday.

The races will be held Nov. 1-3, 2024. The Cup season finale will be Nov. 3, 2024. The only other Cup race for 2024 that has been announced is the Daytona 500. It will be held Feb. 18, 2024.

Phoenix Raceway has hosted the championship finale for Cup, Xfinity and Trucks since 2020. Chase Elliott won the Cup title there in 2020. Kyle Larson followed in 2021. Joey Logano won the crown there in 2022.

This year’s Cup finale at Phoenix will be Nov. 5 and air on NBC.

Drivers to watch at World Wide Technology Raceway

By Dustin LongMay 31, 2023, 7:00 AM EDT

After the fireworks from the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR heads to World Wide Technology Raceway, a 1.25-mile speedway just outside of St. Louis. Sunday’s race (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1) marks the second time the Cup Series has raced at this track.

Much is at stake. The race to win the regular season championship has intensified. Tempers are high. The pressure to make the playoffs builds. Ten drivers have wins this season. Twelve races remain in the regular season.

FRONTRUNNERS

Kyle Larson

Points position: 11th
Best finish this season: 1st (Richmond, Martinsville)
Past at WWTR: 12th last year

While a driver coming off back-to-back finishes of 20th or worse might not seem like a frontrunner, it actually does make Larson one. His topsy-turvy season has seen him place outside the top 10 in back-to-back races four times. In the three previous times he had consecutive finishes outside the top 10, he came back to finish second, first and second. Can he keep that streak going this weekend?

Bubba Wallace

Points position: 15th
Best finish this season: 4th (Las Vegas I, Kansas I, Coca-Cola 600)
Past at WWTR: 26th last year

Wallace has scored three consecutive top-five finishes, his best streak in his Cup career. He has climbed from 21st to 15th in the standings during this run.

William Byron

Points position: 3rd
Best finish this season: 1st (Las Vegas I, Phoenix I, Darlington I)
Past at WWTR: 19th last year

Byron has finished no worse than seventh in the last five races. He’s led nearly 20% of the laps run during that time. Byron has averaged nearly 47 points a race during that streak.

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

Corey LaJoie

Points position: 20th
Best finish this season: 4th (Atlanta I)
Past at WWTR: 36th last season

NASCAR’s one-race suspension to Chase Elliott gives LaJoie the chance to drive a Hendrick Motorsports car for the first time. This will be the best car LaJoie has driven in his career. Many eyes will be on him to see how he does.

Ross Chastain

Points position: 1st
Best finish this season: 2nd (Dover)
Past at WWTR: Finished 8th last year after angering Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott in separate incidents

Chastain has finished 29th and 22nd in the last two points races. He’s not gone more than three races without a top-10 finish this season. After his struggles last weekend at Charlotte, Chastain saw his lead cut to one point over Coca-Cola 600 winner Ryan Blaney in the standings. Five drivers are within 17 points of Chastain in the season standings.

Aric Almirola

Points position: 26th
Best finish this season: 6th (Martinsville I)
Past at WWTR: 5th last year

Almirola has finished 13th or worse in all but one race this season for Stewart-Haas Racing. In the five races since placing sixth at Martinsville, Almirola has finished an average of 21.0.

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MORE: Updated Cup playoff standings

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FRONTRUNNERS

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

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