Two more chances remain for Cup drivers to earn a spot in next month’s championship race at Phoenix. The Sunday Cup race at Texas is the first of those two remaining chances.
Joey Logano secured a spot among the final four at Phoenix by winning last weekend at Kansas. Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski go into Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN) in a transfer spot for the title race. Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr. and Kurt Busch are outside a transfer spot.
“You just have to go,” Busch said of his bid to reach the title race. “And, that’s where we’re not going to back down. It doesn’t matter who it is.”
Austin Dillon won the July race using a late two-tire pit call to take the lead and then held off the pack to win. Can a similar strategy work Sunday? Will that help another playoff driver outside the transfer spot win and earn a spot at Phoenix? Or will Kevin Harvick continue his dominance and win his fourth consecutive playoff race at Texas?
Here is all the info for the Sunday Cup race at Texas:
(All times are Eastern)
START: Gary Johnson, father of seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, will give the command to start engines at 3:38 p.m. The green flag is scheduled to wave at 3:47 p.m.
PRERACE: Cup garage opens at 8:30 a.m. Drivers report to their cars at 3:10 p.m. Driver intros are at 3:15 p.m. The invocation will given at 3:30 p.m. by Bret Shisler, Texas Alliance Raceway Ministries. The national anthem will be performed at 3:31 p.m. by the Air National Guard Band of the Southwest.
DISTANCE: The race is 334 laps (501 miles) around the 1.5-mile speedway.
COMPETITION CAUTION: Lap 25
STAGES: Stage 1 ends on Lap 105. Stage 2 ends on Lap 210.
TV/RADIO: NBCSN will televise the race. Coverage begins at 2:30 p.m with NASCAR America, followed by Countdown to Green at 3 p.m. Race coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. on NBCSN. Performance Racing Network’s radio coverage will begin at 2:30 p.m. and also can be heard at goprn.com. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the broadcast.
STREAMING: Watch the race on the NBC Sports App
FORECAST: The wunderground.com forecast calls for sunny skies with a high of 77 degrees and a zero percent chance of rain at the start of the race.
LAST RACE: Joey Logano became the first driver to earn a spot in this year’s championship race by winning last weekend at Kansas Speedway. Kevin Harvick placed second. Alex Bowman was third.
LAST RACE AT TEXAS: Austin Dillon used a two-tire pit stop to get to the front and went on to win the July race at Texas. Richard Childress Racing teammate Tyler Reddick was second. Joey Logano placed third.
TO THE REAR: Martin Truex Jr. (spoiler confiscated/inspection violation), Daniel Suarez (inspection violations), Chad Finchum (inspection violations), Timmy Hill (unapproved adjustments) and Garrett Smithley (unapproved adjustments)
STARTING LINEUP: Click here for starting lineup
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