NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
NASCAR Sprint Cup Race #34 of 36
NASCAR Countdown Pre-race: ESPN – 2:00pm/et
Television Race Coverage: ESPN, 3:00pm/et
Scheduled Green Flag (approx): 3:16pm/et
Practices:
Fri, Nov. 2, 12:30 – 2:00 pm/et on SPEED
Sat, Nov. 3, 3:00 – 3:50pm/et on SPEED
Happy Hour ‘Final’ practice: Sat, Nov. 3, 5:45 – 6:45pm/et on SPEED
Qualifying: Fri, Nov. 2 at 4:40 pm/et on ESPN2
Coming out as the winner of Martinsville, Jimmie Johnson reclaimed the points lead – by 2 points – from Brad Keselowski – with three races remaining. But remember last season with three races to go – Tony Stewart trailed then-leader Carl Edwards by eight points.
So heading into the AAA Texas 500 on Sunday, Keselowski has yet to score a top-10 finish within his last eight starts. As a matter of fact, five were outside the top 20 – and Keselowski has yet to finish on the lead lap.
It is still anyone of the Chaser’s Championship. No driver has been mathematically eliminated from championship contention – though a couple may be following Texas (any driver 97 points behind the leader after Texas will be officially eliminated).
Greg Biffle holds two wins at Texas and has moved back into 10th in points.
Clint Bowyer comes into this race with three top 10s in the last four Texas races, and boasts momentum at 1.5-mile tracks after capturing his first victory on an intermediate track at Charlotte. Kasey Kahne enters the weekend with two consecutive top 10s at Texas, along with a win there in 2006.
NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
NASCAR Nationwide Series Race #31 of 33
Television Race Coverage: Sat, Nov. 3rd on ESPN2, 7:00 pm/et
Scheduled Green Flag (approx): 7:41pm/et
Practice: 2 p.m. ET /6 p.m. ET on Fri., Nov. 2nd on SPEED
Qualifying: Sat., Nov. 3rd, 3:05 PM (4:05 PM/ET) on SPEED
On Saturday, the NNS will be coming off of their last ‘off week’ for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway.
Elliott Sadler holds the advantage in the championship standings with a six-point lead over Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with only three races remaining. It’s going to be a tight race between these two drivers. Stenhouse won at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this season in April to earn his fourth career NNS victory. In 2004, Sadler won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held at Texas.
For Kyle Busch Motorsports, Kyle Busch has six top-five and 11 top-10 finishes, including two runner-up finishes at Talladega and Chicago. Unfortunately for the NNS Chaser’s, Busch owns Texas Motor Speedway when it comes to the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He has five wins, 10 top fives and two poles in just 13 starts.
In other news, Danica Patrick is on her way to making history. Currently 10th in points, if Patrick finishes 12th or better in the NNS point standings, she will become the highest-finishing female in national series history. The record is currently held by Sara Christian – 13th, Cup, 1949; Jennifer Jo Cobb – 17th, Truck, 2010 and Patty Moise 22nd, NNS, 1990. Johanna Long – currently ranked 20th in the standings – could move ahead of Moise’s record.
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race #20 of 22
TV Race Coverage: Fri, Nov. 2nd, 8:00pm/et on SPEED
Qualifying: Fri, Nov. 2nd 3:00pm/et on SPEED
Practice: Thur, Nov. 1st 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM [6:00 PM - 7:00 PM EN] on SPEED
Final Practice: Thur, Nov., 1st 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM [7:30 PM – 9:00 PM ET on SPEED
Texas native James Buescher will be shuffling into Texas Motor Speedway for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Friday night. Buescher captured a sixth-place finish in his Turner Motorsports Chevrolet and heads to his home state this weekend with a 21-point advantage over previous points leader, Ty Dillon. Dillon sustained damage to his vehicle after having a tire go down and suffered his worst finish of the season, 28th.
Buescher has the upper hand heading to Texas Motor Speedway with four wins at 1.5-mile tracks this season. Though he has never won in his backyard, Buescher brings Chassis No. 212 that has sent him to Victory Lane four times in 2012.
Timothy Peters remains in the third position (-25) after his seventh-place finish at his home track, followed by teammate Parker Kligerman (-36) in fourth and Joey Coulter rounding out the top five, 46 points out of first.
Other drivers to watch is Brendan Gaughan, who owns four wins and four top-five finishes and Todd Bodine (The Onion) holding six wins and three top-five finishes.