Texas Motor Speedway hosts its lone Cup race this weekend.
NASCAR heads to the 1.5-mile speedway after having run three of the last four races on short tracks.
The last seven Texas Cup races have been won by a different driver. Those winners are: Denny Hamlin (March 2019), Kevin Harvick (November 2019), Austin Dillon (July 2020), Kyle Busch (October 2020), Kyle Larson (October 2021), Tyler Reddick (September 2022) and William Byron (September 2023).
Here’s a look at where things stand for each Cup organization heading into the ninth race of the season:
23XI Racing — Good news: Bubba Wallace has qualified in the top 10 in 14 of the last 17 races. He won the pole for last year’s playoff race at Texas and finished third after leading a race-high 111 laps. Tyler Reddick has four top-five finishes in his last seven starts at 1.5-mile tracks. Reddick’s 289 points in the last seven races at 1.5-mile tracks is the most in the series. Bad news: 23XI Racing has led 97 of 2,429 laps this season. That ranks fifth in the series behind Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Team Penske and Front Row Motorsports.
Front Row Motorsports — Good news: Todd Gilliland is coming off a season-best 13th-place finish at Martinsville. Bad News: Gilliland and teammate Michael McDowell have yet to score a top-10 finish at Texas in Cup.
Hendrick Motorsports — Good news: It’s good to be William Byron. He has won nine of the last 44 Cup races. He has three wins this season. Each win has been on a different style track: A superspeedway (Daytona 500), road course (COTA) and short track (Martinsville). Byron also won last fall’s playoff race at Texas. Chase Elliott has scored top-five finishes in each of the past two races. Kyle Larson has scored a series-high 94 stage points this season. Bad news: Byron and Alex Bowman have both yet to score a stage win this season.
Joe Gibbs Racing — Good news: Martin Truex Jr. has the best average finish in the series this year at 9.4. Denny Hamlin has the best average running position this season at 7.3. Christopher Bell has finished in the top five in three of the last four Texas races. Bad news: Ty Gibbs has an average finish of 17.5 in the past two races. He had an average finish of 6.0 in the previous five races.
JTG Daugherty Racing — Good news: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished ninth at Texas in September, the most recent Cup race there. Bad news: That is Stenhouse’s only top 10 at Texas in 19 Cup starts.
Kaulig Racing — Good news: Martinsville is over. Josh Williams was 27th and Daniel Hemric was 28th there last weekend. Bad news: Hemric has finished 28th or worse in each of the last five races.
Legacy Motor Club — Good news: Team co-owner Jimmie Johnson is back in the No. 84 car this weekend. Erik Jones has had back-to-back top-15 finishes for the first time this season. Bad news: The team has yet to lead a lap this year.
Richard Childress Racing — Good news: Kyle Busch’s 16th-place finish at Martinsville snapped a streak of six consecutive finishes of 20th or worse at tracks 1 mile or less. Austin Hill makes his first Cup start of the season, driving the No. 33 car for RCR. Bad news: Austin Dillon has been running in the top 15 in just 7.2% of the 2,429 laps run this year.
Rick Ware Racing — Good news: Justin Haley ranks ninth in the series this year in percentage of laps completed at 99.7%. Bad news: The organization has yet to score a top-20 finish at Texas.
RFK Racing — Good news: Brad Keselowski has scored five consecutive top-10 finishes at Texas, best among active drivers. Bad news: Chris Buescher’s 15 stage points this year are the fewest among drivers in a playoff position. Keselowski fell out of a playoff spot, dropping to 18th in the points after his 24th-place finish at Martinsville.
Spire Motorsports — Good news: Carson Hocevar’s 17th-place finish at Martinsville was the organization’s best result in the last four races. Bad news: Rookie Zane Smith has scored the fewest points of any driver who has started all eight Cup races this season.
Stewart-Haas Racing — Good news: Chase Briscoe announced last week that his wife is expecting twins. The couple has a child, so Briscoe noted that a “Party of Five” is coming. Five also is the number of consecutive top 10s he’s scored at Martinsville after his 10th-place finish. Ryan Preece placed a season-best ninth at Martinsville. Noah Gragson finished sixth at Las Vegas in the most recent race at a 1.5-mile speedway. Bad news: The organization has yet to score a top-five finish this year. Briscoe is the team’s only driver with an average finish better than 20th this year. His average finish is 15.6.
Team Penske — Good news: Joey Logano was 30th in points four races ago. He enters Texas 15th in the standings, the first time this season he’s been in a playoff spot. Ryan Blaney’s finishes in the last four races on 1.5-mile speedways: 3rd (Las Vegas), 2nd (Atlanta), 2nd (Homestead playoff 2023), 6th (Las Vegas playoff 2023). Logano and Blaney each has scored eight top 10s in the 11 races since Texas was reconfigured. That’s best among active drivers. Bad news: Austin Cindric has finished 18th or worse in seven of the eight races this season.
Trackhouse Racing — Good news: Ross Chastain finished second last year at Texas. Chastain ranks third in the series in points scored on 1.5-mile tracks in the Next Gen era, trailing only Kyle Larson and William Byron. Bad news: Trackhouse’s two drivers, Chastain and Daniel Suarez have combined for five pit road speeding penalties this year. Only Joe Gibbs Racing has had more pit road speeding penalties this year with six.
Wood Brothers Racing — Good news: Harrison Burton has an average finish of 19.0 in two Cup starts at Texas. He won the Xfinity race at Texas in 2020. Bad news: Burton has finished 27th or worse in seven of the eight races this year.
