Here are five things to watch for during NASCAR race week at Texas Motor Speedway.
Penske vs. Gibbs
For the first time since 1999, two teams have combined to win the first six Cup races of the season. Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing have three victories apiece. Brad Keselowski (Team Penske) and Kyle Busch (JGR) each have two wins. The teams have won the last eight races dating to last season. The last time either of these teams did not win came when Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing took the fall race at TMS. “I still believe that we’re going to see the gap close between ourselves, Gibbs and the other teams as the season goes on,” said Walt Czarnecki, executive vice president of Team Penske.
What about Hendrick?
Hendrick Motorsports, normally a powerhouse, had its first top-five finish of the season Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. Chase Elliott finished second. This was the longest the Hendrick operation had gone without a top-five finish to start a season since 2001. Jimmie Johnson, the seven-time champion, remains in a lengthy slump with Hendrick. Johnson has gone 29 consecutive races without a top-five finish and 65 races without a win. Johnson has led only 44 laps in his last 42 starts. “It’s not where we want to be,” said Johnson, who has seven wins in his last 23 Cup starts at TMS. “We’re not going to stop until we get there.”
Local hero
Chris Buescher of Prosper has bounced back since being swept up in a wreck during the season-opening Daytona 500. Buescher has an average finish of 16.0 for his last five starts in the No. 37 Camaro of JTG-Daugherty Racing. He has completed all but one lap in those races. “We still see the dominant cars are the dominant cars, but we are just a lot closer,” Buescher said. “We have gotten into the next group of cars, and I know the work that we have put into that has paid off. We are consistently five to seven spots better than where we ran last season.”
Tight Xfinity leaderboard
After five Xfinity races, only 14 points separate the top three of defending series champion Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer and Christopher Bell, of Norman, Okla. Bell and Custer each has a win this season. Custer’s win was significant because he held off Cup invader Kyle Busch at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., on March 16. Busch has two wins in three Xfinity starts this season and will participate in this race. “Kyle Busch is one of the legends of our sport,” Custer said. “We have a great time racing him, and hopefully we do it more in the future.”
Weekend triple?
Busch will start a bid for a weekend triple in the Gander Outdoors race. Busch has dropped down from the Cup series to win all three of his trucks starts this season, leading 376 of 514 laps. He has won 24 of his last 42 trucks starts dating back to 2013. With Busch ineligible for the championship, Canadian Stewart Friesen leads the series by four points over Grant Enfinger. Brett Moffitt, Johnny Sauter and Harrison Burton are fewer than 10 points off the lead. The veteran Sauter has won three of his last five starts at TMS.