THE RACE: O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
TRACK: Texas Motor Speedway
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race #7 of 36
Date: Sunday, April 8, 2018 in Ft. Worth, TX
Scheduled Green Flag (approx): 2:10 pm/et
Sections on this page:
Television | Radio/Streaming | Schedule | Track/Race Info | Race Rundown
Qualifying / Practice / Entry Info | Weather Links | Tire Notes | Odds
NASCAR RaceDay: 12:30pm/et on FS1
NASCAR Sunday Pre-Race Show: 1:30pm/et on FS1
Television Race Coverage: FS1, 2:00pm/et
Practices:
Friday, April 6, 1:00pm-1:55pm/et, TV-FS1;
Saturday, April 7, 11:00am-11:55am/et, TV-FS1;
Saturday, April 7, 1:30pm-2:20pm/et, TV-FS1
Qualifying for positions 1-40, Friday, April 6 at 5:45 pm/et, TV-FS1;
re-air scheduled: None
In the Booth: Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Jeff Gordon
Pit Reporters: Jamie Little, Regan Smith, Vince Welch, Matt Yocum
In-Race Analyst: Larry McReynolds
Race / Hollywood Hotel Host: Chris Myers
Analysts / Hollywood Hotel: Jeff Gordon, Darrell and Michael Waltrip
Scheduled Race Re-Air Dates/Times:
TBA
TV Listings, Links and Info:
see the TV Listings and Links page
Performance Racing Network (PRN)
SiriusXM Satellite NASCAR Channel 90
ONLINE STREAMING
FOX Sports GO (available with participating TV provider login)
Radio: PRN Live Streaming
SiriusXM Internet Radio (available via internet connected device, with subscription)
EVENT SCHEDULE
Event Schedule times are local to the track
Thursday, April 5
4:00 PM-6:00 PM MENCS HAULERS ENTER (EQUIPMENT UNLOAD)
Friday, April 6
9:00 AM-6:00 PM MENCS GARAGE OPEN
11:00 AM MENCS ROOKIE MEETING, SPOTTER MEETING, & RANDOM DRAWING
12:00 PM-12:55 PM MENCS 1ST PRACTICE
4:45 PM (5:45 PM/ET) MENCS QUALIFYING (MULTI-VEHICLE / THREE ROUNDS)
Saturday, April 7
9:00 AM-4:00 PM MENCS GARAGE OPEN
10:00 AM-10:55 AM MENCS 2ND PRACTICE
12:30 PM-1:20 PM MENCS FINAL PRACTICE
Sunday, April 8
7:30 AM MENCS GARAGE OPENS
11:00 AM MENCS DRIVER / CREW CHIEF MEETING
12:20 PM MENCS DRIVER INTRODUCTIONS
1:00 PM (2:00 PM/ET) MENCS RACE (334 LAPS, 501 MILES)
MENCS = Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Texas Motor Speedway Track News, Stats & Links page
April 2017: see the Texas Race Info page
October 2017: see the Texas Race Info page
Race Festivities/Officials:
Grand Marshal: TBA
Command to start engines: Kix Brooks
Honorary Starter/Wave Green Flag: TBA
Honorary Pace Car Driver: TBA
Color Guard: Euless Police Department Honor Guard
Invocation: Bret Shisler, Texas Alliance Raceway Ministries
National Anthem: Lewis Warren Jr.
Flyover: 71st Fighter Squadron Ironmen, Langley AFB, Virginia
Sunday Texas Notebook: Erik Jones' first top five of the season is a sure sign of progress; Martin Truex Jr.'s top-five streak ends in hard crash; Jimmie Johnson finds encouragement in calamity at Texas.[More](4-8-2018)
Saturday Texas Notebook: Kevin Harvick enters a cell phone-free zone at Augusta National; Hoping to break drought, Jimmie Johnson finds speed at Texas; Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to backup car after crash ion practice[More](4-7-2018)
Friday Texas Notebook: "New Kids on the Track" really are new; Dancin' Chris Buescher celebrates eventful off week ; Daniel Suarez relishes racing for kids in front of a "home" crowd.[More](4-6-2018)
Texas Weekend Preview: Several big names in the hunt for first win at Texas; NASCAR XFINITY Series returns to action.[More](4-5-2018)
What to Watch For: Texas: Harvick Following in Truex's Footsteps?; Johnson Hopes to Regain Texas Magic; Haas Wins, Bowyer Snapped, Who's Next?; Who's Hot and Who's Not - Texas[More](4-5-2018)
A look at many news, notes and story lines for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, see the stats on the NASCAR National Series News & Notes -- Texas Motor Speedway
A look at some of the top statistical performers and top-10 driver ratings at Texas Motor Speedway, see the stats on the Statistical Advance - Analyzing Texas Motor Speedway page
Kyle Busch holds off Kevin Harvick at Texas for season's first victory: Harried by Harvick for 23 laps after a restart on Lap 312 of 334, Busch powered his Toyota across the finish line .3 seconds ahead of the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. The key to Busch's victory was a mistake-free run over the final laps.[More](4-8-2018)
Kyle Busch won the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. The win is his 1st win of 2018, 3rd win at Texas and 44th career win. Busch led 115 of the 334 laps.
#4-Harvick finished 2nd followed by #1-McMurray, #20-Jones, #12-Blaney, #22-Logano, pole sitter #41-Busch, #42-Wallace, #24-Byron, and #14-Bowyer.
Stage 1 was won by #4-Harvick. Stage 2 was won by #18-Busch.
There were 16 lead changes among 8 drivers and 8 cautions for 48 yellow flag laps. There was a red flag for track cleanup following an accident that took out #10-Almirola, #2-Keselowski, #11-Hamlin, and #48-Johnson.
The average speed of the race was: 141.714mph.
See unofficial race results, awards, laps led, cautions and more at:
Unofficial Race Results (pdf)
Cumulative Report (pdf)
Penalty Report (pdf)
See OFFICIAL race results & points standings on the Official Race & Points Report (pdf).
MENCS at Texas
- Kyle Busch: 44th career NASCAR Cup Series win; ties Bill Elliott for 16th all-time
- Busch: 5th straight top-3 finish (1 win, 3 2nd's, 1 3rd); tied for the longest such streak of his career (5 straight in 2008 season)
- Busch: 3rd MENCS win at Texas, 3rd-most all-time (Jimmie Johnson 7, Carl Edwards 4)
- Kevin Harvick: finished 2nd; top-2 finish in 4 of last 5 1.5-mile track races dating back to last year (also 12 straight top-10 finishes on such tracks)
- Jamie McMurray: finished 3rd, best finish since May 2017 at Talladega (2nd); 1st top-15 finish this year
- Erik Jones: finished 4th for 1st top-5 finish of season
- Darrell Wallace Jr.: finished 8th for 2nd career top-10 finish (already was 1 of 2 black drivers with top-10 finish in Cup Series history)
- Bottom 5 (all wrecked out): Brad Keselowski (33rd), Denny Hamlin (34th), Jimmie Johnson (35th), Kyle Larson (36th), Martin Truex Jr. (37th)
(ESPN Stats & Info)
Race Fast Facts - Texas
Kyle Busch won the 22nd Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, his 44th victory in 469 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and sixth top-10 finish in 2018.
This is his third victory and 13th top-10 finish in 25 races at Texas Motor Speedway.
Kevin Harvick (second) posted his 19th top-10 finish in 31 races at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his fifth top-10 finish in 2018.
Jamie McMurray (third) posted his 11th top-10 finish in 29 races at Texas Motor Speedway.
Darrell Wallace Jr. (eighth) was the highest finishing rookie.
Kyle Busch leads the point standings by 38 points over Joey Logano.
(NASCAR Integrated Sports Marketing)(3-25-2018)
2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Driver Chase Standings:
[after Texas, race 7 of 36]
#4-Kevin Harvick [3 wins - 2 can be used for playoffs], 257
#18-Kyle Busch [1 win], 316
#78-Martin Truex Jr. [1 win], 250
#14-Clint Bowyer [1 win], 249
#3-Austin Dillon [1 win], 159
#22-Joey Logano, 278, -38
#12-Ryan Blaney, 265, -51
#2-Brad Keselowski, 237, -79
#41-Kurt Busch, 224, -92
#11-Denny Hamlin, 222, -94
#42-Kyle Larson, 202, -114
#20-Erik Jones, 193, -123
#10-Aric Almirola, 177, -139
#88-Alex Bowman, 154, -162
#9-Chase Elliott, 148, -168
#21-Paul Menard, 146, -170
See the Unofficial Drivers Points Standings page (pdf) and Unofficial Owners Points Standings page (pdf)
See OFFICIAL race results & points standings on the Official Race & Points Report (pdf).
Top-Ten Stage 2 Results (lap 170) of the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway (lap 170/334):
#18-Busch, 10pts, 1 playoff point
#41-Busch, 9pts
#22-Logano, 8pts
#20-Jones, 7pts
#14-Bowyer, 6pts
#9-Elliott, 5pts
#2-Keselowski, 4pts
#17-Stenhouse, Jr., 3pts
#11-Hamlin, 2pts
#10-Almirola, 1pt
Top-Ten Stage 1 Results (lap 85) of the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway (lap 85/334):
#4-Harvick, 10pts, 1 playoff point
#18-Busch, 9pts
#41-Busch, 8pts
#22-Logano, 7pts
#42-Larson, 6pts
#14-Bowyer, 5pts
#1-McMurray, 4pts
#2-Keselowski, 3pts
#9-Elliott, 2pts
#20-Jones, 1pt
Lucky Dogs, drivers that got a lap back during the cautions (and their finish):
Caution 1: None. No one a lap or more down.
Caution 2: #11-Hamlin, 34th
Caution 3: #24-Byron, 10th
Caution 4: #6-Bayne, 12th
Caution 5: #12-Blaney, 5th
Caution 6: #43-Wallace, 8th
Caution 7: None.
Caution 8: #1-McMurray, 3rd
Sunday Texas pre-race schedule (ET):
1:54 Intro Presentation of Colors by Euless Police Department Honor Guard
1:54 Invocation by Bret Shisler with Texas Alliance Raceway Ministries
1:55 National Anthem by Lewis Warren Jr., award-winning pianist and student at the New England Conservatory of Music
1:56 Fly-By TOT: 71st Fighter Squadron Ironmen, Langley AFB, Virginia
2:01 "Drivers, Start Your Engines" by Kix Brooks of Brooks and Dunn and host of American Country Countdown
2:10: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 (FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR)
See the starting lineup for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway on the Starting Lineup Page (pdf).
To the rear: #24-Byron (engine change), #17-Stenhouse, Jr. (backup car), #32-DiBenedetto (transmission change), #42-Larson (failed technical inspection 3 times)
NASCAR Overtime Race Procedure: Rule and notes on the NASCAR Overtime rules/news/stats page.
Wave Around: how the wave around rule works: All vehicles between the leader and the caution vehicle at the start/finish line when the "one to go" signal is given by the starter are considered "Wave Around" eligible. "Wave Around" vehicles will not be permitted to enter pit road at any time during this yellow flag/caution period. "Wave Around" vehicles must receive the green flag on the race track before being permitted to enter pit road without a penalty. Vehicles under a penalty and the "Free Pass" vehicle will not be eligible to receive a "Wave Around".
Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway have been made.
Pit stalls 7, 20, 23, 26, 30, and 43 will not be in use.
Pole winner #41-Busch chose pit stall 1, the first stall available [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole winner #4-Harvick, took pit stall 8, with an opening in front of it.
#14-Bowyer, who starts 3rd, took the 14th stall, with an opening in front of it.
The final pit stall was taken by #48-Johnson, who starts 9th.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on Jayski.com's Pit Stall Selection chart.(4-7-2018)
Links to results, practices, qualifying PDF's: (will be added as available)
Official Race & Points Report
Race Results
Drivers Points
Owners Points
Cumlative Race Report
Penalty Report
Crew Rosters
Happy Hour Practice Speeds
Practice 2 Speeds
Pitstalls
Starting Lineup
Qualifying Results
Qualifying Order
Practice 1 Speeds
Latest / Final Entry List
Preliminary Entry List
See the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race results page
QUALIFYING INFO, PRACTICE SPEED and ENTRIES
Happy Hour (final) practice for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway is over, after 50 scheduled minutes, the top five, slowest and notes:
#48-Johnson 198.143
#4-Harvick 197.984
#19-Suarez 197.780
#41-Busch 197.759
#78-Truex, Jr. 197.614
best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 14 drivers): #4-Harvick 196.904.
slowest: #51-Rhodes 188.114 & #00-Cassill 187.598.
notes: The start of practice was delayed by more than 30 minutes due to wet track conditions.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Happy Hour Practice speeds page (pdf) (4-7-2018)
First Saturday practice for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway is over, after 55 scheduled minutes, the top five, slowest and notes:
#19-Suarez 198.998
#11-Hamlin 198.900
#24-Byron 198.741
#48-Johnson 198.639
#4-Harvick 198.180
best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 11 drivers): #31-Newman 195.483
slowest: #51-Rhodes 189.142 & #00-Cassill 188.140. No speed: #15-Chastain, #23-Gaulding, #55-Sorenson.
notes: #17-Stenhouse, Jr made contact with the wall in turn 4 and will have to go to a backup car.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Second Practice speeds page (pdf) (4-7-2018)
Kurt Busch on pole at Texas after lightning-fast first round: Busch's first attempt in knockout qualifying put the No. 41 on the pole position for Sunday's O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway - when the threat of lightning in the area halted time trials after the completion of the first round.[More](4-6-2018)
#41-Kurt Busch won the Busch pole for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway with speed of 197.368mph for his 1st pole of 2018, 3rd at Texas and 23rd of his career. Busch has won once from the 22 previous poles.
Qualifying was canceled following the first round after lightning moved into the area.
#4-Harvick will start 2nd followed by #14-Bowyer, #12-Blaney, #11-Hamlin, #78-Truex, Jr., #22-Logano, #18-Busch, #48-Johnson, #42-Larson, #2-Keselowski, and #10-Almirola.
Driver(s) who will miss the race: none as 37 were entered for 40 spots
See round-by-round qualifying results on the Qualifying results page (pdf) and the complete starting lineup on the Starting Lineup page (pdf).(4-6-2018)
Texas Motor Speedway - Qualifying Fast Facts:
Kurt Busch won the Busch Pole Award Pole Award for the 22nd Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 with a lap of 27.360 seconds, 197.368 mph.
This is his 23rd pole in 619 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his first pole and fourth top-10 start in 2018.
This is his third pole in 31 races at Texas Motor Speedway.
Kevin Harvick (second) posted his seventh top-10 start of 2018 and his 10th in 31 races at Texas Motor Speedway.
Clint Bowyer (third) posted his ninth top-10 start at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his fourth in seven races this season.
Darrell Wallace Jr. (15th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Statistics)(4-6-2018)
First Round of Qualifying for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway is over, after 15 scheduled minutes.
#41-Busch 197.368
#4-Harvick 197.116
#14-Bowyer 196.829
#12-Blaney 196.600
#11-Hamlin 196.257
the rest of the top 24: 78 22 18 48 42 2 10 6 19 43 88 3 37 21 9 20 47 13 1
out of the top 24 and not advancing to round 2: 31 17 34 95 38 32 15 23 24 72 00 51 55
Drivers who will miss the race: none, 37 entered
(4-6-2018)
Coverage of Qualifying for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway is scheduled for Friday, April 6, 2018 at 5:45pm/et.
Television (TV): FS1, 5:30pm/et
Radio: Live online at Performance Racing Network (PRN)
Group qualifying under the three-round qualifying format:
• Round 1 -- All entries will have 15 minutes to post a qualifying time, after which the 24 registering the fastest laps will advance to the second round. Those failing to advance will be sorted based on first-round times in descending order (from fastest to slowest).
• Round 2 -- The 24 fastest from the first round will have 10 minutes to post a second-round qualifying time, with the 12 fastest advancing to a third round. Those not advancing will earn starting positions 13 through 24 based on time, again in descending order.
• Round 3 -- The final round will be five minutes in length. The fastest times from this session will determine the first (Coors Light Pole Award) through 12th starting positions.
There will be a seven-minute break between each round; teams may make adjustments to their entries only during the individual breaks. They will not be allowed to jack the vehicle or raise the hood, and once the car or truck enters the garage, it will no longer be permitted to return to the track for additional qualifying attempts.
Qualifying Order for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway is posted.
The first driver to be lined up on pit road will be #19-Suarez.
The final driver lined up on pit road will be #51-Rhodes.
The order is set by a random draw, how cars park on pit road before they qualify, held about an hour before the first practice.
After the first round, the cars lined up by speed.
For the qualifying order, see the Qualifying Order page (pdf).(4-6-2018)
First practice for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway is over, after 55 scheduled minutes, the top-five, slowest and notes:
#41-Busch 196.200
#4-Harvick 195.943
#14-Bowyer 195.426
#18-Busch 195.009
#12-Blaney 194.883
most laps run: #22-Logano, 19 laps
No drivers ran 10 consecutive laps.
slowest: #72-Whitt 180.132 & #00-Cassill 177.731.
notes: #24-Byron's team had to change an engine. He will start in the back on Sunday.
See the fastest speeds, laps run on the Friday Practice speeds (pdf) (4-6-2018)
Entry List for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway is posted, 37 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
Some of the drivers entered include: #00-Cassill, #15-Chastain, #51-Rhodes, #55-Sorenson, #72-Whitt.
Since only 37 cars are entered, all drivers will make the race.
See the full entry list on the Entry List (pdf)
For qualifying rules and formats, see the Qualifying Rules page
How to Calculate Track Speeds: use the formula Speed = Distance divided by Time. Distance is Track Length, and Lap Time into Hours. Once hour is 3600 seconds, so the calculation for a 48 second lap at Daytona(2.5 miles) would be: Speed = 2.5 x (3600/48), = 2.5 x 75 = 187.500mph. For a 19 second lap at Texas(.533 miles): Speed = .533 x (3600/19), = .533 x 189.474 = a speed of 100.990mph
Weather Channel
Accuweather
National Weather Service
Race Weather
Race Day Forecast
Weather Bug
Weather Underground
Texas Goodyear Tire Notes See complete tire information for the race weekend across all series on the [Goodyear Tire Notes - Texas Motor Speedway page.(4-3-2018)
RACE & CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS
Vegas Insider
Race and Championship odds
NASCAR Top-Five Finish Prediction
Texas Race Preview by Micah Roberts
Bovada Sportsbook:
Race and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Championship