2016 Duck Commander 500 Advance and Entry List

SPEEDREADS

T E X A S M O T O R S P E E D WAY

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SPEEDREADS APRIL 6, 2016

TIME FOR FIRST WIN

Kevin Harvick hopes to end winless streak at Texas Motor Speedway PAGE 2

Johnson dominance

Will Jimmie make it four consecutive wins at TMS? PAGE 3

Earnhardt jr. looks back at 20 years at texas Fan favorite won first career Sprint Cup AND XFINITY races at Texas PAGE 4

Duck Commander 500 defending champion Jimmie Johnson Te x a s M o t o r S p e e d w a y | D u c k C o m m a n d e r 5 0 0 A d v a n c e

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SPEEDREADS

LEAD LAP

TOP NEWS FROM TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

HARVICK READY TO PUT BRAKES ON TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY WINLESS SKID Stewart-Haas Racing driver and 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick is accustomed to winning.

His 32 career wins are fifth most among active Sprint Cup Series drivers, but there is nary a victory at Texas Motor Speedway where he enjoyed plenty of success in NASCAR’s other national series.

Harvick is in the midst of a 26race winless streak at the 1.5mile speedway, which is tied for the longest streak without a victory among Sprint Cup Series drivers who have competed at Texas Motor Speedway. Texas native Bobby Labonte competed in 26 Sprint Cup Series races during his career without securing a victory.

Harvick, however, does own six NASCAR national series wins at Texas Motor Speedway over the course of his career, five in the XFINITY Series and one in the Camping World Truck Series.

That Sprint Cup streak nearly came to an end last year as Harvick led 96 laps only to finish runner-up to Jimmie Johnson in last year’s Duck Commander 500. Harvick arrives at Texas Motor Speedway for Saturday night’s Duck Commander 500,

Kevin Harvick will be looking to get his Sprint Cup first win at Texas Motor Speedway in Saturday night’s Duck Commander 500.

NASCAR’s third-highest paying race, (6:30 p.m. CT on FOX/ Radio: PRN, SirusXM Channel 90, 95.9 FM The Ranch local) once again as one of the more dominant drivers in the series.

He sits atop the driver standings buoyed by a win at Phoenix and five top-10 finishes, including three among the top five, in six starts this season. He also has finished third or better in his last three starts at Texas Motor Speedway and among the top 10 in six of his last eight visits.

“I think with the way we’ve run well the last couple of years – we’ve finished second two or three times – we can get that win,” Harvick said. “I just really

Te x a s M o t o r S p e e d w a y | D u c k C o m m a n d e r 5 0 0 A d v a n c e

keep thinking about every time I have to drive into the tunnel and the first time I see Eddie (Gossage, Texas Motor Speedway president) to give me grief about not having accomplished that.

Hopefully at one point we can knock that off the list, but if we do I don’t know what Eddie and I am going to have to talk about any more.”

DID YOU KN O W? After leading just eight laps in his first 24 Sprint Cup starts at TMS, Kevin Harvick has led 107 in his last two visits, including 96 in last year’s Duck Commander 500.

SPEEDREADS

JOHNSON LOOKS TO CONTINUE TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY DOMINANCE

Jimmie Johnson celebrates his victory in the 2015 Duck Commander 500 last year by shooting off the traditional six-shooters.

Six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, already with one win in this young season, arrives at Texas Motor Speedway for Saturday night’s Duck Commander 500, NASCAR’s third-highest paying race, as a heavy favorite … once again.

Johnson will be chasing his fourth consecutive victory at Texas Motor Speedway and fifth in the previous seven races. Over that stretch, he has led a total of 748 laps to push his career total at Texas to a record 1,023. Last season, he also became the third driver in speedway history to sweep the season’s Sprint Cup races (Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin are the others) to push his career wins at TMS to six, another track record.

“Texas is one of the tracks with an older surface on it and it just fits me,” Johnson said.

“The longer the race, the more adjustments that need to be made. I’ve always thought a big thing has been our ability to communicate and talk through what I’m feeling and where we think things are going to go and making the right adjustments.”

Johnson already has demonstrated he has a handle on NASCAR’s new aero package at 1.5-mile speedways. He collected his first victory of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a sister Speedway Motorsports, Inc. track similar to Texas Motor Speedway. He also led 73 laps en route to a third-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, another SMI facility, last month.

“It’s always fun to go to Texas,” Johnson said. “It’s a place that always seems to give us a great opportunity to win.”

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UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Brad Keselowski is in the midst of love/hate relationship with Texas Motor Speedway. He has led in eight of the previous 10 races, including a record 312 laps in last November’s AAA Texas 500, but has no wins to show for it.

He does own a pair of runner-up finishes (fall of 2012 and ‘15) and has tallied six top-10 finishes during that span, but that elusive victory continues to haunt Keselowski. Already with a win at a 1.5-mile track this season (Las Vegas), he is looking to snap that streak during the Duck Commander 500, NASCAR’s third-highest paying race.

“When I think of Texas Motor Speedway I think of finishing second there way too many times,” Keselowski said. “I need to win and get that cowboy hat and six shooters. We just need to close the race out. It seems at the end of the race something comes up. Whether it’s a mistake I’ve made or something else. We’ve just got to close it out.”

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SPEEDREADS

EARNHARDT JR. SHARES MEMORIES OF TMS AS speedway CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY Texas Motor Speedway has ushered in some of NASCAR’s most memorable moments since opening its doors in 1997. The speedway will celebrate its 20th season of racing beginning with this weekend’s Duck Commander 500, the traditional April spot on the Sprint Cup schedule the speedway has held since ‘97.

For NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., Texas Motor Speedway has hosted a pair of special moments for him during his career. Texas was where he earned his first career victories in both the XFINITY (1998) and Sprint Cup Series (2000).

“I just remember how good the car was,” Earnhardt Jr. said of his Sprint Cup Series race-winning car. “We had an awesome setup and some pretty unique stuff in the car. It really was a new direction for us in setups. I just remember being in the car and it being so amazing.

It was so easy to drive.”

Earnhardt Jr. became the first Sprint Cup Series rookie to win at Texas Motor Speedway, leading 106 of 334 laps. While the celebration in Victory Lane with his father Dale Earnhardt Sr. provided a lasting memory, the win could have nearly been derailed.

“A lot of people don’t know this but the clutch broke 40 to 50 laps to go,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “After the last pit stop the clutch was broke so if we would have had a restart or late race pit stop I would have had a lot of trouble trying to get out of the pit stall. We were fortunate that didn’t bite us at the end.”

DUCK CALL Birds of a feather flock together and the famed Robertson family will do just that this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

The family, known for their antics on A&E’s popular reality show Duck Dynasty as well as for their booming business that serves as the title sponsor for the Duck Commander 500, will visit with fans leading up to the start of Saturday evening’s race.

The Duck Commander compound, located between Gates 1 and 2 along the FanZone, will be the place for fans to get autographs of their favorite Duck Dynasty personality.

The signings are free and open to the public.

10 – 11:30 a.m. – Phil Robertson, Ms. Kay, Jase Robertson, Missy Robertson, Alan Robertson, Lisa Robertson and John Godwin 12:30 – 2 p.m. – Willie Robertson, Korie Robertson, Sadie Robertson, Si Robertson, Jep Robertson, Jessica Robertson and Justin Martin.

HOMETOWN FAVORITE TAKES OVER TMS INFIELD

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie Chris Buescher, a Prosper, Texas native and 2015 XFINITY Series champion, is returning to his home track and on Friday he will be giving back to his loyal hometown supporters. Buescher, driving the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford for Front Row Motorsports, is set to take over the Texas Motor Speedway infield campground as he will be rolling through to give away hats, take photos and sign autographs with fans from 3-4 p.m. CT. Fans can keep tabs on Buescher’s whereabouts by following @ chris_buescher, @roushfenway and @team_FRM on Twitter or by following the Live broadcast on Roush Fenway Racing’s Facebook page. Buescher also will be in attendance at Revin’ Up Roanoke in nearby Roanoke, Texas. Buescher will sign autographs at the event which begins at 5 p.m. on Oak St. Te x a s M o t o r S p e e d w a y | D u c k C o m m a n d e r 5 0 0 A d v a n c e

SPEEDREADS

ENTRY LIST

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DUCK COMMANDER 500

20th Annual Duck Commander "500" - NASCAR Sprint Cup Series - Texas Motor Speedway - 4/9/2016 Last Update: Entry

4/4/2016 10:12:00 AM

Veh #

Driver

Organization

Crew Chief

Veh Mfg

Sponsor

1

1

Jamie McMurray

Chip Ganassi Racing

Matt McCall

16 Chevrolet Cessna

2

2

Brad Keselowski

Team Penske

Paul Wolfe

16 Ford

3

3

Austin Dillon

Richard Childress Racing

Slugger Labbe

16 Chevrolet Dow - Solar

4

4

Kevin Harvick

Stewart-Haas Racing

Rodney Childers

16 Chevrolet Jimmy John's

5

5

Kasey Kahne

Hendrick Motorsports

Keith Rodden

16 Chevrolet Quicken Loans

6

6

Trevor Bayne

Roush Fenway Racing

Matt Puccia

16 Ford

7

7

Regan Smith

Tommy Baldwin Racing

Tommy Baldwin

16 Chevrolet Fire Alarm Services, Inc. Chevrolet

8

10

Danica Patrick

Stewart-Haas Racing

Billy Scott

16 Chevrolet Nature's Bakery

9

11

Denny Hamlin

Joe Gibbs Racing

Michael Wheeler

16 Toyota

10

13

Casey Mears

Germain Racing

Bootie Barker III

16 Chevrolet GEICO

11

14

Brian Vickers

Stewart-Haas Racing

Mike Bugarewicz

16 Chevrolet TaxAct Military Files Free Chevrolet SS

12

15

Clint Bowyer

HScott Motorsports

Steve Addington

16 Chevrolet Visine

13

16

Greg Biffle

Roush Fenway Racing

Brian Pattie

16 Ford

Kleen Performance Ford Fusion

14

17

Ricky Stenhouse Jr

Roush Fenway Racing

Nicholas Sandler

16 Ford

Zest Ford Fusion

15

18

Kyle Busch

Joe Gibbs Racing

Adam Stevens

16 Toyota

Interstate Batteries

16

19

Carl Edwards

Joe Gibbs Racing

Dave Rogers

16 Toyota

Stanley

17

20

Matt Kenseth

Joe Gibbs Racing

Jason Ratcliff

16 Toyota

Dollar General

18

21

Ryan Blaney

Wood Brothers Racing

Jeremy Bullins

16 Ford

Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire + Auto Center

19

22

Joey Logano

Team Penske

Todd Gordon

16 Ford

Shell Pennzoil

20

23

David Ragan

BK Racing

Patrick Donahue

16 Toyota

Dr. Pepper

21

24

Chase Elliott

Hendrick Motorsports

Alan Gustafson

16 Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts

22

27

Paul Menard

Richard Childress Racing

Justin Alexander

16 Chevrolet Pepsi / Menards

23

30

Josh Wise

The Motorsports Group

Dave Fuge

16 Chevrolet Curtis Key Plumbing

24

31

Ryan Newman

Richard Childress Racing

Luke Lambert

16 Chevrolet Caterpillar

25

32

Jeffrey Earnhardt

GO FAS Racing

Wally Rogers

16 Ford

Can- Am

26

34

Chris Buescher

Front Row Motorsports

Bob Osborne

16 Ford

Love’s Travel Stops

27

38

Landon Cassill

Front Row Motorsports

Donnie Wingo

16 Ford

MDS Transport

28

41

Kurt Busch

Stewart-Haas Racing

Tony Gibson

16 Chevrolet Monster Energy / Haas Automation

29

42

Kyle Larson

Chip Ganassi Racing

Chad Johnston

16 Chevrolet Target

30

43

Aric Almirola

Richard Petty Motorsports

Trent Owens

16 Ford

Smithfield

31

44

Brian Scott

Richard Petty Motorsports

Chris Heroy

16 Ford

Albertons Co. / Shore Lodge

32

46

Michael Annett

HScott Motorsports

Jay Guy

16 Chevrolet Pilot Flying J

33

47

AJ Allmendinger

JTG Daugherty Racing

Randall Burnett

16 Chevrolet Kroger / Bush's Beans

34

48

Jimmie Johnson

Hendrick Motorsports

Chad Knaus

16 Chevrolet Lowe's

35

55

Reed Sorenson

Premium Motorsports

Patrick Tryson

16 Chevrolet TBA

36

78

Martin Truex Jr

Furniture Row Racing

Cole Pearn

16 Toyota

Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Boats

37

83

Matt DiBenedetto

BK Racing

Gene Nead

16 Toyota

Cosmo Motors

38

88

Dale Earnhardt Jr

Hendrick Motorsports

Greg Ives

16 Chevrolet Nationwide

39

95

Ty Dillon(i)

Circle Sport-Leavine Family

Dave Winston

16 Chevrolet Nexium 24HR Chevrolet SS

40

98

Cole Whitt

Premium Motorsports

Mark Hillman

15 Chevrolet TBA

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Sprint Cup Series race winners that have started outside the top

10 at Texas Motor Speedway in 31 career races. The previous 10 race winners have all started 10th or better.

Miller Lite

AdvoCare Ford Fusion

FedEx Office

3

Pole sitters that have gone on to win a Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. Kasey Kahne was the first in the spring race of 2006 and was followed by Jimmie Johnson (fall of 2012) and Kyle Busch (spring of ’13).

Te x a s M o t o r S p e e d w a y | D u c k C o m m a n d e r 5 0 0 A d v a n c e

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SPEEDREADS

PUBLIC SCHEDULE

DUCK COMMANDER 500 WEEKEND EVENTS

WednesDAY, APRIL 6 9a-5p 10a

10a

Texas Motor Speedway Credential Office Hours Reserved Infield Camping Opens (South Tunnel) Burnout Alley Load In (closes midnight Friday)

ThursDAY, APRIL 7

9a-6p Texas Motor Speedway Credentials Office Hours 9:30a NXS Haulers Enter 11a NSCS Haulers Enter 11:30a-6p NXS Registration Open 12p-8p NXS Garage Open 2p-6p NSCS Registration Open 2:30p-7p NSCS Garage Open 2:30 pm Gate 4 Open 2:30 pm Gate 2 Open for Victory Lane

Club Access Only 3p-4:25p NXS Practice 4:30p-5:55p NSCS Practice 6p-6:55p NXS Final Practice

FRIDAY, APRIL 8

9a-7:30p Texas Motor Speedway Credentials Office Hours 9a-7p NSCS Registration Open 9a-8:30p NSCS Garage Open 10a-7p NXS Registration Open 10a NXS Garage Open 1p Gates 3, 4 & 5 Open 1p Gates 2 & 6 Open for Luxury Suites and Victory Lane Club Only 1:15p3:30p NSCS “HOT PASS” IN EFFECT 1:45p-2:45p NSCS Qualifying 3:45p-4:45p NXS Qualifying 5p-7:30p NSCS “HOT PASS” IN EFFECT 5:30p-6:50p NSCS Final Practice 7:30p NXS O’Reilly Auto Parts 300

(200 Laps, 300 Miles) 12 am Burnout Alley Closes

SATURDAY, APRIL 9

12p-6:30p Texas Motor Speedway Credential Office Hours 12:30p-7p NSCS Registration Open 12:30p NSCS Garage Open 2 p Gates 2-8 Luxury Suites and Victory Lane Club Open 4:40p Loud & Proud Pre-Race Show powered by the Texas Lottery Concert featuring Lynyrd Skynyrd 5:30p-11p NSCS “HOT PASS” IN EFFECT 6:30p NSCS Duck Commander 500

(334 Laps, 501 Miles) 30 min Portacool Post-Race Show featuring post race Charlie Robison

TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY ticket info www.texasmotorspeedway.com 817.215.8500 Facebook: Texas Motor Speedway Twitter: @txmotorspeedway Instagram: txmotorspeedway

Te x a s M o t o r S p e e d w a y | D u c k C o m m a n d e r 5 0 0 A d v a n c e