SPEEDREADS SPEEDREADS
T E X A S M O T O R S P E E D WAY
O'reilly auto parts challenge advance nascar xfinity series
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November 1, 2016
time is right
Suarez in position to capture first XFINITY Series championship PAGE 2
chase is on
Quick glance at the eight drivers left in the NXS Chase PAGE 4
Paddock Talk
News from around the paddock prior to race weekend PAGE 5
splash 'n go
XFINITY Series notes, entry list PAGE 6 Te x a s M o t o r S p e e d w a y | N o v e m b e r 1 , 2 0 1 6 | O ’ R e i l l y A u t o P a r t s C h a l l e n g e
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SPEEDREADS
PERFECT TIMING
TIMING IS RIGHT FOR SUAREZ
Timing appears to be everything for Daniel Suarez’s late-season surge toward what could be his first NASCAR championship. Suarez began his first full season in NASCAR’s XFINITY Series as one of its most consistently strong performers, but during a four-race stretch late in the summer he finished 23rd or worse three times. Suarez, who became the first Mexican driver to win a NASCAR national series race with his
XFINITY victory at Michigan in June, appears to have not only righted the ship, but is running better than ever now that the series’ inaugural Chase is underway. “Something really good about my team is that we have a lot of chemistry. We don’t give up, we work really hard,” Suarez said. “When we have bad days, we work even harder. “I really like my team because we are together – we win together and we’ve lost together. We
Te x a s M o t o r S p e e d w a y | N o v e m b e r 1 , 2 0 1 6 | O ’ R e i l l y A u t o P a r t s C h a l l e n g e
SPEEDREADS just have a lot of communication. A couple months ago, we were having a lot of conversations because we needed to find more speed and we were working hard to try to make that speed happen.” That is not a problem of late. Entering Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway (2 p.m. CT, TV: NBC, Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Channel, 95.9 FM The Ranch locally), Suarez and his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team have strung together eight consecutive finishes of eighth or better. That run includes one win (at Dover) and an average finish of 2.3 through the first four races of the Chase. In 30 starts this season, he has two wins and a series-leading 16 top-five finishes. While his teammate at JGR Erik Jones entered the Chase as its No. 1 seed with help from four wins, Suarez has been the stronger team since the run to the championship began. Suarez enters the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge – the second of three races in the Round of 8 – as the
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co-leader in the Chase standings with veteran Elliott Sadler of JR Motorsports. Four of the eight contenders will advance to the Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 19 to vie for the series title. “I feel like every single race we’ve been working hard on trying to find new things and sometimes we miss a little bit and when we do miss it a little bit we finish in the top five,” Suarez said. “That’s something good that we have as a team – that we are consistent and we know when we need to finish in the top three, top five. So, I’m very proud of my team. I feel we have some good momentum going. We have fast race cars and really looking forward for the next month.” Suarez has made just three XFINITY Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway, but he is definitely getting an affinity for the track. He has an average starting position of 4.0 in the previous three races, with a best of third coming in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 back in April. His best finish of sixth came in this event a year ago. He also has finished second in his two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races at TMS. “It’s a good track for me and there is a lot of support for me there because I have many friends in the area,” he said. “It’s a track where we have run well at in the past. We are always competitive when we come to Texas Motor Speedway. It’s a track that we run really well at. We have experience there and this will be a race we are looking forward to.” Suarez is aware his success can play a large role in building a larger Hispanic fan base for the sport. He believes the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex is one of the areas where he sees that happening. “That area (Dallas/Fort Worth) is a place that has a lot of Hispanic race fans,” he said. “I think the better I do and the more success that I have at Texas, there will be more fans that will come out and support us.”
Te x a s M o t o r S p e e d w a y | N o v e m b e r 1 , 2 0 1 6 | O ’ R e i l l y A u t o P a r t s C h a l l e n g e
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SPEEDREADS
ON THE TRACK
NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF NASCAR
XFINITY SERIES CHASE UPDATE The XFINITY Series Chase Round of 8 got underway two weeks ago at Kansas and a chaotic race left Elliott Sadler and Daniel Suarez co-leading the segment entering Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway. (2 p.m. CT, TV: NBC, Radio: PRN, SiriusXM Radio The NASCAR Channel, 95.9 FM The Ranch locally). These two are on top of the points, 12 points above the cutoff. It looks like the ever-consistent Sadler and the super-fast Suarez are the two drivers most capable of winning the XFINITY Series title. These two are undoubtedly the most likely drivers to reach Homestead-Miami Speedway in the Championship 4 race, but the other two competitors who might join them is anybody’s guess. Blake Koch is third, five points above the cut line. The biggest underdog left in the Chase, Koch survived the Kansas chaos to finish ninth. He is five points over the Chase cutoff, but is in a much better position to reach the final round than some of the other Chasers. Justin Allgaier managed to finish only one lap down in 14th despite significant damage to his car at Kansas. His team faced another huge test of resiliency and potentially saved its season. If Allgaier advances to Homestead, it will be because of how many points he did not lose at Kansas. Erik Jones will probably make the most significant push, but he will be difficult to trust if his team cannot put complete races together. His 15th-place finish at Kansas puts him back on the bubble as he sits in the fifth spot in the Chase. His team took a conservative approach to that race, but trouble still found them in the end. Jones needs to come to the realization he is racing for points in instances and not duplicate an incident with Cup regular Kyle Larson on a restart that dashed his hopes of finishing higher that afternoon. Ryan Reed is two points behind Jones and Allgaier while Brendan Gaughan and Darrell Wallace Jr. trail the bubble drivers by 17 and 18 points, respectively. Erik Jones is on the XFINITY Series Chase bubble after finishing 15th at Kansas.
Reed’s late-race incidents at Kansas prevented his day of being a total disaster, but a 16th-place finish did not help much to keep his championship hopes alive. He will be looking for more speed from his car and can’t afford another bad race when he comes to Texas.
Wallace wound up with a wrecked car at Kansas and finished 33rd and has some work to do to stay in the Chase, which will most likely mean him getting a win starting at Texas. Gaughan is in the same situation as Wallace as it would appear he needs a win at Texas of the following week at Phoenix to advance automatically. “We’ll go to Texas and rebound, win us one, and go have some fun in the rest of the Chase,” he said as he looks forward to Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge. Te x a s M o t o r S p e e d w a y | N o v e m b e r 1 , 2 0 1 6 | O ’ R e i l l y A u t o P a r t s C h a l l e n g e
SPEEDREADS
FROM THE PADDOCK ROUND OF 8: Leading the pack at Texas Motor Speedway is uncommon for the eight XFINITY Series championship contenders. Only one driver, Erik Jones, has a victory in the XFINTIY Series at Texas Motor Speedway – that win coming in the 2015 O’Reilly Auto Parts 300. The 79 laps led in that victory are nearly double the combined laps led by the other seven championship contenders. Elliott Sadler (above), Darrell Wallace Jr., Justin Allgaier, Blake Koch, Ryan Reed, Daniel Suarez and Brendan Gaughan have combined to lead 47 laps. Forty of those have come courtesy of the eldest Chase contender Sadler. The Round of 8 drivers’ career average finishes at Texas: Jones (2.3), Sadler (12.1), Allgaier (12.5), Suarez (13.3), Wallace Jr. (13.3), Reed (16.2), Gaughan (19.4) and Koch (31.5). EMOTIONAL RETURN: Joe Gibbs Racing driver Matt Tifft (right) is making his ninth start in the NASCAR XFINITY Series despite having brain surgery in July to remove a tumor near his right temple. Tifft, who was scheduled to compete in a 13-race schedule driving the No. 18 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, discovered the low-grade glioma in the brain during treatment and evaluation for a recent disc condition in his back. Tifft made his return to the XFINITY Series following at Kentucky Speedway his surgery when he turned in a season-best fifth-place finish. He followed that performance with an eighth-place finish at Charlotte. Tifft competed in April’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300, finishing 20th after starting 27th.
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cup regulars look to continue xfinity success at texas While much of the attention being paid to the eight XFINITY championship contenders during the Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge, the attention at the end of the race could be on a pair of Sprint Cup regulars ready to spoil the party. Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick, both with a strong history of success in the NASCAR XFINITY Series at Texas, are competing in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge. Combined, the two have seven wins in the series at Texas and 1,061 laps led. Keselowski, driving the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford, is the defending champion of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge. Last year, he earned his second victory in the fall event – the first coming in 2013. In his last five XFINITY appearances at Texas, he has finished no worse than third and has led in four of the five races. Harvick, driving the No. 88 Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet, has been equally as dominant, with five XFINITY Series victories at Texas. He rides a streak of eight consecutive top-10 finishes, which includes a runner-up finish in last year’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge.
Brad Keselowki charges to victory at the O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge in 2015.
Te x a s M o t o r S p e e d w a y | N o v e m b e r 1 , 2 0 1 6 | O ’ R e i l l y A u t o P a r t s C h a l l e n g e
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SPEEDREADS
SPLASH ’N GO
NOTES FROM TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY 19 XFINITY Series races heading into this weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge. Busch also has a chance to tie another TMS XFINITY Series record should he finish in the top 10 Saturday. That would be his 17th top 10 and would tie Matt Kenseth should he not compete.
WINNING POLE DOES NOT EQUAL WINNING THE RACE: Kyle Busch celebrates his victory in the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 in April at Texas Motor Speedway. It was his eighth NXS victory at Texas. In the 31 previous XFINITY Series races at Texas Motor Speedway, WINNING WAYS: There have been six drivers in the pole winner has gone on to win the history of Texas Motor Speedway to win multiple only four times. However, this has happened in two XFINITY Series races at the facility. of the last three races as Kyle Busch (Spring 2016) and Erik Jones (Spring 2015) each won from the Those drivers are Kyle Busch who has eight wins, pole. The only others to accomplish this were Busch Kevin Harvick with five, Mark Martin with three and in the spring of 2009 and Carl Edwards in the spring Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth and Brad Keslowski of 2011. each with two. They have accounted for 22 wins in the 31 XFINITY races at TMS. SPEAKING OF THE POLE SITTER: Kyle Busch won from the pole in the XFINITY Series O’Reilly Keselowski will be looking to become the first driver to Auto Parts 300 in April and has a chance to become successfully defend his O’Reilly Auto Part Challenge only the second driver in TMS XFINITY Series history title since Busch did so in 2008 and '09. Kevin Harvick to win the pole in both races in the same year. Alex won three consecutive such races from 2005-2007 to Bowman is the only to do so, accomplishing the feat set the record for this race. n 2013. TMS has held two annual XFINITY races since 2005 (this will be 12th occurrence). Busch and Keselowski have combined to win five of the last seven XFINITY Series races at Texas. IN THE LEAD: Kyle Busch has led a track record 1,653 XFINITY Series laps at TMS with next closest TYING RECORDS: Kyle Busch is scheduled to start being Kevin Harvick with 779. Busch has led laps in his 21st XFINITY Series race at TMS Saturday which 12 of the last 14 XFINITY Series at Texas and has led would tie him with Mike Bliss for the most in track hisa minimum of 107 in nine of those races. tory. Saturday. The next closest to these two are Matt Kenseth and Joe Nemechek, who have each started Te x a s M o t o r S p e e d w a y | N o v e m b e r 1 , 2 0 1 6 | O ’ R e i l l y A u t o P a r t s C h a l l e n g e
ENTRY LIST
O’REILLY AUTO PARTS CHALLENGE
SPEEDREADS
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12th Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge - NASCAR XFINITY Series - Texas Motor Speedway - 11/5/2016 Last Update: 10/28/2016 12:50:00 PM Entry Veh #
Driver
Owner
Crew Chief
Veh Mfg
Sponsor
1
0
Garrett Smithley
Gary Cogswell
Danny Gill
16 Chevrolet teamjdmotorsports.com
2
01
Ryan Preece
Johnny Davis
Ryan Bell
16 Chevrolet teamjdmotorsports.com
3
1
Elliott Sadler
Dale Earnhardt Jr
Kevin Meendering
16 Chevrolet OneMain
4
2
Austin Dillon(i)
Richard Childress
Justin Alexander
16 Chevrolet Rheem / Emerson
5
3
Ty Dillon
Richard Childress
Nick Harrison
16 Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops
6
4
Ross Chastain
Gary Keller
Bryan Berry
16 Chevrolet teamjdmotorsports.com
7
6
Darrell Wallace Jr
Jack Roush
Seth Barbour
16 Ford
8
07
Ray Black Jr
Bobby Dotter
Jason Miller
16 Chevrolet Scuba Life
9
7
Justin Allgaier
Kelley Earnhardt-Miller
Jason Burdett
16 Chevrolet Dirty Mo Media / Axalta
10
10
Matt DiBenedetto(i)
Mark Smith
John Mays II
16 Toyota
11
11
Blake Koch
Matt Kaulig
Chris Rice
16 Chevrolet LeafFilter Gutter Protection
12
13
Brandon Hightower
Danielle Long
David Jones
15 Dodge
TBA
13
14
Jeff Green
Mark Smith
Bryan Smith
16 Toyota
TBD
14
15
Clint King
Rick Ware
Keith Wolfe
16 Ford
Lilly Trucking
15
16
Ryan Reed
Jack Roush
Phil Gould
16 Ford
Lilly Diabetes / American Diabetes Association Ford Mustang
16
18
Matt Tifft(i)
J D Gibbs
Chris Gayle
16 Toyota
NOS Energy Drink
17
19
Daniel Suarez
Joe Gibbs
Scott Graves
16 Toyota
ARRIS
18
20
Erik Jones
Joe Gibbs
Chris Gabehart
16 Toyota
GameStop/Call of Duty
19
22
Brad Keselowski(i)
Roger Penske
Greg Erwin
16 Ford
Discount Tire
20
24
Corey LaJoie
Gregg Mixon
Steven Gray
16 Toyota
Youtheory
21
25
Austin Theriault(i)
Rick Ware
Jeff Spraker
16 Chevrolet Rick Ware Racing
22
28
Dakoda Armstrong
James Whitener
Steve Lane
16 Toyota
23
33
Brandon Jones
Richard Childress
Mike Hillman Jr
16 Chevrolet South Point
24
39
Ryan Sieg
Rod Sieg
Kevin Starland
15 Chevrolet Tri County Landscapes
25
40
Timmy Hill(i)
Danielle Long
Sebastian Laforge
15 Toyota
26
42
Kyle Larson(i)
Chip Ganassi
Mike Shiplett
16 Chevrolet ENEOS
27
44
J J Yeley
Mark Smith
Frank Kerr
16 Toyota
28
48
Brennan Poole
Chip Ganassi
Chad Norris
16 Chevrolet DC Solar
29
51
Jeremy Clements
Tony Clements
Tony Clements
15 Chevrolet RepairableVehicles.com
30
52
Joey Gase
Jimmy Means
Tim Brown
16 Chevrolet TBD
31
62
Brendan Gaughan
Richard Childress
Shane Wilson
16 Chevrolet South Point
32
70
Derrike Cope
Mary Louise Miller
Jason Houghtaling
16 Chevrolet E-hydrate
33
74
Mike Harmon
Mike Harmon
Rb Bracken
15 Dodge
34
177
TBA
Victor Obaika
TBA
15 Chevrolet VroomBrands
35
78
B J McLeod
B J Mcleod
David Ingram Jr
16 Ford
36
88
Kevin Harvick(i)
Rick Hendrick
David Elenz
16 Chevrolet Hunt Brothers Pizza
37
89
Morgan Shepherd
Cindy Shepherd
Nick Hoechst
15 Chevrolet TBD
38
90
Martin Roy
Michelle Gosselin
Mario Gosselin
15 Chevrolet Gamache Truck Center
39
93
David Starr
Pamela Sieg
Bruce Cook
15 Chevrolet Massimo Motors
40
97
TBA
Victor Obaika
Bobby Burrell
15 Chevrolet VroomBrands
Leidos Ford Mustang
TBD
Winfield Be Greater
OCR Gaz Bar / TLC Vacations Zachry
TBD TBD
Te x a s M o t o r S p e e d w a y | N o v e m b e r 1 , 2 0 1 6 | O ’ R e i l l y A u t o P a r t s C h a l l e n g e
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SPEEDREADS
PUBLIC SCHEDULE
AAA TEXAS 500 WEEKEND EVENTS
TUESDAY, November 1 9a-5p
Texas Motor Speedway Credential Office Hours
WednesDAY, november 2 9a-5p 10a 10a
Texas Motor Speedway Credential Office Hours Reserved Infield Camping Opens (South Tunnel) Burnout Alley Load In
ThursDAY, november 3
9a-5p Texas Motor Speedway Credentials Office Hours 10:00a NCWTS Haulers Enter 11:00a-5p NCWTS Registration Open 11:30a-6:30p NCWTS Garage Open 2:15p Gate 4 Open 2:30p-3:25p NCWTS Practice 3:30p NXS Haulers Enter 4:30p-5:25p NCWTS Final Practice 6:00p NSCS Haulers Enter
FRIDAY, november 4
8a-7p NSCS Registration Open 8:30a-7:30p NSCS Garage Open 9a-7:30p Texas Motor Speedway Credential Office Hours 10:00a-7p NXS Registration Open 10:30a-9p NXS Garage Open 10:30a NCWTS Garage & Registration Open 11:00a Gate 4 Open 11a-1:30p NSCS “HOT PASS” IN EFFECT 11:30a-12:55p NSCS Practice 1:30p-2:25p NXS Practice 2p Gates 2, 3, 5 & 6 Open for Luxury Suites and Victory Lane Club Only 2:45p NCWTS Salute to Veterans Qualifying Days Fueled by Texas Lottery 4p-5:25p NXS Final Practice 5:15p-7:30p NSCS “HOT PASS” IN EFFECT 5:45p NSCS Salute to Veterans Qualifying Days Fueled by Texas Lottery 7:00p NCWTS Registration Closes 7:30p NCWTS Striping Technology 350 (147 Laps, 220.5 Miles)
SATURDAY, November 5 7:30a 7:30a 8a-2p 9a
NXS Garage & Registration Open NSCS Garage & Registration Open Texas Motor Speedway Credential Office Hours Gates 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 Open for Luxury Suites and Victory Lane Club Only 9a-11a NSCS “HOT PASS” IN EFFECT 9:30a-10:25a NSCS Practice 10:45a NXS Salute to Veterans Qualifying Days Fueled by Texas Lottery 12p-2p NSCS “HOT PASS” IN EFFECT 12:30p-1:20p NSCS Final Practice 2p NXS O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge (200 Laps, 300 Miles) 2:30p NXS & NSCS Registration Closes 4:00p NSCS Garage Closes
SUNDAY, November 6 7a 8a-1p 9a 9a 11a
NSCS Garage & Registration Open Texas Motor Speedway Credential Office Hours Gates 2-8 Open Luxury Suites and Victory Lane Club Open Loud & Proud Pre-Race Show Fueled by American Ehtanol Featuring Jake Owen 12p-7p NSCS “HOT PASS” IN EFFECT 1p NSCS AAA Texas 500 (334 Laps, 501 Miles) 1:30p NSCS Registration Closes 30 min Portacool Post-Race Show featuring post race Jason Boland & The Stragglers
Te x a s M o t o r S p e e d w a y | N o v e m b e r 1 , 2 0 1 6 | O ’ R e i l l y A u t o P a r t s C h a l l e n g e