NASCAR Cup Series

Lone Star: Kevin Harvick heads to Texas Motor Speedway as odds on favorite

Published Apr. 6, 2015 3:15 p.m. ET

Larry McReynolds

Well, now that everyone has gotten a chance to catch their breath and enjoy the Easter holiday, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cranks back up at Texas Motor Speedway with Saturday's Duck Commander 500.

With our return to the 1.5-mile tracks, there is no reason to believe that our series points leader Kevin Harvick won't pick right back up where he left off.

I think we need to assume that Jimmie Johnson will be one of Kevin's strongest competitors this weekend in Texas. Not only did Jimmie win the last time we visited Texas Motor Speedway, but he also won our second race of 2015 at Atlanta, which is also a mile-and-a-half track.

We've also seen the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota's come to life in the last couple races, so I expect them to be strong this weekend as well. The other hot driver, someone Harvick didn't have to deal with back in Atlanta, is Kurt Busch.

So, yes, if you are putting your fantasy race team together for Saturday's Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, you are probably going to want Kevin Harvick as one of, if not the top, pick