Ten Texas-sized things to watch in Duck Commander 500
When 43 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers take to Texas Motor Speedway tonight for the Duck Commander 500 (pre-race 7 p.m. ET on FOX), expect a wide-open affair. Texas is one of the fastest tracks on the circuit and it almost always yields plenty of excitement.
Here are 10 things to watch for in tonight's race:
1. Raising Kahne -- In both practices and in qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway, Kasey Kahne was the fastest of the four Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets and one of the fastest cars overall. Kahne was second in the opening practice, first in Happy Hour and he qualified fourth. He could be the man to beat tonight.
2. SHR muscle -- Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick swept the front row, with Tony Stewart qualifying a respectable 11th. Harvick already has won twice this season, and Busch and Stewart would love to lock themselves into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with a victory tonight. Although he has never won a Cup race at TMS, Harvick began his streak of eight consecutive top-two finishes here last fall, when he was runner-up to Jimmie Johnson
3. Boys, have at it -- Weird things happen at Texas Motor Speedway, from the massive Lap 1 crash in the very first race way back in 1997 to Jeff Gordon punching Brad Keselowski after last November's race. This is just a place where things can get out of control quickly. So expect some unexpected bad craziness tonight.
4. Track position key -- In each of the last eight races at TMS, the winner has started from the top 10. Not coincidentally, the top 12 for tonight's race consists of drivers from just five teams: Stewart-Haas Racing, Team Penske, Hendrick Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. Those are your likely winning teams.
5. No tire strategy -- Pretty much every pit stop is going to be a four-tire stop. Tire fall-off is too dramatic to gamble here.
6. Jimmie juju -- Here's the real wildcard for tonight's race: Jimmie Johnson has won the last three Texas fall races. In the last three spring Texas races, he's finished 25th, sixth and second.
7. Penske muscle -- Team Penske pilots Brad Keselowski (third) and Joey Logano (sixth) have excellent starting spots for tonight's race. And, oh by the way, Logano is the defending winner at Texas.
8. First-time winner? -- Only four of the top-1o qualifiers have won a race this season. With qualifying spots being so critical, somebody like Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray or Paul Menard could step up and win. Certainly polesitter Kurt Busch has the car and the talent to become the sixth different winner in seven races.
9. Back in the saddle -- Keep an eye on Kyle Larson, who will start ninth, just ahead of his Ganassi teammate Jamie McMurray. After missing last weekend's race at Martinsville, you know Larson will be itching for a victory.
10. Gibbs struggling -- Denny Hamlin's victory at Martinsville last weekend was thought to be a turning point for Joe Gibbs Racing. But at Texas, the three JGR drivers qualified 16th to 18th, a huge disappointment. We'll see how they do under race conditions tonight.
VIDEO: Kurt Busch wins first career Texas pole
