MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
AAA Texas 500
Texas Motor Speedway – Ft. Worth, Texas
Sunday, November 5, 2017
Race Winner: Kevin Harvick
Age: 41
Team: No. 4 – Mobile 1 Ford
Owner: Stewart-Haas Racing
Crew Chief: Rodney Childers
IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “This feels so good. We have been qualifying well here and racing well ever since I have been at Stewart-Haas Racing and just never got it to work out to go to victory lane. Today we had to earn it. To be able to pass the 78 car (Martin Truex Jr.) for the win is something that is huge for our confidence and team knowing we need to go to another 1.5 mile at Homestead to race for the championship. I am really proud of everyone on our Mobil 1 Ford. This thing was a hot rod today.”
Ø Kevin Harvick
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· Kevin Harvick won the 13th annual AAA Texas 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Texas Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon. It was the second of the three races in the Round of 8 of the MENCS playoffs. It is Harvick’s 37th win in 608 career MENCS races and his second victory in 34 races this year.
· With the win, Harvick punched his ticket into the Championship 4 in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, November 19, joining Kyle Busch, who won at Martinsville last week. It will be Harvick’s third appearance in the Championship 4 (2014, 2015), as he took home the title in 2014.
· Martin Truex Jr., who led 103 of the 334 laps today, finished second and secured enough points to earn his way into the Championship 4 as well. It will be his second appearance in the Championship 4 (2015).
· For Harvick, today marked his first career win in 30 MENCS races at Texas Motor Speedway.
· Overall, today’s finish marked Harvick’s 21st top-10 and 12th top-5 in 34 races of 2017.
· This marked the 19th straight playoff race that was won by a driver who was still alive in the playoffs. The streak dates back to the 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400 on November 22 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which was won by Kyle Busch.
· Each of the top three and five of the top six finishers today were drivers still currently in the playoffs.
· Martin Truex Jr. (2nd) posted his 24th top-10 finish in 34 MENCS races this year and his 17th in the top-5.
· Denny Hamlin (3rd) accounted for his 21st top-10 finish in 34 races this year and 15th top-5.
· Erik Jones (10th) was the highest finishing rookie.
· For 2017, NASCAR has introduced a new stage format in all three national series where each race is segmented into three stages. In addition to the points awarded at the end of a race (Final Stage), points are also awarded to the top-10 finishers of the first two stages (Stage 1 & Stage 2).
· Kevin Harvick won Stage 1 of today’s race while Kyle Larson took Stage 2.
· The following are the playoff standings following the second race of the Round of 8. The third and final race in the Round of 8 takes place next weekend in Phoenix. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, November 19.
Name Pts. Name Pts.
1. Martin Truex Jr.@ 4168 5. Denny Hamlin 4092
2. Kyle Busch* 4118 6. Ryan Blaney 4089
3. Kevin Harvick* 4112 7. Chase Elliott 4062
4. Brad Keselowski 4111 8. Jimmie Johnson 4060
@Advances to Championship 4 based on points *Advances to Championship 4 with win
· In 16 career MENCS starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kevin Harvick has collected 14 top-10 finishes and eight top-5 showings. This includes a win in the 2014 Ford EcoBoost 400 when he earned the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship of his career.
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
· Erik Jones won the 13th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday. It is his ninth victory in 76 career XFINITY Series starts.
· It is his third victory in 17 XFINITY Series races this year, and it is his ninth time finishing in the top-10 and eighth top-5 showing.
· The race marked the second of three races in the Round of 8 in the XFINITY Series playoffs.
· Ryan Blaney (2nd) posted his 11th top-10 and top-5 finish in 12 NXS races this year.
· Kyle Larson (3rd) amassed his 10th top-10 and ninth top-5 showing in 11 NXS races this year
· Elliott Sadler (4th) was the highest finishing NXS regular as well as the highest finisher among the eight remaining NXS playoff drivers.
· Cole Custer (5th) was the highest finishing rookie and second-highest finishing playoff driver.
· Five of the top 11 finishers were playoff drivers.
· The following are the standings following the second of three races in the Round of 8 in the 2017 NXS playoffs. The third and final race in the Round of 8 takes place next weekend in Phoenix. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 300 XFINITY Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, November 18.
Name Pts. Name Pts.
1. Elliott Sadler 3103 5. Matt Tifft# 3074
2. William Byron# 3098 6. Cole Custer 3066
3. Justin Allgaier 3094 7. Daniel Hemric# 3061
4. Brennan Poole 3079 8. Ryan Reed 3046
#Denotes rookie
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
· Johnny Sauter won the 19th annual Jag Metals 350 Driving Hurricane Harvey Relief NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday. The race was the second in the Round of 6 of the 2017 Camping World Truck Series playoffs.
· For Sauter it is his sixth victory in 219 career NCWTS starts as he locked up a spot among the Championship 4 in the Ford EcoBoost 200 NCWTS championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, November 17.
· It was Sauter’s third win in 21 races this year as he compiled his 17th top-10 finish and 11th top-5.
· Rookie Austin Cindric (2nd) accounted for his 14th top-10 finish and seventh top-5 showing in 21 NCWTS races this year.
· Christopher Bell (3rd) posted his 19th top-10 finish and 14th top-5 showing in 21 NCWTS races this year.
· The following are the playoff standings heading into the third and final race of the Round of 6 in the NCWTS playoffs, which will take place next weekend at Phoenix Raceway. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 200 Camping World Truck Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, November 17.
Name Pts. Name Pts.
1. Christopher Bell 3135 4. Austin Cindric# 3085
2. Johnny Sauter* 3131 5. Ben Rhodes 3080
3. Matt Crafton 3104 6. John Hunter Nemechek 3046
*Clinched spot in Championship 4 with win #Denotes rookie
