This weekend the NASCAR Nationwide Series will return to action Friday evening at the Texas Motor Speedway for the 18th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts 300. This will serve as the sixth stop on the schedule during the 2014 season and the first of two Nationwide Series races at the 1.5-mile oval.
Entry List:
This weekend’s entry list currently features a total of 41 drivers. This means that one car will go home following qualifying on Friday. Few notables include Kevin Harvick, Matt Carter, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Blaney, Jason White, Derek White, Ryan Sieg, David Starr, Derrike Cope, Mike Harmon, Chad Boat, Kevin Lepage and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Storylines:
Regan Smith and Trevor Bayne enters this weekend tied in the NASCAR Nationwide Series point’s standings. Smith, who captured the win in the season opener at the Daytona International Speedway, looks to grab another top-10 finish at Texas like he did in the last two starts there. Although that Bayne captured a win back in 2011, his finishes has been all over the place in his other starts. He hopes this weekend will go much smoother than the previous.
The Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings separated a little bit after Auto Club Speedway nearly two weeks ago. Chase Elliott finds himself leading the standings by three points over Ty Dillon. Both drivers go into this weekend looking to grab their first career Nationwide series win. Dillon will be one of the favorites as he won the truck race at the 1.5-mile oval last November. Elliott will be making his debut at the Texas Motor Speedway but finished fifth at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway nearly four weeks ago.
Two drivers, including one crew chief, will be looking to perform solid runs this weekend as it will be their home track. James Buescher, who is a native of Plano, and Chris Buescher, native of Prosper, will be looking to score the victory. The crew chief of the No. 43 driven by Dakota Armstrong, Phillippe Lopez, also hopes to guide Armstrong to the victory.
Jamie Dick, who drives the No. 55 Viva Chevrolet, will make his 40th career NASCAR Nationwide Series start. He made his debut at the Kentucky Speedway in 2011 where he started from 38th and came home in the 30th spot.
Where to watch:
The NASCAR Nationwide Series race can be seen Friday evening at 8:00 p.m. Et, live on ESPN2. The Performance Racing Network will provide the live radio broadcast of the event. You can listen on many stations around the contry, PRN application, or on GoPRN.com. Kyle Busch is the defending race winner.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.
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