Television Race Coverage: ESPN2, 8:00 pm/et

Announcers: Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett, Andy Petree
Pit Reporters: Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro, Vince Welch
Studio: Nicole Briscoe, Dale Jarrett, Brad Daugherty

TV Listings, Links and Info:
Jayski's TV Listings Page
NASCAR on TV
Race Fan TV

This Week - Performance Racing Network (PRN) and XM Sirius Satellite

motorracingnetwork.com

sirius.com

Stenhouse, Jr. wins at Texas: #6-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. won the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway for his second win of the year and the 4th of his career. #33-Paul Menard finished second followed by #38-Kasey Kahne, #18-Denny Hamlin, #3-Austin Dillon, #27-David Ragan, #31-Justin Allgaier, #7-Danica Patrick, #43-Michale Annett, and #30-Steve Arpin. There were 5 cautions for 33 laps and 14 lead changes among 7 leaders. The estimated attendance was 73,600. Complete results are on the Texas race results page (pdf).(4-13-2012)

Texas Race Fast Facts:
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the 16th Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts 300, his fourth victory in 79 NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
This is his second victory and fifth top-10 finish in 2012. His first came at Las Vegas.
This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in five races at Texas Motor Speedway.
This is Roush Fenway Racing's fourth consecutive victory at Texas Motor Speedway.
Paul Menard (second) posted his seventh top-10 finish in 11 races at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his first top-10 finish in 2012.
Kasey Kahne (third) posted his third top-10 finish in 12 races at Texas Motor Speedway.
Austin Dillon (fifth) was the highest finishing rookie.(NASCAR Statistics)(4-13-2012)

Driver standings following Texas:
1) #2-Elliott Sadler 247
2) #6-Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 243 -4
3) #3-Austin Dillon 227 -20
4) #12-Sam Hornish Jr. 193 -54
5) #43-Michael Annett 183 -64
6) #88-Cole Whitt 182 -65
7) #60-Trevor Bayne 180 -67
8) #19-Tayler Malsam(I) 163 -84
9) #31-Justin Allgaier 163 -84
10) #44-Mike Bliss 1 147 -100
See complete standings on the driver standings page (pdf).(4-13-2012)

Owner Standings following Texas are posted (pdf). There were no changes to locked in positions for Richmond. #50-T.J. Bell, in 34th place (in owner points), is the first driver that will have to qualify on speed.(4-13-2012)

Lucky Dogs - Who got a lap back on each caution at Texas: (and their finish)
Caution 1: #81-Bowles, 18th
Caution 2: #81-Bowles (2), 18th
Caution 3: #44-Bliss, 16th
Caution 4: #7-Patrick, 8th
Caution 5: #44-Bliss (2), 16th
(NASCAR Statistics)(4-13-2012)

Menard on pole at Texas: #33-Paul Menard won the Coors Light Pole for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway with a speed of 181.714 mph. #18-Denny Hamlin will start second. The rest of the top ten: #6-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., #3-Austin Dillon, #2-Elliott Sadler, #54-Kurt Busch, #88-Cole Whitt, #38-Kasey Kahne, #30-Steve Arpin, and #44-Mike Bliss. Did Not Qualify: #89-Morgan Shepherd & #72-John Jackson. The starting lineup is posted on the Texas starting lineup page (pdf).(4-13-2012)

Texas Motor Speedway Qualifying Notes:
Paul Menard won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 16th Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 with a lap of 29.717 seconds, 181.714 mph.
This is his fifth pole in 173 NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
This is his first pole in 11 races at Texas Motor Speedway. His previous best start was third on April 4, 2009.
Denny Hamlin (second) posted his second top-10 start of 2012 and his sixth in nine races at Texas Motor Speedway.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (third) posted his fifth top-10 start at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his sixth in six races this season.
Austin Dillon (fourth) was the fastest qualifying rookie. (NASCAR Statistics)(4-13-2012)

Stenhouse, Jr. fastest in happy hour: #6-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr was also quickest during the final practice session for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 with a top speed of 182.556 mph. He was followed by: #33-Paul Menard, #3-Austin Dillon, #7-Danica Patrick, #54-Kurt Busch, #18-Denny Hamlin, #88-Cole Whitt, #70-Johanna Long, #44-Mike Bliss, and #30-Steve Alpin. See complete results on the Texas practice 2 speeds page (pdf).(4-13-2012)

Stenhouse, Jr. fastest in first practice: #6-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. was fastest during opening practice at Texas Motor Speedway with a speed of 179.611mph. #2-Elliott Sadler was second, followed by #33-Paul Menard, #38-Kasey Kahne, #20-Joey Logano, #3-Austin Dillon, #18-Denny Hamlin, #12-Sam Hornish, Jr., #44-Mike Bliss, and #22-Brad Keselowski. See complete results on the Texas practice 1 speeds page (pdf).(4-12-2012)

Entry List: There are 45 cars on the preliminary entry list for Friday's O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. A few notes:
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. returns to the #5;
The #08 of Randy Hill Racing is TBA;
The RAB Racing #09, typically driven by Kenny Wallace is TBA because the team has not found sponsorship;
Timmy Hill returns to the Nationwide Series in the Rick Ware #15;
David Ragan will drive the #27;
Steve Arpin is in the Turner Motorsports #30;
Kelly Bires drives the Go Green Racing #39;
John Jackson will be in his #72;
Mike Harmon's #74 is driver TBA;
Scott Riggs will be in the #75 for Rick Ware.
Not entered: #60-Trevor Bayne.
UPDATE: Kyle Fowler will be in teh #08 for Randy Hill Racing.(4-9-2012)
UPDATE 2: Ryan Truex will drive the #09 for RAB Racing.(4-10-2012)
UPDATE 3: Blake Koch moves to the #15 for Rick Ware and will have to qualify on time. Timmy Hill will be in the #41.(4-11-2012)
UPDATE 4: Kevin Lepage will be in the #74 for Mike Harmon.(4-12-2012)
See the complete list on the Texas entry list page.(4-9-2012)

NASCAR Nationwide Series in Texas: After a two-week schedule break, the NASCAR Nationwide Series returns to action Friday night, April 13, at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. ESPN2 will have a live telecast of the 300-mile race starting with NASCAR Countdown at 8 p.m. ET with the race's green flag at 8:30 p.m. Also, ESPN2 will air NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying earlier in the day at 5 p.m. All NASCAR programming on ESPN and ESPN2 is also available on computers, smartphones and tablets with the WatchESPN app and WatchESPN.com. (ESPN)(4-9-2012)

Tire:
Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials

Number of Tires:
Nationwide: Left-side -- 575, Right-side -- 575

Set limits:
Nationwide: 6 sets for the event

Tire Codes:
Left-side -- D-4392; Right-side -- D-4410

Tire Circumference:
Left-side -- 87.1 in. (2,215 mm);
Right-side -- 88.4 in. (2,246 mm)

Technical Inspection Inflation:
Left Front -- 30 psi; Left Rear -- 30 psi;
Right Front -- 50 psi; Right Rear -- 47 psi

Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front -- 23 psi; Left Rear -- 21 psi;
Right Front -- 51 psi; Right Rear -- 47 psi

Notes: Teams in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series will run the same Goodyear tire codes at Texas this weekend . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that Cup and Nationwide teams ran at this track in 2011 . . . teams in these two series also ran this exact tire set-up at Chicagoland last season and at Homestead the last two seasons . . . this set-up was re-confirmed at a Goodyear test at Texas on February 7-8 . . . teams/drivers participating in that test were the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with Denny Hamlin, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet with Tony Stewart, No. 15 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota with Clint Bowyer, No. 16 Roush-Fenway Racing Ford with Greg Biffle, and No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet with Jeff Burton . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required run inner liners in all four tire positions at Texas . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.