for the Duck Commander 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway is over after 85 scheduled minutes, the top-five, slowest and notes:
#78-Truex, Jr. 192.892
#2-Keselowski 192.162
#22-Logano 192.143
#3-Dillon 191.612
#14-Vickers 191.578
slowest: #55-Sorenson 179.253, #30-Wise 179.164.
most laps run: #24-Elliott, 28 & #22-Logano, 24
Qualifying is scheduled for Friday at 2:45pm/et, followed by final practice at 6:30pm/et.
See fastest speeds, laps run, and more on the Texas Practice 1 Speeds page (pdf).(4-7-2016)Ford exec says ‘no doubt’ Harvick will drive a Ford next season UPDATE: Ford Performance boss Dave Pericak did not mince words when it comes to Kevin Harvick’s status for 2017. ‘There is no doubt in my mind,’ Pericak said. ‘He will be in a Ford.’ Despite rumors Chevrolet would like to keep Harvick in their camp, Pericak insists the 2014 champion will drive a Ford next season. Enlisting the services of Stewart-Haas Racing is just the latest bold move made by Pericak, who took over Ford’s racing arm 16 months ago. With Chevrolet having a stranglehold over half of the Sprint Cup field Pericak acknowledged it was time to even the odds. ‘We’ve always said we’re here to win races,’ Pericak added. ‘We’re not just here to have fun. We have to have more than just a couple bullets in the chamber every time you show up on the weekends. So we’re going to strengthen all the way across the board and adding a championship caliber team like Stewart-Haas is putting more bullets in the chamber.’ As for the bigger picture, Pericak sees plenty of progress for the Blue Oval brigade ‘ from rookie Ryan Blaney’s ability to get up to speed so quickly to the gains at Roush Fenway Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports.(Motorsport)(4-7-2016)
UPDATE: Kevin Harvick strongly reiterated his intentions to remain at Stewart-Haas Racing, saying Thursday ‘There is nothing to it’ as far as the rumors he could leave over the team’s move to Ford next season. ‘As far as I know, I thought I had a team extension that had two more years left on my contract,’ he said.(ESPN.com)(4-7-2016)
