April 6, 2018
- Kurt Busch on pole at Texas after lightning-fast first round: Busch’s first attempt in knockout qualifying put the No. 41 on the pole position for Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway – when the threat of lightning in the area halted time trials after the completion of the first round.[More](4-6-2018)
- #41-Kurt Busch won the Busch pole for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway with speed of 197.368mph for his 1st pole of 2018, 3rd at Texas and 23rd of his career. Busch has won once from the 22 previous poles.
Qualifying was canceled following the first round after lightning moved into the area.
#4-Harvick will start 2nd followed by #14-Bowyer, #12-Blaney, #11-Hamlin, #78-Truex, Jr., #22-Logano, #18-Busch, #48-Johnson, #42-Larson, #2-Keselowski, and #10-Almirola.
Driver(s) who will miss the race: none as 37 were entered for 40 spots
See round-by-round qualifying results on the Qualifying results page (pdf) and the complete starting lineup on the Starting Lineup page (pdf).(4-6-2018) - Texas Motor Speedway – Qualifying Fast Facts:
Kurt Busch won the Busch Pole Award Pole Award for the 22nd Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 with a lap of 27.360 seconds, 197.368 mph.
This is his 23rd pole in 619 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his first pole and fourth top-10 start in 2018.
This is his third pole in 31 races at Texas Motor Speedway.
Kevin Harvick (second) posted his seventh top-10 start of 2018 and his 10th in 31 races at Texas Motor Speedway.
Clint Bowyer (third) posted his ninth top-10 start at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his fourth in seven races this season.
Darrell Wallace Jr. (15th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Statistics)(4-6-2018) - First Round of Qualifying for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway is over, after 15 scheduled minutes.
#41-Busch 197.368
#4-Harvick 197.116
#14-Bowyer 196.829
#12-Blaney 196.600
#11-Hamlin 196.257
the rest of the top 24: 78 22 18 48 42 2 10 6 19 43 88 3 37 21 9 20 47 13 1
out of the top 24 and not advancing to round 2: 31 17 34 95 38 32 15 23 24 72 00 51 55
Drivers who will miss the race: none, 37 entered
(4-6-2018) - Friday Texas Notebook: “New Kids on the Track” really are new; Dancin’ Chris Buescher celebrates eventful off week ; Daniel Suarez relishes racing for kids in front of a “home” crowd.[More](4-6-2018)
- Harvick hopes to keep momentum at Texas: Yes, he’s had an incredible run to open the season, but it was actually his win last November in the Texas playoff race that Harvick considers the start of his current success.[More](4-6-2018)
- Qualifying Order for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway is posted.
The first driver to be lined up on pit road will be #19-Suarez.
The final driver lined up on pit road will be #51-Rhodes.
The order is set by a random draw, how cars park on pit road before they qualify, held about an hour before the first practice.
After the first round, the cars lined up by speed.
For the qualifying order, see the Qualifying Order page (pdf).(4-6-2018) - First practice for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway is over, after 55 scheduled minutes, the top-five, slowest and notes:
#41-Busch 196.200
#4-Harvick 195.943
#14-Bowyer 195.426
#18-Busch 195.009
#12-Blaney 194.883
most laps run: #22-Logano, 19 laps
No drivers ran 10 consecutive laps.
slowest: #72-Whitt 180.132 & #00-Cassill 177.731.
notes: #24-Byron’s team had to change an engine. He will start in the back on Sunday.
See the fastest speeds, laps run on the Friday Practice speeds (pdf) (4-6-2018) - Goodyear tire test set for Michigan: Michigan International Speedway and Goodyear Tire will host five Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams on April 17-18 for two days of testing. And fans can watch for free.[More](4-6-2018)
- Hemric paces final XFINITY practice: #21-Daniel Hemric was quickest in final practice at Texas Motor Speedway with a speed of 186.445mph.
#22-Ryan Blaney was second, followed by: #19-Brandon Jones, #2-Matt Tifft, #9-Tyler Reddick, #7-Justin Allgaier, #16-Ryan Reed, #00-Cole Custer, #11-Ryan Truex, and #20-Christopher Bell.
See complete results on the Texas practice 2 speeds page (pdf).(4-6-2018) - Ryan Truex fastest in opening XFINITY practice: #11-Ryan Truex was fastest during opening practice at Texas Motor Speedway with a speed of 187.266mph.
The rest of the top 10: #21-Daniel Hemric, #22-Ryan Blaney, #2-Matt Tifft, #3-Ty Dillon, #23-Specner Gallagher, #19-Brandon Jones, #20-Christopher Bell, #7-Justin Allgaier, and #18-Ryan Preece.
See complete results on the Texas practice 1 speeds page (pdf).(4-6-2018) - Anheuser-Busch lands naming rights to Texas Restart Bar: Beer brewing giant Anheuser-Busch has signed a multi-year partnership with Texas Motor Speedway for the naming rights of the Restart Bar, the venue’s latest fan amenity that will debut at this weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 NASCAR doubleheader weekend.[More](4-6-2018)
- Uncle Kracker in concert Saturday night at Talladega: Talladega Superspeedway is excited to announce that singer-songwriter Uncle Kracker will perform as the headliner for the traditional Saturday Night Infield Concert, April 28, as part of its anticipated tripleheader weekend, April 27-29, featuring the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500. Joining Uncle Kracker will be NASCAR favorite Tim Dugger and locally known DJ Mark A.D. from Birmingham, Al. Country music singer and Alabama native Dugger will get the party rockin’ just hours after the conclusion of the Sparks Energy 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series, before giving way to DJ Mark A.D., who will bring the beats to keep the crowd going until Uncle Kracker hits the stage. The concert is free to all infield guests, as well as anyone who has purchased a GEICO 500 ticket.[More](4-6-2018)
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