Driver Rankings for Texas

The NASCAR Cup Series moves from the Round of 12 to the Round of 8. The first race in this round and the first chance for the driver’s to qualify for a chance in the championship race at Phoenix will be this week at Texas Motor Speedway. The eight drivers competing for the championship include: Kyle Larson (4,065 points), Denny Hamlin (4,030 points), Martin Truex Jr. (4,029 points), Ryan Blaney (4,024 points), Kyle Busch (4,023 points), Chase Elliott (4,022 points) Joey Logano (4,013 points) and Brad Keselowski (4008 points).

Everything is bigger in Texas. That includes the races. The Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 not only has one of the longest names of the season; it also has 334 laps Sunday (501 miles). That is a lot of time for drivers and pit crews to make mistakes. I recommend saving your top drivers for the shorter race at Kansas Speedway next week and taking some chances with some mid-tier drivers Sunday.

There have been seven races on the 1.5-mile tracks this year. That does not include the All-Star Race at Texas in June. I used the Driver Rating and Average Green Flag Speeds from these six races for my Driver Rankings this week. I put an extra emphasis on the races at Las Vegas, Charlotte and Kansas since those tracks are the most similar to Texas.

Here are the Driver Rankings for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 …

* Photos from NASCAR Media

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