NASCAR Nationwide Series at Texas 2014: Full Schedule, Standings and Preview
Three races remain in the Nationwide Series, but the suspense is all but gone in the points chase.
Chase Elliott continued to thrive with yet another top-10 result last time out in Charlotte, while his closest competition continued to fall behind. A three-week hiatus will finally come to an end when Elliott looks to continue his run to a title on Saturday.
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Outside of Elliott, myriad Sprint Cup drivers will also be eyeing an early victory before Sunday. Chase contenders Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano will all be looking to hold off the young talent in Texas before contending for a Sprint Cup title.
Prior to the green flag waving in Texas, here's a look at the Nationwide schedule, standings and preview for the O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge.
Race Information
Where: Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas
When: Saturday, Nov. 1
Start Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Motor Racing Network
| 1 | Chase Elliott | 1106 | 3 | 14 | 24 |
| 2 | Regan Smith | 1064 | 1 | 7 | 24 |
| 3 | Brian Scott | 1045 | 0 | 6 | 20 |
| 4 | Elliott Sadler | 1043 | 1 | 6 | 22 |
| 5 | Ty Dillon | 1042 | 1 | 6 | 22 |
| 6 | Trevor Bayne | 1008 | 0 | 5 | 20 |
| 7 | Chris Buescher | 912 | 1 | 4 | 13 |
| 8 | Brendan Gaughan | 875 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 9 | Ryan Reed | 820 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 10 | James Buescher | 792 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Race Preview
Sitting comfortably on top of the points standings, Elliott now returns to the site of his first Nationwide win.
Holding off Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick and car owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., Elliott came away with his first statement of the season. He has since won two more races, and finishing near the top has become more of an expectation for him.
In fact, even after an eighth-place result at Charlotte, Elliott voiced his frustration over his restarts, per Jeff Gluck of USA Today:
That seems eerily similar to Earnhardt earlier this season when he was consistently in the top 10. Now, a weekend after Junior took his first win in Martinsville, his JR Motorsports driver can secure his second checkered flag in Texas.
If hard times for Elliott mean missing out on the top five, rival Ty Dillon had a disastrous day the last time out.
Dillon was making a charge toward contending for the title prior to Charlotte, but he was unable to overtake Regan Smith for second. The fellow rookie was caught up in a wreck that ultimately dropped him too far out of the points race to catch up without help.
Dustin Long of Motor Racing Network notes exactly how far the accident dropped Dillon:
Meanwhile, Regan Smith remains the only driver within striking distance of his JRM teammate. Elliott would need a woefully bad day for Smith or Brian Scott to jump him on Saturday, and his recent results show that's not likely.
Prior to Elliott's win in April, no other full-time Nationwide driver had won at the track since 2012. With Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick winning the previous races, it's likely that a Sprint Cup racer will finish in Victory Lane.
Between the race for a points title and the full cast of Sprint Cup drivers on the track, Saturday's race promises to be another wild one in Texas.
Follow @RCorySmith on Twitter.
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