NASCAR at Texas 2014: Race Schedule, Live Stream Info and Drivers to Watch
Only two races are left for the eight contenders left in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup to make a move into the top four, with the first being Sunday's AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Jeff Gordon leads the Sprint Cup standings heading into Sunday, but no driver is safe, with only one of three Eliminator Round races in the books. Failing to finish Sunday's race would almost doom any contender's hopes, while a victory for any of the eight would guarantee advancement into the final round.
Say what you will about the new Chase format, but it certainly delivers when it comes to late-season drama and profound implications for each and every race late in the calendar year.
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Let's break down all of the viewing information you'll need to catch the AAA Texas 500.
When: Sunday, November 2 at 3 p.m. ET
Where: Texas Motor Speedway
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Drivers to Watch
Brad Keselowski
Brad Keselowski won when he needed it most in the final race of the Contender Round to advance into the final eight, but he'll need to channel that clutch gene again in Texas or Phoenix if he wants to stay alive.
His 31st-place finish at Martinsville Speedway was a huge setback and puts him in seventh place of the eight contenders left heading into Texas—a track he's never won at in the Sprint Cup.
Kenny Wallace likes Keselowski's chances heading into the final two races, however:
Racing with his back against the wall is obviously nothing new to Keselowski, but he'll have to embrace that challenge yet again Sunday. A win is more than likely needed in one of these final two races if he wants to get into the top four.
Keselowski hasn't gotten off to the start he wanted in the Eliminator Round, but he's proved deadly against the odds as of late. He'll need to do so again to stay alive for the championship.
Jeff Gordon
While drivers like Keselowski come into Sunday's race desperate for a win, Jeff Gordon is flying high and confident after taking an early points lead in the Eliminator Round. He did that with a second-place finish at Martinsville, which gave him 44 points to lead the group of eight drivers left vying for the Sprint Cup title.
Of course, no driver knows what's left ahead more than Gordon, the four-time Sprint Cup champion who is racing as well as he ever has—and that's saying something. That doesn't mean he isn't enjoying his current position, though.
“You back that up with good performances and wins and getting in the position that we’re in now and yeah, you’re confidence is high," Gordon told San Antonio Express-News' Mike Haag. "And mine is. It’s awesome. It feels good to be feeling this good in this position at this stage of the season.”
Gordon will start out Sunday's race second on the grid and very much in position to take an early lead. But the 43-year-old doesn't even need a victory—just another top-five finish would do and most definitely keep him in one of those top four spots entering the final race.
Joey Logano
Kyle Busch held off Joey Logano in Saturday's Nationwide Series event at Texas, but that was just a warm-up for Sunday's main event as Logano continues to chase his best ever Sprint Cup finish.
Logano has never finished better than eighth in points, which he did last year. But with one of the three Eliminator Round races in the books, he's in third place and in position to contend for the title up until the last race.
Texas is one of Logano's favorite tracks. He won there already in 2014 in the Sprint Cup, and he has third-place and fifth-place finishes to boast from last year.
Heavy-hitting drivers like Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Keselowski are around Logano in the standings, but at this point, the 24-year-old is well aware of the position he's in. Don't expect him to race with a reserved mindset on Sunday.
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