Biggest NASCAR Storylines to Watch Ahead of Sprint Cup Series at Texas

NASCAR returns after a two-week respite at Texas Motor Speedway for the Duck Commander 500.

The last time the circuit visited Texas, Kevin Harvick shoved Brad Keselowski into Jeff Gordon’s cohorts, and pit road erupted into mosh pit road.

Things have changed, and tempers, for the time, have tempered.

NASCAR gets its first night race of the season in Fort Worth, so break out the brisket and saddle up for the Duck Commander 500.

Here are this week's top storylines.

Kyle Larson Returns

Reinhold Matay/Associated Press

Kyle Larson, 2014’s Rookie of the Year, makes his return to the track after missing Martinsville. He passed out the day before the race during an autograph session.

The cause? Severe dehydration. Larson said in Holly Cain’s NASCAR.com’s piece:

"

I feel great right now and I felt perfectly fine shortly after I fainted the other day. I just had to get a lot of tests run to make sure nothing serious was wrong with me and all those test came back negative.

All that time I felt fine and hated I couldn't race this weekend.

I had stuff hooked up to me from my head to my toes. Probably the only test I didn't get was a math test.

"

The equation for Larson has equaled zero, as in zero wins to date. After a competitive 2014 where he nearly made the Chase, 2015 has been awful slow. Larson has qualified well with an average start of 11.4, but his average finish of 20.8 suggests a driver who can’t maintain that early speed.

In three races at Texas, Larson has one top five and two top 10s.

Time for Austin Dillon to Step Up

Isaac Brekken/Associated Press

Austin Dillon won the pole in the 2014 Daytona 500, and it looked like he would be the easy favorite for Rookie of the Year. He never threatened, and Larson won that award easily.

Now with Ryan Newman being docked some 75 points, Dillon (22nd in the Cup standings) and Paul Menard (sixth in the Cup standings) need to step up for Richard Childress Racing.

Dillon said in Pete Pistone’s MRN.com story:

"

Texas has always had a lot of speed. The character of the track is changing a little with age and acquiring bumps, but I love that. These are the types of tracks where we always seem to run well. I'll be running the XFINITY Series car, too. We've been overlaying a lot of things with the Cup car and that's helped a lot. Three or four of my best tracks are coming up and Texas is definitely one of them.

"

Dillon has not been fast this year. His average start is 20.7, and his average finish is 24.2. That must improve, and Texas seems like the big, sweeping oval to do it.

The Appeal Is Set

Terry Renna/Associated Press

Richard Childress Racing can’t wait for April 16. That’s the day NASCAR set for RCR to appeal its hefty penalty for tire tampering at Fontana, a race where Ryan Newman finished fifth.

The penalty docked Newman 75 Cup points and fined crew chief Luke Lambert $125,000. Lambert and two other crew members were suspended by NASCAR but won’t have to serve that suspension until the appeal is heard, so the No. 31 car will be intact for a run at the Duck Commander 500.

Newman has won at Texas in the past. He also has three top fives. If he can win, then it doesn’t matter how many points NASCAR chooses to dock him since he’ll qualify for the Chase anyway.

The Meaning of Kyle Busch's Absence

Kyle Busch’s absence is a wide-open door for some opportunistic driver. NASCAR.com’s Holly Cain examined the meaning of Busch’s recent departure from racing due to a broken leg.

Cain reported that Busch has seven Sprint Cup wins before May 2 in the past five seasons. He led over 2,600 laps from February to May. No matter how well David Ragan drives in Busch’s absence, Ragan is no Busch.

That means someone of a lesser tier could sneak into the Chase with a win. Maybe that means a B-list driver like Larson, Casey Mears, Aric Almirola or Danica Patrick qualifies, since the No. 18 car won’t be crowding the top.

In all fairness to Ragan, he has the No. 18 team in 12th place in the Chase standings, so it’s not like Busch was replaced by Wario. Still, Busch is an A-lister, and without him on the track, the chances for someone else to win are greater than they would otherwise be.

Jeff Gordon Rising?

Jeff Gordon returns to the site of last year’s melee after Keselowski cut his tire while trying to pass late in a Chase race. The result effectively cost Gordon a shot at Homestead.

A few months later and six races into the 2015 season, Gordon remains winless. His farewell tour has been a bit sour, but things appear to be turning around for the No. 24 team.

Bleacher Report’s Jerry Bonkowski wrote, “Gordon has climbed from 35th in the standings after Atlanta to 15th after Martinsville—that’s 20 positions in four races, an average of five spots upward in the standings after each race. His bid to win a fifth career title is getting back on track after this climb up the standings." 

Texas isn’t one of Gordon’s strong tracks. He has only one win from 28 starts. He does have five top fives and 12 top 10s from two poles, so he stands a good chance at climbing in the standings before the circuit heads to Bristol, where he has five wins.