NASCAR at Texas 2016: Start Time, Ticket Info, Lineup, TV Schedule and More
After seeing major names such as Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. exit the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in the last round, drivers have two races left to avoid suffering the same fate.
The next step in the process comes Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, with Jimmie Johnson and the rest of those alive leading the way into the AAA Texas 500.
Johnson won the most recent race, the Goody's Fast Relief 500, putting the other seven drivers left standing at a disadvantage before the Chase field gets halved.
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Here's a look at everything to know about the event.
Viewing Details
Where: Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth
When: Sunday, 2 p.m. ET
Watch: NBC
Live stream: NBC Sports
Tickets: ScoreBig.com
Sprint Cup Standings
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 4044 | 4 |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin | 4039 | 3 |
| 3 | Matt Kenseth | 4039 | 2 |
| 4 | Kyle Busch | 4037 | 4 |
| 5 | Joey Logano | 4033 | 2 |
| 6 | Kevin Harvick | 4021 | 4 |
| 7 | Kurt Busch | 4019 | 1 |
| 8 | Carl Edwards | 4005 | 2 |
| 9 | Martin Truex Jr. | 2226 | 4 |
| 10 | Brad Keselowski | 2207 | 4 |
| 11 | Austin Dillon | 2187 | 0 |
| 12 | Chase Elliott | 2185 | 0 |
| 13 | Kyle Larson | 2183 | 1 |
| 14 | Tony Stewart | 2156 | 1 |
| 15 | Jamie McMurray | 2143 | 0 |
| 16 | Chris Buescher | 2123 | 1 |
NASCAR at Texas Lineup
| 1 | Austin Dillon |
| 2 | Joey Logano |
| 3 | Kevin Harvick |
| 4 | Brad Keselowski |
| 5 | Kyle Larson |
| 6 | Paul Menard |
| 7 | Matt Kenseth |
| 8 | Ryan Blaney |
| 9 | Carl Edwards |
| 10 | Kurt Busch |
| 11 | Chase Elliott |
| 12 | Martin Truex Jr. |
| 13 | Casey Mears |
| 14 | A.J. Allmendinger |
| 15 | Jamie McMurray |
| 16 | Alex Bowman |
| 17 | Denny Hamlin |
| 18 | Ryan Newman |
| 19 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 20 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| 21 | Aric Almirola |
| 22 | Danica Patrick |
| 23 | Tony Stewart |
| 24 | Kyle Busch |
| 25 | Greg Biffle |
| 26 | Trevor Bayne |
| 27 | Clint Bowyer |
| 28 | Michael McDowell |
| 29 | Brian Scott |
| 30 | Chris Buescher |
| 31 | Kasey Kahne |
| 32 | Regan Smith |
| 33 | Matt DiBenedetto |
| 34 | Landon Cassill |
| 35 | Ryan Ellis |
| 36 | David Ragan |
| 37 | Michael Annett |
| 38 | Reed Sorensen |
| 39 | Joey Gase |
| 40 | Josh Wise |
Drivers to Watch
Fourth in the standings, Kyle Busch needs a strong finish Sunday to keep ahead of the hungry drivers behind him.
Busch has been relatively quiet as of late. He finished fifth at the Goody's Fast Relief 500 but hasn't hoisted a checkered flag since mid-June, and since then he has finished as the runner-up just once.
Still, the quiet factor around Busch isn't all negative—he's in contention to repeat as champion. In fact, Busch told USA Today's Jeff Gluck his team continues to meet expectations better than a year ago:
"We set out last year what the game plan needed to be—what we thought it should be to go to the championship and contend all the way to the end—and it worked. There were times during that where we didn’t quite meet expectations, but we made it through. This time around, we’ve done a better job of meeting those expectations.
"
It's an interesting perspective. Feel free to add in the fact Busch won in Texas earlier this year, and one can start to see why he's one of the top drivers to watch.
What better way for Busch to send a message to the rest of the contenders than to go ahead and secure an automatic bid and step into the spotlight than with another win at Texas?
Kevin Harvick
Is Kevin Harvick the next four-win driver to wave goodbye to the Chase?
After one race in the Round of 8, it sure looks like it. Harvick sits sixth in the standings and wasn't encouraging at all last time out, finishing 20th.
The win in Kansas three races ago seems like forever ago, especially considering he has now finished 20th or worse in three of his last five outings.
It gets worse: Harvick has never won at Texas.
He hasn't been shy about his recent troubles, according to ESPN.com's Bob Pockrass.
"We've been fortunate to win a couple of races, but it seems like every other week we've had to navigate something or work through something to get the best finish we can," Harvick said. "Hopefully, we can clean all those things up and do a little better over the final couple weeks."
Harvick is one of the best drivers in the sport. He's great at Phoenix International Raceway, site of this round's final race before the cutdown. But he knows better than to lean on that to make the final round, so expect him to come out gunning for a checkered flag Sunday.
Jimmie Johnson
This is almost silly.
As mentioned, Johnson won at Martinsville after leading 92 laps. But that's not all—he won this exact event last year. Few NASCAR drivers touch Johnson's dominance at Texas, as he owns six wins and 14 top-five finishes in 26 appearances.
Johnson's reaction to winning and punching an automatic bid was about as business as usual as it gets, as Team Lowe's Racing captured:
There is no reason for Johnson to pull back. The man assured a spot at a title and can play spoiler and perhaps manipulate how his chances stack up in the final round via his performances over the next two races.
Given his history at Texas, it is almost as if Johnson would have to try to post a bad finish to do so.
While there rests all of zero pressure on Johnson's shoulders Sunday, he knows better than most how to win at Texas and what he risks if he lets momentum slip through his fingers at this stage of the season.
Stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.
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