NASCAR at Texas 2017: Start Time, Ticket Info, Lineup, TV Schedule and More
The 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is getting chippy with a championship on the line as it next heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the AAA Texas 500.
Three races remain before the competitive new format produces a champion—and fans aren't having a hard time seeing how bad the drivers want it given the wrecks and confrontations from a week ago.
Drama aside, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and others continue to put on a show while fending off a deep field. It's a field boasting all believable eventual winners as well, making the racing that much more aggressive and entertaining for fans.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
As the series gets ready to tackle Texas, let's look at everything to know about the event.
Viewing Details
Where: Texas Motor Speedway
When: Sunday, 2 p.m. ET
Watch: NBCSN
Live Stream: NBC Sports
Tickets: StubHub
1. Kurt Busch (41)
2. Denny Hamlin (11)
3. Kevin Harvick (4)
4. Erik Jones (77)
5. Kyle Busch (18)
6. Daniel Suarez (19)
7. Martin Truex Jr. (78)
8. Ryan Blaney (21)
9. Jimmie Johnson (48)
10. Brad Keselowski (2)
2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Standings
| 1. Martin Truex Jr. | 4117 |
| 2. Kyle Busch | 4100 |
| 3. Brad Keselowski | 4079 |
| 4. Kevin Harvick | 4053 |
| 5. Jimmie Johnson | 4050 |
| 6. Ryan Blaney | 4047 |
| 7. Denny Hamlin | 4045 |
| 8. Chase Elliott | 4027 |
| 9. Kyle Larson | 2237 |
| 10. Matt Kenseth | 2215 |
| 11. Kasey Kahne | 2150 |
| 12. Austin Dillon | 2148 |
| 13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 2146 |
| 14. Jamie McMurray | 2146 |
| 15. Kurt Busch | 2139 |
| 16. Ryan Newman | 2130 |
Drivers to Watch
Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin
This is playoff racing.
Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin had a heated confrontation after the event in Martinsville last week because the latter wrecked the former near the end of the event.
Fox captured the wreck itself:
Elliott, obviously, took exception.
"The guy has been doing this long enough where it shouldn't happen," Elliott said, according to ESPN.com. "What he did was unnecessary. ... There's no reason for that. He knows the deal. He knows how this race works. He knows how Martinsville is."
Hamlin initially defended himself and chalked it up to championship racing, though he later took to Twitter:
"— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) October 30, 2017"
No matter where one falls on the scale here, it's easy to agree this is entertaining. The two are on fire as far as recent performances go, and both guys could've have wound up winning last week's race.
The upstart Elliott and the veteran Hamlin, who won this event in 2010, won't let the spectacle slow them in Texas. It adds another interesting layer to the already fierce driving, though, as one can't know how both drivers, if not others, react to Hamlin's actions.
Brad Keselowski
Brad Keselowski almost stole the checkered flag in Martinsville after the drama.
The Penske Racing driver instead finished second despite leading 108 laps, though the entire race was far from a lost cause because he picked up a win in Stage 1, which has him looking just fine on the leaderboard.
Still, Keselowski wanted to take advantage of the short oval a week ago, and many have since noted he oddly took the outside lane with about four laps to go.
"It takes about five laps for anyone to get going or more, especially the leader, but there was a lot of hard fighting here because it's a short track," said Keselowski, according to Matt Weaver of AutoWeek. "That's what short tracks are kind of about is rooting and gauging. You try not to take anybody out, but you've got to sometimes rub a little bit."
The minor letdown still leaves Keselowski searching for his first final, which means we might see him be even more aggressive in Texas.
And given the volatile elements involved already, that should make for a good time.
Kyle Busch
When the dust settled, it was Busch who came away with the win and punched a ticket to the final.
Busch was as cool as it gets while heading to Victory Lane, leading 184 laps in the process.
And by cool, we mean surviving outright chaos as he crossed the finish line:
Now? He's looking forward to the pressure-free environment ready to greet him over the next few weeks, according to Brendan Marks of the Charlotte Observer: "Really anxious, I guess, to race for a championship again, and excited about that and being able to go to Homestead now and not necessarily have to fret over the next two weeks."
But fans know better—Busch isn't going to suddenly slow down now. And the rest of the drivers in the field know how dangerous the Martinsville winner can be considering Jimmie Johnson won the event a year ago and it catapulted him to a championship win.
Busch certainly has the momentum and talent to do the same, provided he can weave through the surefire chaos set to unfold in Texas.
Stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
