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NASCAR at Texas 2019: Start Time, Ticket Info, Lineup, TV Schedule and More
March 30, 2019
The 2019 NASCAR Cup Series heads to Texas to close out March, with Kyle Busch leading the way in the drivers' championship.
After successive wins at Phoenix and California, Busch registered a solid third-place finish last time out in Virginia, giving him a 21-point lead over nearest challenger Denny Hamlin. Busch has fond memories of Texas Motor Speedway too, as he took the chequered flag there 12 months ago.
Defending champion Joey Logano is down in fourth and has ground to make up if he's going to retain his title this season. He finished a disappointing 19th in Virginia last time out.
Weekend Schedule (Eastern Time)
Saturday, March 30
9:05 a.m.: Cup Series second practice
10:10 a.m.: Truck Series qualifying
11:30 a.m.: Cup Series final practice
1 p.m.: Truck series race
Sunday, March 31
3 p.m.: Cup Series race
The action will be available to watch on Fox Sports.
Visit StubHub to purchase tickets for Sunday's race.
Preview
Those in attendance in Texas will be hopeful this year's race contains the same sort of thrills as last year's event, when Busch emerged victorious.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver beat Kevin Harvick, who is third in this year's standings, by just 0.3 seconds to win at this venue for the third time. Here are the final stages of that race:
With that victory and Busch's recent form in mind, it's hard to look past the championship leader on Sunday.
Per the NASCAR website, his team's season average finishing position of 9.1 in 2019 is more than a full spot ahead of those of all of their construction rivals. "Busch's average finish of 2.67 through the first six races is the third-best all-time behind Cale Yarborough's fast starts in 1974 and '77," NASCAR noted.
It's already been a landmark year for Busch. Not only has he stormed to one of the best starts to a NASCAR campaign for many seasons, but he also passed the 200-win marker with a triumph in Fontana, California, earlier in March.
The FOX: NASCAR Twitter account reflect on his exceptional career:
Harvick is likely to be in the hunt for victory again on Sunday. The Stewart-Haas Racing man has yet to get on the podium this season but has strung together five top-10 finishes in a row, pushing him up to within four points of Hamlin.
Additionally, he has won at Texas twice before, a mark only bettered by Jimmie Johnson and Busch in the field.
"It used to be one of my worst tracks," Harvick said of Texas Motor Speedway, per TMS (h/t Sports Day). "Since coming to Stewart-Haas racing, it's been one of our best tracks."
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Johnson—a seven-time winner in Texas—was quickest in the early runs on Friday, with Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Alex Bowman in second spot.
Brad Keselowski will be out to make it back-to-back wins, as his success at Martinsville, his second of the 2019 season, thrust him back into the top five.