Aric Almirola is best Texas value on the betting board at 25/1

ARIC ALMIROLA Grateful for Competitive Success and Hometown Heroes KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (July 17, 2020) – Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Hometown Original Heroes Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), heads to Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth with gratitude for both his recent success on the track but, more importantly, the hometown frontline heroes who have worked tirelessly to help others.  “The front-line heroes who help us put food on the table, keep us healthy, and selflessly help others in need are the reasons we’re able to make it through the COVID-19 pandemic,” Almirola said. “To show our gratitude, we’ve decided to run a new paint scheme and program honoring these frontline heroes with the help of our fans and industry.”  Each day, we are introduced to new sets of heroes who are helping the nation get through the COVID-19 pandemic. With operations throughout the United States, Smithfield is proud to share hometowns with many of these heroes and to keep them fed with various Smithfield products, including an Almirola household favorite, “Hometown Original” bacon.  Along with SHR and Almirola, Smithfield looks to honor those who are putting their own health and safety at risk in a selfless act to protect and nourish others around them. The Smithfield “Hometown Original Heroes” program provides the opportunity for fans to share the stories of their own “Hometown Hero.” Be it a nurse, doctor, food worker, public servant or anyone who is on the frontlines each and every day, Smithfield and Almirola want to hear their stories and give them an opportunity to be rewarded for their service.  To nominate a hometown hero, visit www.SmithfieldHometownHeroes.com and submit a one-minute video nominating the “Hometown Hero”. Ten heroes will be chosen to have their stories told and will have their names riding onboard the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang at a race during the NASCAR playoffs this fall. The heroes will also receive a VIP race day experience and full-year supply of Smithfield “Hometown Original” bacon. With a positive outlook on his championship contention this year, Almirola is motivated to bring his team and the hometown heroes more solid finishes, starting Sunday at Texas, where last November he led 62 laps and finished runner-up to teammate Kevin Harvick.  “Texas is a track I had circled on the list this year,” Almirola said. “It’s a track that I have really become comfortable with over the years. Last year, we had an incredible run and came up just short of a win. We’ve been good at tracks this year that haven’t been my best in the past. Now we’re headed to some venues that, statistically, I’m better at. With the momentum and points cushion we have right now, all we have to do is run a clean race and hope to be there in the end.” Almirola is riding a string of six consecutive top-10 finishes – fifth at Homestead-Miami Speedway, third at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, third and fifth, respectively, in the series’ first modern-era doubleheader weekend at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, third at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and eighth last Sunday at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. This is Almirola’s best season to date and the first time in his career he has earned consecutive top-five finishes. His five top-fives are the most he’s had in any single season during his nine-year full-time Cup Series career. The No. 10 Ford driver sits eighth in the playoff standings for his career-best points position after 17 races. In his first two seasons at SHR in 2018 and 2019, Almirola was 11th in the standings after 17 races. Almirola’s next-best streak of races was a run of six consecutive top-10s in 2019 that began with the second race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and lasted through the series’ seventh race at Texas. The No. 10 Ford driver has career totals of two wins, two poles, 23 top-five finishes, 70 top-10s and 755 laps led in 333 starts. In addition to his recent string of top-fives, he has nine top-10s and has led 218 laps. Almirola continues to provide fans with content from his documentary series Beyond the 10, where they can get VIP, behind-the-scenes access by subscribing to his YouTube channel. Episodes showcase never-before-seen footage of Almirola at the racetrack, on family trips, and “A Day in the Life” during the week, as well as all that goes into a NASCAR Cup Series driver’s season. Click here to subscribe on YouTube and watch the latest episode.  While Almirola is the highest average finishing driver in the last six races at 4.5, he’ll try to cap it off with a win Sunday to secure his position in the playoffs.

Aric Almirola: Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

What do you think about your new paint scheme?  “It looks fast. I love it. The fact that we’re honoring frontline heroes every weekend is awesome. I’m grateful to be able to run a paint scheme that does good for others.”  What is the most difficult thing to get right or figure out at Texas Motor Speedway? “I think the most difficult thing at Texas is that it’s repaved and they changed the banking in turns one and two, and it’s just the speed you carry through the banked corner of turns three and four, and then you have to get slowed down for the flat turns one and two. That has made it very challenging. Then, the exit of turn two is very flat, so you’re carrying some speed there and the car just doesn’t have a lot of grip because there isn’t any banking.”

NASCAR Texas Betting Preview: 2020 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500

Aric Almirola is 25/1 to win Sunday at Texas.

Everything is big in Texas, including a live long shot I'm on that is currently on an amazing run in 2020. More on the driver in a moment, but first let’s set up the 18th race of the season with some context or least what area we should attack with the first wave of wagers in this week’s betting strategy.

Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway will be the seventh race of the season on 1.5-mile tracks and the first six have been by six different drivers culminating with Stewart-Haas Racing driver Cole Custer’s win at Kentucky Speedway last week that paid out 300/1 odds at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.

NASCAR Cup Series
Handicapping Texas 500
Harvick vs. the Field

Last fall at Texas during the playoffs we saw the SHR drivers finished 1-2-3 showing they had a clear edge over the other teams on the high-banked layout and they’ll be using a race package this week that is almost the same as 2019.

Kevin Harvick won that race, his third in five races there, after not winning any in his first 29 starts. His last six starts all came on the resurfaced asphalt and it’s obvious that Harvick and crew chief Rodney Childers like their set-up for it very much.

Harvick and Childers have been together in the No. 4 SHR ride since 2014 and in the last 11 races there together they’ve had 11 straight top-10 finishes which include third or better in seven of those. Since switching from Chevrolet to Ford in 2017 he’s won his Texas races each of the three seasons.

He comes in as the best using this week’s race package that produces 550 horsepower which has netted him eight of his 10 series-leading top-fives in the 12 races it’s been used so far, which also includes all four of his wins which is tied with Denny Hamlin for the most in the series.

Between Harvick’s recent dominance at Texas and his incredible 2020, the SuperBook has posted him as a massive 3/1 betting favorite to win. What am I supposed to do with that? If you bet him to win again to make a profit you have to limit your drivers bet and increase the normal betting amount.

Come on, 3-to-1 to win a race against 39 other drivers when I’ve seen him times this season fall flat when he doesn’t have clean air upfront. That was the case on the last 1.5-mile track last week at Kentucky, but he still found his way to finish fourth with a chance of winning at the end. He was terrible and got better late. But in the second Charlotte race, he led 63 laps and dominated but got into dirty air late and finished 10th.

Hey look, I’m reaching and grasping for anything to talk me out of a bet on Harvick this week, and for some reason stats such as him only winning at Texas in the playoffs help justify betting against him.

But he has four wins in 12 races with this week’s race package which makes 3-to-1 sounds fair -- once every three races with it he wins. Then winning three of the last five there makes +150 seems fair.

Everybody but the No. 4

So what I’ve done is make cases for other drivers with a legitimate shot to win while making Harvick my insurance bet. Among all my staggered wagers, I’ll do the worst with Harvick and only recoup half my bankroll if he wins.

I don’t want to leave him out because of what he does every week, but I’ve got another SHR driver I like this week that I am bankrolling the most in my Week 18 portfolio that will go to my vacation fund whenever I feel comfortable from leaving my bunker and dealing with public air, and the public itself. And believe it or not, I’ve been quite comfortable bunkered up.

Custer won last week and he’s 100/1 this week even though he’s had top-fives, and a win, between his last two races using this week’s race package.

Clint Bowyer is 50/1 and has shown off having a fast car when getting out front, but I’m staking my week and future vacation on Aric Almirola who the SuperBook has offered at 25/1 odds.

I’ve talked myself into it and made all the cases for him winning despite never winning on this type of track. His only Cup wins have come on the Superspeedways of Daytona and Talladega.

Read More Here.....Top-5 Finish Prediction on VegasInsider.com

Kyle Busch is 6/1 to win 2020 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas

KYLE BUSCH Looking To Heat Up in Texas HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina (July 16, 2020) – As NASCAR heads to Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth for this weekend’s tripleheader, Kyle Busch is looking at three chances to heat up in the Lone Star State. In addition to being entered in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series races, Kyle Busch will pilot the green lightning No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) in Sunday’s Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. With high temperatures forecast to be in the mid-90s this weekend, Busch knows he’ll need to excel in the heat to be able to bring home multiple victories Saturday and Sunday. With Interstate Batteries returning to the No. 18 Toyota for what will be a hot Sunday afternoon in Texas, Busch is encouraging fans to stop by a local Interstate dealer to get their vehicle batteries checked as the dog days of summer are here. The summer months can be taxing on both man and machine, as hot weather has a far greater effect on batteries than the cold. One of the many ways JGR’s founding partner Interstate Batteries leverages its NASCAR program is by helping to remind consumers to have their batteries checked prior to summer road trips. The 1.5-mile Texas oval happens to sit just 35 miles from Interstate Batteries’ Dallas-based headquarters and, in April 2013, Busch was the first driver to bring home a victory at Texas for the JGR partner that has been a staple in the sport for 28 years and founding partner of the organization owned by three-time Super Bowl winning coach Joe Gibbs. The win ended a streak of 19 Cup Series races in which Interstate had competed at Texas without a coveted victory. Busch followed it up with a win in the April 2016 Cup Series race at Texas, and with his third win coming in April 2018, he’ll now aim for his fourth Texas win during Sunday’s 500-mile race. On top of his two Texas Cup Series wins, Busch is no stranger to victory lane there in other NASCAR series. He reeled off an incredible string of five consecutive Xfinity Series wins there from April 2008 to April 2010, then scored four more wins in April 2013, November 2014, April 2016, and April 2019. Add his four Truck Series wins in November 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2019 and Busch hits town this weekend with 16 NASCAR national series wins Texas and is poised for more as he is entered in the aforementioned three national series races during the weekend. So in the heat of the summer in Texas, Busch and the Interstate Batteries team are looking to heat up with another win in the Lone Star State that could dramatically change their season the in backyard of a partner that has been along for the ride with JGR from the very beginning.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

With high temperatures forecast for the weekend, what do you do to keep comfortable in the racecar in that type of heat? “I have ice packs that I use with me and a helmet cooler that I use, and my strategy always seems to work out OK. Plus, I think it also boils down to what you put in your body and your workout regimen, the stuff you eat, the stuff you drink, all that sort of stuff. During the offseason, I work out really, really hard, and then when we go back to the regular season of racing, I tend to kind of back it down just a little bit. But when we had our two-month break there, I pushed on just like we were in the offseason and worked out really hard, and now I’m back to kind of backing back off a little bit and have been feeling fine.” With no practice since the series returned in May and none in the near future, how do you take what you’ve learned so far to a place you haven’t run yet this year? “With life not being normal and not having practice, we’ve been unloading at some of these places and not unloading great. I don’t know if we’ve unloaded perfect and haven’t had to make adjustments to our car one time this year. We’ve been wholesaling it, whether it’s been packer, air pressure, or wedge. There’s been some times where I’ve felt like we’ve had too much right-front camber and I wish we could change that, but we can’t. There are definitely some things that we’ve been picking up on that I would like to work on that we haven’t had the opportunity to do so. It’s on your mind that we don’t have that win and haven’t really been in contention to get that win a whole lot this year. It’s just a matter of a lot of circumstances that it’s been the way it has been for us so far. Hoping we can start the races close to where we need to be on Sunday and have a good run with our Interstate Batteries Toyota. It’s not normal times, but I know Norm (Miller, Interstate Batteries chairman) and everyone up the road at Interstate would be thrilled to see us win there.” How special has the partnership between JGR and Interstate Batteries been for you? “It’s crazy, if you think about it. If it weren’t for Norm (Miller, Interstate Batteries chairman), JGR wouldn’t even exist today. Personally, Norm and everyone at Interstate Batteries treats me and my family like we are a part of their family. We won the race at Daytona back in July 2008 and that was the first time Interstate Batteries had been to victory lane in a long time, and we’ve been able to add more for them over the years. Winning at Texas for the second time in 2016 was special, too. Any win is special. But, I’ll never forget how excited Norm was back in 2013 when we won the Cup race there even though 2016 was cool, too. Norm had been trying for so many years and he really soaked it up the entire night in 2013. He and Joe (Gibbs) came up to the Speedway Club and told some stories about how long they had been trying to win there. So I was very proud to be able to do that for Norm.” What are your thoughts heading into the Texas race this weekend as far as what the track will be like? “I know they’ve been working on the track, but you are still trying to put rubber down. With the smooth surface, it’s hard to understand what you’re feeling with your car because you can think you’re tight, you’ve got all the grip in the world, you’re going around the corner and then, ‘Boom,’ it just busts loose right out from under you with no warning. That’s why the older racetracks, the more aged racetracks – the Atlantas, the Californias – you’re sliding the whole time, so you’re already against the slide. You don’t have maximum grip. You’re already playing with it and trying to get the most out of yourself and the car that you possibly can. At Texas, you’re not just locked down, you’re locked in solid, then it can jump out from under you in a hurry. We were OK there last year but would like to have a good run there on Sunday with our Interstate Batteries Toyota.”

Video: Micah Roberts discusses betting 2020 O'Reilly Auto Parts 400 at Texas

Kyle Busch wins his first race of 2018 at Texas

Kyle Busch won at Texas for the third time in his Cup career.

Texas Results 

Final Texas Driver Ratings: 2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500

Kevin Harvick is still the King of 1.5-mile tracks.

Kevin Harvick is still 'King of the Hill' on another 1.5-mile track, but unlike the first two at Atlanta and Las Vegas where he won, there appears to be -- on paper -- many more cars capable of hunting him down in Sunday's O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. At least that's what speeds from Saturday's final two practices suggest.

And for the first time, we have a gaggle of Chevy's showing some speed, namely Hendrick Motorsports with seven-time Texas winner Jimmie Johnson posting the fastest lap (198.143 mph) during Saturday's final session. In Saturday's earlier session, Richard Childress Racing's Ryan Newman had the best 10-consecutive lap average and HMS rookie William Byron had the third best speed (198.741).

I came in believing the Team Penske trio would give Harvick the most trouble, but the practices show Joe Gibbs Racing as being the top contender with Daniel Suarez first and third fastest in the two sessions and Erik Jones seventh or better in both, including the second-best 10-consecutive lap average during happy hour, just behind Kevin Harvick in that category, of course.

However, I don't believe that everyone else got better all of a sudden. No way! How about we just say the track was awful and let's throw all the times in the trash and stick with the meat and potatoes based on recent Texas history and what happened in Atlanta and Las Vegas .

I'm not putting too much into the practice times and they don't factor much into my final ratings.

When Johnson runs only three laps in the final session while having the fastest time, something is wrong. This guy wants to build on finally having 2018 success, but he calls it quits and says, "we're good"? No, I'm not buying all is good.

Denny Hamlin didn't even run a lap during Happy Hour and had just five laps after posting the second-fastest lap in the early session. This isn't Talladega or Daytona where they do stuff like that.

So, while all the new faces and speeds posted near the top look promising, my suggestion is to be skeptical when wagering or setting your fantasy line-up.

I'm also expecting lots accidents. Be careful out there, boys.


MICAH ROBERTS' 2018 MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER RATINGS
2018 O'REILLY AUTO PARTS 500
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
SUNDAY, APRIL 8, 2018 - 2:16 PM ET
RATING   DRIVER   ODDS         PRAC 1  QUALIFIED  PRAC 2   PRAC 3
 1. Kevin Harvick 3/1           2nd        2nd        5th       2nd
 2. Martin Truex Jr. 4/1        10th        6th      11th        5th
 3. Kyle Busch 4/1                 4th        8th      19th      11th
 4. Denny Hamlin 15/1         6th         5th       2nd      DNP
 5. Erik Jones 20/1               15th       21st       6th         7th
 6. Ryan Blaney 15/1              5th        4th      10th      10th
 7. Kyle Larson 7/1                18th     10th        8th        6th
 8. Brad Keselowski 8/1         8th      11th      14th      23rd
 9. Kurt Busch 40/1                1st        1st       12th        4th
10. Joey Logano 12/1             16th       7th         7th      24th
11. Aric Almirola 50/1            9th       12th      21st     12th
12. Clint Bowyer 30/1             3rd        3rd     22nd        9th
13. Jimmie Johnson 20/1       12th        9th        4th         1st
14. Ryan Newman 100/1       11th      25th      17th     30th
15. Daniel Suarez 100/1        13th      14th        1st        3rd

Opening odds courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.

Micah Roberts, a former Las Vegas sports book director, has been setting auto racing odds in Las Vegas since 1994.

Kurt Busch wins pole for second straight Texas race

Kurt Busch is 40/1 to win this week at Texas.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Kurt Busch will start first in Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway after his No. 41 Ford was fastest in the first round of qualifying.

After a delay for lightning in the vicinity of the 1.5-mile oval, NASCAR scrubbed the final two rounds of qualifying and set the field off the first round. That put Busch on the pole position for the first time this season and the 23rd time in his career. His No. 41 Ford posted a lap at 197.368 mph.

Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick will line up second, and Clint Bowyer, who won two weeks ago for SHR at Martinsville Speedway, will start third. Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin will round out the top five starting spots.

Read More Here....NBC Sports

Starting Lineup

Kurt Busch Texas quotes prior to Friday's fastest practice lap

Kurt Busch sat on the pole last fall at Texas. He's 40/1 to win Sunday.

KURT BUSCH, Driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing: 

Talk about how challenging Texas Motor Speedway is. 

“It was an incredible qualifying run last year and to set a track record. The feel of the tire and the asphalt were better in the fall than the spring. So, now that it’s aged even more through the wintertime with the rain and the cold and the track settling a little bit more, the track will be that much better. And, what I saw last year during the playoff race at Texas was a textbook pass for the lead with Kevin Harvick passing (Martin) Truex (Jr.) going into turn one. He was able to cut underneath him in turn two. Then you get that run through the fast sections between turns three and four. Texas Motor Speedway has a very unique layout with the speed differences between three and four and one and two.” 

Overall thoughts heading to Texas this week? 

“Texas is a good track for us and a good market. I always enjoy coming out to Texas. Hopefully, the weather will look perfect for this weekend. It’s a great track.” 

Talk about your record-setting lap last year at Texas. 

“(Turns) three and four are an incredible sensation. Once the car goes into the banking, it travels. The suspension collapses in the car and the car gets lower to the ground and picks up speed because you are lower to the ground and have less drag. It is a sensation that is hard to describe. When you have that grip level in the car, it gives you the feeling that you can just put it down to the floor and there won’t be any consequences. Turns one and two are where I think the lap times come from – if you can get it to hook and stay right on the bottom because that end of the track is a lot flatter. You have to back out of the gas all the way. Then, in three and four, you can hold it wide open. Both ends of the track are very different. It is a cool sensation going through three and four almost holding it wide open.”

O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Notes of Interest: 

 The O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 will mark Kurt Busch’s 619 th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start and his 31st career NASCAR Cup Series start at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. Busch has two poles, one win, three top-five finishes and 17 top-10s at the 1.5-mile oval. Additionally, the 39-year-old driver has led 295 laps, has an average starting position of 14.2, an average finish of 15.1, and has completed 98.4 percent (9,845 of 10,003) of the laps he’s contested there. 

 Busch has career total totals of 29 wins, 22 poles, 131 top-fives, 260 top-10s and 8,951 laps led in 618 starts. 

 His most recent Cup Series win came 42 races ago in the Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (Feb. 26, 2017). 

 His last Cup Series pole came nine races ago at Texas (Nov. 3, 2017). 

 Previous Win – Busch has one career NASCAR Cup Series win at Texas, which came in November 2009. It was his second victory that season and the 20th of his career and came by a nearly 26-second margin. Busch led six times for 89 laps. 

 The Las Vegas native has two poles to his credit (April 2015 and November 2017) at Texas. Busch has 22 career NASCAR Cup Series poles. His November 2017 lap of 200.915 mph set a NASCAR record at a 1.5-mile track. 

 Busch has led laps in 12 of his 30 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Texas for a combined total of 295 laps led. Busch has led 50 or more laps in a race twice at Texas. In addition to his 89 laps led in the November 2009 win, he led 50 laps in April 2011 en route to a 10th-place finish.

 A Win in Other Series at Texas – In April 2006, Busch scored the victory in his first-ever NASCAR Xfinity Series start. He became the fifth driver to win the race in his first start in NASCAR’s second-tier series. He also earned the distinction of becoming the 16th driver to record a victory in all three of NASCAR’s top-tier series – Cup, Xfinity and Camping World Truck. 

 Thus Far in 2018 – Busch has accumulated two top-10 finishes and four top-15s in six races. 

 Get to the Points – With his 11 th-place finish two weekends ago at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Busch is 10 th in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings with 177 points.

Paul Menard 100-to-1 to win at Texas; 17th fastest in Friday's practice

The No. 21 driven by Ryan Blaney led 148 laps at Texas last spring.

When Paul Menard hits the track at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend he’ll be venturing into relatively uncharted territory.

For starters, the veteran driver of the No. 21 Quick Lane Ford Fusion hasn’t raced at the Fort Worth track in a Ford in several seasons. And like his fellow drivers he’ll be racing on an evolving track surface as this weekend’s Monster Energy Cup race is just the third on the track since it was repaved before last year’s races at the Fort Worth quad-oval track.

“There will be a lot of unknowns,” Menard said. “The repave of the track changed it a lot.

“The first race it was single groove and if you got out of the groove there was not a lot of leeway. It was treacherous. It was a lot better last fall, and I anticipate it being better this time. But you really don’t know what to expect.”

Returning to the track as the driver of a Ford Fusion is a plus, Menard said.

“The intermediate tracks are the strong suit right now for our No. 21 team for sure,” he said.

“And all the Fords were good at Texas last year, so we should have a good database to work from.”

Menard, who has 23 career Cup starts at Texas with one top-five finish and two other top 10s, said the 1.5-mile track is a tricky one to tune a chassis for due to the differences in Turns One and Two, which have 20 degrees of banking, while Turns Three and Four have 24.

“You have to set up for Three and Four, and that’s not ideal for One and Two,” he said.

“There’s definitely a compromise there, but I feel good about our chances this weekend.”

Cup Series qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway is set for Friday at 4:45 p.m. (5:45 p.m. Eastern Time), and Sunday’s race is scheduled to start just after 1 p.m. (2 p.m. Eastern) with TV coverage on Fox Sports 1.

About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Centers

Ford’s Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers routine vehicle maintenance such as oil and filter changes, light repair services including brake repair, and tire replacements on all vehicle makes and models. With more than 800 locations and growing, customers can visit www.quicklane.com to find a center that is closest to them, print savings coupons and review maintenance tips to keep their vehicles running at peak efficiency. This site includes information on how to spot tire wear, how to jump-start a battery and even a series of tips to improve a vehicle’s fuel economy.

About Motorcraft

Motorcraft® offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended and approved by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to under-hood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer exceptional value with the highest quality and right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln dealers, independent distributors and automotive parts retailers are backed by Ford Motor Company’s two-year, unlimited-miles Service Parts Limited Warranty. Ask for Motorcraft by name when you visit your local auto parts store or your favorite service facility. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.

Wood Brothers Racing

Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glen Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 119 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glen’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Fusion driven by Paul Menard in the famous No. 21 racer.

Denny Hamlin a two-time winner at Texas; sixth or better in four 2018 races

Hamlin ran 12 laps in Friday's first practice; sixth-fastest. He's 15/1 to win Sunday.

Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Office Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:
Race: O’Reilly Auto Parts 500
Date/Time: April 8/2p.m. ET
Distance: 334 laps/501 miles
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Track Shape: Oval
Banking: 24 degrees
2017 Winner: Jimmie Johnson

Express Notes:

Press Kit: Download the 2018 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedexracing.com/presskit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Mike Wheeler and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights and statistics.

Martinsville Recap: Denny Hamlin finished 12th at Martinsville Speedway, leading 111 laps and collecting his first Stage win of the 2018 season during the 500-lap event around the Virginia half-mile. Hamlin spent the race’s first two Stages racing within the top five until the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota sustained slight damage late in the race’s final Stage that prevented him for making a run at the checkered. Hamlin lined up fifth for the race’s final Stage, finally settling into fourth on lap 351. By lap 380, fifth-place contender Kevin Harvick caught up to Hamlin and challenged him for his position, and the hard-fought battle between the two competitors ultimately resulted in a damaged front bumper on the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota. A caution appeared shortly after the incident on lap 385, giving the #11 team a chance to assess the damage on pit road. The crew refreshed the #11 with four tires and fuel during the scheduled stop, however Hamlin was forced to visit pit road for a second time to fix the nose damage and avoid the car from further overheating. The additional stop cost Hamlin valuable track position, and he restarted 15th to complete the race’s final 109 laps. Hamlin picked up three spots during the long green-flag run, finding himself 12th when the checkered flag flew.

Texas Preview: The Series returns to action this Sunday at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway. Hamlin has led 220 circuits around the Fort Worth track and collected six top-five and 12 top-10 finishes in 24 starts in the Lone Star State. Last spring, Hamlin and the #11 team finished 25th at Texas after starting 17th.

Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares: This season, FedEx is tying the performance of the #11 FedEx Toyota on the track to its efforts to improve road safety through a new program, Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares, by donating $111 for each lap Hamlin leads and $11,000 for each race victory to Safe Kids Worldwide, a nonprofit working to protect kids on the road, at home and at play. FedEx will also contribute $111,000 to Safe Kids if the #11 team wins the 2018 NASCAR championship. New for the 2018 season, the Denny Hamlin Foundation will also match the total donation to Safe Kids Worldwide.

Hamlin led 111 laps at Martinsville last Monday, generating a $12,321 donation to Safe Kids on behalf of FedEx. After six regular season races, Hamlin has led193 laps resulting in an $21,423 donation to Safe Kids Worldwide which will ultimately be matched by the Denny Hamlin Foundation. Fans can track the total amount donated to date from the Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares program on the homepage of FedExRacing.com.

Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Texas Motor Speedway
Races: 24
Wins: 2
Poles: 0
Top-5: 6
Top-10: 12
Laps Led: 220
Avg. Start: 15.2
Avg. Finish 12.2

Hamlin Conversation:

How will you approach Texas Motor Speedway this weekend?
“Texas Motor Speedway is definitely a challenge and a different race track than what it used to be before they repaved it. Even though it’s physically one of the widest tracks on the circuit, it’s one of the fastest and narrowest that we race on since it has really turned into a one-lane track. We didn’t have our best race there last spring, but I feel like our team has really made some gains to be competitive this time around.”

FedEx Office’s Phoenix North District Along for the Ride at Texas: The Phoenix North District will be recognized for being the leading district based on FedEx’s February Feb FY18 President’s Club rankings by having its district code “D37” on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

Kevin Harvick talks with media Friday at Texas Motor Speedway

Kevin Harvick won last fall and he's the 3/1 favorite to win on Sunday. He was second-fastest  in Practice Friday, Kurt Busch first, and Clint Bowyer third. Aric Almirola was ninth quickest...SHR, badfast. 

Ford Notes and Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Media Availability (Texas Motor Speedway)
Friday, April 6, 2018

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Fusion met with media members and fans Friday morning at the Restart BAR Zone at Texas Motor Speedway. Harvick spoke on numerous topics.

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Light Ford Fusion — YOU HAVE WON HALF OF THE RACES SO FAR THIS YEAR: 

“Yeah, everything has gone fine and it all started or a lot of it started right here in the fall last year winning here for the first time and being able to get to victory lane and do the things that we did at the end of the year. It is fun to be able to ride that momentum. You never know when it is going to shift the other way. The whole company is doing a great job. Clint (Bowyer) winning last week and Aric (Almirola) and Kurt (Busch) doing well. It has been a great start to the season for Stewart-Haas Racing and we have been fortunate to win a few of those races and hopefully we can do the same this weekend.”

QUESTION INAUDIBLE: “I think as you look at the way we have performed, especially since we have been at Stewart-Haas Racing it was big to check that off. Mainly so this guy doesn’t give me any more grief. He was the monkey on my back and he was getting heavy. It is a really big market for us personally as a race team because we have Mobil and Busch who spend so much time and money promoting this particular market and bringing a bunch of people to the race track and to not get to victory lane was almost a little embarrassing because we hadn’t done it. To check that off the list and have Mobil 1 on the car at that race here in Texas was a really big deal.”

STARTING WITH THIS RACE LAST YEAR, YOU HAVE WON THREE OF THE LAST FOR MILE-AND-A-HALF RACES. IS YOUR TEAM AT THE POINT WHERE YOU CAN CHALLENGE TRUEX ON THESE TRACKS? 

“That seems like a self answering question. Did you have to ask that question to figure that out? I think as you look at the 1.5 mile program in general it has been really good for us. I think the thing you guys forget up until last year is that we had dominated the 1.5 mile race tracks and have continued to do that at the end of last year and the first part of this year. We did switch manufacturers last year and it took some time to get everything situated and where it needed to be. I think once the playoffs started last year you really saw where the cars were and the increase in performance, especially on the 1.5 mile race tracks. It just took us some time. When you see what Stewart-Haas Racing has done with Ford, we still haven’t reached the potential of where we can be, in my opinion. I think that is the biggest reason we made the switch, the potential of the resources and things that come with the partnership with Ford. We have, in my opinion, the most stable team in the garage. When you have the most stable team in the garage from a financial standpoint and manufacturer standpoint, that attracts good people. In the end, it is all about good people. We have a very committed manufacturer and owner group and we are the drivers lucky enough to be in a position of where Stewart-Haas racing is right now. We have a very solid foundation which is something to hang your hat on.”

QUESTION INAUDIBLE: “We are better than Truex.”

QUESTION INAUDIBLE: 

“Just the support and financial backing. When you look at Gene Haas and the sponsorship and the things that go with the commitment that Gene makes from a financial standpoint, the stability of the company is never in question because of a few races that aren’t sold here and there. It is something that I think as you look at that long-term commitment that Ford made and Gene’s commitment from a financial standpoint of building the team and keeping it where it is at and then you start putting people in different places and they wind up having been there for a number of years. That makes a big difference. People on the outside see that. When people see that they can work somewhere a long time and not have to worry about their job it makes a big difference when you are trying to hire people.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE NEW KIDS ON THE TRACK BANNER? 

“It is a cool promotion. I like the promotion. If you like good marketing it is good. If you like winners you go for the old guys. I love every one of those kids on that poster and I think they are all great for our sport. I am not taking personal digs on them, I am trying to have fun with it and I told them that they should have fun with it too. That is really what it is about. The dad and kid sitting in the grandstands from two different generations and mom and daughter sitting in the grandstands from two different generations. They root for the old guys and you root for the young guys. That is great for our sport, it really is. It makes it fun to be able to have that banter back and forth. Most of those guys probably don’t even know who New Kids on the Block are. I would venture to say that.”

QUESTION INAUDIBLE: “I think as you go to a lot of these SMI race tracks, when you go to Kentucky and this particular race track you see the commitment to make the racing good. I know nobody wanted to repave it but you have to have dry surface and it basically became a sponge. The thought that went into turns one and two to make it different, make it challenging, have worked. It is a very challenging corner. There is a lot of asphalt there and a very wide entry that you don’t use the whole entry of. I think as time goes, the race track is going to spread out. The thing that sticks out to me is the time and effort that were put in to try to make the racing better. Also, every driver in the garage has seen the commitment, even at the first race when it was first repaved. Overnight, everyone was saying there was no second groove. Next thing you know you hear the squealing out there and those tires aren’t free. It takes man hours and it takes time and the preparation goes a long way to helping that progression of making the racing grooves wider and faster and I think that is what everybody wants. That is the part to me that sticks out the most, the fact of the effort that has gone into prepping the race track to make the racing as good as possible.”

HAS THE TIRE DRAGON HELPED THE GROOVES HERE? 

“The bottom was still the fastest but I was able to finish the pass on the outside. That groove is there. I ran the second groove several parts of that race last time. The fastest groove is still going to be on the bottom but just having an option to go around lap traffic and not getting stuck. To try something different and move up the race track and not be stuck in one groove. That is what this does. It gets the fine silt of dirt and un-run asphalt kind of burned in. There is still nothing that is going to prepare the race track like a car running 200 mph sucking everything out of the ground but it goes a long way in helping that process get there quicker.”

WITH YOUR STRONG START, DO YOU PLAY THIS RACE STRAIGHT OR TRY TO EXPERIMENT FOR FALL? 

“You can’t really do things like that anymore. You have to try to win and gain every bonus point you can. That is the goal. Try to win every race that you can possibly put yourself in position to win and try to take every stage point you can possibly take. You saw Martin do that last year and they were so dominant on gaining points and it basically got them in a position to lock themselves into the playoffs and kept running good and won the championship and were the dominant car all year. They earned every point that they got. They are still going to be the car to contend with. The 18 will be a car to contend with. I think both of those guys have the same mentality while you are hot, to try to take as many points as you can to build as big a cushion as you can to get through race 26. The experimenting days, all you are doing is burning points. If you don’t have those points – then you have the regular season points that seed you to get those points that are paid out at the regular season. You can’t afford to take a week off and experiment. You have to experiment some but you can’t sacrifice performance and points to get that done.”

THE 2019 SCHEDULE CAME OUT THIS WEEK AND THERE ARE NO CHANGES. YOUR THOUGHTS? 

“I think as you look at the schedule, the changes that we saw this year as you look at what Marcus and those guys did at Charlotte to put the Charlotte road course on the schedule and that mixed it up in the first round with Richmond and the road course. Going from Loudon to Las Vegas, we had some huge changes there and you have Indianapolis that will be the last race of the regular season which is an important market for us. There are so many race fans in Indy. Look at the TV ratings, they are always one or two each week. We need to make sure that your race is more successful than it has been. Those are good changes on the schedule. There is way more involved in this. I am just speaking as a guy winging it over here. I am not running two publicly traded companies that have investors and making the decisions but I like change. I like a rotation of the last 10 races, a rotation of the championship race, moving the All-Star race around to different cities. To try to get the cities and events some more income to have these cities participate in what they are doing for these big events. If we could just back that season ending up a month you open up a lot of markets. California would always be in there. Texas Motor Speedway in the middle of October you can come here and race. Charlotte Motor Speedway, I don’t know. There are like eight race tracks. Las Vegas, Homestead. I think if you put six or eight of those race tracks in the championship race mix and mix that up every year and mix those other nine races up with different racetrack every year, you will have a built in conversation every year. I think that is the par that we are missing, that conversation piece to really change things up. He is going to argue with me and say that the fans come to a specific date but I guarantee you would have fans come to a championship race here if you held it. It isn’t fair to have it only in one market. It isn’t fair to Texas Motor Speedway to not have the opportunity to have the championship race to help build their race market. If you have the championship race here and bring people here that haven’t been before, they will come back to the next one when it is on its regular day. We need to build the enthusiasm in every race market. When you take that championship race and that All-Star race and have the playoff races in virtually the same spot every year, you don’t build the intrigue and enthusiasm you would build if you moved it around. I don’t know. I know it is the same. I hope there is a longer term plan in place for a system like that to move things around and have that conversation before the season even starts about how Jimmie Johnson will be the guy because the championship race is at Texas Motor Speedway or how Kyle Larson will be the guy because it is at California. Whatever that circumstance is. Whether you think it would be a good race or bad, it shouldn’t matter. It is the championship race. The Super Bowl and World Series aren’t always good. It is never about the game, it is about the event. I think if you did that right and had a great game or great race to go with that it adds to the moment of the event you have built.”

HAS SHORT TRACK RACING BECOME TAMER? 

“We can wreck anywhere. Some weeks we show up and run into everything and we can do that at Texas and Kansas and Bristol. You watch some of these races and think, ‘What in the world has happened today.’ Sometimes you look at races like Martinsville and wonder why there weren’t more cautions. That just happens. They aren’t all going to be caution filled wreck fests when you go to Martinsville. They aren’t always going to be no cautions when you go to Kansas. Sometimes you are going to have 20 cautions. That is why you show up. You never know what is going to happen. If it was just a demolition derby every week that you showed up, then you would be asking why we wreck every week. Part of that intrigue to me and a lot of the focus has become about the racing. Sometimes I don’t even think we should call them races, we should call them events. They should all be events with stuff to do and then you show up for the race and everyone has already had a good time and hopefully the race is good too and you can talk about that on the way home. I don’t know. Bristol is going to be fun. There is still nothing quite like Bristol and I am looking forward to it.”