FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: TEXAS PLAYOFF NOTES
All three of NASCAR’s top touring series will be in action this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway as the Playoffs hit high gear in the next-to-last round. Here’s a look at where Ford drivers stand going into each event, in addition to some memorable Cup moments through the years.
ROUND OF 8 MENCS PLAYOFF STANDINGS (Top 4 Advance After Phoenix)
1st – Joey Logano (locked in to Championship 4)
4th – Kevin Harvick (+25 ahead of cutoff)
5th – Kurt Busch (-25 from final transfer spot)
7th – Clint Bowyer (-42 from final transfer spot)
8th – Aric Almirola (-50 from final transfer spot)
ROUND OF 8 NXS PLAYOFF STANDINGS (Top 4 Advance After Phoenix)
7th – Cole Custer (-23 from final transfer spot)
8th – Austin Cindric (-43 from final transfer spot)
ROUND OF 6 NCWTS PLAYOFF STANDINGS (Top 4 Advance After Phoenix)
4th – Grant Enfinger (+2 ahead of cutoff)
6th – Matt Crafton (-10 from final transfer spot)
FORD IN THE MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES AT TMS
Ford is tied for the most all-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins at TMS with 13.
Joey Logano (2014) and Kevin Harvick (2017) have Ford wins at the track.
Jack Roush is tied for the most wins among car owners at TMS with nine.
FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT TMS
Ford leads all manufacturers with 12 NASCAR XFINITY Series wins at TMS.
Six current Ford Cup drivers have at least one NXS win at TMS (Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Trevor Bayne and Kurt Busch).
Mark Martin won the first NXS race at Texas and leads Ford with three series victories overall.
FORD IN THE NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES SERIES AT TMS
Ford has 3 series wins at TMS.
Kenny Irwin Jr. won the first series event held at TMS in 1997.
Ford’s last series victory at TMS came by Greg Biffle in 2000.
17 WINS AND COUNTING…
Joey Logano’s dramatic win Sunday at Martinsville is the 17th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win for Ford, making it the third-best season in terms of victory in the modern era (1972-present). Only the 20 wins in 1994 and the 19 victories in 1997 are better than what has been accomplished so far in 2018.
FORD WINS – SEASON
20 – 1994 (31 races)
19 – 1997 (32 races)
17 – 2018 (Through 33 races)
16 – 1992 (29 races)
16 – 2005 (36 races)
15 – 1998 (33 races)
PLAYOFF WIN SENT HARVICK TO CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR
One year ago when NASCAR came to Texas Motor Speedway it saw Kevin Harvick pass Martin Truex Jr. with 10 laps remaining to win and advance to the Championship Four. The Playoff race was Harvick’s first Cup victory at the speedway in 30 starts and his second since he and Stewart-Haas Racing joined Ford at the start of 2017.
LAST LAP PASS LEADS LOGANO TO VICTORY
Joey Logano’s first Cup win at TMS came in 2014 in a race that was delayed until Monday because of rain. Logano dominated much of the second half, but a caution with two laps to go forced a green-white-checker finish. He started third on the restart after the leaders stopped on pit road, and was able to get past Jeff Gordon on the final lap to claim victory. Logano led 108 of the final 116 laps to claim the first of five wins that season.
A TEXAS TWO-FIRST
A couple of firsts happened on April 6, 1997 as Texas Motor Speedway hosted its inaugural Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event and Jeff Burton took his first checkered flag. Burton, led by crew chief Buddy Parrott, passed Todd Bodine with 58 laps remaining and beat fellow Ford driver Dale Jarrett to the finish line by four seconds. The race was slowed by 10 cautions, which included a multi-car accident in first turn of the first lap. Burton went on to win 21 career series races with 17 of those coming in a Thunderbird or Taurus.
SADLER WINS FIRST RACE WITH RYR
Elliott Sadler passed Jeff Gordon with 27 laps remaining and then held off Kasey Kahne in the closing laps to win the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 on April 4, 2004. Sadler, in his second season with Robert Yates Racing, hugged the inside lane over the final three laps as Kahne worked the outside. When the two cars came off turn four for the final time, Sadler had a lapped car in front of him and that allowed Kahne to make one last charge. Despite gaining crucial ground through the tri-oval, Kahne came up half-a-car length short as Sadler crossed the line first to gain his second of three career series wins.
FORD MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS AT TEXAS
1997 – Jeff Burton
1998 – Mark Martin
2001 – Dale Jarrett
2002 – Matt Kenseth
2004 – Elliott Sadler
2005 – Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards
2008 – Carl Edwards*
2011 – Matt Kenseth (1)
2012 – Greg Biffle (1)
2014 – Joey Logano (1)
2017 – Kevin Harvick (2)
* Denotes season sweep
