| USA TODAY
NASCAR heads to The Lone Star State this weekend with another spot in the Championship Four on the line. Joey Logano locked up one of the slots with his victory last weekend at Kansas Speedway, and only two races remain to determine the other three drivers who will race for a championship at Phoenix Raceway on November 8.
But first it’s on to Texas Motor Speedway. Here is all the information you need to get ready for Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500, the eighth of 10 playoff races in the NASCAR Cup Series:
START TIME: 3:30 p.m. ET. (2:30 p.m. local)
TV: NBCSN. Pre-race broadcast begins at 3 p.m. ET. (2 p.m. local).
RADIO: Performance Racing Network. STREAMING: For those who sign in with their cable/satellite provider’s credentials, you can watch at stream.nbcsports.com.
RACE DISTANCE: 334 laps around the 1.5-mile track for a total of 501 miles.
STAGE LENGTHS (laps per stage): Stage 1: 105, Stage 2: 105, Stage 3: 124.
SEEDINGS (after seven playoff races; x-clinched berth in Championshp 4): 1. Kevin Harvick, 4,115 points; 2. Denny Hamlin, 4,094; 3. Brad Keselowski, 4,082; 4. Chase Elliott, 4,074; x-5. Joey Logano, 4,064; 6. Alex Bowman, 4,055; 7. Martin Truex Jr. 4,051; 8. Kurt Busch, 4,009.
LAST TIME: Austin Dillon led 22 laps, including the final 10, before edging teammate Tyler Reddick 0.149 seconds in a 1-2 finish for Richard Childress Racing on July 19. And one year ago, Kevin Harvick won his third consecutive playoff race at Texas after leading a race-high 119 laps and pulling away from Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Aric Almirola by 1.594 seconds.
QUALIFYING: The lineup was determined by four performance metrics from the previous race: 15% based on fastest lap time position, 25% of the driver’s final race finish position, 25% of the owner’s final race position and 35% of the owner points position.
LINEUP: Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick will begin this race the way the ended last week’s — with a twist. Logano held off Harvick after a fierce battle in the closing laps at Kansas, but at Texas, Harvick gets the edge with the pole position.
Here is the lineup for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 (car number in parentheses):
1. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford.
2. (22) Joey Logano, Ford.
3. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford.
4. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet.
5. (88) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet.
6. (19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota.
7. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota.
8. (1) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet.
9. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota.
10. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford.
11. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet.
12. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet.
13. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford.
14. (21) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford.
15. (95) Christopher Bell, Toyota.
16. (41) Cole Custer, Ford.
17. (20) Erik Jones, Toyota.
18. (43) Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet.
19. (8) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet.
20. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford.
21. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford.
22. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet.
23. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford.
24. (38) John Hunter Nemechek, Ford.
25. (6) Ryan Newman, Ford.
26. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet.
27. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet.
28. (32) Corey LaJoie, Ford.
29. (37) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet.
30. (96) Daniel Suarez, Toyota.
31. (15) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet.
32. (42) Matt Kenseth, Chevrolet.
33. (27) JJ Yeley, Ford.
34. (00) Quin Houff, Chevrolet.
35. (77) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet.
36. (66) Timmy Hill, Toyota.
37. (7) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet.
38. (53) Garrett Smithley, Ford.
39. (51) Joey Gase, Ford.
40. (49) Chad Finchum, Toyota.
