NASCAR playoff race at Texas: How to watch, starting lineup and predictions

NASCAR returns to Texas with the stakes raised. The Cup Series enters its second race of the playoff Round of 8 for Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

The race starts at 3:30 p.m. on NBCSN with seven playoff drivers vying to lock in a spot to the Championship 4 in two weeks. Joey Logano secured his bid to Phoenix with a win at Kansas last weekend.

Kevin Harvick (+41) and Denny Hamlin (+20) still maintain a comfortable points cushion over the other playoff drivers battling for a limited spot, and both said they’re confident heading into the weekend. If his No. 11 team performs how it normally does, Hamlin said he doesn’t think any other driver will be able to make up the difference.

“It’s just all of the variables that you don’t know about,” Hamlin said, pointing to his 15th-place finish at Kansas last weekend. “It’s wrecks. It’s pit road. It’s someone pulling out in front of you and doing damage. There’s just so many little things that can affect your finish that you just don’t usually account for, but I would rather be 20 up than 20 down.”

NASCAR PRE-TEXAS PLAYOFF STANDINGS

Brad Keselowski sits eight points above the bubble, while Chase Elliott is the first driver to dip below the cutoff (-8), followed by Alex Bowman (-27), Martin Truex Jr. (-31) and Kurt Busch (-73). A win by any driver on the bubble, or even a non-playoff driver at this point, could shake up the field.

“That’s really what changes up things the most, when you have a guy behind you that wins,” Truex Jr. said of Logano’s victory boosting him above the others. “That’s just part of the way that it is. That was only the first race (in the round). There are two to go. There’s still a lot can happen. You just have to go out and do the best you can and hope to put yourself in position to win a race.”

Sunday’s race is 501 miles (334 laps) with stages ending on laps 105, 210 and 334. The Cup race was preceded by an Xfinity playoff race, which was won by Harrison Burton with a final turn pass of Noah Gragson, on Saturday evening. A Truck Series playoff race at Texas starts at noon Sunday (FS1).

PREDICTIONS FOR NASCAR AT TEXAS

Austin Dillon clinched a win at Texas in July and is looking for a repeat, but Kevin Harvick could stave him off. The points leader is favored to win at Texas, according to the oddsmakers. Harvick is starting on the pole Sunday following his second-place finish last weekend and has said he thinks Texas is the strongest track for his No. 4 team in this round. Denny Hamlin could also be a safe bet as a competitive playoff driver. Both Harvick and Hamlin have three wins at the Fort Worth-based speedway, although Harvick had a better finish at the track most recently. He finished in fifth compared to Hamlin’s 20th place finish this summer.

WEATHER FOR NASCAR RACE AT TEXAS

After cool weather and rain moved through Fort Worth late in the week, the weekend weather is looking brighter. As of Sunday morning, no rain is expected in the afternoon, according to AccuWeather.com, with intermittent clouds and the temperature hovering around 75 degrees. That should make for a pleasant race-day experience for the fans in attendance. The state is allowing Texas Motor Speedway to host fans at 50% capacity, but the speedway said it is underselling that number of tickets to ensure proper social distancing. One official estimated Friday that fan attendance will sit between 20,000 and 25,000 people for Sunday’s playoff doubleheader races. More information on safety protocols and procedures for the weekend can be found on the track website.

HOW TO WATCH NASCAR RACE AT TEXAS

NASCAR PLAYOFF RACE AT TEXAS STARTING LINEUP

*Playoff driver

This story was originally published October 25, 2020 at 6:00 AM.

Alexandra Andrejev

The Charlotte Observer

NASCAR and Charlotte FC beat reporter Alex Andrejev joined The Observer in January 2020 following an internship at The Washington Post. She is a two-time APSE award winner for her NASCAR beat coverage and National Motorsports Press Association award winner. She is the host of McClatchy’s podcast “Payback” about women’s soccer. Support my work with a digital subscription