NASCAR: AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway preview
Gordon has many reasons to be hungry
He hasn’t won a Sprint Cup series title since 2001. He’s never won a title under the Chase format. And his crew chief, Alan Gustafson, has never won a NASCAR championship.
Jeff Gordon has many reasons to be hungry for an elusive fifth series championship this season, but the most important to him is not wanting to squander an opportunity that may not come again.
“What I’m hungry the most about is just knowing that I’ve got a great car and a great team that’s capable of winning this championship,” said Gordon, who leads the Chase standings. “And being in the position we’re in, and knowing that Alan had never a championship. And how hard he works and how good this team is.
“The primary motivation is just know that we’re good enough to do it and having that confidence to go out there and execute.”
Notebook
Sauter patriarch dies: Jim Sauter, a racer and father of four drivers who have competed in NASCAR, died Friday after a brief illness. He was 71.
Sauter competed in 82 NASCAR national series races from 1980 to 2004, including 76 starts in the Cup series. The native of Necedah, Wisc., made his final NASCAR start in the 2002 Nationwide race at Milwaukee, where he competed against his sons Jay, Johnny and Tim.
Johnny Sauter is a fulltime competitor in the Truck series. He was notified of his father’s death following Friday night’s race at Texas.
Toyota claims Trucks manufacturer title: Tundra driver Kyle Busch’s victory at Texas enabled Toyota to clinch its seventh manufacturer’s championship in 11 years in the series.
Toyota drivers established a new series record by winning the first 10 races of the year – from Daytona in February to Eldora in July – and a 12-race winning streak dating back to 2013.
Practice update: Jimmie Johnson led the way in Saturday’s final Cup practice session with an average lap speed of 193.791 mph. Ryan Newman was second-fastest, Paul Menard third, Joey Logano fourth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. fifth. Carl Edwards was fastest in Saturday’s first practice.
Three things to watch
1 Kevin Harvick is making his 500th start in the Sprint Cup Series. He has never won at Texas Motor Speedway.
2 Joey Logano won the spring race at Texas and he and Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski have won five of nine races this season on 1.5-mile tracks.
3 Matt Kenseth, who starts on the pole, boasts the most top-five (13) and top-10 (17) finishes all-time at Texas.
Observations
Best bets
Three picks for your fantasy team:
Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman
This story was originally published November 1, 2014 at 9:31 PM with the headline "NASCAR: AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway preview."