After a brief respite, the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series heads to the Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for the Samsung 500.
After two weeks of bumping and grinding on the short tracks of Bristol and Martinsville with the Car of Tomorrow, drivers and teams will be running the familiar cars of today.
The Texas Motor Speedway is a 1.5-mile high speed quad-oval, comparable to Atlanta Motor Speedway and Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Basically, it has been referred to as an intermediate track, or a cookie cutter.
The Nextel Cup Series has already visited TMS’ sister track in Atlanta a month ago, and the racing should be similar this weekend. You will likely see the same cast of characters at the front of the pack- Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, and Jeff Burton. Johnson won the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta.
Who will win the Samsung 500 at Texas? Clint Bowyer. Will we really see a first-time winner in Nextel Cup this weekend? It is very plausible. Bowyer, Scott Riggs, Casey Mears, and Martin Truex Jr are all searching for their first win in NASCAR Nextel Cup competition. Out of all of the above mentioned drivers, Richard Childress Racing driver Clint Bowyer has been the most impressive, and appears to be on the brink of breaking through. In the previous speedway races this season at California, Las Vegas, and Atlanta, Bowyer consistently had one of the fastest cars. He recorded 6th place finishes at California and Atlanta, and was running in the top ten when he crashed out at Las Vegas. Last fall at Texas, Bowyer finished fifth and clearly had one of the fastest cars. Bowyer reminds me of Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch a couple of years ago, you just knew that first win was right around the corner.
Bowyer has benefited from the presence of his two Richard Childress Racing teammates Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick, however, Harvick really struggled at Las Vegas and Atlanta while Burton and Bowyer ran in the top five and top ten.
Surprise! Surprise! Jimmie Johnson will be fast again this weekend as will his two other Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch. Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth will be stout as well.
Projected Top Ten
1. Clint Bowyer
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Kasey Kahne
4. Tony Stewart
5. Jeff Gordon
6. Jeff Burton
7. Matt Kenseth
8. Kyle Busch
9. Carl Edwards
Darkhorse picks- Juan Pablo Montoya, Reed Sorenson, Martin Truex Jr, Scott Riggs, Elliott Sadler
Who could use a good finish? Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman, Casey Mears, Brian Vickers…but nobody more so than Michael Waltrip
Friday April 13, 2007-
1:30 PM ET NASCAR Nextel Cup Practice, SPEED
5:00 PM ET NASCAR Nextel Cup Qualifying, SPEED
Saturday April 14, 2007-
11:30 AM ET NASCAR Nextel Cup Practice, SPEED
1:00 PM ET NASCAR Nextel Cup Final Practice (Happy Hour), SPEED
Sunday April 15, 2007-
1:30 PM EST Samsung 500, at Texas Motor Speedway, FOX
