NASCAR at Texas Motor Speedway: AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 preview, picks

NASCAR is coming to Texas! Photo via: Wiki Commons.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Lone Star State for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500. This track is one of the most controversial on the schedule, as it’s incredibly hard to pass. Many are speculating that the track is on its way to a complete reconfiguration in the near future, which could make Texas way more competitive. This is the first race of the Round of 12 and it starts off at a relatively tame racetrack. But with the way these playoffs have been going, we can expect to see more attrition this week. As I mentioned earlier, passing here is next to impossible, so qualifying will be extra important.

Last week, Chris Buescher went on to capture his second career victory and first since 2015 back when he won a rain-shortened race at Pocono. This continues the theme of non-playoff drivers winning in the playoffs. This is a huge win for Roush Fenway Keselowski racing, as their season has been one to forget. It would seem like this team is turning in the right direction going forward into 2023.

The race however was dominated by numerous mechanical failures that would take out some of the front-runners including Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, and Martin Truex Jr. Because of an engine failure, Kyle was one of the four drivers that were eliminated from the playoffs, the other three were Austin Dillon, Tyler Reddick, and Kevin Harvick. Naturally, because Kyle is leaving Gibbs next season, many fans of his believed that there was a conspiracy to keep him out of the next round. These claims are completely bogus and unfounded, as Martin Truex Jr and Denny Hamlin also had issues during the race. The real issue is NASCAR rushing this new car and making parts that are not quality. There have been many drivers who have criticized the direction that NASCAR is going. This car seems to race well and there are a lot of positives, but this is an issue that needs to be fixed.

The driver that I have winning this weekend is Christopher Bell. It has been a career-year for the Oklahoma native, after winning at New Hampshire this summer he’s been on quite a run. He currently holds the highest average finish among all active drivers. He has done a great job at keeping out of trouble and most importantly running up front while doing it. If a Joe Gibbs car is going to win the title, Bell has to be the favorite, as he’s been much more consistent than Denny Hamlin. They have been taking advantage of stage points as well as he’s scored 31 over the last round including a stage victory at Bristol last week.

Texas Motor Speedway is a racetrack that has been good to Bell, considering he’s from Norman, Oklahoma. It’s the closest race to his home track. He will have plenty of people there who will be supporting him. His numbers here are pretty solid, regardless of the fact that he has yet to win. He’s currently the third-highest average finisher since 2019 with two top fives. One thing that might be a deterrent for Bell is his 19.7th average starting position. With this track being next to impossible to pass on, it will be challenging to get through the field if he’s starting mid-pack, but with all the speed this team has, I don’t see that being too much of an issue. Look for Bell to punch his ticket to the Round of 8 with a win at Texas.

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Texas hosts Clemson on Dec. 21. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

No. 4 Texas will be competing for a return trip to Atlanta when it plays at home against No. 13 Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

The winner of the Clemson-Texas first-round game on Dec. 21 will play No. 10 Arizona State in the Jan. 1 Peach Bowl in Atlanta in the CFP quarterfinals.

For Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, who is from Austin, Texas, the game will be a homecoming.

“We recruited him hard," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Sunday, calling Klubnik “a winner. He will do whatever it takes to put his team in position to be successful.”

Added Sarkisian: “When he made the decision to go to Clemson, honestly I wasn’t surprised. Both his parents went to (Texas) A&M.”

Klubnik applauded the announcement of the game at Texas for Clemson's seventh CFP appearance.

“For him to be going to his first playoff in Austin, Texas, where he grew up, you can’t make that up,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Pretty cool opportunity for him and his family to go compete against Texas there in Austin.”

Swinney said his only visit to the Texas stadium was to watch Klubnik play in a high school playoff game.

“We’ve never played Texas or played in that stadium,” Swinney said. “... It’s going to be amazing. It’s one of the best venues in college football.”

The Longhorns (11-2) were seeded No. 5 in the CFP following their 22-19 overtime loss to Georgia on Saturday night in the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta.

Sarkisian said his players were “really excited” to see Texas land the No. 5 seed and have the opportunity to play in the Longhorns' first game against Clemson.

Texas safety Andrew Mukuba is a Clemson transfer. Sarkisian said players already were calling the matchup the “Mukuba Bowl.”

Swinney said: “I love Mukuba. I just love his spirit and love his heart. He was a really neat kid.

“I certainly wish he had been able to finish here. He did everything that was asked of him at Clemson. Made a bunch of big plays.”

Clemson (10-3) beat SMU 34-31 in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game Saturday night to land an automatic CFP berth. The Tigers are ranked No. 16 in the CFP but were given the 12th and lowest seed. As the fifth-highest ranked league champion, the Tigers do not get a bye and instead must visit Texas.

Arizona State (11-2) earned a bye by rolling over Iowa State 45-19 in the Big 12 championship game Saturday. The Sun Devils were led by running back Cam Skattebo's 170 rushing yards in their impressive win to cap their first season in the Big 12.

Peach Bowl president Gary Stokan noted the Sun Devils were picked to finish last in the Big 12.

“You proved them all wrong,” Stokan told Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham.

Arizona State players celebrated the announcement of their No. 4 seed.

Dillingham said he hopes the conference championship and berth in the CFP helps him recruit and continue to build the program.

“Hopefully this stage will help get our branding out there, and show people that we can be one of the newer brands in college football," Dillingham said. "Every 10-15 years a new brand shows up, and a new brand becomes a national brand.”No. 4 Texas will be competing for a return trip to Atlanta when it plays at home against No. 13 Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff.