NASCAR heads for the lone star state this weekend.

O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 preview

Kevin Harvick
Kevin Harvick. Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

NASCAR heads for the lone star state this weekend for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. This is another one of NASCAR's mile in a half tracks that we see so often around the Schedule. There will be a lot of changes coming that will make for a much different Texas Motor Speedway. For one we will be able to see what kind of racing this aero package will provide here and secondly it was announced earlier this week that there will be an added grip Compound around the track called VHT. According to experts, this will allow the drivers to use up more of the grooves on the race track. Usually, this same compound is used around Bristol and has been met with good results but what is important to note is that, Bristol is a short track as opposed to Texas Motor Speedway being a mile and a half. It should be fun to see what kind of results this added element will bring come sunday.

On Tuesday, NASCAR announced it's 2020 schedule and to say there was a massive overhaul would be the understatement of the year. Some of the changes include moving many races around including Daytona's Fourth of July race to the final race of the regular season and switching it with Indy, moving the season finale to Phoenix, making Pocono a doubleheader weekend, a two-week break for the Olympics and of course putting the Bristol Night race in the playoffs. Overall, while most of the moves were praised by fans the decision to move the Fourth of July race from Daytona to Indy was met with major backlash from people including myself. I believe that this is another attempt by NASCAR to fix what isn't broken. In 1959, NASCAR added the Fourth of July date for the first annual Firecracker 250. Five years later the race distance was expanded to four-hundred miles and the tradition has been going on ever since. To move one of the most famous races in the sports history is a huge mistake and they did it solely because they wanted to create drama. While there might be added storylines, going to Daytona and racing under the lights in August will never be the same as the rich tradition of racing there in July.

Going into this weekend, both Joe Gibbs Racing and Penske have dominated the season as they have been the only two teams to win this season but this weekend I believe that dominance will come to an end. This week, I think Kevin Harvick will break out of his funk and take his first win of 2019. It has been clear that Harvick hasn't quite been the same as he was in the past but I think this weekend will be different for him. As any fan could tell, Harvick hasn't quite dominated this track like he has others but he has really found something here. In the past few races, he has been able to able to lead over 28 percent of the laps run at this track and his worst finish here since then has been third. If he is to win this week, this could be the race that turns around the season for one of NASCAR's best drivers of this generation. Look for Harvick to be a contender.

Another driver to watch out for this week is Darrell Wallace Jr. While it is clear that 2019 has been a season to forget for Bubba, he is coming off his best finish last week at Martinsville of 17th so this team seems to be on the right track and it comes at the right time. Last season, Wallace finished eighth place here in one of his best results of his career. Another place he ran well at last season was Bristol, a track that ironically enough used the same grip compound we will be seeing this weekend at Texas, so will that make too much of a difference? I am not sure. Maybe not, but overall it is worth noting and could play a factor come Sunday. I look for Wallace to continue to build off his best finish last weekend at Martinsville and back it up with an even better result this weekend at Texas.

(All stats and information used in this article is brought to you by the good folks at driveraverages.com and Racing-Reference.com the best website for all NASCAR stats).

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

ESPN Houston 97.5 FM
Houston must improve in close games down the stretch and into October. Composite Getty Image.

While holding one’s breath that for a change the Astros aren’t publicly grossly underestimating an injury’s severity with Jose Altuve having missed the last game and a half with “right side discomfort…”

The Astros averting a sweep vs. Oakland Thursday was in no way a must-win, but getting the win allowed a mini sigh of relief. The Astros are NOT in the process of choking. Could they collapse? Sure that’s possible. Also possible is that they’ve just been in one more ebb phase in a season of ebb and flow. They certainly have left the door ajar for the Seattle Mariners to swipe the American League West, but with the M's simply not looking good enough to walk through that door the Astros remain in commanding position. The Astros made a spectacular charge from 10 games behind to grab the division lead. But there was a lot of runway left when the Astros awoke June 19th 10 games in arrears. September 3 the Astros arose with a comfy six game lead over the M’s. With Seattle blowing a 4-1 eighth inning lead in a 5-4 loss to the Texas Rangers Thursday night, heading into Friday night the Astros' advantage is back up to four and a half games despite the Astros having lost six of their last nine games and having gone just 10-12 over their last 22 games. Not a good stretch but nothing freefalling about it.

While the Mariners have the remainder of their four-game series vs. the dead in the water Rangers this weekend, the Astros play three at the lousy Los Angeles Angels. The Astros should take advantage of the Halos, with whom they also have a four-game series at Minute Maid Park next weekend. Since the All-Star break, only the White Sox have a worse record than the Angels 19-31 mark (the White Sox are 6-43 post-break!). Two of the three starting pitchers the Angels will throw this weekend will be making their third big league starts. To begin next week the Astros are in San Diego for a three-game-set against a Padres club which is flat better than the Astros right now. That does not mean the Astros can’t take that series. The Mariners meanwhile will be still at home, for three vs. the Yankees.

There are some brutal Astros’ statistics that largely explain why this is merely a pretty good team and not more. As I have noted before, it is a fallacy that the best teams are usually superior in close games. But the Astros have been pathetic in close games. There used to be a joke made about Sammy Sosa that he could blow you out, but he couldn’t beat you. Meaning being that when the score was 6-1, 8-3 or the like Sammy would pad his stats with home runs and runs batted in galore. But in a tight game, don’t count on Sammy to come through very often. In one-run games the Astros are 15-26, in two-run games they are 10-14. In games that were tied after seven innings they are 3-12. In extra innings they are 5-10. The good news is, all those realities mean nothing when the postseason starts. So long as you’re in the postseason. In games decided by three or more runs the Astros have pummeled the opposition to the tune of 53 wins and 28 losses.

General Manager Dana Brown isn’t an Executive of the Year candidate, but overall he’s been fine this season. Without the Yusei Kikuchi trade deadline acquisition the Astros would likely barely lead the AL West. Brown’s biggest offseason get, Victor Caratini, has done very solid work in his part-time role. Though he has tapered off notably the last month and change, relief pitcher Tayler Scott was a fabulous signing. Scrap heap pickups Ben Gamel, Jason Heyward, and Kaleb Ort have all made contributions. However…

Dana. Dana! You made yourself look very silly with comments this week somewhat scoffing at people being concerned with or dismissive of Justin Verlander’s ability to be a meaningful playoff contributor. Brown re-sang a ridiculous past tune, the “check the back of his baseball card” baloney. Dana, did you mean like the back of Jose Abreu’s baseball card? Perhaps Brown has never seen those brokerage ads in which at the end in fine print and/or in rapidly spoken words “past performance is no guarantee of future results” always must be included. Past (overall career) performance as indicative of future results for a 41-year-old pitcher who has frequently looked terrible and has twice missed chunks of this season to two different injuries is absurd. That Verlander could find it in time is plausible. That of course he’ll find it? Absolutely not. His next two starts are slotted to be against the feeble Angels, so even if the results are better, it won’t mean “JV IS BACK!”

Presuming they hold on to win the division, the Astros’ recent sub-middling play means they have only very faint hope of avoiding having to play the best-of-three Wild Card Series. Barring a dramatic turn over the regular season’s final fortnight, Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown are the obvious choices to start games one and two. If there is a game three, it is one game do or die. Only a fool would think Verlander the right man for that assignment. No one should expect Brown to say “Yeah, JV is likely finished as a frontline starter.” But going to the “back of the baseball card” line was laughable. Father Time gets us all eventually. Verlander has an uphill climb extricating himself from Father Time’s grasp.

*Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome