This week, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at 1 p.m. ET on FOX, as pre-race coverage starts with “NASCAR RaceDay” at 11:30 a.m. ET on FS1.
Newly repaved and reconfigured, the 1.5-mile Texas track ought to be a real challenge for all involved. With no testing since the extreme makeover, all the drivers and teams will be scrambling to find speed this weekend.
But like every track, some drivers seem better suited to fast intermediate-sized tracks like Texas than others do.
Here are the 15 active drivers with the best career average finishes at 1.5-mile tracks.
NASCAR via Getty Images Robert Laberge
15
Clint Bowyer, 17.46 average finish
The last victory for Bowyer in a Cup race came at Charlotte in October 2012.
14
Kurt Busch, 16.99
The 2017 Daytona 500 winner has won three times at Atlanta and once each at Texas, Charlotte and Homestead.
13
Kyle Larson, 16.51
Although he’s only won so far at the 2-mile Michigan and Auto Club Speedway tracks, Larson has been runner-up in his last three 1.5-mile races.
Getty Images Getty Images
12
Ryan Newman, 16.32
The Richard Childress Racing driver has one victory each at Texas, Kansas and Chicagoland.
11
Chase Elliott, 16.13
Still looking for his first career Cup victory, Elliott is ranked second in points right now.
, LAT Images www.latphoto.co.uk John K Harrelson
10
Dale Earnhardt Jr., 15.47
NASCAR’s 14-time most popular driver won his first Cup race at Texas in 2000, and he’s also won at Atlanta and Chicagoland.
9
Kasey Kahne, 15.34
The Hendrick Motorsports driver has four victories at Charlotte and three more at Atlanta.
8
Joey Logano, 15.12
Four times, Logano has won on intermediate tracks, including at Kansas in October 2015, when he famously dumped Matt Kenseth.
7
Martin Truex Jr., 14.93
The most notable of Truex’s four intermediate-track victories came in last year’s Coca-Cola 600, when he led 392 of 400 laps to win.
© Matthew T. Thacker/LAT Images www.latphoto.co.uk Matthew T. Thacker
6
Kyle Busch, 14.42
Over the years, Busch has scored two victories each at Atlanta, Kentucky and Texas among his 11 intermediate-track wins.
5
Brad Keselowski, 14.11
The 2012 champion has 10 intermediate-track victories, including three at Kentucky Speedway.
, LAT Images www.latphoto.co.uk Russell LaBounty
4
Denny Hamlin, 13.80
At intermediate tracks, Hamlin has the best average finish of any driver who has not yet won a Cup championship. He’s won eight races at these tracks.
3
Kevin Harvick, 13.35
With 10 wins at intermediate tracks, Harvick is one of just five drivers to post double-digit wins in this category.
Shanna Lockwood Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports
2
Matt Kenseth, 12.52
Kenseth has 13 victories at intermediate tracks, including three at Las Vegas and two each at Texas, Kansas and Charlotte. Only Jimmie Johnson has more wins on the intermediate tracks.
1
Jimmie Johnson, 10.65
The most remarkable stat for Johnson is that he has 30 intermediate-track race victories. No other active driver has more than 13 and just four others have as many as 10 each.
© Matthew T. Thacker/LAT Images www.latphoto.co.uk Matthew T. Thacker
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