Get set for 500 miles of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing in the Lone Star State
Sunday's starting lineup for the 2019 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway is set. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is down in the Lone Star State for the seventh race of their season, held at the 1.5-mile tri-oval down in Fort Worth. The new intermediate, low-horsepower handling package took center stage once again along with adjusted qualifying rules.
Both of them have already made an impact. The pole speed was down significantly for TMS; 188.890 mph is nearly 12 mph slower than last year’s lightning-fast 200 mph pace. The new rules also caused controversy when Clint Bowyer claimed his qualifying attempt was impeded by Ryan Newman on pit lane. NASCAR refused to budge, leaving Bowyer heated and a distant 25th. Three drivers: Paul Menard, Timmy Hill and Landon Cassill also had their times disallowed through pit road speeding penalties.
Staying above the fray was Jimmie Johnson, raising eyebrows by winning his first pole position in almost three years. Johnson’s top speed at TMS marks the first time he earned a spot on the inside of the front row since New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the summer of 2016. It's the second pole of the year for Hendrick Motorsports and a bounce-back effort for Johnson. He was an embarrassing 24th at Martinsville Speedway last weekend, one of his best career tracks.
Thirty-nine drivers made a qualifying attempt for 40 possible spots on the grid. That means everyone made the race.
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. William Byron
3. Chase Elliott
4. Daniel Suarez
5. Austin Dillon
6. Denny Hamlin
7. Daniel Hemric
8. Joey Logano
9. Ty Dillon
10. Bubba Wallace
11. Erik Jones
12. Brad Keselowski
13. Ryan Blaney
14. Paul Menard
15. Michael McDowell
16. Kyle Busch
17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
18. Ryan Newman
19. Chris Buescher
20. Martin Truex Jr.
21. Aric Almirola
22. Kyle Larson
23. Kevin Harvick
24. Alex Bowman
25. Clint Bowyer
26. Matt DiBenedetto
27. Ryan Preece
28. David Ragan
29. Matt Tifft
30. Kurt Busch
31. Corey Lajoie
32. Landon Cassill
33. Parker Kligerman (i)
34. BJ McLeod
35. Ross Chastain (i)
36. Bayley Currey (i)
37. Reed Sorenson
38. Garrett Smithley (i)
39. Timmy Hill (i)
(i) - Ineligible to collect Cup Series points
Note: Hill, Menard and Cassill will start at the rear (pit road speeding)
Failed To Qualify
None
QUALIFYING NOTES
- Johnson has not won a race from the pole since the 2014 Coca-Cola 600. He also hasn’t won a points-paying NASCAR race since June 2017 at Dover, a streak of 65 races entering TMS. It’s the longest winless drought of his career. But Texas is a great place for Johnson to find some magic; his seven career wins here lead all Cup drivers.
- Toyota has yet to win a pole in seven 2019 attempts. Denny Hamlin (sixth) was their best effort and only Camry to qualify inside the top 10. Hamlin has started 10th or better in all seven of his 2019 starts.
- William Byron (2nd) and Chase Elliott (3rd) gave HMS a 1-2-3 sweep.
- Daniel Suarez (4th) had his best qualifying effort since moving to Stewart-Haas Racing for 2019.
- Daniel Hemric (7th) was the top qualifying rookie.
- Kyle Busch (16th) had his worst qualifying effort since the Daytona 500.
- Parker Kligerman (33rd) is making his fourth 2019 start with Gaunt Brothers Racing as they continue their 12-race limited schedule.
- Bayley Currey (36th) is back with Rick Ware Racing this week. Rookie Cody Ware is sitting this one out.
- Garrett Smithley (38th) returns to Spire Motorsports for TMS as the merry-go-round, pay-to-play rotation of drivers continues for that car.
- Timmy Hill (39th) replaces Joey Gase in the Carl Long Motorsports Toyota for Sunday’s Cup race.
NASCAR RACE BREAKDOWN
Race: O’Reilly Auto Parts 500
Track: Texas Motor Speedway (Forth Worth, Texas)
Date: Sunday, March 31
Time: 3 p.m. ET
TV: FOX
Radio: PRN, SIRIUS XM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 500 miles (334 laps)
Stage 1: 85 Laps
Stage 2: 85 Laps
Final Stage: 164 Laps
PRE-RACE ANALYSIS
