FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: TEXAS NOTES
Ford comes into this weekend’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway having won a series-best three times after Brad Keselowski took the checkered flag Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. Ford, which is tied for the most wins among manufacturers at TMS with 12, has had a number of memorable moments, starting with Jeff Burton’s win in the inaugural Cup event in 1997 and continuing with season sweeps in 2005 and 2008. Here’s a look at Ford’s fast start and some TMS highlights.
YEAR-OVER-YEAR
As mentioned above, Brad Keselowski’s win on Sunday at Martinsville gave Ford its third victory in six Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races this season. Ford didn’t win its third race in 2016 until June 12 when Joey Logano won at Michigan International Speedway. Overall, Ford won eight times last year by three drivers – Keselowski (4), Logano (3) and Chris Buescher (1).
STANDING TALL
Ford continues to hold down half of the top-10 spots in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings, led by Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski (4th) and Joey Logano (5th). Ryan Blaney ranks seventh while Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Clint Bowyer (8th) and Kevin Harvick (10th) round out the Ford quintet.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
What makes Ford’s strong start even more impressive is that solid performances have been coming from every organization. Of the 13 full-time teams that make up the Ford roster, 10 have registered at least one Top-10 finish through the first six races of 2017. As a result, Ford holds a three-point lead in the manufacturer standings. Team Penske drivers Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano lead the way with five each while Ryan Blaney (Wood Brothers Racing) and Clint Bowyer (Stewart-Haas Racing) are next with three apiece. Here’s a look at the complete list.
FORD TOP-10 FINISHES THROUGH 6 RACES
5 – Brad Keselowski, Team Penske
5 – Joey Logano, Team Penske
3 – Ryan Blaney, Wood Brothers Racing
3 – Clint Bowyer, Stewart-Haas Racing
2 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Roush Fenway Racing
2 – Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing
2 – Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing
1 – Aric Almirola, Richard Petty Motorsports
1 – Trevor Bayne, Roush Fenway Racing
1 – Matt DiBenedetto, Go Fas Racing
LAST-LAP PASS LEADS LOGANO TO VICTORY
Ford’s most recent win at TMS came in 2014 when Joey Logano registered the first of his five triumphs that season. The race, which was delayed until Monday because of rain, was dominated by Logano for much of the second half, but a caution with two laps to go forced a green-white-checker finish. Logano started third on the restart after the leaders stopped on pit road, and was able to get past Jeff Gordon on the final lap to claim victory. Logano led 108 of the final 116 laps to claim his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win on a 1.5-mile track.
A TEXAS TWO-FIRST
A couple of firsts happened on April 6, 1997 as Texas Motor Speedway hosted its inaugural Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event and Jeff Burton took his first checkered flag. Burton, led by crew chief Buddy Parrott, passed Todd Bodine with 58 laps remaining and beat fellow Ford driver Dale Jarrett to the finish line by four seconds. The race was slowed by 10 cautions, which included a multi-car accident in first turn of the first lap. Burton went on to win 21 career series races with 17 of those coming in a Thunderbird or Taurus.
SADLER WINS FIRST RACE WITH RYR
Elliott Sadler passed Jeff Gordon with 27 laps remaining and then held off Kasey Kahne in the closing laps to win the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 on April 4, 2004. Sadler, in his second season with Robert Yates Racing, hugged the inside lane over the final three laps as Kahne worked the outside. When the two cars came off turn four for the final time, Sadler had a lapped car in front of him and that allowed Kahne to make one last charge. Despite gaining crucial ground through the tri-oval, Kahne came up half-a-car length short as Sadler crossed the line first to gain his second of three career series wins.
FORD MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS AT TEXAS
1997 – Jeff Burton
1998 – Mark Martin
2001 – Dale Jarrett
2002 – Matt Kenseth
2004 – Elliott Sadler
2005 – Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards
2008 – Carl Edwards*
2011 – Matt Kenseth (1)
2012 – Greg Biffle (1)
2014 – Joey Logano (1)
* Denotes season sweep
