NASCAR: The Good, Bad And Ugly From Texas
By Tanner Whitt
![Apr 9, 2017; Fort Worth, TX, USA; A view of the start of stag two of the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports Apr 9, 2017; Fort Worth, TX, USA; A view of the start of stag two of the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/475f3bb92dd72cc779af88983d6a71c349ade5a5b733a637316768489e520872.jpg)
The NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series lassoed the Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. Let’s take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from the Lone Star State.
What a crazy weekend it was in Texas. The 1.5 mile track underwent a new repave and reconfiguration after last season, and it threw a curveball at the teams all weekend.
On Friday in practice, Denny Hamlin spun out in the reconfigured turns 1 and 2. Later in that same practice, Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs teammate Kyle Busch also lost control of his car and slid up into the wall. Erik Jones and Chase Elliott also wrecked their cars in practice and had to go to their back up cars for the race. And in qualifying, 7 time champion Jimmie Johnson even lost control of his car and spun out.
Most assumed the race would be a wreck fest with little passing as everybody tried to get to the inside lane where the grip was.
Boy were they wrong.
Jimmie Johnson picked up his first win of the season holding off a hard charging Kyle Larson late to claim his 7th win at Texas. Logano and Harvick came home 3rd and 4th, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. piloted his number 88 Chevrolet to a solid 5th place finish.
This weekend there wasn’t much ugly afoot in Texas. Therefore, this week I’ll cover the good and the bad, and omit the ugly. So, without further ado, let’s get into it. The Good, The Good (Part II), and The Bad, from Texas.