Beyond the Flag
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NASCAR: 5 drivers most likely to win the AAA Texas 500

By T. Walker

FORT WORTH, TX - APRIL 09: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 9, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX - APRIL 09: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 9, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /
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FORT WORTH, TX – NOVEMBER 04: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)
FORT WORTH, TX – NOVEMBER 04: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway) /

Five drivers most likely to win

Eight drivers remain in this round of the playoffs and only one, Kyle Busch, has secured his ticket to move on to the next round. Big brother Kurt Busch may have been the hottest cowboy at the rodeo making headlines by setting a Texas Motor Speedway record to win the Texas pole with a blistering 200.915 miles per hour, but there are seven other cowboys looking to buck their horse. Of course the record is great, but it’s all about winning. More importantly, it is about advancing to the next round of the playoffs.

Each of the remaining drivers in the hunt for the championship should be “ready and rarin’ to go” at Texas. Ideally, only one of these drivers can win the race; but that doesn’t mean all the other drivers should give up on a chance to win one of the last races of the season. Below, I’ve compiled a list of five drivers that I believe can pull off a rope trick and take home the checkered flag at Texas Motor Speedway.

1. Jimmie Johnson

Why: This ain’t his first rodeo

There are some tracks where you just can’t count Jimmie Johnson out and Texas Motor Speedway is one of them. Johnson is a seven-time winner at Texas. His first win was in 2007 and his last win was earlier this year in April of 2017. If you see a pattern with all these sevens, it’s not a coincidence. After all, he is Mr. 7x.

With less than 10 points separating drivers ranked fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh on the NASCAR playoff leaderboard, Johnson needs to win if he expects to be racing at Homestead-Miami for his eighth championship. His impressive track record at Texas and his ability to “turn it on when he needs to,” is why he tops my list of drivers who can get it done.

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