NASCAR: Looking back at the last five Texas races

The NASCAR Cup Series makes its first trip of the year to Texas Motor Speedway. What do the last five races at the track tell us about this year’s edition?

On Sunday, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series makes its first trip of 2018 to Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. The track has been hosting races since 1997 and has hosted multiple races in a season every year since 2005.

While Roush Fenway Racing (before the addition of Fenway) were common visitors to victory lane in the early days, drivers like Jimmie Johnson (seven wins) and the Joe Gibbs Racing crew (five wins since 2010) eventually started winning at the track as well. What can the past teach us about this year’s race? Let’s look at the last five races at the track to find out.

Fall 2015

Jimmie Johnson won his third consecutive Texas race, but he did it despite leading just six laps. The dominant car of the day belonged to Brad Keselowski, who led 312 of the 334 laps and finished in second. Seven of the eight playoff drivers finished in the top 10. Joey Logano’s 40th place finish was the only exception, but even the #22 car looked strong after starting fourth and running well before a blown tire cost him any chance at contending.

Spring 2016

Martin Truex Jr. and Carl Edwards had the best cars, but they finished in sixth and seventh, respectively. In the end, it was another Toyota team, Kyle Busch’s #18 car, that ended the day in victory lane. All four Hendrick Motorsports cars finished in the top eight as well.

Fall 2016

The top 10 featured two Hendrick cars and five Gibbs/Gibbs-affiliated cars, including race winner Carl Edwards. Joey Logano led the most laps and finished in second. Austin Dillon started on the pole, but he wrecked and finished 37th.

Spring 2017

Kevin Harvick and Ryan Blaney started on the front row. Harvick led 77 laps and finished in fourth. Blaney led 148 laps and finished in 12th. Two Hendrick cars finished in the top 10, but the biggest shock was that just one Toyota finished in the top 10, and that was the eventual 2017 Cup Series champion, Martin Truex Jr.

Fall 2017

Kevin Harvick led 38 laps and won. Meanwhile, the driver who led the most lap, Martin Truex Jr. with 107, once again failed to win. The other dominant driver was Kyle Larson, who led 74 laps but wrecked and finished 37th.