Kevin Harvick

Kevin Harvick guaranteed himself a first-place finish in the regular season as he captured the checkered flag in Sunday's Drydene 311 at Dover International Speedway.  

Denny Hamlin's victory in Dover on Saturday brought him level for the most wins (six) in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. Harvick didn't wait very long before edging ahead of him, simultaneously consolidating his place in the standings.

The 2014 series champion was dominant, winning the first two stages before coming out on top.

CHECKERED FLAG: HARVICK ANSWERS AT DOVER!
@KevinHarvick dominates Sunday at the @MonsterMile and collects his seventh win of the season! pic.twitter.com/L9VAHDTFGs

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 23, 2020

Drydene 311 Results

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Martin Truex Jr.

3. Jimmie Johnson

4. William Byron

5. Alex Bowman

6. Joey Logano

7. Aric Almirola

8. Brad Keselowski

9. Austin Dillon

10. Cole Custer

Full leaderboard available on NASCAR's official site

           

Harvick led the field for 223 of the race's 311 laps, a performance that adds to an impressive season to date. He praised the work of his team in his post-race interview.

Cheers to the regular season @NASCAR champion: @KevinHarvick!

His seventh win of the year comes at the @MonsterMile, and he'll get an extra 15 bonus points for the #NASCARPlayoffs. pic.twitter.com/dMf7os2esh

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 23, 2020

Sunday's Drydene 311 was the penultimate race of the regular season. The playoff field will be cemented upon the conclusion of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway.

Harvick's domination might have made for an anticlimactic finish, but the battle for the last few postseason spots made for plenty of drama on the track in Dover.

Entering the day, Jimmie Johnson sat in 16th place with only three points separating him from William Byron.

Sensing how valuable a win would be, Johnson and his pit crew gambled on what proved to be the final caution. The No. 48 car took two tires during a pit stop, which allowed him to move up the field a few places and into first with 17 laps remaining.

Johnson didn't get to enjoy the position for too long as Harvick almost immediately overtook him to pace the field.

Jimmie Johnson on two-tires is no match for @KevinHarvick, who re-takes the lead late at the @MonsterMile! #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/yJsWsbuwhz

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 23, 2020

The 44-year-old managed a third-place finish but could potentially miss out on the playoffs in his final season anyway. Byron collected 46 playoff points to 39 for Johnson. As a result, he now occupies the final postseason berth.

ONE RACE TO GO!

@DISupdates, we're coming for you Saturday night on @NBC! #NASCAR #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/ayYWiQhpQ0

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 23, 2020

Sunday was a significant improvement for Byron, who was 28th in Saturday's Dover race.

It was a good day ... to have a good day. @WilliamByron's first top-five finish of the year vaults the No. 24 car to 16th in the #NASCARPlayoffs standings, four points ahead of @JimmieJohnson. pic.twitter.com/BeINvLcyU4

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 23, 2020

Three places will be up for grabs after Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch assured themselves of a seat at the table in the round of 16.

Things could obviously change if Johnson, Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick or another surprise winner prevails this coming weekend at Daytona. Absent an upset, Clint Bowyer should be safe since he's 57 points up on Johnson.

Byron and Matt DiBenedetto are sitting a little more precariously. They can ill afford to make a mistake, lest they undo all their hard work in the regular season.

Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin have matched accomplishments for most of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.

However, there is one thing Harvick has done that Hamlin has not: sweep two races in the same weekend at one track. Hamlin will try to match Harvick in that category Sunday in the second of two Drydene 311 races at Dover International Speedway.

The No. 11 car driver finished on top Saturday, with two of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates directly behind him. Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch need to climb through the field Sunday to contend for the victory again since the top 20 starting positions were inverted based off Saturday's final grid.

                

Drydene 311 Information

Date: Sunday, August 23

Start Time: 4 p.m. ET

TV: NBCSN 

Live Stream: NBCSports.com or NBC Sports app

           

Starting Lineup

Cup lineup for Sunday. Top-20 invert and 21-40 based on lineup formula. #nascar pic.twitter.com/DPGNtEYkY3

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 23, 2020

          

Odds

Kevin Harvick: +370 (wager $100 to win $370)

Martin Truex Jr.: +390

Denny Hamlin: +450

Chase Elliott: +600

Kyle Busch: +850

Odds via Oddschecker.

             

Preview

The Joe Gibbs Racing trio may extend their control of the field into Sunday, even though it may take them a few laps to get to the front.

Hamlin, Truex and Busch led 206 of the 311 laps at the Monster Mile on Saturday, while the former pair battled for the victory in the final stage.

Hamlin's victory was his first at Dover in 28 attempts. He acknowledged that unwanted record after the race in conversation with Dan Gelston of the Associated Press: "People always ask what your least favorite track is, and I say Dover just because I'm not that good. I love the track. I just haven't been very good here."

The victory tied Hamlin with Harvick for the most victories this season with six. If Hamlin replicates Harvick's back-to-back wins from Michigan, he will take the advantage in that column with one regular-season race remaining.

The top contenders to win Sunday's race are either locked into the playoff field through a victory or have enough points to feel secure through the final two races, like Kyle Busch.

Jimmie Johnson and William Byron switched spots on the playoff bubble Saturday. Johnson now holds a three-point advantage over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate.

Since only the top 20 finishers from Saturday were inverted in the starting lineup, Byron, who placed 23rd, will begin nine spots behind Johnson on Sunday.

Byron not only has to claw back up the field to beat out Johnson but also has to fend off Erik Jones, who starts Sunday 19 points back of the No. 24 car driver and is positioned ninth on the starting grid.

Matt DiBenedetto resides directly above the fight for the final playoff spot. He was handed the pole position after finishing 20th Saturday. There is a small chance one of the drivers without a win starting beneath DiBenedetto could throw off the playoff plans of Johnson, Byron or Jones.

Ryan Newman, Ty Dillon, Chris Buescher and Tyler Reddick all start in the top eight and sit under Jones in the standings.

If one of those drivers steals a win, it would put DiBenedetto on the bubble going into the final race of the regular season at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday.

                 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from NASCAR.com.

The NASCAR Cup Series is scheduled to run its fifth set of back-to-back races at the same track Saturday and Sunday at Dover International Speedway in Delaware. 

The racing weekend kicks off Saturday with the first of two 311-mile races at the Monster Mile.

Chase Elliott, who won Sunday at the Daytona road course, starts on the pole and will be accompanied by Denny Hamlin on the front row. 

Elliott, Hamlin and eight others are already locked into the NASCAR playoff field. The order of the final six positions will be determined by the two Dover races and the regular-season finale on the Daytona oval August 29.

Jimmie Johnson has the best starting position of the drivers—sixth—fighting to get into the playoff. The No. 48 car driver needs a victory in one of the final three races or has to make up a 25-point gap on William Byron to qualify for the playoffs in his final season as a full-time Cup driver. 

            

Drydene 311 Information

Date: Saturday, August 22

Start Time: 4 p.m. ET 

TV: NBCSN 

Live Stream: NBC Sports app or NBCSports.com

         

Starting Lineup

Saturday's Dover Cup race starting lineup. pic.twitter.com/p5reoOZZ8g

— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) August 19, 2020

      

Odds

Kevin Harvick (+350; bet $100 to win $350)

Martin Truex Jr. (+350)

Chase Elliott (+550)

Denny Hamlin (+600)

Ryan Blaney (+1100)

Kyle Busch (+1300)

Brad Keselowski (+1400)

Joey Logano (+1600)

Aric Almirola (+1800)

Odds via Caesars Palace

         

Preview

Johnson's best remaining chance to automatically qualify for the playoffs with a victory comes at Dover. 

The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion has 11 victories at the mile-long course, with the last one coming in 2017. 

In addition to his 11 Dover wins, Johnson owns the most top-10 finishes and laps led at the track and is tied with Matt Kenseth with the highest total of top-five placings. 

Johnson comes to Delaware off a fourth-place finish at the Daytona road course, where he finished four positions ahead of Byron, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate. 

If he does not win, the 44-year-old needs more than four spots of separation between himself and the No. 24 driver to gain significant ground in the hunt for the final playoff position. 

Byron and Matt DiBenedetto are the only drivers who could face a serious risk of losing their respective positions, whether it be through a win from a competitor underneath them or a loss in points. 

Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch are in comfortable positions as the three best drivers without a victory, while Clint Bowyer owns a 22-point advantage over DiBenedetto and has a 66-point gap on Johnson. 

If there is not a new winner Saturday, those four drivers would feel much safer about their playoff prospects. Even if two new victors emerge Sunday at Dover and at Daytona next week, they would not be overtaken as long as they have more points than DiBenedetto. 

The normal cast of potential winners should be in the mix to take the checkered flag Saturday, as Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. are the co-favorites. 

Truex is the only driver in the field with a 2019 victory at Dover, and Harvick most recently won there in 2018. 

If Harvick, Truex and Hamlin are not up front, they should be around the lead, as they have 48 top-10 finishes this season between them. 

The other driver with the most top-10 finishes is Brad Keselowski, with 16, has longer odds to win at Dover than Harvick, Truex and Hamlin. Among that quartet, he has the fewest top-10s in the last 10 Dovers with four.

Keselowski has three wins this season, and his Penske team has not been shy to try different pit strategies to get around the competitors for the lead. 

In terms of betting value, Keselowski and his teammate Ryan Blaney, who has eight top-five finishes, carry the best prices for how much success they have had this season.

         

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90

Statistics obtained from Racing Reference

The drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series will face a brand-new challenge Sunday.

The 39-person field will compete on the Daytona International Speedway road course for the first time.

Daytona's road course, which is best known from the 24 Hours of Daytona event, was added to the Cup Series schedule after it was unable to race at Watkins Glen. The race could be a tense affair for all of the competitors, but it may be more stressful for the drivers looking to get into the playoff field.

William Byron is holding on to the final playoff position, but he is just 26 points ahead of Erik Jones and Jimmie Johnson. One bad performance could cost any of the contenders in that competition.

                            

Go Bowling 325 Information

Date: Sunday, August 16

Start Time: 3 p.m. ET

TV: NBC

Live Stream: NBCSports.com and NBC Sports app

         

Starting Lineup

Here is Cup starting lineup for Sunday by row: pic.twitter.com/fVKXH9gsX1

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 12, 2020

         

Odds

Chase Elliott +400 (bet $100 to win $400)

Martin Truex Jr. +550

Denny Hamlin +600

Kevin Harvick +600

Ryan Blaney +800

Brad Keselowski +900

Kyle Busch +900

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook.

            

Preview

Even the most experienced drivers are not sure what to expect Sunday.

NASCAR's policy of no practice and qualifying, which has been in place since May, was upheld for the Daytona road course despite the lack of track experience. Some drivers have competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona, but an alteration will provide unfamiliarity to those competitors.

Kyle Busch detailed the changes in approaching the track with a chicane before the entrance to the road course portion of the track, per Yahoo's Nick Bromberg:

"The speed you carried from bus stop to the Turn 1 entrance really lent itself to drafting and making moves with the draft and air. So now, with us having the chicane, that's certainly not going to be the case for anyone familiar with the Daytona road course and the Rolex 24. It's one section that has changed, but it will change the whole complexion of the track, in my opinion."

Points leader Kevin Harvick, who starts on the pole, said that he does not know what to expect when leading the field on the first lap, per NASCAR.com's Chase Wilhelm:

"I think me leading everybody into Turn 1 at Daytona could be interesting because I have no freaking clue where I'm going as we go down there. Most everybody in the field is the same way. We'll prepare the best that we can and hope that we can make it around the first lap with all the wheels still headed in the right direction."

The unpredictability may help the drivers looking for an automatic playoff berth through a victory.

Byron headlines the group of drivers in need of that the most since he sits on the bubble. Jones and Johnson are 26 points back of the No. 24 car driver, while Tyler Reddick is 36 points adrift.

Johnson owns the best starting position of the quartet in 11th place. Byron is 13th on the grid, Reddick is 18th and Jones is 20th. The seven-time champion holds an advantage over the other three drivers thanks to his seven trips around the road course during the 24 Hours of Daytona.

But the No. 48 car driver has not driven on the course with the added chicane, so that could be the equalizer if Byron, Jones and Reddick get a better handle of it.

Of the drivers already locked into the postseason field, Harvick and Denny Hamlin have to be considered as favorites to win the race because of their starting positions on the front row. Harvick or Hamlin could grab the lead early on and steer clear of any incidents while extending the lead.

Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. should also be in the mix based off their recent road course success on the Cup Series circuit. Elliott has won the past two road course races and three of the past five, while Truex owns three victories in the previous seven visits to road courses.

               

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from NASCAR.com.

Kevin Harvick had himself quite the weekend at Michigan International Speedway.

After winning the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Saturday, the No. 4 car took home the victory at Sunday's Consumers Energy 400. Harvick held off Denny Hamlin after taking the lead with a key restart with 15 laps remaining.

The 4️⃣ had 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 enough to hold off the 1️⃣1️⃣.

Retweet to congratulate @KevinHarvick on win No. 6 of 2020! pic.twitter.com/tVrsSpv9uH

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 9, 2020

It was a tight battle to the finish, but there was less drama than Saturday when Harvick defeated the field in a race that featured nine caution flags and a two-lap overtime.

Sunday's win was Harvick's sixth of the year and 55th career premier-series victory, moving him into a tie for 10th with Rusty Wallace on the all-time leaderboard. He also passed Lee Petty, whom he had tied Saturday. 

"I think as you look at that number, I've been fortunate to drive a lot of really fast race cars and we've been fortunate to be successful throughout the years, but when you start getting up there with those names and those icons in our sport, they've been a part of a lot of big moments and helping change the sport in a positive direction," he said Saturday, per Zack Albert of NASCAR.com. "That's the way I look at it and the responsibility that I think I have." 

There was news before the race even started Sunday, as a number of cars were moved to the rear of the field. Pole-sitter Chris Buescher, Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, Tyler Reddick, Aric Almirola, Michael McDowell, Ryan Preece, John Hunter Nemechek and Cole Custer all went to the rear for going to backup cars.

Brennan Poole did so for an engine change, and the No. 7 car did so for changing drivers from Joey Gase to Josh Bilicki. Reed Sorenson and Daniel Suarez went to the rear for inspection failures.

Clint Bowyer avoided those early troubles and cruised to a Stage 1 win. He led every lap on his way to his third stage win of the year, and Aaron Bearden of Motorsports Beat noted he had more success in the opening laps Sunday than he did in the rest of his entire career at Michigan:

He's a man of his word! @ClintBowyer backs up his guarantee and takes Stage 1 of the #ConsumersEnergy400 at @MISpeedway! pic.twitter.com/H4gzAKbbXL

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 9, 2020

Bowyer has his crew chief back -- Johnny Klausmeier ... Klausmeier was allowed in garage last night as team prepared car for race today. He was suspended for 1 race after Bowyer having two missing/loose lugs at New Hampshire.

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 9, 2020

https://twitter.com/aaronbearden93/status/1292569812271587328

Bowyer was unable to hold the lead in the opening portion of Stage 2, as Harvick moved into the top position and held on for his fifth stage win of the year.

He also moved into the lead for playoff points:

Kevin Harvick wins Stage 2, his fifth stage win of the year. He also takes the lead in playoff points with 30 (eight of them so far this weekend).

Also getting stage points:

2. Keselowski
3. KyBusch
4. Bell
5. Bowyer
6. Hamlin
7. Jones
8. Almirola
9. Logano
10. Blaney

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) August 9, 2020

Like Harvick did in Stage 2, Ryan Blaney took the lead in the early portion of Stage 3 right before the first major crash of the race. His Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski crashed into him, knocking them both out of the race and giving Hamlin the lead:

TEAMMATES WRECK!!! 😱@keselowski gets loose and slides up into @Team_Penske teammate @Blaney at @MISpeedway! pic.twitter.com/49xokMOKaK

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 9, 2020

"I just lost it ... it's my fault."@keselowski talks about the incident between he and his teammate @Blaney at @MISpeedway.

📺: NBCSN pic.twitter.com/GXD51D0TcA

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 9, 2020

"It's unfortunate but it's not going to carry over. Mistakes happen."

Class from Ryan @Blaney, who got taken out in the accident with his @Team_Penske teammate Brad @Keselowski. pic.twitter.com/MclahAAozL

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 9, 2020

Aric Almirola took a temporary lead after staying out before a restart because of some head-turning miscommunication:

Usually hot dogs are a great thing to think about ... but not in this case. 🌭

🔊🆙 | @Aric_Almirola pic.twitter.com/3OFBZadrK5

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 9, 2020

Still, Harvick took the lead back with the restart with 15 laps remaining and never looked back despite a strong push from Hamlin on the final stretch.

It took nine caution flags, a two-lap overtime and a questionable collision, but Kevin Harvick was able to claim the checkered flag at the FireKeepers Casino 400 for his fifth victory this season. 

After a controversial final few laps, Harvick found himself in Victory Lane celebrating once again. 

There was no stopping @KevinHarvick today!

He explains how he was able to seal the deal in the Irish Hills. pic.twitter.com/Olnj489HpR

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 8, 2020

           

FireKeepers Casino 400 Results

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Brad Keselowski

3. Martin Truex Jr. 

4. Ryan Blaney

5. Kyle Busch

6. Denny Hamlin

7. Chase Elliott

8. Joey Logano

9. Bubba Wallace

10. Kurt Busch

Full Results via NASCAR.com 

The 44-year-old won both the first and second stages of Saturday's race and led 92 of the 161 laps before finding himself in a battle with Kyle Busch on Lap 148. As Harvick looked to pass Busch on the inside, the two sides appeared to touch, but replays were inconclusive and not even Busch could tell if the two made contact. 

Or 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙝𝙚 ... ? 😂 pic.twitter.com/eJsulOuz8r

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 8, 2020

In any case, Busch's car went into the wall and knocked the race leader back into the pack. 

Contact with the 4️⃣? @KyleBusch (P5) weighs in on that and his team's performance Saturday at @MISpeedway. pic.twitter.com/NvtG2qZz6S

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 9, 2020

Another caution with fewer than 10 laps to go forced an overtime shootout with Harvick holding off a late push by Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. 

Busch would finish in fifth place, narrowly missing out on his first win of the year. 

The NASCAR Cup Series' longest break between races since May ends Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The drivers were handed a nine-day break between the July 23 competition at Kansas Speedway and the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301. Seven races in August will finalize the playoff field, which already has 10 confirmed participants.

Pole-sitter Aric Almirola is one of the competitors still looking to lock into the postseason field. He has been one of the most consistent drivers lately with a run of top-10 finishes. However, it may be difficult for Almirola or others, like Kyle and Kurt Busch, to earn a victory in New Hampshire since Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin have performed well at the track.

                    

Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 Information

Date: Sunday, August 2

Start Time: 3 p.m. ET 

TV: NBCSN

Live Stream: NBC Sports app or NBCSports.com.

              

Starting Lineup

Almirola on the pole for New Hampshire. Hamlin joins him on front row. Lineup: #nascar pic.twitter.com/l5MdQ4g5P4

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 30, 2020

        

Odds

Kevin Harvick: +350 (bet $100 to win $350) 

Denny Hamlin: +400

Kyle Busch: +700

Martin Truex Jr.: +700

Ryan Blaney: +800

Brad Keselowski: +900

Chase Elliott: +1000

Odds via Caesars Palace.

                  

Preview

Almirola comes into New Hampshire with the most points of any driver who has not won a race in 2020.

The No. 10 car driver has come close recently, owning eight consecutive top-10 finishes, with the first five of those being top-five placings. Finding a place in Victory Lane will be tough for Almirola on Sunday, though, since Hamlin starts alongside him in the front row.

Hamlin, who won his fifth race of 2020 at Kansas, was on the wrong end of a duel with Harvick a year ago at New Hampshire.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver revealed there is a mutual respect between the No. 4 and No. 11 cars amid their competition, per NASCAR.com:

"What you've seen from us in the last year with the 11 and the 4 is a lot of mutual respect. We race each other with a lot of mutual respect because we know it won't be the last time. We still have probably many years of battles ahead of us.  We've been around the sport a long time. We butted heads early in my career. He's certainly a guy that I personally would like to model myself after."

Harvick, who starts seventh, has won three of the last five races at New Hampshire. Hamlin and Kyle Busch have won the other races in that span.

The Harvick-Hamlin battle should receive plenty of attention throughout the race, but there is another competition that will carry more meaning over the next month.

Fifty points separate the drivers from 14th to 19th place in the standings. At the moment, the six racers with no wins who have the most points will qualify for the 16-person playoff. William Byron is clinging to the final postseason place with a 10-point advantage over Tyler Reddick, who was drawn three positions ahead of the No. 24 car on the starting grid.

Byron also has to fend off Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson, who fell three spots behind Reddick after a wreck took him out of the race at Kansas.

Johnson and Clint Bowyer are the only members of the group with wins at New Hampshire, but those occurred a decade ago.

                      

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from Racing Reference.

Kevin Harvick could take his dominance of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season to another level Sunday during the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

The points leader, who has four victories this year, has won in each of the past three seasons at the 1.5-mile track.

Harvick could find himself up front early on, as he starts fifth on the grid. Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Aric Almirola drew the pole position.

Ryan Blaney will line up on the front row alongside Almirola, while Kurt and Kyle Busch, who are both looking for their first wins of 2020, were slotted into the second row.

                     

O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Information

Date: Sunday, July 19

Start Time: 3 p,m. ET

TV: NBCSN

Live Stream: NBCSports.com or NBC Sports app

            

Odds

Kevin Harvick +350 (bet $100 to win $350)

Denny Hamlin +600

Kyle Busch +600

Chase Elliott +700

Martin Truex Jr. +700

Ryan Blaney +900

Joey Logano +1,000

Brad Keselowski +1,000

Odds via Caesars Palace.

           

Starting Lineup

Cup starting lineup and pit stalls for Sunday: #nascar pic.twitter.com/13oX25mYNA

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 16, 2020

           

Preview

Harvick is the safe bet to capture another title at Texas.

The No. 4 car driver owns 22 top-10 finishes and 11 top-five placings at the track, and he is one of two competitors to win three years in a row in Fort Worth in the past decade. The other is Jimmie Johnson, who took first five times between 2012 and 2015.

Harvick's main competition could be championship rival Denny Hamlin.

Hamlin won the first of the two races at Texas in 2019. His other triumphs at the track came during a 2010 season sweep.

The two drivers battled for the win in three of the past four points races. They split the weekend victories at Pocono Raceway, and Harvick benefited from Hamlin's flat tire to come out on top at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 5.

Hamlin will be behind Harvick at the start of the race from the No. 7 starting position, and the familiar sight of them running one-two could once against emerge over the 334 laps at Texas.

Kyle Busch is the only driver not named Harvick or Hamlin to win at Texas in the past five races at the track.

The No. 18 car driver has not performed well enough to earn his first victory of the 2020 season, but he will feel as comfortable as possible on the course after running the Truck Series and Xfinity Series races Saturday.

Busch opened up about his failure to reach Victory Lane in conversation with MRN's Jeff Wackerlin:

"It's on your mind that we don't have that win and haven't really been in contention to get that win a whole lot this year. It's just a matter of a lot of circumstances that it's been the way it has been for us so far. Hoping we can start the races close to where we need to be on Sunday and have a good run with our Interstate Batteries Toyota."

Wins are even more valuable at this juncture because it would secure automatic passage into the playoffs. Cole Custer achieved that with his surprise win at Kentucky Speedway last time out.

Going into Texas, William Byron, Jimmie Johnson and Austin Dillon sit 14th-16th in the points standings, while Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones are close behind in 17th and 18th.

Since 2011, 16 of the 18 winners at Texas have started in the top 10, and four of the past five champions came from sixth or better on the starting grid.

One of the two exceptions to that trend was Johnson, who captured the spring race in 2017 after starting in 24th.

                 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from Racing Reference.

The annual NASCAR All-Star Race is typically held in mid-May and has historically been held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. But as with all sports in 2020, NASCAR has had to make changes to its schedule as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In June, NASCAR announced the All-Star Race would be held in mid-July, and shortly thereafter revealed an important change to this year's event: it would be held at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee, rather than its typical home of Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina.

If the race had remained in Charlotte, it would have gone off without spectators due to stricter social distancing measures against large gatherings there. In Bristol, however, Tennessee governor Bill Lee will allow up to 30,000 spectators to attend the race at the 155,000 capacity Bristol Motor Speedway.

"While Charlotte will always be recognized as the birthplace and traditional home for the All-Star Race, the current data surrounding the pandemic in North Carolina makes Bristol a better option for fan access this summer," Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith said in a June 15 press release.

Per Natalie Neysa Alund and Brinley Hineman of The Tennessean, as of Sunday the state has had more than 61,000 coronavirus cases in all and has more than 25,000 active cases. 

"We know that hosting this event comes with tremendous responsibility," Bristol Motor Speedway general manager Jerry Caldwell told USA TODAY. "We are the first major sporting event to have a significant crowd. We don't take that responsibility lightly."

Sixteen drivers have already qualified for the All-Star Race, with three more hoping to make it in via the All-Star Open and one driver to be voted in by fans. 

All the information you need to know to tune in to the race, as well as predictions and odds for who will win, is below. 

         

NASCAR All-Star Race TV Schedule

Date: July 15

Location: Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, TN

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET (All-Star Open 7:30 p.m.)

TV: FS1

Live Stream: Fox Sports app

           

NASCAR All-Star Race Odds and Predictions

Odds

Kevin Harvick 9-2

Chase Elliott 5-1

Denny Hamlin 11-2

Kyle Busch 7-1

Joey Logano 7-1

Brad Keselowski 8-1

Ryan Blaney 10-1

Kurt Busch 12-1

Martin Truex Jr. 13-1

Alex Bowman 20-1

Jimmie Johnson 20-1

Erik Jones 20-1

Matt Kenseth 28-1

Ryan Newman 40-1

Cole Custer 66-1

Justin Haley 80-1

           

The starting lineups for both the All-Star Race and the All-Star Open have been set and can be viewed in their entirety on NASCAR.com. 

The 16 drivers who have already qualified for the 140-lap, four-stage All-Star Race, with $1 million on the line for the winner, are Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Cole Custer, Chase Elliott, Justin Haley, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Erik Jones, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr.

Truex Jr., who is looking for his first All-Star win, will start on pole in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and Bowman will join him in the front row. 

The drivers attempting to qualify through the All-Star Open—an 85-lap, three-stage race—include Michael McDowell, who will start on pole in the No. 34 Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports, Aric Almirola, Bubba Wallace and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 

Fans can vote for one of 22 otherwise ineligible drivers through the All-Star Fan Vote, with results announced on FS1 at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday. 

At 9-2, Harvick is the odds-on favorite to win the All-Star Race odds, according to CBS Sports/SportsLine, followed by Chase Elliott (5-1) and Denny Hamlin (11-2).

Although Harvick is the Vegas favorite, if he's your favorite driver, you may not get what you're rooting for on Wednesday night. Though he sits atop the Cup Series standings with 675 points, the No. 4 Ford Mustang hasn't always been kind to him at Bristol. Though he has won there twice, in 2005 and 2016, he hasn't finished in the top five since 2017.

Keselowski is second in the standings and won at this short track in May (and came in third last fall), and he will be a betting favorite to win on Wednesday. 

Though Busch is a mediocre 11th in points heading into the All-Star Race, it's worth noting that no active driver has bested his eight wins at Bristol. 

The Choose Rule, which allows each driver to select to restart in the outside or inside lane, will be in effect in the All-Star Race, and though Bowyer thinks it's being "oversold," per USA Today, it's another strategy to factor into your prediction. 

Prediction: Keselowski wins

How about a rookie winning at Kentucky?

After the literal tire smoke cleared from a wild finish, it was rookie Cole Custer who led the pack and won the Quaker State 400 at the Kentucky Speedway, holding off Martin Truex Jr., Matt DiBenedetto and Kevin Harvick. Custer stole the win after a late stretch that saw a number of restarts and a four-wide battle on the last lap.

What a finish! Retweet to congratulate rookie @ColeCuster on his first NASCAR Cup Series victory. pic.twitter.com/7XJxR9pvlI

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) July 12, 2020

It was Custer's first win in the Cup Series. 

That finish had the racing world both stunned by the result and impressed by Custer's performance:

Folks, Cole Custer lined up third on the outside line. He got a great push from DiBenedetto and shot to the outside three-wide. Had a huge run, but got blocked by Truex initially. Then coming to the white, he went outside of four-wide (!), got the lead and WON the race.

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) July 12, 2020

Cole Custer was 25th in points coming into this race. Now he is in the NASCAR playoffs!

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) July 12, 2020

Dunno if I've ever seen a four-wide pass for the win on the white flag lap of a non-superspeedway. That was nuts.

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) July 12, 2020

Mad respect @ColeCuster You earned that the hard way 🏁

— Mark Martin (@markmartin) July 12, 2020

Love when a rookie wins. And Kentucky has typically been a veterans playground. Restart of his life. Congrats @ColeCuster !!!

— Danielle Trotta (@DanielleTrotta) July 12, 2020

"We were so good all day, our car was so good. ... That was the best car I've ever driven in my life," Custer said after the race on the FS1 broadcast.

"It's not easy. You kinda have to adapt as much as you can," he added of being a rookie in the Cup Series. "I think we've gotten better and better at that. But it's just unbelievable. I didn't think we were coming here to win. Now we're going to be in the All-Star race."

"That was the best car I've ever driven in my life."

I talk with rookie @ColeCuster after an incredible finish and his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory. pic.twitter.com/5ABYPIyo5t

— Jamie Little (@JamieLittleTV) July 12, 2020

We did it! What a car what a race...we got our first Cup win! @StewartHaasRcng #NASCAR

— Cole Custer (@ColeCuster) July 12, 2020

As for the rest of the race, Aric Almirola won the first stage while Brad Keselowski took the second. The race featured 13 lead changes, nine different leaders and eight cautions. Almirola led the most laps (128), followed by Truex Jr. (57). Custer led just five laps. 

The race also included the return of Jimmie Johnson, who was the first NASCAR driver to record a positive test case of COVID-19. He was cleared to return Sunday after two negative tests and finished 18th. 

Up next in the Cup Series is the NASCAR All-Star Race (Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1), followed by the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway (Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN).