NASCAR 2015 Episode 7 Recap: Texas

NASCAR 2015 Episode 7 Recap: Texas

What went down: When the Robertson family of the television show Duck Dynasty is basically in charge of race weekend, you know things will at least be interesting.

Was this the most exciting race Texas has had? No, but the racing was solid, as in cars passing cars was an achievable act, something that was not always true at Texas in years past. 

The race started off with the most familiar face of at the front of the field in 2015, Kevin "Happy" Harvick. This dude has almost played his cards perfectly this year, and Texas was another strong showing, especially in the early going.

But it was also clear that Jimmie Johnson was going to be a contender throughout the night too. It made sense, considering Johnson won at Atlanta earlier this year, a similar track to Texas.

Like I said, there was a good amount of passing in the race, but also like I said, this was not the most exciting Texas race. So let's skip to the end.

Final pit stops came with less than twenty to go, and Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, and Martin Truex Jr. all took a two-tire gamble. They almost had to, as they were all pretty mediocre for most of the race.

Right off the restart, McMurray and Gordon pulled ahead, while Joey Logano tried to throw a block on a fast charging Harvick. Harvick was having none of this and put the bumper to Logano, sending him up the track and almost into the wall. 

Meanwhile, Johnson had already passed Truex, Earnhardt, Logano, and Gordon and set his sights on Harvick and McMurray. When Harvick went to pass McMurray on the outside coming off of turn 4, there was not enough space and it killed Harvick's momentum, allowing Johnson to pass both and take the lead.

Earnhardt was also able to make life difficult for Harvick on the last lap, passing him in turn 4 before Harvick was able to slingshot back around him at the line, all while Johnson won going away.

What it means for Johnson: Johnson is now 2 for 3 in terms of wins at mile and a half tracks. Harvick has the only other win on such a track (Vegas). This makes things look good for Johnson and bad for everyone else, as the Chase is made of five mile-and-half tracks, making it appear Johnson already has the upper hand.

What it means for everyone else: With Harvick's 2nd place finish, his average finish for the season is now a ridiculous 2.5. His worst finish in seven races this season is frickin' 8th at Martinsville. That's all.

Logano and Truex also have now finished in the top-10 in each race this year, with Truex's streak continuing thanks to the aforementioned tire gamble.

That same gamble also paid off for McMurray and Gordon, who both scored top-10s on a night where they probably shouldn't have.

And the last nugget, Carl Edwards finally scored a top-10 with his new Joe Gibbs Racing team. It only took seven races, Carl.

What’s next: Back to the short track this weekend, the series heads to the .5 mile coliseum that is Bristol in Tennessee. Let's go!