Texas Race Report

· No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota driver Clint Bowyer finished sixth and is third in NASCAR’s Chase
  for the Sprint Cup 36 points out of the lead. 
· No. 56 Carlyle Tools by NAPA Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. finished 13th and is ninth in
  NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup 80 points out of the lead.
· No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver Mark Martin finished 29th. The No. 55 is 14th in
  owner points.
 
CHASE STANDINGS (After 8 of 10 races)

RANK DRIVER                      POINTS          BEHIND
1          Jimmie Johnson          2339                Leader
2          Brad Keselowski         2332                -7
3          Clint Bowyer              2303                -36
4          Kasey Kahne              2281                -58
5          Matt Kenseth               2267                -72
6          Jeff Gordon                2267                -72
7          Denny Hamlin             2266                -73
8          Tony Stewart              2259                -80
9          Martin Truex Jr.         2259                -80
10        Greg Biffle                  2256                -83
11        Kevin Harvick             2238                -101
12        Dale Earnhardt Jr.      2188                -151
 
Clint Bowyer Race Summary: No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota driver Clint Bowyer finished sixth in Sunday’s 500-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver started fourth and demonstrated early his Toyota was as fast as anyone’s on the track. Bowyer climbed as high as second in the first half of the race. Jimmie Johnson set a blistering pace but Bowyer never ventured to far from the front. In the closing laps, the Brian Pattie-led team positioned itself to win the race on fuel mileage. Bowyer raced third and the top two drivers couldn’t finish without a stop. But, a caution with 23 laps remaining ended those hopes. Bowyer raced through another caution and a green-white-checkered ending to finish sixth. Bowyer and the 5-hour ENERGY team return to action Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway in the ninth race in NASCAR’s 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup. Bowyer is third in the Chase just points 36 points out of first.

· Started fourth and finished sixth.
· One of the fastest cars on track throughout race.
· Could have won the race on fuel mileage but caution with 23 to go ended chance.
· Survived wild racing in final laps to finish sixth.
 
BOWYER: “We were close, but no cigar. That’s what we were all about tonight. The one thing that could have won us the race just didn’t play out with the cautions. I really felt like we were doing a good job with our fuel mileage thing. I thought we were sitting pretty good there until that caution came out with 26 (laps) to go. That being said, you can’t be greedy. We could have had right-front (tire) trouble again like we did earlier. Solid night. It’s just unbelievable. You keep having these top-10 runs and flirting with the top-fives week in and week out and unless you’re winning these races every week, you just can’t gain points. Even if we were winning right now, it ain’t enough to run them down for a championship. We’re having fun. We’re just taking it week by week. I thought they (Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski) were going to wreck each other, but they didn’t. It would have been awesome -- I really did think they were going to wreck each other.”
 
Do you feel like the championship is still within reach? “I’ve said this all along -- it’s fun to be racing for the championship, but I’m more proud of where we’re at contending for that championship, winning three races our first year together as a group. Got a long time to work. We just keep polishing the edges and keep getting better fixing our program week in and week out. We’ll be there.”
 
Martin Truex Jr. Race Summary: No. 56 Carlyle Tools by NAPA Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. finished 13th in Sunday’s 500-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver started fifth and raced with the leaders throughout the first half of the race. Truex climbed as high as third, but raced in sixth with 100 laps remaining. Several cautions and track position battles kept Truex from racing at the front of the field as the race drew to a close. Truex survived a wild green-white-checkered finish to cross the finish line in 13th. Truex and the NAPA AUTO PARTS team return to action Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway. Truex will start the race in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in ninth 80 points out of first.
 
· Started fifth and finished 13th
· Battled a tight-handling Toyota
· Ran as high as third
· The No. 56 carried a Carlyle Tools by NAPA paint scheme as well as a decal calling attention to the Martin
  Truex Jr. Foundation’s fundraising effort for Hurricane Sandy victims.
 
TRUEX: “We battled the same condition all day long -- the front wouldn't turn and the back wouldn't stick. We tried everything to fix it but it remained the same. Our Carlyle Tools by NAPA Toyota was a top 10 car, we just missed it a little bit. We had a top-10 car all day and just wore our stuff out. It's a shame. I want to thank everyone at Michael Waltrip Racing for giving me another fast car. We just need a little more work to do."
 
Mark Martin Race Summary: No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver Mark Martin finished 29th in Sunday’s 500-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver started 11th and raced in the top 10 throughout the first half of the race. Track position and some front end damage kept the Aaron’s Dream Machine from contending with the leaders in the closing stages. A hole on the car’s nose caused by contact on pit lane with about 100 laps remaining grew worse hurting the No. 55’s handling. After repairs it appeared Martin could climb back into the top 15, but Martin and Carl Edwards made contact with three laps remaining sending the No. 55 into the wall ending its race. Martin, who was not injured, and the Aaron’s Dream Machine team return to action Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway.
 
· Started 11th and finished 29th
· Raced in the top 10 in first half of the race.
· Suffered front end damage in collision coming to pit lane.
· Damage grew worse as race progressed.
· Appeared to salvage a top 15 but Carl Edwards and Martin made contact sending the No. 55 into the wall.
 
MARTIN: “That was a tough day for us. Guys were slamming on brakes coming to pit lane and I got into the back of another car. We struggled with the handling after that but there at the end we got it better. Carl just got into us and ended our race. Everyone worked hard this weekend. We’ll go get them at Phoenix.”
 
RACE NOTES:
· Jimmie Johnson won the race by 0.808 seconds over Brad Keselowski.
· Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart rounded out the top-five finishers.
· The race took three hours and 41 minutes. 
· The race featured 20  lead changes among seven drivers.
· Nine cautions slowed the race for 49 laps.
· NASCAR estimated the attendance at 146,000.