NASCAR 2013 NRA 500 Picks & Predictions
By ATSSportsline.com
FORT WORTH, TX (ATS Consultants) - TheNASCARSprint Cup moves toTexas MotorSpeedway for theNRA 500.
This is the seventh race on the 2013 Sprint Cup schedule. The 1.5-mile racetrack has 24 degrees of banking in all four turns and five degrees of banking on the front and back straightaways. Carl Edwards has the record for most wins at Texas with three. Matt Kenseth has the most top-five finishes at Texas with 12. The top owner is Jack Roush who has nine wins at Texas followed by Rick Hendrick with four and Joe Gibbs with three. According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch are both 6/1, respectively.
Kasey Kahne 12-1
Few drivers are as hot as Kahne. He has four straight top-10 finishes. He placed second at Las Vegas (leading 114 laps) and won at Bristol. He has two top 10s in his last three Texas starts. He has a Hendrick car and engine, which never hurts.
Matt Kenseth 12-1
Kenseth is a Gibbs driver and this is his favorite type of track. Kenseth won the race here in 2011. He's scored five straight top five finishes at this track. He also led in 274 laps in those five races. He won in Las Vegas, which has a similar 1.5-mile oval last month. He also finished seventh in the 2-mile Auto Club speedway.
Long Shot
Brian Vickers 25-1
Vickers is filling in for the injured Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 car. He has never finished in the top 10 at Texas in 14 Cup starts here. But he has proved he can put a good car in the top 10.
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Date: Saturday, April 13
Race: 2013 NRA 500
Site: Texas Motor Speedway.
Track: 1.5-mile oval.
Start time: 7:30 p.m. ET.
Laps: 334. Miles: 501.
2012 Winner: Greg Biffle
Runner up: Jimmie Johnson
Television: FOX.
Radio: Motor Racing Network (PRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.
Race Record: Greg Biffle, 2012 (160.577 mph)
Qualifying Record: Brian Vickers, 2006 (196.235 mph