NASCAR is back in Texas.
The racing series will make its second visit of the season to the Lone Star State this weekend. Weeks after an event in Austin, the Cup Series will race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
The 1.5-mile quad-oval has hosted NASCAR races annually since 1997. But for the first time since 2019, the track will hold a race in the springtime.
What’s in store for Sunday’s race? Who are the favorites? What is the schedule? Here’s everything you need to know for the 2024 Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400:
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NASCAR at Texas entry list
Thirty-eight drivers will race in Texas – the 34 full-timers, plus four others.
Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson is the headliner, making his second of nine starts this season for Legacy Motor Club. Then there’s Austin Hill, an Xfinity Series regular, driving the No. 33 for Richard Childress Racing in his first of four starts this season.
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Elsewhere, Kaz Grala will pilot the No. 15 for Rick Ware Racing as he continues his part-time effort and veteran Ty Dillon will make his second start of the year for Kaulig Racing.
Here’s the full entry list for Texas:
| Car number | Driver | Team | Sponsor |
| 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Worldwide Express |
| 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Discount Tire |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Bass Pro Shops |
| 4 | Josh Berry | Stewart-Haas Racing | MINER |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | HendrickCars.com |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | BuildSubmarines.com |
| 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Schluter Systems |
| 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Zone |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Hooters |
| 10 | Noah Gragson | Stewart-Haas Racing | Overstock |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Yahoo! |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Menards |
| 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Rush Truck Centers |
| 15 | Kaz Grala | Rick Ware Racing | N29 Capital Partners |
| 16 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing | Sea Best Seafood |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Fifth Third Bank |
| 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Bass Pro Shops |
| 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Rheem |
| 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Freightliner |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | AAA Insurance |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Columbia Sportswear |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Liberty University |
| 31 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | South Point Hotel & Casino |
| 33 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | United Rentals |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Love's Travel Stops |
| 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Long John Silver's |
| 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Haas Tooling |
| 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Romco Equipment |
| 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Dollar Tree |
| 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Monster Energy |
| 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Kroger |
| 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Ally Financial |
| 51 | Justin Haley | Rick Ware Racing | Ohanafy |
| 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Interstate Batteries |
| 71 | Zane Smith | Spire Motorsports | Ambetter Health |
| 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Premier Security |
| 84 | Jimmie Johnson | Legacy Motor Club | AdventHealth |
| 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing | Kubota Tractors |
When is the NASCAR race this weekend in Texas?
The Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas is set for Sunday, April 14, at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Before the race, there will be practice and qualifying sessions. The 38-car field will be split into two groups (found here), with each group practicing for 20 minutes on Saturday.
Qualifying will start immediately after practice. Each car from the two groups will make one lap in the first round, with the five fastest cars on single-lap speed in each group advancing to the final round. In the final round, the remaining drivers each get one lap to set the top 10 starting order, with positions 11 through 38 are set based on first round times.
NASCAR TV schedule this weekend in Texas
Saturday, April 13 (FS1 and streaming online)
- Practice: 10:30 a.m. ET, FS1, FOXSports.com
- Qualifying: 11:20 a.m. ET, FS1, FOXSports.com
Sunday, April 14 (FS1 and streaming online)
- NASCAR RaceDay: 2 p.m. ET, FS1, FOXSports.com
- Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400: 3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, FOXSports.com
NASCAR Texas past winners, race history
There are eight former Texas winners who will race on Sunday, including Jimmie Johnson – the winningest driver in TMS history with seven victories. William Byron is the defending winner after taking home the checkered flag last September.
Kyle Busch (4) and Denny Hamlin (3) join Johnson as the only other multi-race winners. The one-time winners include Joey Logano (2014), Austin Dillon (2020), Kyle Larson (2021), Tyler Reddick (2022) and Byron (2023). Additionally, Ryan Blaney won the non-points All-Star Race at TMS in 2022.
Get to know NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney.
NASCAR at Texas favorites, drivers to watch
Texas is different from most intermediate tracks because it has two unique corners – turns one and two are wider and flatter, turns three and four are narrower and steeper.
Since the track was reconfigured in 2017, the 11 races have been won by eight different drivers and four different organizations. Kevin Harvick, who retired after last season, had three wins in Texas from 2017 to 2019.
So with Harvick out of the picture, who could be the contenders on Sunday? Byron is the defending winner, but Larson and Bubba Wallace dominated the race last fall. Wallace led 111 laps and finished third, while Larson led 99 laps before crashing out in the closing moments. Both drivers should be in the mix again this year.
Historically speaking, Tyler Reddick (10.4 average finish in five starts), Erik Jones (11.8 in 12 starts), Busch (12.3 in 33 starts), Christopher Bell (13.0 in five starts) and Chase Elliott (13.1 in 13 starts) have posted solid runs in Texas.
