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The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moves to Texas Motor Speedway for the 34th race of the 2009 season, the Dickies 500. Brian Brown took a look at past performances, season trends, and spoke with NASCAR contacts to predict how the field should finish on Sunday.
When
Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009
3:13 p.m. ET
Weather
Partly cloudy with a high around 71; wind out of the SSE at 9 mph. There is a 10 percent chance of precipitation.
The Track
Texas Motor Speedway is a 1.5 quad-oval. It has intermediate 24 degree banking on the turns. Roush-Fenway cars dominate 1.5 mile tracks and they will be tough to beat on Sunday.
Key to Race: A race for the big boys
Any time the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits a 1.5 mile track, Roush-Fenway Racing is expected to be fast. The lack of success the Roush Boys have on short-tracks is the exact opposite to the continued success they show on the 1.5 mile tracks. The surface at Texas has great grip, and thus cars can run wide-open the entire way around. The multi-car teams like Roush-Fenway and Hendrick Motorsports have a huge advantage in the funding of their engine programs. If a Roush-Fenway car doesn't find victory lane, a Hendrick car will.
Qualifying Procedures
Forty-eight cars will attempt to qualify for 43 spots. Cars not in the top 35 in the 2009 point standings will have to qualify based on speed. Starting positions 1-43 are determined during qualifying on Friday, Nov. 6 at 4:40 p.m. ET.
Fantasy Cheat Sheet
NBCSports.com
Top 5
Slideshow
No. 24 Jeff Gordon: Gordon dominated Texas in April, leading the most laps and winning the race. He could sweep both races in the Lone Star State this season.
No. 48 Jimmie Johnson: Johnson won the November 2007 race at Texas, and in 11 career starts at the track he has nine top-10 finishes. He is a great pick to find victory lane on Sunday.
No. 99 Carl Edwards: Edwards proved his love for 1.5 mile ovals by sweeping both races at Texas last year. He is one of our favorites to take the checkers this weekend.
No. 14 Tony Stewart: Smoke has nine top-10 finishes (including a win) in 15 career starts at Texas. He is a great pick this weekend.
No. 16 Greg Biffle: Biffle has been great in the past two races at Texas. He is worth using in all leagues this weekend.
6 to 10
No. 17 Matt Kenseth: Kenseth has led at least one lap in 10 of the last 12 races at Texas. He could return to victory lane on Sunday.
No. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya: Montoya has been hit-or-miss at TMS during his career. We expect he will be a hit this weekend.
No. 5 Mark Martin: Martin has a win and five top fives in his career at TMS. He will cruise around in the top 15 and should sneak into the top 10 by the time the race is over.
No. 2 Kurt Busch: Busch has eight top-10 finishes in 13 career starts at Texas during his career. He is a great second driver on most fantasy teams this weekend.
No. 11 Denny Hamlin: Hamlin has finished in the top 10 in all but three of his career starts at Texas. We like his chances this weekend.
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