JR Motorsports: Texas Preview

Chase Elliott celebrates his first NASCAR Nationwide Series victory at Texas in April.

RACE: Texas 300 (200 laps / 300 miles)
TRACK: Texas Motor Speedway
DATE: Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014

DRIVER: Chase Elliott / No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet

Elliott and NAPA Returning to Memory Lane

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Oct. 29, 2014) – With three races to go, NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Chase Elliott looks to capitalize on a return to Texas Motor Speedway this Saturday afternoon. In April, the young rookie led 38 laps en route to winning his first NASCAR Nationwide Series race. At the age of 18 years, four months, and seven days, Elliott's dazzling upsurge to victory made him the second youngest victor in Nationwide Series history. Joey Logano holds the record for his win at Kentucky Speedway in 2008 at the age of 18 years and 21 days.

Elliott will enter Texas just as he left it back in April, the series points leader. He currently holds a 42-point lead on his JR Motorsports teammate, Regan Smith.

Through 30 races, Elliott has raced a third of his season on 1.5-mile surfaces (10). On these tracks, Elliott has two wins (Texas and Chicagoland Speedway in July), five top-five and eight top-10 finishes.

In the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings, Elliott is still leading Ty Dillon by 50 points. Elliott is also in the running for Most Popular Driver in the Nationwide Series: Vote for Chase Elliott.

Elliott will serve as the ESPN in-race-reporter for the Texas 300, which begins 3 p.m. ET on PRN/Sirius XM and 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Driver Quotes | Chase Elliott

On winning at Texas Motor Speedway:

"It's been awhile since we last visited Texas Motor Speedway, but the last time (April), was a special moment for the NAPA AUTO PARTS team. Winning for the first time together is a moment I'll never forget – it was awesome."

On Texas Motor Speedway:

"There's been a lot of racing that's happened since the last time we were at Texas Motor Speedway. Having two weeks off before this weekend's race was very important for my NAPA AUTO PARTS team, as we try and collectively get better coming out of the 18-consecutive week stretch. We have three races left in what's been an exciting year, but we have to stay focused and continue to work together as a team. We look to put together a better run than we did in the spring, bringing us one step closer to our goal."

Kevin Harvick will make his final Nationwide Series start of 2014 Saturday at Texas.

DRIVER: Kevin Harvick / No. 5 Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet

TEXAS TRIUMPHS: Harvick ranks second behind Kyle Busch in both victories (five) and laps led (755) in NNS competition at Texas Motor Speedway. The most recent of Harvick's victories at the track came on Nov. 3, 2012. He also holds one victory at the track in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series action.

2014 FINALE: Saturday's race marks Harvick's final Nationwide Series start of 2014. In 14 races this season, Harvick has accumulated four wins and one pole award to go with 12 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes. Heading into his final start of the season, Harvick holds a single-season career-best 3.0 average finish, having not finished lower than seventh through 14 starts.

FIRST GO ROUND: When the Nationwide Series visited Texas Motor Speedway in April, Harvick claimed his lone pole award of the season and led a race-high 101 laps before being passed by JRM teammate Chase Elliott for the lead late in the race. Harvick went on to finish fourth.

FRONT RUNNER: The No. 5 team will unload chassis No. 892 at Texas this weekend. In three starts with this chassis, Harvick has led the most laps in each race (Indianapolis, Atlanta and Kansas). With Harvick behind the wheel, the No. 5 team has led the most laps in five races this season.

LAST WITH COPE: This weekend at Texas marks Harvick's final Nationwide Series race with crew chief Ernie Cope. The duo joined JR Motorsports at the beginning of the season after previously working together at Kevin Harvick Inc. and Richard Childress Racing. As previously announced, Cope will transition to Chase Elliott's No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS team in 2015.

ELIMINATOR DOUBLE DUTY: Harvick is one of three drivers still in contention for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship entered in Saturday's Nationwide Series race. Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth will also use Saturday's event to prepare for the second of three races in the Eliminator round.

Quotes | Kevin Harvick

"I'm looking forward to getting back to Texas. Our team feels like we let one get away from us there in the spring after leading so many laps, but it was a great night for JR Motorsports as a whole seeing Chase get his first win. I think we've made a lot of progress since then, and it has showed with the wins and results the 5 team has put up throughout the entire year."

Regan Smith

DRIVER: Regan Smith / No. 7 TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet

FINAL STRETCH: The Nationwide Series returns to action this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, following a two-week break. It marks the onset of a three-race stretch to the season's conclusion at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Regan Smith and the No. 7 TaxSlayer.com team enter the weekend second in the championship points standings, 42 markers behind leader and JRM teammate Chase Elliott.

SMITH AT TEXAS: Smith holds a top-10 effort in each of his three starts at Texas with JRM, accumulating an average finish of 6.6. Racing under the JRM banner, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Texas comprise the three 1.5-mile facilities where Smith has a top-10 finish in each of his seven starts with the 7 team.

STATISTICAL INTEL: According to NASCAR statistical services, Smith is ranked third in the season-long "Closers" category, which tallies positions gained in the last 10 percent of races. On the year, Smith has gained a total of 20 positions in the closing laps. Additionally, Smith and JRM teammate Chase Elliott share the runner up position in "Percentage of Laps Run on Lead Lap" category. Both drivers have spent 5,167 of 5,451 laps (94.79 percent) on the lead lap this year.

CHASSIS INFO: Smith will drive chassis No. 900 this weekend at Texas. Smith piloted this chassis to an 11th-place finish most recently at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

VOTING IS OPEN FOR NNS MOST POPULAR DRIVER: JR Motorsports fans can now vote for Regan Smith or Chase Elliott in this year's Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver Program. Voting is open here and continues through the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It is limited to one vote per 24 hours. JRM has four MPD titles, with Regan Smith taking the honors in 2013, Danica Patrick in 2012 and Brad Keselowski winning in 2008-09.

Quotes | Regan Smith

"I'm looking forward to heading into Texas and getting back into the swing of things. We're not used to much down time in racing, so these last two weeks off have been tough for everyone. Texas has been a good track for our team and we really need a solid run. There's not much left to say in terms of the points situation. Obviously, being 42 back is a large deficit. All we can do is go for broke and try to win the final three races. That's our mindset for the rest of the season."

JR Motorsports