Race Highlights:

• Richard Childress Racing teammates finished fifth (Austin Dillon), eighth (Brian Scott) and 12th (Ty Dillon).
• A. Dillon leads the Nationwide Series driver championship standings by six points over Sam Hornish, Jr., while Scott is six in the standings, 97 points behind the leader.
• The No. 3 Chevrolet team ranks third in the Nationwide Series owner championship point standings, with the No. 33 team sixth in the standings and the No. 2 team 10th.
• According to NASCAR's Post-Race Loop Data Statistics, A. Dillon was the fifth-Fastest Driver Late in a Run (170.453 mph).
• Scott ranked fourth in Average Running Position (5.170) and had the fifth-best Driver Rating (108.9).
• T. Dillon made 34 Quality Passes, ranking him seventh in the category.
• Brad Keselowski earned his sixth Nationwide Series victory of 2013 and was followed to the finish line by Denny Hamlin, Hornish, Matt Kenseth and A. Dillon.
• The next Nationwide Series race is the Servicemaster 200 at Phoenix International Raceway on Saturday, Nov. 9. The 32nd race of the 2013 season is scheduled to be televised live on ESPN2 beginning at 4 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.

Brian Scott Earns His 13th Top-10 Finish of 2013 at Texas Motor Speedway

Brian Scott and the No. 2 Shore Lodge team earned an eighth-place finish after fighting a tight-handling condition in the late stages of Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. Scott started the 200-lap event from the ninth position and quickly moved forward, settling into the sixth spot by lap 17. Crew chief Phil Gould called the Boise, Idaho-native to pit road under green-flag condition on lap 51 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. Scott consistently clicked off lap times as fast as the leaders throughout the day, climbing as high as second. The Richard Childress Racing competitor spent a majority of the 300-mile race inside the top-five. The caution-flag flew on lap 78, setting up an 18-lap dash to the finish with Scott in the eighth position. Upon the restart, Scott quickly moved into the sixth position, but over the final run he fought a tight-handling condition ultimately earning an eighth-place finish. Scott moved into sixth in the Nationwide Series Championship point standings, 16 markers back from fourth.

Start - 9         Finish - 8         Laps Led - 0         Points - 6th

BRIAN SCOTT QUOTE:

"We had a really good Shore Lodge Camaro today; we just needed a little more in order to contend for the win. This was probably the best mile-and-a-half Chevrolet we've had in awhile. I'm proud of the guys, they were strong all weekend and on pit road. With just a few races left, we're going to get every point we can. I can't wait to get to Phoenix. We're bringing the same car from earlier this fall in Richmond; hopefully we'll finish one-spot better"

Mike Wallace began the run to the end of the Nationwide season Saturday with a 25th-place finish in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway.

Wallace qualified 30th and raced in the 20s throughout the race, finishing one spot behind JD Motorsports with Gary Keller teammate Landon Cassill.

“It’s one of the longest, toughest races of the year, so you have to pick and choose your spots,” Wallace said. “We had a pretty good car, but everybody else was having a good day, too, so we just had to hang in there.”

Wallace stayed 17th in Nationwide driver points, and team owner Johnny Davis moved up one spot in owner points to 24th.

With the Texas race in the rear-view mirror, only two stops – Phoenix and Homestead, Fla. – remain on the Nationwide schedule.

Brad Keselowski won the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge. Austin Dillon leads Sam Hornish Jr. by six points in the driver championship race.

JD Motorsports PR

Landon Cassill finished 24th in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge Nationwide Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Cassill qualified 27th and raced in the 20s all afternoon. He and JD Motorsports with Gary Keller teammate Mike Wallace finished back-to-back, Wallace taking the 25th spot.

“Texas is a tough track to get a grip on because you have to deal with the speed and handling,” Cassill said. “Our Flex Seal Chevrolet ran pretty well. We just needed a little more to move up.”

Defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski won the race. Austin Dillon finished fifth and leads Sam Hornish Jr. by six points atop the Nationwide standings with only two races remaining.

The series runs at Phoenix this weekend and closes the season Nov. 16 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida.

JD Motorsports PR

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver Kyle Busch and the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota team had a rough day at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) in Fort Worth Saturday. In the 28-year-old’s 24th start this season, Busch and team were hopeful to repeat a victory, like what they earned in the spring race event at the Lone Star-State facility. What began as a promising run early in the race, however, turned into disappointment when a right-rear tire malfunction caused the black Camry to hit the Turn four wall, which damaged it too much to allow the Camry to remain competitive. Busch and team made as many repairs as possible and remained on track for the remainder of the race, then reluctantly completed the show in 26th place. It wasn’t the day this team had hoped for and coupled with a hit in the Owner’s Championship points battle, team members left the “Wild Asphalt Circus” grounds without the result they targeted going into the last three events of the race season.

During initial on-track activity in Texas on Friday, the race team conducted two practice sessions and was happy with the car’s setup and results on track. One practice session ran early in the afternoon with temperatures like race day, and one in the evening, with a cooler track surface, both showcasing the No. 54 in the second-fastest spot comparable to their closest competitor for the Owner’s Championship points battle, the No. 22 of Penske Racing.

Then under sunny conditions earlier Saturday, Busch and the No. 54 Monster Energy team qualified to earn a sixth-place starting position with a 29.249 second lap at 184.622 mph.  The Las Vegas native remarked post qualifying to media members, that it would be important to keep momentum going around the Texas track that afternoon, meaning it would be important to keep speed consistent with chassis adjustments. He went on to remark that the track temperature was warmer than in Friday night’s final practice session, so although qualifying speeds were slower, they were as expected and the No. 54 crew felt they were set up exactly where they wanted to be for Saturday’s race event.

Saturday afternoon the Nationwide Series field took the green flag for 200 laps covering 300 miles. Immediately Busch went to work and gained positions quickly, then by lap five had placed the Monster Energy machine into third place.

Initial feedback from the driver indicated ‘tight-handling’ in Turns 3 and 4 and discussion between the spotter and crew chief centered on a strong tailwind blowing across the racetrack. Crew chief Adam Stevens relayed lap speeds, which included several circuits where Busch was the fastest car on the race track. “A 31.14 second lap, that’s outstanding,” exclaimed Stevens to Busch, who together this season have notched 11 wins with the No. 54 JGR outfit.

The Monster Energy team conducted their first pit stop of the day under green-flag conditions on lap 42, from the third position, after Busch reported a ‘tight center’ condition. The team made a chassis adjustment and replenished four Goodyear tires and Sunoco fuel before returning Busch to the track, now recorded in the second position. Busch reported a few laps later, “I’m free now, probably need wedge next,” which provided feedback for the crew to consider for the next round of adjustments. Stevens continued to call out lap times and reminded Busch he was trending faster than the leader.

Busch was in second place on lap 70 under a race event caution when the crew and driver began calculating their next pit stop objective. As had been discussed earlier, Stevens advised his crew to make a wedge adjustment to adjust the ‘loose’ condition Busch last relayed, and to take on Sunoco fuel. The team opted not to replace Goodyear tires on this stop, thereby allowing the JGR group to have an extra set available at the end of the race, if needed with multiple caution periods.

After the green-flag restart on lap 75 and because some cars were on older tires and some on fresh ones, the No. 54 began to lose positions. Busch dropped to ninth place just past the event’s halfway point. “I’m too loose everywhere, the more I throttle, the more loose I get.” Stevens acknowledged the feedback and advised his driver that relief would come in another 20 laps with their next anticipated pit road visit.

That opportunity never happened, unfortunately, as the next yellow-flag caution waved over the field as a result of the No. 54 Camry hitting the Turn four wall. “My right-rear tire blew out!” exclaimed Busch. The tire failure forced the black machine into the track’s wall which caused a second tire to expire as he conducted the spin. Busch brought his machine to pit road and the team immediately began working to repair the damage, but not before going two laps down to the field. Two more visits to pit road and another lap lost to repair time, the No. 54 unit was scored in 29th place at the green-flag restart on lap 116, three laps down to the leaders.

To add insult to injury, as the JGR unit visited pit road to make additional repairs, under green-flag conditions, the yellow flag waved and the on track leader passed the No. 54 again, putting them another lap down to the field. At green-flag restart on lap 175 the Monster Energy team was in the 28th position. A subsequent yellow-flag waved and Busch was scored in 27th. One final green-flag restart over the field at lap 182 and Busch gained one more available position, which completed his day in the 26th spot. Brad Keselowski took the checkered flag to earn victory in the Texas event.

With today’s finish, the J.D. Gibbs-owned Toyota, No. 54 Monster Energy team moved to second place in the Owner’s Point standings, now behind the race-winning No. 22 Penske Ford, by 26 points.

Keselowski’s victory was his 26th in 203 series starts. Denny Hamlin, Sam Hornish Jr., Matt Kenseth and Austin Dillon completed the top-five finishers. There were four caution periods for 19 laps of the race along with 15 lead changes across 6 drivers.

KBM PR

Ryan Blaney (@RyanBlaney22), driver of the No. 29 Cooper Standard Ford F-150, made his third career start at Texas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) during the WinStar World Casino 350K, Friday night, after qualifying 15th earlier in the day.

Blaney was called to pit road by crew chief, Doug Randolph, on lap 25, while under caution for one round up on the track bar, fuel and four tires. The Cooper Standard pit crew did an excellent job gaining three track positions for Blaney with a quick stop.

Blaney made his way up to the second position, passing Kyle Busch with ease on lap 37, but came on the radio saying he was feeling a vibration in the front end. Randolph assured the young driver that his crew would work on the Ford F-150 the next time he was on pit road.

The No. 77 and the No. 99 machines brought out the second caution for a tangle in turn two. This allowed Blaney to make his second pit stop for fuel, four tires and another round up on the track bar. Once again the Cooper Standard crew had an exceptionally fast stop, propelling Blaney all the way up to second on the next restart.

Randolph brought Blaney down pit road one last time for one down on the track bar, a right rear screw jack, a touch of wedge out, fuel and four tires. The crew didn't lose any time with all the changes made under caution.

On lap 106 Blaney took over the lead for 10 consecutive laps, but started to fall off due to a mechanical failure in the front end causing air to get trapped underneath his BKR machine and slow him down. This resulted in Blaney finishing a very disappointing 15th after having a Truck to contend with the lead all night.

The No. 29 BKR team currently sits eighth in the NCWTS driver points standings, 96 points back from first.

"It was a very disappointing evening for our Cooper Standard team. We ran up front for 10 laps, but just didn't have what it took to stay up there as the laps wound down. I am looking forward to heading to Phoenix next weekend for some short track racing." - Ryan Blaney

BKR PR

Brad Keselowski (@Keselowski), driver of the No. 19 Draw-Tite Ford F-150, made his fifth start this season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) during Friday night's WinStar World Casino 350K after qualifying in the 13th position at Texas Motor Speedway earlier in the day.

On lap 25, Keselowski spun in the frontstretch and did a great job of not damaging his Truck, while bringing out the first caution of the night. Crew chief, Chad Kendrick brought the Draw-Tite machine on to pit road for repair, four tires and fuel. Keselowski was a lap down once he entered back onto the track for the restart on lap 28 in the 26th position.

When the second caution came out on lap 58, Keselowski was still one lap down as he entered the pits. Kendrick made a four tire change, a track bar adjustment and loaded the Ford F-150 up with fuel, restarting Keselowski in the 23rd position, one lap down, when the field went back to green on lap 63.

The final caution of the night came out on lap 99, for Kyle Busch's engine blowing up on the frontstretch. Keselsowki made his final pit stop of the night for fuel, four tires and another track bar adjustment, restarting in the 22nd position and one lap down.

Keselowski ended up finishing a disappointing 21st after having trouble getting his fast Ford F-150 back on the lead lap.

The No. 19 BKR team now sits fifth in the NCWTS owner points standings, 57 points back from first.

"We had a rough night out there. We went a lap down and just never seemed to find the ability to make it up. I'm proud of my Draw-Tite team for the effort they gave each and every pit stop. We will have a great shot at Phoenix next weekend with Draw-Tite back on board the No. 19 BKR Ford." - Brad Keselowski

BKR PR

Brad Keselowski dominated early and retook the lead late to win Saturday's O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway.

Keselowski led 106 of 200 laps in the 31st NASCAR Nationwide Series race of the season, propelling his No. 22 Penske Racing Ford to a decisive advantage in the owners' standings.

Passing runner-up Denny Hamlin with 14 laps left, Keselowski pulled away to win by .980 seconds. The victory was Keselowski's sixth of the season, his first at Texas and the 26th of his career. Four different drivers have combined to win 12 times in the No. 22 Ford.

Penske teammate Sam Hornish Jr. recovered from a commitment violation (hitting the commitment cone on Lap 53) to finish third. Hornish trimmed two points off series leader and fifth-place finisher Austin Dillon's advantage and trails by six points with two races left in the season.

Matt Kenseth came home fourth, but Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch blew a right rear tire and crashed off Turn 4 on Lap 110. Busch finished 26th and saw the four-point advantage of his No. 54 Toyota entering the race turned to a 26-point deficit to the No. 22 in the battle for the owners' championship.

Keselowski will drive the car next week, and Joey Logano in the NASCAR Nationwide season finale at Homestead. To Keselowski, the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide driver champion, securing the owners' title for team owner Roger Penske is a piece of unfinished business.

The victory also was redemption of sorts for Keselowski's last NASCAR Nationwide start, at Kansas, where he wrecked off Busch's front bumper during intense racing between the two drivers.

"I dug us a hole there at Kansas, obviously, with getting tangled up there, and we lost some points," Keselowski said. "So it's great to recover from that hole and grow a little bit of a lead, but two races is a long ways left, and (26) points is better than nothing, but it's certainly not a guarantee of anything as well…

"But it's about Roger. It's about getting him something he hasn't done, and I take a lot of pride in that."

Hamlin grabbed the lead during a cycle of green-flag pit stops before the third caution of the afternoon, caused by Joe Nemechek's spin off Turn 2 after a tap from Trevor Bayne, slowed the race on Lap 171.

In tight racing after the subsequent Lap 177 restart, Hamlin held off Keselowski for the top spot, but one lap later, Travis Pastrana spun at the exit of Turn 2 and nosed into the inside backstretch wall, necessitating the fourth yellow flag.

Keselowski and Hamlin battled side by side for three laps before Keselowski ducked to the inside of the No. 20 Toyota and completed the decisive pass.

Hornish lost a lap serving a drive-through penalty for the commitment violation, but astute strategy put him in position to take a wave-around under caution for a restart on Lap 76. The caution for Busch's accident on Lap 110 allowed Hornish to pit without losing a lap, and subsequently he charged to his third-place finishing spot.

"It's one of those things," Hornish said of the early mishap. "You wear the tires here, and the track doesn't have a whole lot of grip. Pit road comes up pretty quick, and I got a little locked up as soon as I got on the brakes and did everything I could do to try to get it whoaed up and had a choice of hitting the cone or the back of the 54 car. I figured the cone would hurt the front of my car a lot less.

"It was a great recovery by everyone that works on the Wurth Ford Mustang, and we did what we needed to do today. We got ourselves back up there in position to run for the win and over-tightened the car by the time we got to that point. Hats off to everyone at Penske Racing, and it is good to see our teammate go to Victory Lane."

Timothy Peters was the most recent winner on a 1.5-mile track heading into the WinStar World Casino 350 at Texas Motor Speedway. The No. 17 Parts Plus Toyota Tundra team was finally able to remove the monkey off their back having secured the victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Peters and his Parts Plus Tundra team qualified in the ninth position and was confident in their race setup for the 147-lap race. By lap 8, Peters had fallen back to the 15th position trying to control his loose handling Tundra. The Parts Plus team made adjustments on the Tundra all night to try and secure Peters with a better handling truck. Without a lot of opportunities to make passes and work his way to the front, Peters drove a safe, strategic race finishing in the 16th-place.

Timothy Peters talks about this race at Texas Motor Speedway:

"Unfortunately, it just wasn't our night. We just couldn't seem to get our Parts Plus Tundra tight enough and battled a loose truck all night long. We'll go onto Phoenix."

RHR PR

Germán Quiroga returned to Texas Motor Speedway looking to once again make history in his No. 77 NET10 Wireless/OtterBox Toyota Tundra. Quiroga qualified for the WinStar World 350 in the 20th position and was eager to gain on the competition during the 147-lap event.

Quiroga immediately found speed making his way into the 12th spot on the lap 28 restart. It was at lap 45 when the driver made his way inside the top-10. Quiroga maintained position inside the top-10 moving all the way into the eighth position. During the lap 99 caution period, the NET10 Wireless/OtterBox team visited pit road for service and was served a penalty for having equipment out of the pit stall. The three-time Mexico Series champion started at the tail end of the longest line in the 21st position on the lap 106 restart and drove his way up to secure a 14th-place finish at race's end.

Germán Quiroga talks about his race at Texas Motor Speedway:

"We had a great NET10 Wireless/OtterBox Toyota Tundra tonight. We fought a tight truck mostly in turns three and four and thought we were overheating at one point. Unfortunately, the penalty on pit road hurt our track position and we didn't get it all back. We'll go onto Phoenix and hope for more."

RHR PR