Jimmie Johnson has a great race car on his hands. He swept all three rounds of qualifying on his way to winning the pole Friday for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
This is Johnson's first pole in Texas in seven years and the 15th different season in which he has won one.
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Johnson teammates William Byron and Chase Elliott will start second and third, respectively. Interestingly, Daniel Suarez will start fourth after not using a draft at all. He has a very fast race car as well.
It was a tough day, though, for some of NASCAR's best drivers. Ryan Blaney (13th) Kyle Busch (16th), Martin Truex Jr. (20th), Aric Almirola (21st), Kyle Larson (22nd) and Kevin Harvick (23rd) all failed to make the final round of qualifying.
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Clint Bowyer just missed out on the second round by one spot qualifying 25th, and he later blamed Ryan Newman for blocking him on pit road. Kurt Busch also had a rough day. He will start 30th.
The O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 can be seen at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday on Fox.
O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 starting lineup
Here is the starting lineup for Sunday's race:
Starting | Driver | Number |
No. 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 48 |
No. 2 | William Byron | 24 |
No. 3 | Chase Elliott | 9 |
No. 4 | Daniel Suarez | 41 |
No. 5 | Austin Dillon | 3 |
No. 6 | Denny Hamlin | 11 |
No. 7 | Daniel Hemric | 8 |
No. 8 | Joey Logano | 22 |
No. 9 | Ty Dillon | 13 |
No. 10 | Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. | 43 |
No. 11 | Erik Jones | 20 |
No. 12 | Brad Keselowski | 2 |
No. 13 | Ryan Blaney | 12 |
No. 14 | Paul Menard | 21 |
No. 15 | Michael McDowell | 34 |
No. 16 | Kyle Busch | 18 |
No. 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 17 |
No. 18 | Ryan Newman | 6 |
No. 19 | Chris Buescher | 37 |
No. 20 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 |
No. 21 | Aric Almirola | 10 |
No. 22 | Kyle Larson | 42 |
No. 23 | Kevin Harvick | 4 |
No. 24 | Alex Bowman | 88 |
No. 25 | Clint Bowyer | 14 |
No. 26 | Matt DiBenedetto | 95 |
No. 27 | Ryan Preece | 47 |
No. 28 | David Ragan | 38 |
No. 29 | Matt Tifft | 36 |
No. 30 | Kurt Busch | 1 |
No. 31 | Corey Lajoie | 32 |
No. 32 | Landon Cassill | 00 |
No. 33 | Parker Kligerman | 96 |
No. 34 | BJ McLeod | 51 |
No. 35 | Ross Chastain | 15 |
No. 36 | Bayley Currey | 52 |
No. 37 | Reed Sorenson | 27 |
No. 38 | Garrett Smithley | 77 |
No. 39 | Timmy Hill | 66 |
What time does the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 start?
The O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 will take place Sunday, March 31. Live coverage begins on Fox at 3 p.m. ET.
What channel is the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 on?
The O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 will be broadcast nationally on Fox. The race can also be live-streamed on the Fox Sports Go app or by subscribing to fuboTV, which offers a seven-day free trial.
O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 schedule, how to watch
All of the events leading up to the week, including practices and races for the Truck Series can be seen on NASCAR.com, PRN, MRN and FS1.
Here's a daily schedule of events leading up to the STP 500.
(All times Eastern)
Saturday, March 30
Time | Event | Channel |
9:05 a.m. | Cup Series second practice | FS1/TSN |
10:10 a.m. | Xfinity Series qualifying | FS1 |
11:30 p.m. | Cup Series final practice | FS1/TSN |
1 p.m. | Xfinity Series My Bariatric Solutions 300 | FS1/PRN |
Sunday, March 31
Time | Event | Channel |
3 p.m. | O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 | Fox/PRN/TSN |