Texas Motor Speedway kicks off its 2019 racing season with a NASCAR triple-header in the spring for the first time in the track's history.
TMS agreed to move its fall truck race to the spring at the request of NASCAR, making its spring race even bigger. The spring race typically draws more fans, despite the fall weekend being part of NASCAR's playoffs.
Race week is in full gear with campers already setting up at the track.
The action gets underway later this week, highlighted by the Gander Outdoor Truck Series' Vankor 350 at 8 p.m. Friday, the Xfinity Series' My Bariatric Solutions 300 at noon Saturday and the NASCAR Cup Series' O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Here's everything you need to know in our 'Turn 4' going into race week:
1. Bad Brad. Brad Keselowski is best known at Texas for his infamous brawl with Jeff Gordon on pit road following the November 2014 race. Fans love a good fight, and TMS has produced plenty in the track's history.
But Keselowski is a terrific driver, too, evident by his Cup championship and 29 career wins. The latest came Sunday in Martinsville, as Keselowski dominated the field by leading 446 of the 500 laps.
"At a short track, it is hard to lead that many laps," Fox Sports analyst Larry McReynolds said. "That was a good old southern tail-kicking we saw today. It was almost a flawless day. It didn't take long into the race to realize the No. 2 was the car to beat. The only way they could beat him was if he beat himself."
It marked the second win of the season for Keselowski. He'll come to Fort Worth feeling good, although he's never won a race at TMS.
Keselowski has five top-5 finishes in 21 career starts at Texas, but didn't have a standout year at Texas last year with finishes of 33rd and 12th.
2. Mr. Polarizing. Kyle Busch embraces being one of the more beloved, or loathed, drivers in the sport. As the old saying goes, as long as people are making noise, you're doing something right.
Busch has done plenty right on the track this season, as he's tied with Keselowski with two early-season wins.
Busch had back-to-back wins at Phoenix and Fontana earlier this month, and then finished third at Martinsville. He has top-five finishes in five of the first six Cup races, along with three straight truck series wins and two Xfinity Series wins this season.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is looking to get back to Victory Lane at TMS, a track that has suited him well in the past.
Busch has three career wins in 26 starts, including winning the spring race last year. He's got to rank among the favorites to take the checkered flag once again.
3. Young stars. The sport's youngsters haven't gotten off to the most impressive start. Chase Elliott, coming off a three-win season, has just one top-five finish this season. He's run well at Texas, though, early in his career.
Texas is one of just three tracks Bubba Wallace has a top-10 finish at, and he'll be looking for his first of the season this Sunday. Erik Jones had a terrific 2018 season, but has struggled of late this season.
Daniel Suarez, Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon are other young drivers who are searching for their first top-five run of the year.
4. End of an era? Jimmie Johnson, the best driver of this generation and arguably the greatest of all time, hasn't won a race since June 4, 2017. That's a 65-race drought. He also doesn't have a top-five finish this season, coming off a dreadful day at Martinsville.
"It's difficult to watch when you have a driver as good as Jimmie Johnson is, go to Martinsville and get lapped twice by his teammates," Fox Sports analyst Regan Smith said.
At 43, it's fair to wonder if Johnson's driving days are winding down. Several of his peers have walked away from the sport such as Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in recent years, but Johnson hasn't given any sign that retirement is on the horizon.
Maybe returning to Texas will jump-start his season. Johnson has seven wins in 31 career starts.
