OPR Staff Fantasy Pick Results for NSCS and NNS at Texas Motor Speedway

The stars of NASCAR tackled the 1.5-mile oval known as Texas Motor Speedway. The Nationwide Series race saw 18-year-old Chase Elliott pick up his first career win, while Logano won the rain-delayed Sprint Cup Series race to become the seventh winner of the year.

With their picks in the books, here are the results…..

Nationwide Series

Journalist Name – Marshall Gabell: Marshall chose Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Ty Dillon. Kevin Harvick dominated the first half of the race, before seeing his chances fade with a tight car on the way to finishing fourth. Both Kyle Busch and Ty Dillon had to start at the rear as a result of pre-qualifying technical inspection issues. Busch made his way to the front relatively easy and battled for the win before finishing second. Dillon would make his way up through the field, though not as well as Busch as he finished ninth. Points: 43+42+35=120

Journalist Name – Tayler Stiles: Tayler chose Busch, Harvick and Chase Elliott. Elliott grabbed the lead with 15 to go and never looked back as he cruised to his first career victory in the Nationwide Series. Points: 43+42+47=132

Journalist Name – Ashley McCubbin: Ashley chose Busch, Harvick and Elliott. Points: 43+42+47=132

Nationwide Series Points:

1. Tayler Styles and Ashley McCubbin – 132
2. Marshall Gabell – 120

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Journalist Name – Marshall Gabell: Marshall chose Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle and Jimmie Johnson. Biffle and Kenseth both ran inside the top 10 throughout the day, before finishing sixth and seventh. Jimmie Johnson, meanwhile, was an unfortunate victim in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s incident as the the dirt that Earnhardt kicked back cause damage to Johnson’s front nose. Johnson then suffered a flat tire, resulting in an unscheduled pit stop which ruined his day, finishing up in 25th. Points: 38+37+19=94

Journalist Name – Tayler Stiles: Tayler chose Earnhardt Jr., Johnson and Kenseth. Earnhardt Jr.’s day ended real early as he got on to the grass in the tri-oval, which shot him up to the wall with heavy contact resulting in a fire. Earnhardt Jr. was okay, though, on his way to finishing 43rd. Points: 1+19+38=58

Journalist Name – Ashley McCubbin: Ashley chose Earnhardt Jr., Johnson and Kyle Busch. Despite starting outside the top 20, Busch made his way up through the field and raced for the win late in the race before finishing third. Points: 1+19+42=62

Sprint Cup Points:

1. Marshall Gabell – 94
2. Ashley McCubbin – 62
3. Tayler Stiles – 58

Combined

1. Marshall Gabell – 120+94=214
2. Ashley McCubbin – 132+62=194
3. Tayler Styles – 132+58=190

Next up: Darlington Raceway

As if the challenges that the drivers faced in Texas weren’t enough, both the Sprint Cup Series and the Nationwide Series head to the toughest track on the circuit – Darlington Raceway. The egg-shaped oval will challenge the drivers to their limits as it known for being “too tough to tame”.

Each journalist will be submitting three Sprint Cup Series picks for the event – which are due Thursday night to be posted on Friday. Each journalist will also submit three Nationwide Series picks (one must be a series regular), which are also due on Thursday night. The double dippers for Darlington are: Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch.

Think you can beat the journalists? Send your picks to me at ashleymccubbin@speedwaymedia.com and we’ll see how you do.