BUSCH O'Reilly Challenge
Final
for this game
O'Reilly Challenge Preview
Nov 3, 2007 - 10:38 AMNovember 3, 2007
Texas Motor Speedway
Fort Worth, Texas
Race 33 of 35 on the Busch Series circuit
TV: ESPN2, 3:00 p.m.
Laps: 200
Track length: 1 1/2 mile
Race length: 300 miles
Qualifying record: Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 193.493 mph, 2002
Race record: Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 138.019 mph, 2005
DRIVERS TO WATCH
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Carl Edwards
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 60 Ford Fusion
2007 Earnings: $1,137,485
Needs to finish 36th or better to clinch the championship;
finished 25th at Memphis following a 33rd at Lowe's which was
his second consecutive DNF; prior to that was 38th at Kansas,
his worst finish of 2007; lead in the standings is now 531
points over David Reutimann, down from 852 after Indianapolis 11
races ago; prior to debacle at Kansas finished sixth at Dover,
his second top 10 in the last eight races after running second
at Richmond; finished 11th at Bristol and 28th at Michigan
following consecutive poor showings on the road courses where he
ran 32nd at Watkins Glen after a 30th at Montreal; has just two
top-fives and four top-10s over last 14 races; despite recent
struggles still has a series-best 19 top-10 finishes; has led in
the standings for 30 consecutive weeks, and has been in the top
five following the last 59 Busch races; in 32 starts this
season has four wins, trailing only Kevin Harvick who has five;
has posted 14 top-five finishes; ran seventh here last year.
Kevin Harvick
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 21 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2007 Earnings: $985,170
Reigning series champion did not race at Memphis and dropped to
fourth in the standings; finished 10th at Lowe's after a 13th at
Kansas; did not compete at Dover, dropping him from second to
third in the standings behind Reutimann; was 24th at Richmond,
his worst finish of 2007; finished seventh at California after a
16th at Bristol; has 18 top-10 finishes, one behind Edwards
despite nine less starts; won at Watkins Glen for his third
straight victory and fourth in the last nine races; also
finished second at Daytona over that dominant stretch; despite
racing in just 23 races, has a series-best five wins (Daytona,
New Hampshire, Chicago, Montreal, Watkins Glen); only other
finishes out of top-10 was an 11th at Texas and 12th at
Charlotte; won this race the two times it's been run.
Jason Leffler
Team: Braun Racing
Car: No. 38 Toyota Camry
2007 Earnings: $1,057,102
Moved up to third in the standings after running fifth at
Atlanta; finished 19th at Lowe's and ran 21st at Kansas after
taking 30th at Dover; was 11th at Richmond and 14th at
California; posted a second-place showing at Bristol after
leading a race-high 81 laps; placed 12th at Michigan after
running 27th at Watkins Glen and 26th at Montreal; the two poor
showings on the road courses came after earning his second
career Busch series victory at Indianapolis, which gave Toyota
its first series victory; started the season with four DNFs in
the first six races, but has none since; has been inconsistent
with eight finishes of 30th or worse in 32 races this year;
finished last in this race last year with engine problems.
David Ragan
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 6 Ford Fusion
2007 Earnings: $732,007
Finished third at Atlanta after a sixth at Lowe's to break a
fifth-place tie with Bobby Hamilton Jr. in the standings; ran
34th at Kansas following a 32nd at Dover and a 39th at Richmond;
ran 10th at California for his second straight top 10 after a
sixth at Bristol; struggled prior to that with a pair of 21st
showings at Michigan and Watkins Glen; finished fifth at Gateway
nine races ago; scored four top five and eight top-10 finishes
in 2007; also finished third at Talladega; won the pole and
finished fifth at Texas; also has seven finishes of 30th or
worse this season; leads the Raybestos Rookie of the Year
standings by 30 points over Marcos Ambrose; has no previous
starts at Texas in the NASCAR Busch Series.
David Reutimann
Team: Michael Waltrip Racing
Car: No. 99 Toyota Camry
2007 Earnings: $1,047,328
Won his first career NASCAR Busch Series race at Atlanta to move
within 531 points of Edwards; finished 12th at Lowe's after a
17th at Kansas; ran 10th at Dover, moving past Harvick in the
standings; ran 23rd at Richmond and finished 15th at California;
ran third at Bristol; has better finishes than Edwards in 10 of
the last 12 races; had consecutive third-place finishes at both
Indianapolis and Gateway; has 12 top-10 finishes in 2007
including his previous career best finish of second place at the
first Nashville race; has also finished 30th or worse four
times this season; finished 14th at this race last year.
2006 Top 10
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1. Kevin Harvick (21), Chevrolet
2. Tony Stewart (19), Chevrolet
3. Jeff Burton (29), Chevrolet
4. Mark Martin (6), Ford
5. Ron Hornaday Jr. (33), Chevrolet
6. J.J. Yeley (18), Chevrolet
7. Carl Edwards (60), Ford
8. Denny Hamlin (20), Chevrolet
9. Bobby Labonte (77), Ford
10. Todd Kluever (06), Ford
Past Champions
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2006 Kevin Harvick (21), Chevrolet
2005 Kevin Harvick (21), Chevrolet
