News: Texas Motor Speedway Cup Qualifying Report
On Friday night from Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Erik Jones and the No. 20 Craftsman Toyota team tackled another 1.5-mile track qualifier, this time with an amended rule from NASCAR. The addition of a middle lane on pit road for qualifying access made the competition better, but the session was not without it's "hurry up and wait" antics by the various NASCAR teams. The No. 20 team qualified with ease into the second round session then moved into the third round with a 12th place speed. Knowing their competitors would play the clock in round three qualifying, crew chief Chris Gayle and his driver Jones worked a plan to post speed early, then circle back onto pit road to cool down the motor and attempt another lap to remain close to the top of the board. An initial qualifying run in round three put Jones and the No. 20 team in the second-place position, but before many of the other top-12 cars had qualified. As time clicked away the other teams began their final runs, while the No. 20 team worked to cool down their Craftsman Toyota for one final qualifying attempt. Ultimately the team didn't have enough time left on the clock to fulfill their gamble, and their qualifying time moved down on the board to the 11th-place position. Jones and his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 team will start Sunday's O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 from row six, in 11th place. Tune in at 3:00pm ET on FOX for more race action from the Lone Star State!
