Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

It’s a “short week” for NASCAR drivers off running the All-Star Race in Bristol on Wednesday as the Cup Series circuit heads to Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth on Sunday for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500, which was shifted from March 29 due to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s a 3:00pm ET start time for what is scheduled to be the first of two visits to Texas this season: The Texas 500 Round of 8 playoff race is set for October 25.

Both events technically are 501 miles (334 laps; Stages 1&2 are 105 miles each and Stage 3 is 124) as Texas Motor Speedway is a 1.5-mile quad-oval track with 20-degree banking in Turns 1-2 and 24 degrees in Turns 3-4. It’s a similar layout to the speedways in Atlanta and Charlotte, which like Texas are owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc.

In a nice move, Texas Motor Speedway recently held graduation ceremonies for 23 area high schools this spring – with each graduate getting their diploma (hands free) in “Victory Lane.” This being Texas, the race winner receives a pair of cowboy boots, a white cowboy hat, and a pair of six-shooters to fire off in Victory Lane.