What are the NASCAR stage lengths at Texas Motor Speedway?
By Nick Tylwalk
Lots of things are new at Texas Motor Speedway in 2017, including stage racing in the top two national NASCAR series.
Stage racing has caused NASCAR teams and crew chiefs to adjust their strategies a bit already this season, and now they will have to do it as a track for which they have few reliable notes. That’s because Texas Motor Speedway has been repaved and slightly reconfigured since the last time they were there, bringing a great deal of uncertainty to this weekend’s races.
One thing that they can take to the bank is that the “extra” points from finishing in the top 10 at the end of stages really aren’t extra at all. Some of the leading drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series are leading the way partially because of the stage points they’ve racked up, while struggling drivers (think Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. for instance) don’t have them to fall back on.
The stage lengths for the Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 almost perfectly divide the race into two opening quarters and a closing half, and like we’ve seen all season, will require the cars to make at least one pit stop. Not so much for the XFINITY Series, as the My Bariatric Solutions 300 features opening stages of just 45 laps each, though with the repave a factor, one would expect more pit stops this year and not less.
Next: O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 grid and starting lineup
Courtesy of NASCAR.com, here are the points in each race this weekend when drivers will be racing back to the green and white checkered flag.
XFINITY Series My Bariatric Solutions 300 stage lengths
- Stage 1 ends on Lap 45
- Stage 2 ends on Lap 90
- The final stage ends on Lap 200, barring overtime, for a closing stage length of 110 laps
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 stage lengths
- Stage 1 ends on Lap 85
- Stage 2 ends on Lap 170
- The final stage ends on Lap 334, barring overtime, for a closing stage length of 164 laps