NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Can Stewart-Haas Keep Rolling?
Tony Stewart will be gunning for his second straight win at Texas Motor Speedway next weekend…
Mike Hembree  |  Posted April 08, 2012   Charlotte, NC
Stewart-Haas drivers Tony Stewart (Left) and Ryan Newman (Right) have put together a strong start to the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. (Photo: Getty Images)
Is the Stewart-Haas Racing streak sustainable?

Stewart-Haas drivers have won two straight races (Tony Stewart at Auto Club Speedway and Ryan Newman at Martinsville Speedway), and, perhaps more impressively, the team has won eight (Stewart scoring seven) of the past 16 Sprint Cup races, dating to the first race in the Chase last season.

The Easter weekend break put at least a temporary halt to the run, but Stewart and Newman figure to be in the mix next weekend as the schedule resumes at Texas Motor Speedway with Saturday night’s Samsung Mobile 500.

Stewart won last fall’s race at TMS, one of five victories he scored in the Chase to build the foundation for SHR’s strong start this year. He came on late to lead the final five laps of the race and outran second-place Carl Edwards by a second for the win.

Stewart finished third in the next race at Phoenix and then won the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to claim the championship, his third.

Stewart is one of four drivers – Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth are the others – with two career victories at Texas. Edwards is the victory leader at the 1.5-mile track with three – one in 2005 and a season sweep in 2008.

Since the track gained a second Cup date in 2005, Edwards and Hamlin (in 2010) are the only drivers to win both races in the same season.

Jack Roush is easily the top team owner at TMS with eight victories. Second on the list are Joe Gibbs and Rick Hendrick with three each.

The track is among the fastest in the sport, with Brian Vickers having set the qualifying record of 196.235 miles per hour there in 2006.

Activity is scheduled to begin at TMS Thursday night with Sprint Cup practice from 5:30 to 7:30 (ET) and Nationwide practice for Friday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 from 7:40 to 10.

Final Nationwide practice is scheduled from 11 to noon Friday, followed by Sprint Cup Happy Hour from 3 to 4:30.

Nationwide qualifying is set for 4 p.m. Friday, with Sprint Cup qualifying to follow at 6:30.

The Nationwide 300-mile race is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. (ET) Friday, and the Samsung Mobile 500 is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

On Sunday, April 15, NASCAR racing is scheduled to return to Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina, with the Camping World Truck Series scheduled to run there at 1 p.m.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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