Ford Performance Aims To Snap Decades-Long Texas Streak

The Craftsman Truck Series season continues on April 1 with a trip to Texas Motor Speedway. The race will provide Ford Performance with an opportunity to snap a winless streak dating back to the year 2000.

The Truck Series has competed at Texas Motor Speedway 48 total times since the 1997 season. Ford Performance drivers have combined to win three of these events. Kenny Irwin Jr. captured the first-ever Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway and then Tony Raines took the oval back to Victory Lane in 1998.

Greg Biffle was the most recent Ford driver to win at Texas Motor Speedway. He captured the spring race at the intermediate track after starting on the pole and leading 120 laps. This win was his second of the season — he had five overall — and it directly contributed to him ending the season as the champion.

Biffle added another win at Texas Motor Speedway during the 2019 Truck Series season. However, he drove a Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports in this one-off start.

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Toyota Racing Drivers Have Won the Most at Texas Motor Speedway

Chevrolet has 18 wins at Texas Motor Speedway. Dodge has five, a run that includes four straight wins by Brendan Gaughan in 2002 and 2003. Toyota Racing has the most wins at Texas Motor Speedway with 22 total.

Toyota’s dominance at Texas Motor Speedway can be attributed to multiple teams and drivers. For example, all six of Todd Bodine’s wins at the track were in a Toyota as he drove for Germain Racing. Two of Johnny Sauter’s five Texas wins were in a Toyota while both of Matt Crafton‘s were in a Toyota.

Like Sauter, Kyle Busch has five wins at Texas. They have all been in a Toyota. Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers Erik Jones, William Byron, Christopher Bell, and John Hunter Nemechek all added wins of their own at Texas Motor Speedway.

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Ford Performance Has Strong Numbers in 2023

The Ford Performance ranks have not been as large in recent seasons. Front Row Motorsports had one full-time car while David Gilliland Racing had three. This paled in comparison to Chevrolet and Toyota.

The situation has slightly changed in 2023. Front Row Motorsports still has one full-time entry, which reigning champion Zane Smith has used to win two races so far. His first race at Texas Motor Speedway as a Ford Performance driver resulted in a 32nd-place finish, but he has two top-10s and one top-five at the track from his time with GMS Racing.

David Gilliland Racing is no longer part of Ford Performance after changing its name to Tricon Garage and switching to Toyota Racing. However, ThorSport Racing has made the move back to Ford Performance with its four full-time drivers.

Crafton is the only active ThorSport driver to win at Texas Motor Speedway. Fellow champion Ben Rhodes has four top-10 finishes and two top-fives. This includes a runner-up behind Justin Haley during the 2018 season.

Ty Majeski only has two starts at Texas. He finished 15th in 2020 while driving for Niece Motorsports and then fifth in 2022 while driving for ThorSport Racing. Similarly, Hailie Deegan has two starts at Texas Motor Speedway, which resulted in 24th and 17th-place finishes.

There will also be multiple other Ford Performance entries that join the lineup for the Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. This entry list includes three for Reaume Brothers Racing and one for Roper Racing.

Will these drivers snap the winless streaking dating back to 2000? The answer remains unclear, but the OEM will have several capable of contending as it returns to the 1.5-mile Texas track.

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