TexSport Publications

Monday, July 06, 2020

Houston Dash are on an upward move in 2020

Photo by
Darla Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved
By Jennifer Edwards

HOUSTON, TEXAS (May 6, 2020) The Houston Dash have been through some ups and downs throughout their years. They have had some coaches that created a team of women and some who have torn those same women down. Coach James Clarkson has created a team of women that consider each other sisters and created a solid unit in a club that saw the most off-season trades in the NWSL.

One of those off-season trades came in the form of Megan Oyster and Shea Groom from OL Reign in exchange for Amber Brooks and Sophia Huerta. This shored up the backline with Oyster that Clarkson was quietly building and created a powerhouse in the midfield. Once he put his team in place the Coronavirus swept through the United States and shut down the season. Clarkson used this time to create a sisterhood via Zoom. It is incredibly evident that this team is solid in the fact that they are the most scoring team in the NWSL Challenge Cup and currently sit in second place in the rankings. Naming Rachel Daly and Jane Campbell, veterans of the team, as the team captains took both women into a leadership role they already possessed.

With the title an avid fan can see they wear that mantle with pride leading their team from the top of the field to the goalposts. Most of the strategy comes down to substitutions. Each team in the Challenge Cup receives 5 subs per game. During the Dash’s first game against the Utah Royals, the downfall of the Dash was in the substitutions. While the players were strong they needed stronger subs to create that push to win the game. Clarkson did not make the same mistake twice and made stronger subs the second game against OL Reign and it showed. The push to the end of the game was consistent that a coach wants to see and the goals in the OL Reign could be used to put on soccer clinics for years to come. Don’t sleep on the Houston Dash. They came to play, they came to win and are showing the league that they are a force to be reckoned with.

Sunday, July 05, 2020

Courage downs Red Stars while Thorns, Spirit battle to draw in Sunday Challenge Cup action

By Robert Kelly

HERRIMAN, UTAH (July 5, 2020) On Sunday, July 5, the NWSL Challenge Cup had two matches at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah. The first match of the day saw the North Carolina Courage down the Chicago Red Stars by the score of 1-0. The second game had the Portland Thorns and the Washington Spirit battling to a 1-1 draw.

The win keeps the Courage at the top of the Cup standings with perfect 3-0 record with nine points. The Red Stars dropped to 0-2-1 (one point) in the standings which places them seventh in the eight-team tournament. North Carolina and Chicago battled back-and-forth during the match, with neither team able to find a hole in their opponent's defense. The lone goal came in the 81st minute when Abby Ercig headed in the ball from the center of the box, off a assist from Jaelene Daniels following a corner kick.

In the second game, Portland scored first when Lindsay Horan was fed the ball Morgan Klingenberg in the 69th minute to push the score to 1-0. The Spirit answered nine minutes when Sam Staab scored the equalizer in the 78th minute, with the assist from Ashley Sanchez. Portland moves to 0-1-2 (2 points) and while Washington goes to a 1-1-1 record, with four points.

Saturday, July 04, 2020

Houston Dash vs. OL Reign: 2020 Challenge Cup preview

By Robert Kelly

HERRIMAN, UTAH (July 4, 2020) The Houston Dash will face OL Reign in the second match for both teams in the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup. Both squads bring an 0-1-0 (1 point) record into the match.

The Dash were led in their first match of the tournament with Rachel Daly's two goals and a game-winning goal by Shea Groom. Goalkeeper Jane Campbell was credited with two saves. no Houston players are listed "out" for the match, but Daly is listed a questionable with a right thigh issue and Nichelle Patrice Prince, for personal reasons.

In the Reign's first matchm Darian Jenkins had four shots, Lauren Barnes has two blocks, with Casey Murphy recording twp saves.

Three players are on the "out" list for the match; Jess Fishlock (Right Lower Leg), Sofia Huerta (Right Hamstring), Kelcie Hedge (Right Knee)

The match is scheduled for a 10 p.m. EDT (9 p.m. EDT) kickoff ar Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman.

Thursday, July 02, 2020

Sugar Land Skeeters announce managers, team logos for Constellation Energy League

By Robert H Kelly

SUGAR LAND, TEXAS (July 3, 2020) The Sugar Land Skeeters released the four team names and logos for their Constellation Energy League, which will kick off on Friday, July 10, 2020 with a 7 p.m. CDT first pitch. The league will replace the Atlantic League schedule that the Skeeters would have competed in during the 2020 season.

The four teams and their logos are as follows:

Sugar Land Skeeters

Managed by Pete Incaviglia

Team Texas

Managed by Roger and Koby Clemens

Sugar Land Lightning Sloths

Managed by Greg Swindell

Eastern Reyes del Tigre

Managed by Dave Eiland

The Skeeters on Tuesday announced the preliminary player pool for the Constellation Energy League. Individual rosters will be released by July 6.

Wednesday, July 01, 2020

Old problems plague the new look Houston Dash

Rachel Daly (3) scored two goals
in the Houston Dash's first game of the
2020 Challenger Cup. File photo from 2018 by
Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

By Lou Roesch

Reprinted with permission from LJR Sports Media

HERRIMAN, UTAH (July 1, 2020) One had to only watch the final eight minutes of yesterday's game to realize that despite all the changes made by the Houston Dash in the offseason, some things have not changed. The inability to close out games cost Houston a 3-1 win over the Utah Royals and instead fell into a dismal 3-3 draw.

Dash head coach James Clarkson characterized the draw with these words: "We’re obviously a little disappointed." A little disappointed, are you kidding me? You and the team should be infuriated with the way you gave the game away AGAIN! A little disappointed, are you kidding me? You and the team should be so upset that you want to get up and knock the crap out of somebody. A little disappointed is when you work your butt off but things don't go well not for lack of effort but because it just wasn't your day. Giving up two late goals and relinquishing a two goal lead is not working your butt off to the end. A match is 90 plus minutes, when will you and the team understand that and do something about it?

Houston fell behind a score in the 35th minute off the foot of Diane Matheson. Houston star Rachel Daly responded with a "l'll see your one and I’ll raise it one" as she netted her fifth career brace to Houston a 2-1 lead in the 47th minute. Newcomer Shea Groom added her first goal as a member of the Dash in the 67th minute giving Houston what appeared to be a comfortable two goal advantage.

She very nearly had the hat trick in the 61st minute knocking home a loose ball off the foot of Utah keeper Abby Smith. Referee Karen Abt disallowed the goal calling Daly for obstruction and preventing Smith from playing the ball.

“Exactly what we expected and what we’ve seen through preseason," continued Clarkson. That’s the sort of thing that Rachel can give us. She’s a constant thorn in the opposition’s defense."

Six minutes after Daly's disallowed goal, Groom in her first game as a member of the Dash scored the team's third goal of the match. Groom's blast from the 18-yard mark came off a centering ball from fellow newcomer Katie Stengel

The two goal advantage would not hold as Utah got two late goals off set pieces to pull even in the 89th minute. The Royals final goal came off the head of rookie Tziarra KIng, her first professional goal in her first professional match.

"We got ourselves in a great position –three to one up with probably ten minutes to go and unfortunately,we gave away two really soft goals that cost us three points,"concluded Clarkson.

Houston nearly pulled the joy of victory from the agony of a draw but midfielder Christine Nairn's right footed strike was deflected just wide.

The Dash take on OL Reign next on July 4th in a 9:00 PM CDT kickoff on CBS All-Access.

Saturday, June 27, 2020

Player Showcase: Chicago Red Stars Kealia (Ohai) Watt

Photo by Mike Kiel, LJR Sports Media
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

By Lou Roesch
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

Reprinted with permission from LJR Sports Media

HERRIMAN, UTAH (March 27, 2020) Today starts a new era for former Houston Dash captain Kealia Ohai, now Kealia Watt (shown right), after her marriage to Houston Texans star JJ Watt in February. She takes the pitch with her new team the Chicago Red Stars. Traded in the off season, Watt, a high school star in Utah, returns to the scene of some of her most fondest soccer memories in Salt Lake City only this time with Chicago the 2019 NWSL runner-ups in the NWSL Challenge Cup.

The last six months have been strange for Watt and the NWSL. She arrived in Chicago to much fanfare apartment hunting back in January. She then returned to Houston to get ready for the season before arriving back in Chicago in March and that's when things got a little crazy. COVID-19 raised its ugly head and things became uncertain for everyone worldwide notwithstanding professional athletes.

“When everything started it was the weekend and we thought we literally would have the weekend off and we would be back in on Monday, that everything would just blow over,” Watt told the Chicago Tribune last week. “But then two months later we were still in quarantine. It was wild to have soccer taken away from us, and trying to train on our own was difficult.”

Although most thought the pandemic would be over in a relatively short period of time, it was not.

“The original date was a couple of weeks, so we waited until then and then we waited a little longer and then I finally went back to Houston to train,” she said. “All of it was pretty weird timing, and throughout we didn’t have a firm date of when we’d be back. You would train and think, OK, I have three weeks until we get back, so you schedule your training for that. And then a few days before that they would delay it more. It was such a weird time. The whole world was having such a difficult time.”

But all that is behind Watt and the NWSL as the Challenge Cup begins tomorrow with defending NWSL champion NC Courage facing perennial power Portland in the opening match. Watt and Chicago will follow that game with a match against the Washington Spirit.

In a media Zoom press conference on Friday, Dames shared with Houston based LJR Sports Media his thoughts on Watt.

"She is significantly better then I thought she was though I knew she was really good. She has more tools in her tool chest then I knew. She is one of our top six players, so unselfish. She is super clean, turns corners and is not afraid to do anything."

Watt, the franchise leading scorer for Houston with 28 in 114 appearances is one of the players that Dames and company will be relying on to replace Samantha Kerr who left for Chelsea in the Women's Premier League in England. Kerr had 34 goals in 40 games with the Red Stars.

Chicago with "Captain K" is once again expected to be one of the teams to beat in 2020.

MLS gears up for a new start

Photo by Mike Kiel, LJR Sports Photographed
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved
By Lou Roesch

HOUSTON, TEXAS (June 27, 2020)

Houston Dynamo coach Tab Ramos addressed the media following the announcement by MLS Soccer Commissioner Don Garber’s of the leagues return to live action. The announcement came on Wednesday morning one day ahead of the team’s full competition training session on June 11, 2020. The winner gets a 2021 Champions League automatic berth.

The Houston Dynamo and Ramos feel as if they have an advantage considering Ramos’ work with the national team over the previous eight years. As a coach for the national team, a lot of preparation was done prior to the players arriving at a camp. They were a;ways hungry for competition. He expects his players to be as well.

“First, I think it is very exciting for the players. I really can’t wait to see them tomorrow, because as they come in to training it is the first day where they can actually have contact tomorrow. I think it will be exciting for them, obviously these type of athletes at this level they are incredibly competitive and not having had the opportunity to compete day-in and day-out, I’m sure that is something they miss a lot. That is the first part of it, and then obviously seeing the tournament - you know the way it is going to fall, our first game could be anytime between the (eighth) of July and the 11th of July. As you likely know, the schedule and the draw comes out tomorrow so once we know that we will know the exact date and we will start working towards that.”

The tournament is set along the World Cup format including a $1.1 million dollar payout. It begins on July 8th. The draw for the 54 game tournament will be held on June 11, 2020 at which time the Houston side will know how much time they have to prepare fore the tournament.

“I feel good about it. I was afraid we were going to get less time to prepare. I think a month is actually a good time to be well prepared to play our first game. Obviously, we have been together now for about three weeks, but the players have not been able to compete. Physically we are starting to get them to a good level, but now the playing part is the most difficult. I feel good about it. I think there is plenty of time to be well prepared for the first game.”

For all the negatives of COVID-19, there was one big positive for the Houston Dynamo and every other team for that matter. The Dynamo will almost be back to full strength by the time the tournament.

“It looks like at this point that Kiki (Struna), as we start tomorrow, he will be doing some of the exercises with us already. So, he is very close to being 100 percent with us. Jose (Bizama) is likely maybe one or two weeks away. But it is likely that we go into the season - obviously we don’t know what will happen in the next four weeks - but hopefully we will go into the season with a healthy Jose Bizama, a healthy Darwin Quintero and a healthy Alberth Elis. That is something we didn’t have when the season started, and also Victor Cabrera. So that will be four guys that we could potentially start the new season that we didn’t have at the beginning.”

One of the challenges facing Ramos and the Dynamo is the evaluation process of the players for fitness, and skill and who fits where and how.

“The truth is that it is very difficult. What we are evaluating is the physical work. In other words, the players work with GPS, we know the meters they cover every day, we know the capacity they are giving us, we know the percentage of the speed that they run every day taking as much as each one has. In general, the only evaluation that can be done so far is the physical evaluation because the players have not been able to compete. Then they are seen coming to training, that physically they are gradually improving. If they have touched the ball, if they have done exercises which can improve their technique, but in terms of being able to evaluate them without the players being competing if it is very difficult."

Following the tournament which includes wins and losses during group play as part of the regular season, the league will return to an abbreviated season. Garber was unable to elaborate on the specifics yet bit was enthused that following the tournament in Orlando, Florida, the league could get back to a semblance of normalcy.

HBU's Christopher Welch named to All-America Team

Photo courtesy of HBU Athletic Media Relations Department

By Jennifer Edwards

HOUSTON, TEXAS (June 27, 2020) A shortened indoor track season could not stop Dickinson native, Christopher Welch (shown right) from excelling in the triple jump. Welch set an Houston Baptist University record by jumping 15.64 meters or 51 feet and 3.75 inches at the Texas A&M Invitational. He continued his winning ways by completing a 15.94 meter jump. In total, Welch has broken the school record seven times.

This sophomore standout is used to the spotlight and incredibly humble when it comes to his talent. Welch stood out on the Dickinson Gator football team as an all-district kicker and wide receiver. Once football season was over, his focus turned quickly to track and field where he excelled. In addition to the accolades he has already racked up, Christopher received the NCAA All-American in the triple jump, as well as a silver medal in Southland Conference Indoor Championships and became the first HBU indoor championship qualifier.

Welch is incredibly humble when it comes to where he gets his talent from. He says, “When I got the confirmation that I was an All-American I was very thankful, because I’ve always known that it was going to happen and it was what I prayed for when I first got to college.” Welch hopes to continue his winning ways at HBU in the future when the university is able to safely bring athletes back. He also says,” Just knowing that God’s promise to me was fulfilled it gave me the motivation, so that next year I would not only be an All-American, but also become a National Champion.” This young man will be one to watch in the future

Friday, June 26, 2020

2020 Big 12 Conference preseason football rankings

By Robert H Kelly

PASADENA-DEER PARK, TEXAS (June 26, 2020) With the upcoming Big 12 Conference football season just around the corner, it is time to announce my preseason rankings. The below predictions were submitted to the Big 12 media department for inclusion in their determination of their conference pre-season ranking.

Oklahoma
Texas
Iowa State
Oklahoma State
TCU
Baylor
West Virginia
Kansas State
Texas Tech
Kansas

Sunday, June 07, 2020

FIFA Women's World Cup...One Year Ago...A Look Back

Photo courtesy U.S Soccer WNT via Twitter.com
By Jennifer Edwards

FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS (June 7, 2020) One year ago today, sports fans were not yearning for any sports coverage they could get. It was the start to the Women's World Cup 2019 and all the world was watching. The Cup coverage could be seen almost all day long and was a soccer fan's fantasy come to life. It put women’s soccer front and center and the ladies did not disappoint. From Marta’s performance with the Brazilian Women’s team and her story of perseverance to make the team, to Amandine Henry scoring the opening goal to kick off the tournament and put her French National Team on the board, the tournament was on fire from the start. While the United States Women’s National team dominated the games they played, many amazing stories emerged of teams scraping enough funding to try to win a bid to the tournament and making that bid a reality. Thailand is one of those standouts. They were unevenly matched with the US powerhouse and lost 13-0. But they showed the world that they can still keep their head up and plan to return to the next World Cup with the lessons learned. In the 52 matches that were played there were 146 goals awarded for an average of two goals a game. Total attendance was over one million people. Those fans got to see the Lionesses’ Ellen White become one of the three top scorers alongside the US’s Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe all scoring six goals each. While US soccer fans wait for the MLS and NSWL to return to play, looking back at the memories of last year are always amazing.

Saturday, June 06, 2020

NEWGARDEN TAKES QUALIFYING POLE FOR GENESYS 300 INDYCAR SERIES RACE AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Reigning champion picks up where he left off last year at No Limits, Texas

FORT WORTH, TEXAS (June 6, 2020) - Reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion and defending Texas Motor Speedway winner Josef Newgarden (shown left) picked up exactly where he left off last year at No Limits, Texas by taking the pole position for tonight's Genesys 300.

Despite the temperature nearing triple digits, the driver of the No. 1 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet lapped the 1.5-mile high-banked tri-oval for a two-lap average of 24.0289 seconds at a speed of 215.740 mph.

For his efforts, the Hendersonville, Tenn., native was presented with the traditional pole winner award at Texas Motor Speedway, a Henry Texas Tribute edition rifle.

"I don't want to say I was surprised," Newgarden said. "It felt like the car was quick. I didn't know if we had enough to beat [Scott] Dixon; he looked really good in his qual trim. I felt the XPEL car was great. I just tried to do the best I could to stay flat. That's just all I had to do was keep it pinned around the track. The car was perfect."

Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Honda) was second with a two-lap average of 24.0403 at 215.638 and Newgarden's Penske teammate Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 DXC Technology Chevrolet) was third at 24.0596 at 215.464.

Last year's No. 1 qualifier, Takuma Sato, crashed in Turn 1 on his warmup lap. Sato was seen and released from the Wise Health System infield media center despite extensive damage to the No. 30 Abeam Consulting Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda.

The Genesys 300 will be broadcast live on NBC tonight beginning at 7 p.m. CT, with the green flag to wave at 7:10 p.m.

Monday, June 01, 2020

Houston Dash get No. 3 seed in 2020 Challenge Cup

By Robert Kelly

HOUSTON, TEXAS (June 1, 2020) The Houston Dash garnered the number three seed in the upcoming 2020 Challenge Cup, presented by P&G and Secret and hosted by the National Women's Soccer League. The Cup will begin on June 27 at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah and continue until July 26.

The Dash will kick off the tournament on Wednesday, July 1 facing the North Carolina Courage in the preliminary round. Four days later, Houston will play Sky Blue FC, followed by Chicago Red Stars on July 9 and Washington Spirit on July 13. The full schedule will be announced at a future date.

While spectators will not be in attendance, fans can catch all the action via CBS All Access with the opener and championship game also airing live on CBS.

This tournament marks a return to action for the Houston Dash and second-year head coach James Clarkson. The Dash went 7-12-5 under Clarkson in 2019, including a 2-1 win in Salt Lake City on May 11. The Dash are 1-2-0 overall in Utah since 2018, when Utah Royals FC joined the NWSL.

The Cup consists of four preliminary games for each of the nine teams, with the top eight teams proceeding to the knock out rounds in route to the eventual title match on July 26.

Thursday, May 28, 2020

JJ Watt is Houston's Michael Jordan

HOUSTON, TEXAS (May 28, 2020) Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt spoke to the Houston media on Tuesday via Zoom. It was an interesting conversation and reminds sports fans of Michael Jordan basketball's GOAT.

The biggest question and answer of the day came in the form of question two and the final one before the Zoom was concluded.

With two years left on your contract and no guaranteed money left, do you want to sign a contract extension this offseason?

"No, I don't think that's necessary. I fully understand and respect the situation that I'm in at the moment and what's happened in the past few years, so I'm not going to sit here and demand anything because I'm going out there to prove what I'm worth, and I believe that's the right situation for everybody. I think if I went back and asked for an extension, more money, anything right now, I think that would be the wrong move. I'm just going out there and trying to prove my worth and to help this team win games and do everything that I can to earn and make sure that these people know that I'm worth it."

This is what you expect from your leader and quite reminiscent of Jordan always playing out his contract and proving his worth each and every season.

How important is it for you to end you career with the Houston Texans?

“That would be, obviously, a goal of mine. This city has been incredible to me since the day I got here. I'm very thankful and fortunate to have the opportunity to play for such great fans that have been supportive of not only myself, my foundation and everything that I've tried to accomplish. It's a great place. I certainly hope that's the case. I don't know what's going to happen. I can't say what's going to happen in the future but I certainly hope that that's the case.”

Jordan never wanted to leave Chicago but the organization misunderstood what his greatness on and off the court meant to Chicago. Only time will tell if Houston learns from Chicago's mistake.

In between Watt also answered questions about Bill O'Brien, defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, DJ Reader's absence in the locker room, potential TV career and time with family but maybe the most telling about his worth to the team came when he was asked about helping the rookies of 2020.

Has there been any advice you've been able to give the rookies with you going through the lockout your rookie year?

"Having gone through this type of offseason in 2011 where there were no OTA's, no minicamps, stuff like that, I do have a little bit of experience to lean on there. The thing that I've said is as long as you're training and doing what you need to do from a training standpoint, a running standpoint, getting yourself into the physical shape necessary for training camp, you'll be able to hit the ground running once training camp starts. This situation we actually have a little bit more of an advantage in that we have the Zoom meetings, we can go over the defense with the coaching staff. They can implement it and we can all talk to each other through that. So that is an advantage, but on the flip side of that, the disadvantage is it's hard for guys – in 2011 we could kind of meet as position groups or as an offense or defense, you could learn the plays and go over them and practice them together. Right now we're still kind of working through if that's entirely safe to do, if we should be gathering on our own, if we shouldn't, because we obviously want to get together. We prefer to work out together, we prefer to go over plays together, but at the same time we have to be smart about the guidelines and making sure that we're doing everything safe as well. We're kind of balancing those things just like everybody else, I think there's a lot of uncertainty and we're just trying to wade through those waters and make sure we do it right."

JJ Watt posed a refreshing insight into how much he is worth to the Texans organization and to the Houston community. As much as it appears Houston wants to work out a deal with quarterback DeShaun Watson, the organization needs to bring that same concerted effort to Watt sooner rather then later or he will walk.

NWSL set to begin season with Challenge Cup 2020

By Jennifer Edwards

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (May 18, 2020) It has been 40 days without women’s soccer. The season was set to open on April 18, 2020 when the National Women’s Soccer League pressed pause on the start of the season like many other sporting leagues around the world. As the world starts to slowly emerge from our quarantine nests, so does sports. These leagues are venturing into wildly uncharted territories. Some liken it to trying to navigate a hurricane in a canoe, others have cancelled their seasons altogether. The NWSL spent weeks alongside the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association to put together the NWSL Challenge Cup 2020. The Challenge Cup will be played round-robin tournament style for one month from June 27 to July 26 with all matches being played at Rio Tinto Stadium, home of the Utah Royals Soccer Club.

Each of the nine clubs will play four games each; with the best eight clubs advancing to the semi-finals and then on to the knockout rounds with the Championship Match being played on July 26. “As our country begins to safely reopen and adjust to our collective new reality, and with the enthusiastic support of our players, owners, as well as our new and current commercial partners, the NWSL is thrilled to bring professional soccer back to the United States,” said NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird. “This exciting month-long tournament will showcase our league’s talented players and provide our fans the type of world-class entertainment they’ve come to expect from the NWSL.”

While this sounds amazing for the fans to be able to watch, especially season ticket holders who have missed the matches that they have already paid for, it brings its own set of challenges. From the number of games that will take a toll on the players bodies, to the number of substitutions needed to accommodate the altitude issues in Utah; there are a number of questions that are being raised by fans and of the sport. How will the travel look? How will players with families be accommodated? The NWSL feels confident that they can address all of these issues and more. Time will tell. At least the United States will be able to see soccer again!

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Starting grid set for Alsco Uniforms 500 NASCAR race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Wednesday

By Chris Price

CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA (May 27, 2020) The starting grid has been announced for the Alsco Uniforms 500 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Wednesday evening. The race, which is set for a 8 p.m. EDT start (7 p.m. CDT) start will use the results from the May 24 race at Charlotte as a basis.

The finish from the top 20 places from the Coca-Cola 600, on Sunday, May 24, will be inverted for the first 20 positions in the Wednesday evening race. Starting positions 21-40 will be seeded from the bottom 20 finishers from Sunday night, with any new entries being placed at the back of the pack. Teams that have changes in their car's drivers will be positioned to the rear of the pack.

Sunday night's winner Brad Keselowski (shown above), driving the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang for Team Penske will start in the 20th position. His Penske teammates, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney will start in the 8th and 18th positions, respectively.