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Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage joins Galloway & Company to discuss the NRA sponsorship and who he's picking to win Saturday's Sprint Cup race.

Listen here.

With ESPN Stats & Information riding shotgun, here's who you should keep a close eye on during Saturday night's NRA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway:

Jimmie Johnson: "Five-Time" has outdone the entire field in some aspects over the past 10 Sprint Cup events. In that time, he has four of the 10 wins and has won three times from the pole, something no other driver has done even once. He also has three starts where he's earned maximum points, which is more than the rest of the field combined. Johnson led more laps at TMS (324) in 2012 -- more than 3.5 times any other driver. After last week's win at Martinsville, Johnson now has 12 multi-win seasons during his career, which ranks behind only Richard Petty (18), Jeff Gordon (14) and Cale Yarborough (13).

PODCAST
Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage joins Galloway & Company to discuss the NRA sponsorship and who he's picking to win Saturday's Sprint Cup race. Listen

And don't look for that dominance to end on the 1.5-mile track at TMS. Johnson loves the distance, earning more career wins on 1.5-mile tracks (17 in 113 starts) than any other driver in NASCAR history. Jeff Gordon (16/161) and Tony Stewart (15/133) are on his heels, however.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Since the start of the 2012 season, Dale Jr. has really stepped it up. His average finish over his last 40 races has been 10.4 -- more than eight spots better than the 2009-11 seasons (18.8 average finish). And he's very comfortable at TMS, where he earned his first career victory. Earnhardt has four straight top-10 finishes at TMS and five overall since the start of the 2010 Sprint Cup season. For his career, he's got 12 top-10 finishes in 21 races. Not too shabby.

Roush Fenway Racing (Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards): RFR is no stranger when it comes to Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway. The team has nine Cup wins at TMS, more than double the next-best effort (4, by Hendrick Motorsports drivers). Greg Biffle, who won the spring race in 2012, and Carl Edwards will again be behind the wheel in Jack Roush cars on Saturday night, so keep an eye on them. In the last five races here (spanning 18 starts), RFR drivers have two wins, 11 top-5 finishes and 15 top 10s. They've also led 38.7 percent of laps run at TMS.

Edwards is the winningest Cup driver at TMS, having fired the pistols three times in Victory Lane. He also has three top-10 finishes in his last four starts here, with an average finish of 7.3. Biffle, meanwhile, has one win and hasn't finished outside the top 10 in his last nine races at TMS -- an average finish of 5.7. That includes six top-5s.

Danica Patrick: You have to keep on eye on Danica, whose eighth-place finish during the 2012 Nationwide Series race at TMS is the second-best result of her NASCAR career. And don't forget she's coming off an impressive 12th in the Cup race at Martinsville last week. Patrick seems very comfortable running under the green at TMS, where she passed a personal-best 107 cars en route to a 24th place finish last November.

Brad Keselowski: You have to think a visit to Victory Lane is just around the corner for the reigning Cup champion. Keselowski has yet to win this season, but has an average finish of 7.2 thus far this season. That's ahead of the personal-best pace he set last season, as he had an average finish of 10.1 -- with five wins -- en route to the Sprint Cup championship.

Kyle Busch: After the worst season of his career, Busch still is a threat to win behind the wheel of any car, as his success across all three of NASCAR's series proves. After taking the checkered flag just once last season, Busch has gotten back to his winning ways in 2013 -- getting four wins in just 12 races. Over the last six seasons, Busch has 88 victories in the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck series.

Matt Kenseth: Kenseth is always a threat at TMS, having won twice on the 1.5-mile track. But it's not the checkered flags that impresses most. It's the career average finish here (8.3) that boggles the mind. He's got 12 top 5s, 15 top 10s and has led 772 laps at TMS.

Jeff Gordon: Saturday's start will the 696th in a row for Gordon, who will move within one of Rusty Wallace for second on the all-time NASCAR Iron Man list. Ricky Rudd holds the record at 788.

Tony Stewart: "Smoke" has always been a TMS favorite, but he's run into tough times so far this season with an average finish of 21.2 and only 154 quality passes, which ranks 22nd among Cup drivers. That being said, you can't count Stewart out as he's visited Victory Lane in each of the last 14 seasons, which is tied for seventh all-time behind Richard Petty's 18 seasons with a win. With a checkered flag in 2013, he'll join Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt on that list, and he'd also tie Herb Thomas for 13th all-time with 48 career victories.

Want to impress your friends while hanging out at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday and Saturday? Here's a little bit of TMS trivia, courtesy of ESPN Stats & Information:

FRONT RUNNERS: If you qualify in the top 10 at Texas Motor Speedway, you have a very good chance of winning. In 24 races since the track’s inaugural race in 1997, 18 winners have rolled off pit row from a top-10 starting spot, the highest win percentage of any track along with Sonoma. Richmond and Dover are next at 71.9 percent.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME: So who has the best chance of starting in the top 10 at Texas Motor Speedway? None other than Jimmie Johnson, who has started from inside the top 10 on 12 occasions in 19 races (63.2 percent), including both of his Texas wins. Greg Biffle (61.1), Kasey Kahne (58.8) and Mark Martin (54.2) are next.

CLIMBING THE LADDER: Enough about those at the front. That's easy, right? Now ... coming up through the field to win? That's an achievement. Matt Kenseth currently holds that honor, winning in 2002 after starting 31st. Denny Hamlin, however, proved he was no fluke, having swept both 2010 races from the 30th and 29th starting spots in the field. Carl Edwards (2005) also won from the 30th spot.

PHOTO FINISHES: Nothing beats the drama of a last-lap sprint to the checkered flag. Just ask Elliott Sadler, who edged Kasey Kahne by .028 seconds in 2004 for the closest Cup finish in TMS history. And if you want the opposing viewpoint, you can try to ask Jimmie Johnson, who was the runner-up in close finishes to Denny Hamlin (.152 seconds in 2010), Tony Stewart (.272 seconds in 2006), Jeff Gordon (.378 seconds in 2009) and Carl Edwards (.399 seconds in 2008). Venturing a guess, however: You need not feel overly sorry for "Five-Time."

WHICH WAY IS VICTORY LANE: Will there be a first-time Cup winner in Texas? It's happened twice before. Jeff Burton earned his first Cup victory at TMS in 1997. Burton, who started fifth, beat Dale Jarrett by 4.1 seconds to win in his 96th career race. Dale Earnhardt Jr. reached Victory Lane much quicker, winning at TMS in 2000 in just his 12th career race. Who'd Dale Jr. beat to the finish line? Why Jeff Burton, of course.

Danger can strike at any time in any area of the track at Texas Motor Speedway.

There have been 89 accidents in 24 races at TMS (3.7 per race) with almost a quarter occurring on the backstretch since 1997, where 23.6 percent of incidents occur. Turn 2 has been the next busiest area for the tow trucks, where 20.2 percent of accidents have happened.

Other areas: Turn 4 (19.1 percent), Frontstretch (16.9), Turn 1 (13.5) and -- finally -- Turn 3 (6.7).

Where's the best place to be? Running at the front of the field, of course. Since average running position was first added into accident data in 2008, Texas Motor Speedway has the second-lowest wreck percentage -- 2.4 percent -- by cars running in the Top 5. Phoenix is the safest track for cars in the top five (1 percent).

Who was the unlucky driver? Tony Stewart was running second when he wrecked in the 2010 spring race.

And if you're a fan of fireworks, you might not have to wait until the checkered flag flies and the postrace festivities begin. TMS has a history of explosive moments.

November 2009: Jimmie Johnson was pursuing his fourth straight Cup title as the series headed to Texas, but it ran into a snag when Sam Hornish Jr. got loose and made contact with the 48. Johnson nearly saved the car before colliding with Hornish again, and he sustained heavy damage. Johnson was very critical of Hornish after the race.

April 2010: Jimmie Johnson made contact with teammate Jeff Gordon, and Gordon shared his thoughts over the radio. They also made contact the very next week at Talladega.

November 2010: Jeff Burton inexplicably put Jeff Gordon into the wall well after a caution had come out. After Gordon climbed out of his car, he walked all the way down the backstretch and shoved Burton. Burton shoved back as the two shouted at each other.

November 2010: Kyle Busch was tabbed for speeding on a pit stop, and in frustration, he gave a one-finger salute -- and then a two-middle finger salute -- to a NASCAR official while being held on pit road. He was attempting to stay ahead of the pace car after a wreck.

O. Bruton Smith, the CEO of Speedway Motorsports Inc., was among the 25 finalists for the NASCAR Hall of Fame that were announced Wednesday. Texas Motor Speedway is one of eight tracks owned and operated by Smith.

"We are so proud that our boss, Bruton Smith, has been nominated to be considered for the NASCAR Hall of Fame," TMS president Eddie Gossage said in a statement. "He deserves to be honored in the Hall. He has been one of the people to lead our sport from a small regional promotion to an international force. I also know the many occasions he has quietly helped employees, crew members and drivers that came across hard times in their lives. Most of all, Bruton has helped the fans by leading the way with modern facilities and major-league promotion."

SMI also owns and operates Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Sonoma Raceway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The tracks play host to 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events, the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, 17 NASCAR Nationwide or Camping World Truck Series races, and other high-profile motorsports events. Smith also founded Speedway Children's Charities in 1984.

To see the rest of the finalists for the Class of 2014, click here.

WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels will be behind the wheel of the pace car at Texas Motor Speedway as he leads the 43-car field to the green flag for the NRA 500 on Saturday night.

Michaels, also known for his "Heartbreak Kid" nickname and his signature "Sweet Chin Music" finishing move, will be just the third celebrity to actually be driving the pace car -- joining actor Vince Vaughn (2007) and former Texas Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson (2010).

Michaels is a three-time WWE champion who was inducted into the organization's hall of fame in 2011 after an illustrious 26-year career.

Playing the numbers game for the NRA 500, to be held at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday night:

Jimmie Johnson is back in the points lead after a dominant Martinsville victory. It’s his 12th straight multi-win season -- the fourth-longest streak in Sprint Cup Series history. It’s also the fourth time he’s won at least twice in the first six races of the season. The other three times he did it, he went on to win the title. Johnson could add a third win at Texas, a track at which he led 324 laps last season -- nearly half the laps of the two races held there (669).

Johnson took the points lead away from his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished outside the top 10 for the first time this season. Earnhardt will look to bounce back at Texas, site of his first career win in 2000 and a track where he’s had five top 10s in the last six races, coming back from a slump.

From 2000-06, Dale Jr. had top 10s in seven of his nine races for an average finish of 10.2. Over the next three seasons, through 2009, he failed to crack the top 10 in six races for an average finish of 21.2. Since then, however, he's averaged an 11th place finish in his last six races.

No team has a better record at TMS than Roush Fenway Racing, which has won nine of the 24 races -- more than twice as many as any other team. In the last five races at TMS, Roush Fenway drivers have led 646 laps (38.7 percnet) and have gone on to 11 top 5s and 15 top 10s in 18 starts, and they've won the last two spring races with Matt Kenseth (no longer with the team) and Greg Biffle.

Kenseth is no longer with Roush Fenway Racing, but he’ll look to bring his Texas expertise to Joe Gibbs Racing. Kenseth is the all-time TMS leader in top 5s (12), top 10s (15), laps led (772) and average finish (8.3). He’s just one win behind former teammate Carl Edwards, who has three.

Danica Patrick was a pleasant surprise at Martinsville, finishing 12th in her first visit there. She’s struggled this season on larger tracks, but TMS could be a place where she maintains momentum. Last year in the spring Nationwide Series race, she finished a NNS season-best eighth. And in her only Sprint Cup start at the track, she passed a career-high 107 cars under the green flag.

Who stars in the Lone Star State?

Greg Biffle: Nine straight top-10 finishes at Texas; longest streak in track history (defending spring race winner).

Jimmie Johnson: Finished second and first at Texas last season (five top 10s in last six races).

Matt Kenseth: Five straight top-5 finishes at Texas (won spring 2011 race).

Carl Edwards: Three Sprint Cup Series wins at Texas (leads all drivers).

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Four straight top 10s at Texas (1st career NSCS win came at Texas in 2000).

Who's just feeling alone?

Brad Keselowski: Has finished 14th or worse in eight of nine career Texas races (2nd last fall; 36th last spring).

Mark Martin: Has wrecked out of two of last four TMS races.

Ryan Newman: Has finished outside top 10 in last nine TMS races.

Brian Vickers: Has never finished better than 12th at Texas (14 starts).

Kyle Busch: Has finished outside top 10 in three of last four races at TMS.

Greg Biffle and Eddie Gossage join Fitzsimmons & Durrett to talk about the upcoming NRA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway and the drama going on around NASCAR.

Click here to listen.

NASCAR rolls into the Lone Star State for its first of two stops at Texas Motor Speedway this season. The NRA 500 is the seventh stop of the season, and will be the first race under the lights for the new Gen 6 race car.

PODCAST
Greg Biffle and Eddie Gossage join Fitzsimmons & Durrett to talk about the upcoming NRA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway and the drama going on around NASCAR. Listen

Five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, fresh off last week's victory at Martinsville, will be taking the green flag at approximately 7:45 p.m.

Happy Hour practice begins at 2 p.m. Friday before qualifying for the race begins at 5:40 p.m.

Here's the race weekend schedule:

Thursday
9:45 a.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Haulers Enter
11 a.m.: NSCS Garage Opens
1-3 p.m.: NSCS Testing
3:30-5 p.m.: NSCS Testing
5:15-6:30 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) Practice
7 p.m.: NSCS Garage Closes

Friday
7 a.m.: NSCS Garage Opens
10-11:20 a.m.: NNS Final Practice
10:30 a.m.: NSCS Rookie & Spotter Meeting & Drawing for Qualifying Order
11:30 a.m.-noon: NSCS Practice
2-3:30 p.m.: NSCS Final Practice
4:05 p.m.: O'Reily Auto Parts 300 Qualifying
5:40 p.m.: NRA 500 Qualifying
7:30 p.m.: NNS O'Reilly Auto Parts 300
8 p.m.: NSCS Garage Closes

Saturday
2:30 p.m.: NSCS Garage Opens
6 p.m.: Driver Introductions
6:30 p.m.: NSCS NRA 500

Firing six-shooters with blanks will remain a part of the Victory Lane celebration for the April 13 Sprint Cup race that will be sponsored by the National Rifle Association, TMS president Eddie Gossage announced Wednesday.

Gossage told ESPN.com last month he planned to meet with some Cup owners to see if they or their sponsors opposed the celebration because of a potential conflict with the NRA's involvement.

"The more thought I gave to it, the more I realized that it is purely a celebration,'' Gossage said. "As you know, it's been going on for a long time and is not affiliated with the NRA. As a result, I decided we would go through our normal Victory Lane celebration, including the Cowboy Boot Trophy, the cowboy hat and the six-shooters. It is my decision and I'm sure it will be fine."

What do you think?

Graham Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing tests an IndyCar at Texas Motor Speedway and describes what it's like to come back to a track where he believes he should have won last year. The IZOD IndyCar Series returns to TMS for the Firestone 550 on June 8.

Click here to listen.

Team Penske's AJ Allmendinger discusses his rookie oval session at Texas Motor Speedway. Allmendinger will be competing in two IZOD IndyCar Series events this season for Team Penske. The IZOD IndyCar Series returns to TMS for the Firestone 550 on June 8.

Click here to listen.

NASCAR team owner Jack Roush will become the 15th member to be inducted into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame on April 11, Texas Motor Speedway announced Wednesday.

Roush's cars have won a record nine NASCAR Sprint Cup races at TMS and 18 overall checkered flags across NASCAR's three national series. He also swept both Sprint Cup events during TMS' inaugural season (1997).

Five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson (Racer of the Year), Sprint Cup driver Kurt Busch (Maj. General Thomas Sadler Award), IndyCar Series driver Graham Rahal (TMS Sportsmanship Award) and iconic motorsports writer Chris Economaki (Bruton Smith Legend Award) will also be honored during the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame gala on April 11.

From the TMS release:

Roush has helped establish one of the most successful organizations in motorsports in Roush Fenway Racing. The organization stands as the winningest team in NASCAR history and boasts the most victories in both the NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series. With Roush at the helm, Roush Fenway Racing has captured seven championships across NASCAR's three major series, including two Sprint Cup Series championships in 2003 and '04.

Texas Motor Speedway has become the "House of Roush" with his nine Sprint Cup Series wins and 18 in Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series competition. His Sprint Cup Series victory total is more than double the next closest owner - which is Rick Hendrick with four - and his most recent win came in last April's Samsung Mobile (now NRA) 500.

Roush joins an accomplished list of individuals that have been inducted into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame since it was established in 2003. He joins previous inductees A.J. Foyt (2003), Johnny Rutherford ('03), Terry Labonte ('04), Lee Shepherd ('04), Kenny Bernstein ('05), Jim Hall ('05), Eddie Hill ('06), Mark Martin ('07), Jim McElreath ('07), Bobby Labonte ('08), Bruton Smith ('08), Joe Gibbs ('09), John Force ('10) and Lanny Edwards ('11).

Johnson, who turned in his most dominating season at Texas Motor Speedway in 2012 with a victory in the AAA Texas 500 and runner-up finish in the Samsung Mobile 500, will receive the Texas Motor Speedway Racer of the Year award. In the AAA Texas 500, Johnson became just the second driver to win from the pole for his second career victory at Texas Motor Speedway. His win followed his previous performance during April's Samsung Mobile 500 where he led a race-high 156 laps en route to a runner-up finish behind Greg Biffle. In all, Johnson led a total of 324 of 669 laps in the two 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at "The Great American Speedway!"

Busch has been instrumental in helping Speedway Children's Charities-Texas Chapter raise funds to benefit children in North Texas. He will be recognized as this year's recipient of the Maj. General Thomas Sadler Award. Busch has hosted some of Speedway Children's Charities biggest fundraising events that include the Kurt Busch Celebrity Bowling Tournament and Busch-Whacked Mud Run. In all, Busch has helped Speedway Children's Charities-Texas Chapter raise more than $40,000.

Rahal will receive the Texas Motor Speedway Sportsmanship Award for displaying a demeanor both on and off the track that exemplifies the meaning of sportsmanship. In June, he appeared headed to his second career IZOD IndyCar Series victory before his car brushed the wall and the bobble handed the lead and eventual victory over to Justin Wilson. Following the race, Rahal handled defeat as a true professional. His sportsmanship has been demonstrated off the track through his work with the Graham Rahal Foundation and his efforts to help the family of the late Dan Wheldon in 2011 by generating an auction that raised more than $600,000.

Economaki, motorsport's most noted and accomplished journalist, will be honored posthumously with the Bruton Smith Legend Award. Economaki left a lasting impact on the motorsports community through his work as both an editor and publisher for National Speed Sport News and television commentator. His passion for racing helped him earn the title, "Dean of American Motorsports." His 74-year career as a journalist helped capture the early history of motorsports, covering premier events in NASCAR, INDYCAR and Formula One, among others.

The guys from Dude Perfect, the basketball trick shot artists who have become YouTube sensations, visited Texas Motor Speedway to contribute their talents to the track's Wild Asphalt Circus. Always a must see. Click the video above.