CRANDALL: Hats off to Texas Motor Speedway

In the words of Kevin Harvick, the racing Sunday on the repaved Texas Motor Speedway "was better than it could have been."

To be honest, yours truly entered the day thinking the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 was going be a snoozefest, or maybe even a wreckfest after practice and qualifying made it abundantly clear the track was not only treacherous but a single groove. Who could blame anyone for having low expectations?

But a tip of the cap goes to track president Eddie Gossage and all involved at the speedway for making the decision to use the tire dragon Saturday night and Sunday morning. Instead of sitting on their hands, Texas was going to do whatever it could to widen out the groove in hopes of making Sunday's race as entertaining as possible.

"(They) did a great job getting the racetrack ready," Harvick said. "It could have been like it was all day Friday and we're able to get that second groove coming in. I think we overachieved today."

Texas Motor Speedway knew it had problems with drying the track in a respectable amount of time because of weepers. Last year, the June IndyCar race had to be postponed to August while both NASCAR race weekends also had drying issues.

There was no way Gossage and Co. could have marched forward with the track the way it was, so the trigger was easily pulled for a repave. Unfortunately, a repave is always met with mixed emotions because of what it'll do to the racing. Plus, aside from the drainage issues, the Texas surface wasn't one many would consider in need of a makeover.

Like its sister track Atlanta, Texas is highly regarded by many for its slick surface and the ability for drivers to use multiple grooves. But with the repave, Gossage turned it into an opportunity to try and break the mold of the so-called "cookie cutter" track by re-profiling Turns 1 and 2, decreasing the banking from 24 to 20 degrees and the expanding the track from 60 to 80 feet.

Those who know Gossage know he's always walked to the beat of his own drum. This move was no different. But it did bring hope that by being different maybe, just maybe, it would improve the racing at Texas.

Although the track has produced good, if not decent, racing, it could be better.

Yes, there certainly have been memorable battles for the race lead – Jimmie Johnson versus Matt Kenseth in 2007, Johnson and Brad Keselowski in 2015 – to name a few. But the overall entertainment value of side-by-side racing and competitive battles throughout the field has been lacking.

Admittedly, it was slightly better Sunday because the track was willing to put in the work.

Some drivers did feel it was hard to pass, and considering we didn't see more battles through the field, they're probably right. However, there were positive signs for what could come down the road.

Johnson started at the rear of the field and won the race. Kyle Larson suffered a pit road penalty early in the event and eventually made his way back to the front and finished second. Actually, Larson did so twice after also starting at the rear.

So, hats off to Gossage and everyone at Texas for salvaging the day. Now one can only hope the track will age well and lead to better things.

"It actually became pretty racy as the day went on," Chase Elliott said. "I was surprised. Hopefully, that's a good sign."