Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

A frantic run to the finish at Texas Motor Speedway left early contenders behind the wall and other drivers ready to pounce as Joey Logano scored the overtime victory Sunday afternoon.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Some competitors took advantage of the on-track adversity to exit with strong finishes, while multiple incidents collected some of the day’s front-runners and have them looking forward to next week’s race at Kansas Speedway (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

THREE UP ⬆️

1. Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

Started: 14th

Finished: 5th

What happened: Jones celebrated his 300th career Cup start with an impressive rally in the No. 43 Toyota, charging back from a Lap 83 speeding penalty to score his first top-10 finish of 2025. The fifth-place result marks Jones’ first top five since Talladega Superspeedway last fall. He and teammate John Hunter Nemechek scored double top 10s for Legacy, with Nemechek eighth, adding to a positive day for the Toyota twosome.

What’s next: Sunday also marked Jones’ first top five on an intermediate track since Kansas Speedway in 2023. Up next on the Cup schedule? Kansas Speedway, giving Jones an opportunity to build momentum.

Erik Jones at Texas.
Sean Gardner | Getty Images

2. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Started: 19th

Finished: 7th

What happened: A steady day in Texas earned Dillon his best finish of the 2025 campaign. Dillon, a 2020 winner at the Fort Worth race track, now has a three-race streak of top-10 finishes to his credit after 10th-place runs at both Bristol Motor Speedway and Talladega before Texas. The famed No. 3 Chevrolet capitalized on late-race attrition and restarts, moving forward late while defending other hard-chargers on the way to finishing seventh.

What’s next: Dillon has been a consistent top-15 driver at Kansas in recent outings, evidenced by six straight finishes between 10th and 14th from 2020 through 2023. Most recently, Dillon finished 12th at the 1.5-mile track last fall.

Austin Dillon at Texas.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images

3. Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Started: 23rd

Finished: 12th

What happened: Despite late contact, Dillon walked away from Texas with his best Cup finish since August of 2023. The No. 10 Chevrolet collected minor nose damage in a four-car pileup at Lap 247, but Dillon maneuvered through the carnage to score his third top-15 finish of 2025. The positive result comes despite averaging a 28th-best average running position of 23.7, according to NASCAR Loop Data.

What’s next: Kansas has not been incredibly kind to Dillon, the younger of the two brothers, but he has two top-15 finishes in 14 starts there. His most recent result at Kansas was 21st during last fall’s playoff race.

Ty Dillon and Joey Logano at Texas.
Logan Riely | Getty Images

THREE DOWN ⬇️

1. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Started: 1st

Finished: 24th

What happened: Hocevar scored his first career Cup Series pole on Saturday, but Sunday was a different story. Despite leading 22 laps, Hocevar found himself mired in traffic in the final stage after an untimely caution shortly after making a green-flag pit stop. While in traffic, Hocevar washed up exiting Turn 2 at Lap 237, pinching Ryan Preece into the outside wall and crashing both of them down the backstretch. Texas marks another “down” in an up-and-down season for the sophomore racer: In 11 races, he has five top-20 finishes and six of 24th or worse.

What’s next: In three Kansas starts, Hocevar has struggled to net positive results, posting finishes of 20th, 24th and 32nd in his trio of efforts. Additionally, though he has run better than he has finished at 1.5-mile tracks in 2025, the stat sheet says Hocevar has finished 24th or worse in four intermediate races this season (Las Vegas, Homestead-Miami, Darlington, Texas).

Carson Hocevar at Texas.
Kenneth Richmond | Getty Images

2. Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

Started: 7th

Finished: 32nd

What happened: Berry had a great day in progress until things went south at Lap 125. The Las Vegas winner was leading the race when he moved too high in Turns 3 and 4 and his car bottomed out, quickly spinning through the exit of Turn 4 and backing into the SAFER barrier. Berry is still looking for his first top-five finish since his March victory and leaves Texas with his fourth finish of 26th or worse in the last five races.

What’s next: Like Hocevar, Berry has a limited sample size of three starts at Kansas but placed 15th in last spring’s thriller. His other two starts produced finishes of 25th (May 2023) and 38th (September 2024).

A NASCAR official observes the work done on the No. 21 Ford of Josh Berry in the Cup Series garage at Texas Motor Speedway
Hannah Gentlesk | NASCAR Digital Media

3. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Started: 11th

Finished: 35th

What happened: Bowman was collected in a multicar pileup at Lap 172, ending his day early at Texas. The No. 48 car was running inside the top 15 when Bubba Wallace contacted the outside wall in a hornet’s nest of a restart to begin the final stage. Although Bowman avoided the start of the incident, AJ Allmendinger spun after contact and landed right in front of Bowman’s path. After spinning, Bowman was then struck by Chad Finchum, creating too much damage for Bowman to continue. What started as a promising season for Bowman has run into trouble in recent weeks as Texas also marks Bowman’s fourth finish of 27th or worse in the past five races.

What’s next: Bowman has been a contender at Kansas in years past and enters with five consecutive top 10s there. With 10 top 10s in 18 starts — including a runner-up effort back in 2019 — Bowman could easily get back on track statistically next week.

Alex Bowman makes a pit stop at Texas.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
Posted on by Chris Murdock

FORT WORTH, Texas — Four cautions in the closing laps of the Würth 400 presented by Liqui Moly at Texas Motor Speedway shaped the finish into a flurry of blows that saw Team Penske driver Joey Logano come home with the trophy at the end of a NASCAR Overtime restart. At the helm when the final fire-offs began were Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson and Logano’s Penske teammate Ryan Blaney.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Texas

Larson ran up front for most of the afternoon, leading 90 laps in Sunday’s event, the most of any driver. In the first of the restarts, Larson was bested in the restart zone by fellow Chevrolet driver Michael McDowell.

McDowell, whose team made a two-tire strategy call to put his No. 71 Spire Motorsports entry in the hunt, controlled the subsequent two restarts as Larson’s No. 5 car faded to the fourth position.

“He just did a good job of timing it,” Larson said of the restart. “He left right when I did, or a fraction before, and he had a push behind him. So, you know, if I could have gotten just any bit of nudge behind me, I could have been side-by-side with him still, but yeah, so he did a good job there and I didn’t. Just stinks to give up control like that and really just give up the race win there, but we’ll study it and I’ll try to do a better job.

“Obviously, you always know what you can do different the next time. But yeah, all in all, you know, good car and a great points day and another stage win. So you know, we’ll take it. We’d love to get a win, but it could have been worse.”

The 2021 Cup Series champion admits he was a little taken back by the late-race tire call made by McDowell and company at Lap 221, but commends his fellow Chevrolet driver for his effort despite crashing from third place with three laps to go.

“Yeah, I was slightly surprised that somebody took two tires,” Larson said. “But then, you know, the way it was working out with all the cautions, it was going to be fine for them. So, yeah, I don’t know, they did a great job. Michael did a really great job. I was pulling for him to win. You know, when I couldn’t win, I was hoping a Chevy could win that race, but it was gonna be tough to hold them off with two tires.”

MORE: Truce? Chipper Jones congratulates Logano on win one week after rant

Also on the wrong side of the finish was Team Penske’s Blaney, bringing his No. 12 Ford Mustang home in the third position as Ross Chastain charged to Blaney’s inside on the final restart for the runner-up spot.

Blaney was second under the caution and chose inside row two on the race-changing Lap 244 restart, where McDowell’s No. 71 car climbed around Larson on the outside and took the lead. The 31-year-old delved into his reasoning and choice to stay behind the driver of the No. 5 car.

“The top wasn’t very good at all. It was pretty dirty. And the one time I have a shot to do it, and don’t do it, the guy (McDowell) gets the lead,” Blaney explained. “So I just didn’t do a good job. Then it was hard to get it after that. Just didn’t get a good push, and just could never hang with them over in [Turns] 3 and 4.”

Ultimately, it was a positive day for the 2022 Cup Series champion, who started in the 24th position. Blaney was able to maneuver through the field, taking advantage of opportunities to pass, but came up just short of his first win of the 2025 season.

“Honestly, we really didn’t do it with strategy,” Blaney said. “We just kind of passed cars. So no, it was good and I thought our car was really good. I couldn’t get control of the race. So, overall, a proud day, fast car, and hopefully go forward. We’ve had speed all year, so it was nice that in the last couple of weeks, we’ve [Penske] gotten a car in Victory Lane. So that’s good, hopefully we can join them.”

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

One week after baseball Hall-of-Famer Chipper Jones laid into Joey Logano’s Talladega radio communications, Jones had a change of heart Sunday following the NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Logano stormed to the victory Sunday with a late rally for his first win of 2025. Instead of more pointed comments for the three-time Cup champion, Jones offered a far more pleasant social-media message post-race.

MORE: Race results from Texas

“Congratulations to (Joey Logano),” Jones wrote on X. “A HOF (Hall-of-Fame) driver with a masterful win. This is what NASCAR fans expect from you. Hard charging wins and gracious top 5s and 10s. Well done!”

Jones, a longtime NASCAR fan in addition to his long, storied career with the MLB’s Atlanta Braves, previously took umbrage with Logano’s harsh critiques of his Team Penske teammate Austin Cindric for a lost stage win at Talladega Superspeedway. After learning of his comments afterward, Logano was “surprised” by Jones’ outburst.

Nonetheless, Jones was complimentary of Logano’s Texas performance just one week later.

“Backpedaling? No,” Jones wrote. “Appreciating a great race and sportsmanship. HOFers are always held to a higher standard and should be.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Michael McDowell was fighting for the win late at Texas Motor Speedway, but a crash with three laps to go in regulation ended his day prematurely.

The Spire Motorsports No. 71 Chevrolet cleared Ryan Blaney for the lead on a restart with 10 laps to go but had been chased for the top spot with four laps remaining by Joey Logano. One lap later, McDowell fell to third behind Blaney. Exiting Turn 2, McDowell lost control of his car and crashed into the back straightaway’s outside SAFER barrier, relegating McDowell to a 26th-place finish.

MORE: Race results | Texas photos

“I just really hate it for everybody on this Spire Motorsports No. 71 Delaware Life Chevrolet,” McDowell told FOX Sports. “We were giving it everything we had there to try to keep track position.”

A fierce block from McDowell down the backstretch on Lap 264 brought both McDowell and Logano down to the inside wall, but Logano surged forward in Turn 3 for the lead. Blaney capitalized on McDowell’s lost momentum, and the two entered Turn 1 side-by-side before McDowell lost control.

“Joey got a run there; I tried to block it. I went as far as I think you can probably go. And then when Blaney slid up in front of me, it just took the air off of it and I lost the back of it,” McDowell said. “Still had the fight in me. I guess I should have conceded at that point, but I’m just proud of everyone at Spire Motorsports. I know that’s not the day we wanted, but we had an opportunity to win the race.”

McDowell was looking to snap a 58-race winless drought and score Spire Motorsports its first win since 2019 (Justin Haley, Daytona International Speedway). Instead, he remains without a top-10 finish through 11 races this season, with three best finishes of 11th (Daytona, Circuit of The Americas, Talladega Superspeedway).

Posted on by Reid Spencer

FORT WORTH, Texas — After Michael McDowell’s dream ended less than four laps short of the scheduled finish in Sunday’s Würth 400 presented by Liqui Moly, Joey Logano took control and rode the NASCAR Cup Series rollercoaster to his first victory of the season.

A week after a missing nut on a spoiler bracket cost him a disqualification from fifth place at Talladega Superspeedway, Logano beat runner-up Ross Chastain to the finish line by 0.346-second in overtime to score his second victory at 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway and the 37th of his career.

RELATED: Race results | Best photos from Texas

In fashioning his first top-five finish of 2025, Logano successfully pursued McDowell, who had charged into the lead after a restart on Lap 245 of 271 and held it through two cautions and restarts.

On Lap 264, less than four laps from a finish, the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford went low on the backstretch, avoided a block from McDowell and passed the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet for the lead.

Passed for second by Logano’s Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney a lap later, McDowell lost control in dirty air behind Blaney’s Ford and slammed into the Turn 2 wall, ending his race in 26th place.

“Sorry, boys, I tried,” a rueful McDowell radioed to his team.

SHOP: Race winner gear

On the subsequent overtime restart, Logano made it look easy. The reigning series champion cleared Blaney through the first two corners, as Chastain charged into second from the bottom lane.

Two laps later, Logano was on his way to Victory Lane, having scored the second straight win for Team Penske after Austin Cindric won last Sunday at Talladega.

“The sport changes so quickly,” Logano said after climbing from his car. “It’s crazy how you can just ride these rollercoasters and just proud of the team. Finally got (sponsor) AAA Insurance into Victory Lane. They’ve been a partner of mine since I’ve been to Penske, so 13, 14 years. I’ve yet to win with them. It was awesome to get that done here.”

Logano had to work his way forward from his 27th-place starting position. He did so relentlessly and without the sorts of mistakes that doomed the winning chances of others.

“Slowly, methodically, a couple at a time,” Logano said of his drive. “We had a really tough pit stall situation. The pit crew did a good job of managing that and just grabbed a couple (of positions) here and there.

“The car was fast. I knew that yesterday. We just did a poor job qualifying. Just grinded it. Just keep grinding a couple here and a couple there and eventually get a win here. It’s nice to get one. Real nice.”

MORE: Stack-up slows final stage in Texas

Similarly, Chastain started 31st and didn’t make his presence known until the closing laps.

“Gosh, that’s a working day,” Chastain said. “Just no confidence in the car yesterday. Y’all saw that. Just the speed of the Trackhouse cars on Saturdays is just terrible. We’re just not confident, all three drivers.

“So, there was one pit stop today that (crew chief) Phil Surgen and the group — it takes a ton of people back at Trackhouse and on the box here in GM at Chevrolet. They made me a confident driver all of a sudden with one adjustment. It was small stuff. It doesn’t even make sense, but after that I was a confident driver.”

Blaney came home third, followed by Kyle Larson, who led a race-high 90 laps but surrendered the top spot to McDowell on the Lap 245 restart.

“You don’t want to give up the lead on a mile and a half,” Larson said. “It’s hard to get it back. Yeah, Michael just did a good job timing it.”

Erik Jones was fifth, scoring his first top five since last year’s fall race at Talladega. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon, John Hunter Nemechek, Christopher Bell and Daniel Suarez completed the top 10.

Other expected contenders fell by the wayside as the race progressed.

Denny Hamlin’s streak of 21 consecutive lead-lap finishes — eighth-most all-time in the Cup Series — came to an abrupt end on Lap 75. One circuit earlier, Hamlin lost power with an engine the team was running for the third time.

As Hamlin slowed, flames shot from beneath the chassis of the No. 11 Toyota. Hamlin stopped the car, which was enveloped in dark smoke and climbed to safety.

“It was blowing up for about a lap or so before it really detonated,” Hamlin said. “I tried to keep it off to keep it from full detonating.

“That was so they can diagnose exactly what happened to it. It’s tough to say exactly what it is, but they’ll go back and look at it and we’ll find out in a few weeks.”

A promising run for Las Vegas winner Josh Berry likewise ended early on Sunday. Berry had led 41 laps and was running at the front of the field on Lap 125 when the treacherous bump in Turn 4 upset his No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford.

Berry slid into the outside wall, slamming the barrier on the driver’s side of the car.

“Just started to approach the lapped traffic,” said Berry, who returned to the track after repairs and finished 84 laps down. “You have no choice but to run the opposite lane. Your car is never going to turn if you follow them. I went around the 62 (Jesse Love) on the outside and felt pretty decent about it. Then caught the 51 (Cody Ware) and was working on the 51 and hit that bump and got loose.

“I don’t know what I would do too much different. Obviously, in these cars, especially at a place like this, if you’re going to be fast, it’s going to be uncomfortable and you’re going to be on edge. Unfortunately, it bit us today.”

In a race that produced 12 cautions for 73 laps, Austin Cindric led 60 laps but fell victim to a four-car crash on Lap 247. Ten laps earlier, pole winner Carson Hocevar, who led the first 22 laps but was relegated to the back of the field when caution interrupted a green-flag cycle of pit stops on Lap 219, suffered a similar fate in a three-car wreck.

William Byron, who finished 13th, retained the series lead by 13 points over Larson.

The Cup Series’ next race comes on another 1.5-mile oval, as the circuit heads to Kansas Speedway for Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NOTE: Post-race inspection concluded without issue, confirming Logano as the race winner.

Posted on by Staff Report

Multiple cars were collected in a Lap 172 crash at the beginning of the final stage of Sunday’s Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Bubba Wallace grazed the wall exiting Turn 2 on the restart, with Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney close in tow. The contact appeared to slow Wallace into Logano’s path, turning Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota sideways across the front half of the field. Wallace’s spinning car then collected Noah Gragson, while Alex Bowman and AJ Allmendinger collided against the outside wall. Chad Finchum also collected damage.

MORE: Race results | Best Texas photos

Wallace, who restarted in seventh before the incident, took responsibility for the incident.

“Man, Charles (Denike, crew chief), we had a nice talk after I got out of the car and they just laid out all the positives that we went through this weekend,” Wallace said after being evaluated and released from the infield care center. “So, that’s what we’re going to hold our heads to. I hate that I got into the fence. I was trying to give the 22 (Logano) room, and then just got the wall and started chaos. So hate it for my team and everybody involved. But, man, we were making progress from the start of the weekend and it was going to shape up to be a good day. But nothing’s ever for certain. So it is what it is.”

The 23XI Racing driver initially continued the race but eventually returned to the garage after seven additional laps. Gragson, Bowman, Allmendinger and Finchum all went to the garage immediately as a result of the incident.

The crash signaled the sixth of 12 cautions in the Würth 400 presented by Liqui Moly. All were due to on-track incidents, including a debris caution at Lap 162 after Chris Buescher impacted the wall and cut a right-rear tire.

Posted on by Staff Report

Denny Hamlin exited Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway early after engine failure struck at Lap 75 of the 271-lap contest.

The No. 11 Toyota erupted in flames entering Turn 1, triggering a long slide through Turns 1 and 2 and resulting in a dramatic end to Hamlin’s event. Hamlin nursed the vehicle to a halt on the backstretch as black smoke poured from the car. Hamlin climbed from the machine under his own power and walked to the ambulance for the mandatory trip to the infield care center, where he was evaluated and released.

RELATED: Race results | Best photos from Texas

“It missed for like three-quarters of a lap,” Hamlin told FOX Sports. “But other than that, no (warning), nothing. They’ll take it back and look at it.”

The No. 11 Toyota was off the pace for that portion of the lap in an attempt to get the car to the attention of the crew. His engine, unfortunately, had other plans, and Hamlin finished last in the 38-car field.

“I didn’t want to let it try to blow all the way, that way, we could at least take a look at it, try to figure it out,” Hamlin said. “If you detonate them hard, then it’s really hard for the manufacturer to figure out exactly what broke first. But usually, the way it blew up, they’ll be able to find out.”

Hamlin was running outside the top 20 after an early radio miscue disrupted the No. 11 team’s pit strategy. When all others hit pit road under caution on Lap 22, Hamlin stayed out after confusion over a code word. After a discussion with crew chief Chris Gayle, the team decided to pit before the race resumed and restarted from the tail of the field in 36th place.

Hamlin worked his way back to 25th place before the engine expired.

Hamlin absorbed his first DNF of 2025, ending a 21-race stretch of lead-lap finishes that began in the 2024 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

“I’m not really sure,” Hamlin said when asked if there was a pattern or trend to his engine ailment. “I’ve had blown engines in two or three seasons in a row now where we didn’t have any issues several years prior to that. Just trying to develop I’m guessing and trying to get more. Certainly, we feel like we need to get a bit more power but this was unexpected for us.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Can’t wait any longer to go Inside the Race following each NASCAR Cup Series event?

Visit our NASCAR YouTube page post-race to get live, immediate breakdowns and analysis from veteran crew chief and broadcaster Steve Letarte, alongside additional co-hosts and reporters from the track.

RELATED: Race weekend hub page

Following today’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, analysts Jeff Burton and Todd Gordon will join Letarte to dissect the winning and losing moves, plus other top story lines. Alex Weaver will also report live from the track.

Watch today’s Cup Series race (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), then tune in for immediate analysis on NASCAR’s YouTube page.

Posted on by Alex Cadavid

Austin Cindric became the 10th different winner in as many Talladega races last weekend and the sixth different winner this season through 10 races, raising the question of whether we will see another new winner Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN Radio, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Texas weekend schedule | Qualifying order, more info

Eight different drivers have won the last eight races at the 1.5-mile Fort Worth-based track; same goes for a different winner in each of the previous six intermediate track races. There’s also been pure chaos at Texas in recent years, with the last four races producing 11 or more cautions. All of which reads like the perfect recipe for a new driver to master the melees and snatch their first win of the season.

But then there’s William Byron.

He not only has been routinely the driver to position himself late to win, but he’s also been the most consistent driver through 10 races. His average start (10.3) and average finish (8.5) rank best among all drivers — and now he’s qualified second for today’s race.

Byron is also the only driver out of this year’s “Big 4” not to have multiple wins (Bell: Three, Larson: Two and Hamlin: Two). He may not need the wins, since he’s been in control of the driver standings since Circuit of The Americas, but it never hurts to stack playoff points. With Texas being one of his best tracks, it makes Sunday’s race a good chance for him to earn another win.

OTHER DRIVERS TO WATCH

ALEX BOWMAN: Bowman has been an automatic top 10 threat in the last seven intermediate races, with an average finish of 6.1 over that span. Hendrick Motorsports also has won three out of the last four Texas races. The only concern here is he has just two top 10s at the track in 15 starts.

TYLER REDDICK: Yes, Reddick has a Texas win from 2022 and wouldn’t continue the new winner streak, either. But he’s yet to find Victory Lane this year, and like Byron, this is a strong track for him. He has four top 10s in six starts at the facility and has four top 10s this year.

CHASE BRISCOE: Another driver who’s been solid at Texas, Briscoe has finished in the top 15 in all four of his starts at the track, with the last three visits resulting in top 10s. He’s also starting to find rhythm with the No. 19 team, scoring top 10s in three of the last five races.

BUBBA WALLACE: The No. 23 driver has emerged as a serious contender this season. His 94 stage points are the second-most by a driver this year, and he has the best-rated pit crew, per NASCAR Insights.

DANIEL SUÁREZ: The first mile and a half race saw Suárez vie for the win and finish runner-up. He has five career top 10s at Texas, finishing fifth in this race a year ago. More importantly, he has three top fives in the last eight races on 1.5-mile tracks.

RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR THE WÜRTH 400 PRESENTED BY LIQUI MOLY 

Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula includes current track, current track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to arrive at a projected winner and full race results. Updated on race day with practice and qualifying factored in.

FinishCar NumberDriver
124William Byron
25Kyle Larson
311Denny Hamlin
445Tyler Reddick
520Christopher Bell
648Alex Bowman
79Chase Elliott
817Chris Buescher
923Bubba Wallace
1077Carson Hocevar
1119Chase Briscoe
1222Joey Logano
1354Ty Gibbs
1412Ryan Blaney
1516AJ Allmendinger
162Austin Cindric
178Kyle Busch
181Ross Chastain
1999Daniel Suárez
206Brad Keselowski
214Noah Gragson
2243Erik Jones
2371Michael McDowell
243Austin Dillon
2560Ryan Preece
2621Josh Berry
277Justin Haley
2838Zane Smith
2947Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
3010Ty Dillon
3142John Hunter Nemechek
3241Cole Custer
3334Todd Gilliland
3435Riley Herbst
3588Shane van Gisbergen
3651Cody Ware
3762Jesse Love
3866Chad Finchum
Posted on by Chris Murdock

FORT WORTH, Texas — A repeat winner was almost crowned in the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 with Sam Mayer in the bright red No. 41 Andy’s-sponsored Haas Factory Team Ford Mustang leading the field to the green flag on the final restart of the afternoon.

Ultimately, Kyle Larson, subbing for Connor Zilisch in the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, rocketed around the outside of Mayer into Turn 1 and set sail for the race victory. In the closing laps of the overtime restart, the 21-year-old was shuffled to a fifth-place finish.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Texas

The Wisconsin native fought through early trouble, as the No. 41 car was one of multiple cars involved in a Stage 2 incident as the field got hung up in the frontstretch grass on a restart. Instead of focusing on the negative, Mayer shed light on just how good he thinks his Haas team is.

“We had every bit of adversity thrown at us today,” Mayer said post-race. “We had damage, we had to go to the back, we almost went a lap down under green because of it. So to come back and even have a shot at it, I mean, it shows how good this team is. This Haas Factory organization works really hard to give me good race cars. We probably weren’t the best today, but we certainly were right there in the mix, and I think we deserve to finish a little better.”

In the mix he was, battling Cup Series champion Larson in the closing laps. Despite the result in fifth place, Mayer believes that if he had a little more help on the fire-off of the restart, he could’ve potentially bested the driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet at the end.

“I felt like I was better than (Larson) all day,” Mayer said. “I felt like he may have had the best car, but I outdrove him there towards the end a little bit, and the restart obviously didn’t go my way. So I felt like I belonged in that mix, and I felt like I did every decision right there at the end, and obviously, he just had better help on the last restart. That’s literally all it takes here.”

Mayer leaves the 1.5-mile track with his first top-five showing since the seventh race of his 2025 campaign, where he accomplished the same result at Martinsville Speedway. It was a welcome finish as the Xfinity Series is set to take a few weeks off before returning to competition on Memorial Day weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“It’s unbelievable,” Mayer said with a smile. “So like, the last four or five weeks have been pretty rough for the 41 car, and honestly, Haas Factory as a whole. So to come back with something new, we haven’t run this type of geometry in the front before, to do something new and not know how I was going to do it and not get practice to see how it goes, and to come out and have it go the right way. Feels really, really good, so I’m really proud, and I’m looking forward to Charlotte, for sure, because it’s going to be the same story.”