Posted on by Staff Report

An incident between Ryan Preece and Ty Gibbs ultimately ended Gibbs’ day early Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway and carried into post-race discourse.

Tight-quarters racing led Preece to Gibbs’ rear bumper, which sent Gibbs into the wall in Turns 3 and 4 at Lap 101, his No. 54 Toyota spinning sideways and slamming the SAFER barrier.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Though the spin may not have been intentional — “Never touched him,” Preece radioed — Preece said Gibbs’ earlier on-track actions built up frustration. An aggressive move by the 23-year-old Gibbs angered Preece entering Turn 1 as Gibbs made a late charge to Preece’s left. When the two raced near each other again on a Stage 2 restart, Preece surged to the rear bumper of Gibbs’ No. 54 Toyota, resulting in a ride for Gibbs.

“I’ll be honest with you. I hate that he wrecked, but decisions you make on the race track, there are repercussions,” Preece told Frontstretch after the race. “And I try to race everybody with an amount of respect that I’d like in return. And when you don’t do that, I’m not gonna cut you a break. And that’s what happened.”

RELATED: SVG reacts to Gibbs, Preece

The Turn 1 dive triggered an eventual rant over the in-car radio from Preece: “What a [expletive] idiot that kid is. He is so lucky his car is so [expletive] fast. … All right, when I get to that 54, I’m done with him. [Expletive] idiot. That car is so [expletive] fast, [expletive] pisses me off. Stupid. I’m gonna vent for 15 seconds. I can’t stand when idiots like him have fast race cars that they can do stupid [expletive] and get away with it. End of rant.”

Gibbs briefly continued and made minimum speed, but eventually drove to the Texas garage and retired from the race as the damage to his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was too severe.

WATCH: In-car cameras, team radios during incident

“I haven’t seen the replay. It broke one of the little welds on the front clip, so it probably wasn’t the best decision to go back out,” Gibbs said. “We weren’t going to be fast, so we’ll go racing next week.”

Upon seeing Preece’s rant transcribed on social media, Gibbs was less than impressed.

“Hmm, at least he is honest,” Gibbs wrote on X, adding an eye-roll emoji and a cheers. He also reposted video of Preece’s in-car radio rant.

Ultimately, Preece continued to finish 14th while Gibbs finished 36th, his first DNF on a non-drafting track this season but his second consecutive crash-out after a Talladega wreck last weekend.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action next Sunday, May 10, at Watkins Glen International (3 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Dustin Albino

FORT WORTH, Texas — Aside from winning crown-jewel races, capturing the checkered flag at Texas Motor Speedway ranks high on Chris Buescher’s wish list.

The native cowboy, billed from 50 miles northeast of the Lone Star State’s 1.5-mile track, has never seen the fruits of the No. 17 team’s labor at TMS. In 16 prior starts, he had never cracked the top 10 in the final rundown, scoring a best finish of 14th in 2023.

Before hitting the track for practice on Saturday, Buescher oozed confidence. The intermediate program for RFK Racing has shone brightly early in 2026, with the No. 17 car having a pair of top 10 finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway. And though Texas is a vastly different cookie-cutter, he thought the same principles would apply.

Boy, did they.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Texas

Buescher was in the hunt throughout the duration of Sunday’s Würth 400 presented by Liqui Moly, tallying four stage points and leaving home soil with a fifth-place finish.

“We have run this well here; we just haven’t finished here,” Buescher told reporters after scoring consecutive top-five finishes. “We’ve had poor luck, bad decisions — whatever it may be. If it’s a hometown curse, we at least broke through that this go around.”

Four cautions over a 33-lap period plagued the end of the opening stage and the beginning of Stage 2. Strategy was all over the board, including for Buescher’s RFK teammates Brad Keselowski and Ryan Preece, who stayed out to earn more stage points on the day than the leader of the company’s clubhouse.

With the laps winding down, Buescher thought he was at worst a third-place car, trailing only Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin. But another late caution dropped his finishing position two spots.

“We felt good coming into this thing,” Buescher declared. “Felt like we were going to be in the hunt for a win and was just shy of truly being in the hunt to win it. Certainly, a top-five day and probably a top-three day without the last caution. Great execution on everybody’s part. Now it’s time to figure out how to up it a few more.

“It’s not a win, but it’s the result that we’ve deserved at a place that we’ve ran well all day long.”

MORE: Race recap | Race Rewind

Despite the No. 17 team operating like a well-oiled machine at intermediate tracks in 2026, he remains unconvinced it represents their strongest point. No matter the layout or track type, he’s unfazed, believing that RFK is among the best organizations currently.

There is one uncertainty on the horizon, however, at a famed road course where he popped champagne at just two seasons ago.

“I feel like all of our programs are really strong right now,” Buescher added. “The only question I have right now at this point is Watkins Glen. I have a ton of confidence going in that it’s going to be good; COTA wasn’t as strong as we wanted to be. I feel really good about Watkins Glen coming up. Obviously, that’s been a good one through the years.”

Buescher leapt a pair of spots in the Regular Season Championship battle at Texas. He ranks fifth in points, with a 110-point buffer over the cutline.

Posted on by Dustin Albino

FORT WORTH, Texas — Whenever the Cup Series has hit an intermediate venue in 2026, Toyota almost immediately rockets to the top.

So it was no surprise when Denny Hamlin needed a mere 20 laps to take the lead from Carson Hocevar after starting the race fourth. That early show of performance foreshadowed another solid runner-up finish Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, just 0.407 seconds behind winner Chase Elliott.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos: Texas

From the drop of the green flag, it appeared like it was going to be another Toyota runaway. Not far behind Hamlin early on were his Joe Gibbs Racing allies Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell. At one point in the opening stage, JGR ran first through third with Ty Gibbs nearby in sixth.

“I thought at the very beginning, yes,” Hamlin told reporters, on whether he felt he had the best car. “We went that second stage from 17th to second. Yes, selfishly, I thought we were the best car.”

But like any Texas race in the last number of years, the treacherous 1.5-mile track bit some of the competitors. First to fall was Bell, who was clipped by a sliding Todd Gilliland in the waning laps of the opening stage. Hamlin was on the heels of the No. 20 car, chasing down his teammate, but slipped through the carnage.

Hamlin thought: “It was a 50/50 call and we got lucky there.”

When the field jumbled for the start of the second stage, Hamlin sprung forward from a mid-pack restart. He collected seven points in Stage 2, placing fourth, behind Elliott, Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski.

But then Elliott controlled the pace of the race in the final stage. The No. 9 car and Reddick scooted away from Hamlin, though the No. 11 car was in close pursuit until a caution flew with 11 laps remaining.

With the Goodyear tires having slight wear, Hamlin radioed to the No. 11 team that he wanted to restart on the front row, no matter what. So Hamlin skipped the trip to pit road.

“The only way to guarantee to be on the front row for myself, personally, was to stay out,” Hamlin added. “Looking at the lap times, we were running what we ran on new tires. I don’t think I would have been able to carry enough throttle, even if I would have started [third] on two tires.”

MORE: Cup Series standings

In a four-lap dash, Elliott cleared Hamlin and hung on for his second triumph of the season. It’s the earliest Elliott has ever scored a second victory in his 11 full-time seasons.

Hamlin has finished second in both of Elliott’s wins this year. In Hamlin’s lone win this season at Las Vegas, Elliott was the runner-up.

While Hamlin thought he had the best speedster, he credited Elliott for controlling the race.

“The 9, you have to give them props on how fast they were when they got out front,” he said. “That was all that we had to try to be able to keep up in that third stage. It comes down to when we have these restarts and you lose one spot here, one spot there, next thing you know, the guys you were really battling on speed are two cars ahead of you and now you have to try to pass cars that are more equal on speed. We weren’t that dominant to be able to do that.”

With Reddick driving to fourth in the final four laps, Hamlin trimmed only one point off his deficit in the standings, now 109 markers behind.

Posted on by Staff Report

A promising run for Kyle Busch in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race turned sour after contact with John Hunter Nemechek on the next-to-last lap at Texas Motor Speedway.

Busch finished in 20th place in Sunday’s Würth 400 presented by Liqui Moly, losing seven positions in the final two laps after his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet tangled with Nemechek’s No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Texas

Busch and Nemechek made contact as the two squeezed off Turn 2 and into the backstretch wall in a contest for 12th place on Lap 266 of 267. The two came together again in Turn 3, with Nemechek getting the worst of it and taking significant right-side damage against the outside barrier.

“Why did he do that?” Nemechek asked over the No. 42 radio. He gingerly drove to pit road and the race finished under green-flag conditions.

Busch was in his first race since a crew chief change on his No. 8 RCR team, with Andy Street taking over from Jim Pohlman. Busch was scored as the final car on the lead lap. Nemechek finished 21st, the first driver one lap down.

WATCH: On-board cameras, team radios of incident

Both took to social media post-race to share their sides of the incident.

 


The two have connections that go back to different phases in their NASCAR careers. Nemechek scored seven Craftsman Truck Series wins over two seasons (2021-22) for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

Posted on by Staff Report

Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson went to the garage with damage after a single-car crash knocked him from contention Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.

Larson lost control of his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on Lap 160 of 267 in the Würth 400 Presented by Liqui Moly, knocking the outside wall near the exit of Turn 2. Larson was running 18th in the 38-car field at the time of the incident.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Texas

Larson limped the car back to pit road, struggling with steering issues. His No. 5 team later directed him to the garage area for more extensive repairs.

The 33-year-old veteran returned to the race on Lap 245, and his participation in the final 22 laps allowed him to overtake Cole Custer for a 34th-place finish and one extra point in the Cup Series standings.

Sunday marked Larson’s second consecutive race with a crash. He was forced out of the previous weekend’s event at Talladega Superspeedway and saddled with a 40th-place result. After Texas, Larson dipped two positions to eighth in the Cup Series points.

Larson’s day was not trouble-free to that point. During a Lap 95 pit stop, Larson’s car was entering its stall when Chase Briscoe’s No. 19 Toyota made contact as it attempted to leave the pits. Both continued.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

FORT WORTH, Texas — In an event that spelled disaster for a handful of the NASCAR Cup Series’ established stars, Chase Elliott ran an impeccable race — and was rewarded with victory in Sunday’s Würth 400 Presented by Liqui Moly at Texas Motor Speedway.

Elliott didn’t lead until Lap 152 of 267, when Corey Heim brought his Toyota to pit road for fuel on an off-cycle strategy. From that point on, the driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet controlled the race with an iron fist, thanks in part to a pit crew that performed its three fastest pit stops of the season on Sunday.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Texas

After Heim spun in Turn 4 to cause the seventh and final caution of the race, however, Elliott had to survive a restart with four laps left. But with a push from teammate and third-place finisher Alex Bowman, he cleared runner-up Denny Hamlin off Turn 2 and pulled away to win by 0.407 seconds.

The victory was Elliott’s second at Texas, his second of the season and the 23rd of his career. He joins fourth-place finisher Tyler Reddick (five victories) as a multiple winner this season. Elliott also is the first repeat winner in the last 10 races at Texas.

“I wasn’t really sure whether to go top or bottom,” Elliott said of the final restart. “You know, the bottom had been winning out on a lot of the restarts. I felt like, man, if I didn’t get clear off of (Turn 2), I was going to be in a lot of trouble.

“Fortunately, Alex gave me a great push. Was able to execute Turns 1 and 2, get clear, and then just kind of manage the last few laps… Yeah, man, just crazy. You know, to say as much as we struggled out here to have won two races here now in the last few years is pretty wild.”

Elliott led a race-high 87 laps to 69 for Heim, who finished 31st.

Hamlin rued the caution that interrupted his pursuit of Elliott with 11 laps left, but he got a strong launch on the final restart.

“Yeah, I thought I got a good restart there at the end side-by-side,” said Hamlin, who finished second to Elliott for the second time this season (the first at Martinsville). “But then, you know, just the way the side-draft works there into Turn 1, with him getting the push from the 48 (Bowman), it just allowed his momentum to pick up a little bit quicker than mine.

“I tried to hang on to the side, but I was just getting tighter the closer I was getting to him. So good, decent day. Just one short.”

SHOP: Winner’s gear

Reddick pitted for two tires before the final restart and charged from ninth to fourth at the finish.

“All in all, it was a solid day,” said Reddick, who leads the series by 109 points over second-place Hamlin and 117 over third-place Elliott. “It was nice to go for it there on the two tires.

“Just had a couple of passes that took a little longer than they needed to, and that was the difference between… I don’t know if we would have got back to the lead, but I think if we played it perfectly, we could have got second. All in all, it was a good day.”

Chris Buescher finished fifth in the fastest Ford. Daniel Suárez, pole winner Carson Hocevar, William Byron, Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney completed the top 10.

Rookie Connor Zilisch recorded both his best qualifying effort of the season (12th) and his best Cup finish on an oval track (16th).

Throughout the race, attrition eliminated potential contenders.

Christopher Bell’s star-crossed season continued without abatement at Texas Motor Speedway. Bell had just fought off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Hamlin to retain the lead when Todd Gilliland spun in front of Bell’s Toyota off Turn 4 on Lap 68.

Bell took evasive action toward the bottom of the track but clipped Gilliland’s Ford just enough to send Bell’s Camry rocketing into the outside wall, severely damaging the right-side suspension components.

MORE: Bell, Gilliland collide | Alternate angles

The diagnosis of Bell’s car was terminal, and he exited the race in last (38th) place.

“It was another one of those 50-50 calls,” Bell said of his split-second decision to try to dodge Gilliland’s car. “Me and Denny were side-by-side, and I saw him (Gilliland) spinning and Denny lifted, and I thought that I could shoot the gap on the bottom.

“And I thought I did shoot the gap on the bottom, but I got clipped.”

Defending race winner Joey Logano fared no better. During pit stops under caution on Lap 94, Cole Custer slowed to allow Ty Gibbs to exit his stall. Logano slammed into Custer’s car, peeling back the left-front fender of Logano’s Mustang like a can opener.

With the left-front tire of his car skewed out of proper orientation, the three-time champion retired from the race.

“I’ll just keep digging and go to the next one,” Logano said philosophically.

Seven laps after Logano’s demise, Bristol winner Ty Gibbs slammed into the Turn 3 wall off the bumper of Ryan Preece’s Ford and fell out of the race in 35th.

Reigning series champion Kyle Larson wasn’t immune from calamity either. On Lap 160, he spun in Turn 2 and clobbered the wall with the driver’s side of his No. 5 Chevrolet.

“I just lost it,” said Larson, who took the car to the garage, his hopes for a second Texas victory dashed.

What Kyle Busch lost was his temper. After qualifying sixth, Busch ran consistently in the top five and earned points in the first stage. He was set for a top-10 finish until he tangled with the Toyota of John Hunter Nemechek after the final restart.

Busch took out his frustrations with two laps remaining, knocking Nemechek’s car sideways. Busch faded to 20th on a day that started with promise and ended in disappointment.

Stage 1 winner Erik Jones finished 12th ahead of Brad Keselowski in 13th. Trackhouse Racing teammates Connor Zilisch and Shane van Gisbergen finished 16th and 17th, respectively. Chase Briscoe was 23rd, one lap down.

The NASCAR Cup Series travels next to Watkins Glen International for next Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen (3 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Stage 2 recap

Chase Elliott earned the Stage 2 victory Sunday in a one-lap dash to the green-checkered flag at Lap 165.

Elliott surged past Brad Keselowski on fresher tires after a late caution set up the charge to stage end. Tyler Reddick, Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Preece, Daniel Suárez, Chris Buescher, Riley Herbst, Carson Hocevar and Alex Bowman completed the top 10.

Keselowski and Preece opted not to pit when the caution waved at Lap 160 for a single-car spin by Kyle Larson in Turns 1 and 2. Larson was running 18th when his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet snapped loose in the center of the corner. Elliott was first off pit road under the yellow flag ahead of Hamlin, Buescher, Reddick and Suárez.

The first 20 laps of Stage 2 were full of action as intensity ramped up.

A spin by William Byron exiting Turn 4 at Lap 92 triggered the third caution flag of the event as his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet broke loose on corner exit. Joey Logano barely avoided Byron’s sideways car, but trouble found Logano soon after anyway.

Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford was destroyed on pit road when Cole Custer stopped in front of him during the cycle under caution at Lap 93. Custer was about to miss his box and brought his No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet to a halt as Ty Gibbs was exiting a stall before Custer’s. Logano had no time to avoid Custer and incurred heavy damage to his left front, ending Logano’s day. Custer also brought his car to the garage for repairs.

During the same round of pit stops, Chase Briscoe and Kyle Larson collided on pit road. Briscoe took two tires and was leaving his stall as Larson was entering his, leading to a collision between Briscoe’s right front and Larson’s left front. Briscoe backed up for repairs while Larson returned for repairs on the next lap. Denny Hamlin also took two tires but had to check up to avoid rookie Connor Zilisch coming into his pit box.

The race resumed at Lap 98, but the yellow flag waved again for the fourth time at Lap 101. Ty Gibbs spun into the wall in Turns 3 and 4 after slight contact from Ryan Preece. Gibbs briefly continued and made minimum speed but reported his right front was severely damaged with a “mega vibration.” Gibbs brought his No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to the garage for repairs, and his race was determined to be over shortly after.

Part-time driver Corey Heim emerged with the lead after a strategy play for the 23XI driver left the No. 67 Toyota on track at the front of the field. Heim, the defending Craftsman Truck Series champion, led 57 laps before surrendering the lead at Lap 151. Heim was lapped but received the free pass after Larson’s spin.

Byron recovered from his earlier spin to finish 12th in Stage 2 ahead of Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace and John Hunter Nemechek. Stage 1 winner Erik Jones was 22nd in Stage 2.

Stage 1 recap

Erik Jones won Stage 1 of Sunday’s race after a six-lap sprint to the stage end.

Jones stayed out with four other drivers as the caution waved late in the opening segment of the 267-lap feature, earning the stage win over Carson Hocevar, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Busch, AJ Allmendinger, Chase Elliott, William Byron and Denny Hamlin. Stenhouse and Allmendinger also stayed out under the first yellow flag.

The first caution of the day waved at Lap 68 when race leader Christopher Bell was collected in a crash off Turn 4.

Bell was fending off a charge by teammate Denny Hamlin for the top spot when Todd Gilliland spun in front of them, returning to the frontstretch. Gilliland slid down the track and caught the right-rear of Bell’s No. 20 Toyota at pit exit, sending his car sliding before hitting the outside SAFER barrier flush with the right side of the car. Bell drove the vehicle back to the garage but was unable to continue while Gilliland raced on.

Hocevar led the opening 19 laps of the event before Hamlin surged to the lead at Lap 20, signaling the strength of the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas. At one point, Bell, Hamlin and Briscoe ran 1-2-3, and all three have led laps.

Fifth-place starter Daniel Suárez fell to 15th at the stage end while Bubba Wallace, who started from the rear, finished 16th in the stage. Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick finished the stage 18th, 19th and 20th, respectively. Ryan Blaney, who started 31st, was 28th at the conclusion of Stage 1.

Note: Post-race technical inspection concluded without issue, confirming Elliott as the race winner. No cars will be taken to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, for further inspection.

Contributing: Staff report

Posted on by Staff Report

Early leader Christopher Bell found trouble in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, colliding with Todd Gilliland and crashing out at Texas Motor Speedway.

Bell had led 22 of 267 laps in the Würth 400 Presented by Liqui Moly when his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota encountered the spinning No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford of Gilliland on Lap 68. The two made contact at the exit of Turn 4, and Bell’s clipped car careened into the outside retaining wall on the frontstretch.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Texas

Bell, who started seventh, had moved to the front of the field on pit strategy as the first driver to make a green-flag stop in Stage 1. He drove to the garage after calamity struck, and his team determined the damage to be terminal. Bell ended up last in the 38-car field.

Bell was running in close proximity to JGR teammate Denny Hamlin when Gilliland — running 28th near the tail of the lead lap — lost control in front of them. Hamlin held his line and avoided Gilliland’s car on the high side; Bell’s decision to take evasive action on the low side was his undoing, but barely.

“It was another one of those 50-50 calls,” Bell said after he was checked and released at the track’s infield care center. “Me and Denny were side by side and I saw him (Gilliland) spinning and Denny lifted, and I thought that I could shoot the gap on the bottom. And I thought I did shoot the gap on the bottom but I got clipped.”

Bell entered Sunday’s 400-miler ranked ninth in the Cup Series standings, and he dropped four spots to 13th after his worst finish of the season. Gilliland slipped three spots to 25th. He was able to continue at reduced pace after sustaining front-end damage, and finished the race 32nd — 13 laps down — after he was once flagged by NASCAR officials for failing to meet the minimum-speed requirement.

MORE: Bell on recent skid: ‘It’s so painful’

Bell is still searching for his first victory of the season, and he’s gone five consecutive races without a top-five finish. His mini-slump has caused him to slip back from his high-water mark of sixth in the points after Las Vegas in mid-March.

“Just, I don’t know. I’m very thankful to be in the position I am in, and I’ve got great race cars to drive, got great sponsors behind me, and obviously I wish that I could make them proud for other reasons, of good results,” Bell said. “We haven’t had that lately, but they’ve stuck behind me, and I’ve got more opportunities ahead of me, so that’s what I’m thankful for.”

Posted on by Dustin Albino

FORT WORTH, Texas – One month removed from turning 18, Brent Crews continues to take the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series field by storm.

After a fourth-place finish in Saturday’s Andy’s Frozen Custard 340 at Texas Motor Speedway, Crews became the youngest driver in series history to win the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus. It’s his fourth straight top-five finish overall, spanning a variety of tracks, including his first two trips to a 1.5-mile venue. It comes on the heels of a career-best runner-up effort last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.

“It means a lot,” Crews said of his newest accolade. “Continuing to learn. Don’t know what I’m going to do with the money; I’m sure my parents aren’t going to let me do anything too exciting but it’s pretty cool.”

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Texas

Crews was a pillar of the top five at Texas, finishing fifth in Stage 1. The No. 19 Toyota improved throughout the second stage and finished second to Cup Series regular Connor Zilisch.

During the final stage, eventual race winner Kyle Larson and Zilisch were side-by-side for the lead, allowing Crews to close the gap and get to their inside. The three cars made contact but carried on.

“I was trying not to crash; I got really loose,” Crews said. “Kyle doesn’t care who you are, he’s going to put it right on your door as fast as he can. Connor is the same way. That’s how we race up there, and it’s clean, hard racing. It’s the fastest way to learn is with them.”

Larson, who raced Crews on dirt at Millbridge Speedway as the youngster was on the rise, is not surprised that he was in the mix in just his second attempt at an intermediate-sized race track.

“If you don’t know about him it’s unbelievable, but if you know about him it’s very believable,” Larson said in his winning post-race press conference. “He did a super good job again. Definitely races like a veteran. He’s young, but he’s got a lot of experience racing with a lot of different types of racing through his upbringing. It’s not surprising, especially in a JGR car; they are really strong. Justin [Allgaier, the runner-up] got really good again at the end, but I felt like [Crews] was the best car and if he ever got the lead, he was going to drive away.”

After a late restart with 17 laps remaining, Crews dropped to fourth but was never challenged by Sheldon Creed or Sammy Smith for the Dash 4 Cash bonus. The fourth competitor, Corey Day, wrecked out on the opening circuit.

By banking 48 points at Texas, Crews is only 12 points below The Chase cutline with 14 races remaining in the regular season. And by frequently running inside the top five, JGR brass believes a checkered flag is coming soon.

“I actually think he’s meeting expectations based on feedback we got before even came to us and what we saw in his younger years,” Steve de Souza, executive vice president of O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and development for JGR, told NASCAR.com. “Pretty impressive driver and has a tremendous skill set under pressure and yet still has a lot of aggression too.

“We are happy for him. I suspect that a win is not too far in the distant future for him.”

That coveted triumph could come as soon as next week at Watkins Glen International. Racing through the proverbial ladder, Crews was known for his road-course prowess and placed sixth in his series debut at Circuit of The Americas at the end of February.

Posted on by Dustin Albino

FORT WORTH, Texas — Drivers who race on the ragged edge are rewarded at Texas Motor Speedway. Crossing that line, however, pays a steep price.

Since the inception of the Next Gen car in 2022, no track has produced more cautions per race than the 1.5-mile oval (14). The longest stretch of racing in those four races is a mere 50 laps (twice). All three races held here since the race distance was altered to 400 miles have resulted in at least 11 cautions, including tying the track record in 2024 with 16 yellow flags. Dating back to 2019, seven of the last eight TMS races have hit double digits.

RELATED: Starting lineup | At-track photos: Texas

“It’s (Steve) Letarte that always jokes, ‘Tell me when the caution is, I’ll tell you what the right call is,’” Brian Wilson, crew chief of the No. 2 car driven by Austin Cindric, who led 60 laps en route to a Stage 1 victory in 2025, told NASCAR.com. “You are trying to time those correctly and making sure you’re ahead of it. Track position it’s key around here, so making sure we make our pit stops at the right time is going to be crucial.”

Among the challenges at Texas includes the narrow racing groove. While Turns 1 and 2 are plenty wide, the quickest way around is planting the bottom line, as the surface flattens out quickly on corner exit. The preferred lane moves up through Turns 3 and 4, with the commitment level at an all-time high. Chase Briscoe said last week that there is no other set of corners on the circuit that compares to that sensation of speed.

Should a driver miss the groove ever so slightly through Turns 3 and 4, a patch of bumps can sneak up and wad them up.

“If you shy up as the race goes on, one-and-a-half lanes will open up,” Mike Kelley, crew chief for Ricky Stenhouse Jr., said. “But if you step out and get in the bumps at the wrong time with the wrong air pressure, your load limiters in the back are very sensitive to that and you see guys bust their ass all the time.

“It’s a product of the race track since they’ve changed it and went to the multi-groove angles. The tire, the car and all the things that go with the Next Gen car. These guys are running on them on the edge.”

Being on the right side of the caution flag from a strategy standpoint is paramount. Kelley recalled having a hot rod in 2024 that he thought could contend for the win and short-pitted with several leaders. When a caution flew during a cycle of green-flag pit stops, the No. 47 car was forced to take the wave around and finished 23rd. Stenhouse ran a stint long last year and was rewarded when the caution flew during another set of green-flag stops, driving to a sixth-place effort, one of two top 10s in the last three trips to TMS for Hyak Motorsports.

New this go around is the Goodyear tire. This compound has previously run in 2026 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway and most recently Kansas Speedway. Having that setup could throw teams a curveball come the main event, as there was one natural caution apiece in Sin City and the Sunflower State.

MORE: What to Watch at Texas | Cup Series standings

“We’ve seen a rash of the opposite [in 2026] and all these races have gone almost the whole stage lengths without a caution,” Kelley added. “I don’t know what’s going to happen when these two worlds collide. You come to the track that has the most cautions with the package that has had the least. I would bet on Texas biting some people still.”

As with any high-speed venue, hitting the balance precisely will be commended. Track position could reign supreme, however, with plenty of unknowns on the horizon.

“I still expect Texas is going to [have more cautions] than those races. But is it going to be calmer than last year?” Wilson pondered. “You’re gambling on when you’re going to get the caution and how it plays out.

“Both of those races, you’ve been able to see guys take two tires, stay out. That’s something that’s been in the playbook here at Texas. I think you’re going to see a lot of guys gamble on strategy and try to get the track position with different pit calls.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The Dash 4 Cash program has concluded for the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season, and the initiative packed plenty of excitement from start to finish in the four-race set. Continue reading for more information on the program, with winners and recaps from each Dash 4 Cash race.

RELATED: 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule

What is Dash 4 Cash?

Starting in 2009, the Dash 4 Cash is a midseason program now sponsored by O’Reilly Auto Parts that financially rewards drivers for performing well during a select stretch of four races in each O’Reilly Series season. The qualifier to determine the field for the first Dash 4 Cash race was held at Rockingham Speedway on April 4. The official four-race slate began at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 11, the seventh time the Tennessee short track has hosted the program. The second contest was at Kansas Speedway on April 18, a first for the 1.5-mile facility.

After hosting the Dash 4 Cash each year from 2018-24, the program moved to the iconic Talladega Superspeedway on April 25 for the third installment. The 2026 Dash 4 Cash finale took place at Texas Motor Speedway on May 2, the second time the track has hosted the program (2024).

How does Dash 4 Cash work?

Before the four-race stretch begins, a qualifying race determined the participants in the first official Dash 4 Cash bout. The four highest-finishing series regulars in the O’Reilly race at Rockingham qualified for the first Dash 4 Cash race at Bristol. The highest finisher of that quartet at Bristol collected a $100,000 prize and automatically qualified for the next Dash 4 Cash race. The next three highest-finishing O’Reilly Series regulars in the race at Bristol also qualified to participate in the next Dash 4 Cash race at Kansas, with another $100,000 on the line. These rules repeat for subsequent Dash 4 Cash races.

To qualify for the program, drivers had to declare to collect O’Reilly Series points.

MORE: Every Dash 4 Cash winner 

2026 Dash 4 Cash recaps:

At Rockingham Speedway (April 4 qualifier)

Recap: William Sawalich captured his first career O’Reilly win in convincing fashion, doing so after dominating the final 79 circuits en route to the Rockingham Speedway victory. The opportunity to collect a little prize money is additionally in the cards for the 19-year-old Sawalich, qualifying for the opening Dash 4 Cash bout along with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Brandon Jones, seven-time Dash 4 Cash winner Justin Allgaier and Rajah Caruth. A late-lap sprint helped Caruth claim the fourth and final spot over Carson Kvapil and Sheldon Creed.

MORE: Sawalich scores first O’Reilly win with Rockingham triumph

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At Bristol Motor Speedway (April 11)

Dash 4 Cash drivers: William Sawalich, Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier, Rajah Caruth.

Recap: After running consistently in the top five all night long at Bristol Motor Speedway, Justin Allgaier claimed the first $100,000 Dash 4 Cash prize of the year with a fourth-place finish in Thunder Valley. It was also the JR Motorsports driver’s eighth Dash 4 Cash victory of his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career. His fellow Dash 4 Cash competitors William Sawalich finished seventh, followed by Rajah Caruth (14th) and Brandon Jones (19th).

MORE: Allgaier cashes eighth Dash 4 Cash prize at Bristol

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At Kansas Speedway (April 18) 

Dash 4 Cash drivers: Brent Crews, Justin Allgaier, Carson Kvapil, Sheldon Creed.

Recap: In the closing laps of the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway, Haas Factory Team’s Sheldon Creed held off JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier, as a runner-up finish helped the No. 00 Chevrolet driver claim the second $100,000 Dash 4 Cash prize of the 2026 season. Allgaier finished third, as rookie Brent Crews brought his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota home in fifth place. Carson Kvapil’s Dash 4 Cash hopes ended on the second lap of the 200-lap race when the No. 1 JRM driver flipped on the backstretch multiple times and came to a stop after sliding on his roof.

MORE: Kvapil Dash 4 Cash hopes end after Kansas rollover

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At Talladega Superspeedway (April 25)

Dash 4 Cash drivers: Taylor Gray, Sheldon Creed, Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love.

Recap: Corey Day overtook Sheldon Creed during a chaotic final lap at Talladega Superspeedway and was leading when the caution flag waved due to a multi-car accident to capture his first win in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. That left Creed without a trophy, but he did walk away with a third-place finish and the $100,000 check for winning the Dash 4 Cash prize for the second week in a row. The Haas Factory team driver will go for three straight big paydays next week at Texas Motor Speedway.

MORE: Creed emerges from late frenzy with Dash 4 Cash prize

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At Texas Motor Speedway (May 2)

Dash 4 Cash drivers: Corey Day, Brent Crews, Sheldon Creed, Sammy Smith.

Recap: Brent Crews paced the other three eligible Dash 4 Cash drivers for most of the afternoon, using a fourth-place finish to secure his first career $100,000 bonus and become the program’s youngest winner. He led two laps, contending for the race victory with winner Kyle Larson and second-place finisher Justin Allgaier before fading back on the final run of the afternoon. Sheldon Creed finished sixth, ending his quest for a third consecutive payday. Sammy Smith came home 13th, while Corey Day, winner last week at Talladega, suffered terminal damage in a Lap 1 crash, ending his day nearly before it started.

MORE: Crews extends top-five string at Texas, becomes youngest D4C winner