There have been eight different winners in the last eight visits to Texas Motor Speedway. Sunday’s Wurth 400 was expected to be anyone’s race. The biggest story of the day was the speed from Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar. The second-year driver scored his first career pole for the race and looked to be a contender for a powerful run early and often during the race. While many drivers looked the part of a potential winner. No one saw Joey Logano coming when it was all said and done.
Logano once again took advantage of poor races for the usual suspects at the front of the field. From engine trouble to multiple wrecks. The Wurth 400 proved to be a race of attrition.
Joey Logano Makes Late Charge to Win Crashed Filled NASCAR Cup Series Race at Texas
A Chevy front row seemed to be the way to go early, as Hocevar and William Byron held the point early on. As it turned out, the farther back in dirty air, the harder it was to make anything happen. That would be the case throughout the race.
Saddle up! It's time to race in Texas!
The #WURTH400 is green on FS1! pic.twitter.com/BlZYZXkAfD
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 4, 2025
Not unless you had the lead. And for the first 22 laps on, that was Hocevar. Things changed dramatically upfront during an early caution brought on by a one-car spin by Noah Gragson. During the pit stops, Denny Hamlin didn’t get the proper message and ended up having difficulty on pit road. That sent him to the rear, alongside Ryan Blaney, who was busted for speeding.
A mix-up on the radio leads to early issues for the No. 11. pic.twitter.com/xVczDygZ3B
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 4, 2025
While those dire mistakes cost Hamlin and Blaney for the time being. Austin Cindric and Josh Berry were able to take advantage and use two tire stops to take control up front. The next 50 laps went green without an issue.
Too bad things went from bad to worse for Hamlin with only a handful of laps to go in the opening stage. Something was wrong with his car, as he lost power and then caught fire. It was quite a sight as drivers on varying strategies were fighting for the stage one win.
A big mechanical problem on @dennyhamlin's No. 11 machine.
He climbed from the vehicle following the slide. pic.twitter.com/FYY5EUf0ZF
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 4, 2025
The blown engine was Hamlin’s first DNF of the season. Meanwhile, the field didn’t get back to green because of the long clean-up, so Cindric was able to back up his Talladega win with a stage victory at Texas.
READ MORE: Denny Hamlin Steals the Goodyear 400, As Byron and Blaney Both Leave Empty Handed
More Issues For Contenders
Logano continued to struggle early on in the day, as did Chase Elliott. It felt like Elliott wasn’t even a part of this race, for that matter. Chase Briscoe, meanwhile, added to an even rougher day for Joe Gibbs Racing. He lost control of his No. 19 Toyota after the second stage got going. He was lucky to save it, but suffered damage that put him well out of contention.
Chase nearly saved that thing! 😳 pic.twitter.com/A75hkS9eVW
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 4, 2025
His issue occurred off of turn four, where there is a bump. That bump came into play a lot during this race. As polesitter had to make a big save in the same spot just a little while later following Briscoe’s incident.
The leader of the race was not out of the woods from that bump either. As Josh Berry can attest. He hit the bump just right, and it sent him around and into the wall, ending his outstanding run. Nothing worse than wrecking from the race lead.
The leader spins! @joshberry goes around and hits the outside wall! pic.twitter.com/fxXrHhW1YG
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 4, 2025
Berry’s spin brought Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick into the picture at the front. Along with Chris Buescher, who was able to get his No. 17 up to third. But like all good things. The Texas-born driver had an issue late in the second stage that set him back. A blown tire with under 10 to go in the stage brought out a yellow flag. The caution gave Larson yet another stage win on the season. It also made him the winningest stage driver in Cup Series history.
.@KyleLarsonRacin takes the second stage of the #WURTH400 following the incident involving the No. 17. pic.twitter.com/Vb6TG3EYIG
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 4, 2025
Everything is Bigger in Texas
You know how I said Logano was being quiet for much of the day. That wasn’t the case on lap 172, as he may or may not have tapped Bubba Wallace, sending him around, collecting several other good cars. The incident knocked Wallace, Alex Bowman, Noah Gragson, and AJ Allmendinger out of the race. After further review of the broadcast, Logano didn’t appear to touch Wallace. But it certainly was yet another unnecessary wreck.
There's mayhem on the backstretch! pic.twitter.com/HScLRMlHQU
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 4, 2025
Strategy calls came into play late, as some drivers tried to get the jump on others. Like Byron and Elliott for example taking two tires, and pitting way sooner than others. But it didn’t pay off for them or stage one winner Austin Cindric. More on that in a bit. While the varying strategy wasn’t working for some it was paying off for the four or five drivers fighting at the front of the field for the last 30 or so laps.
The best in the business, Larson, had the lead when cautions started to breed cautions. First, it was rookie Jesse Love. Then you had Kyle Busch spin from third. Then the wrecks started getting bigger. The first of which saw Ryan Preece, Carson Hocevar, and Cody Ware see their days end.
"These cautions just keep coming!" Ryan Preece, Carson Hocevar and Cody Ware involved in this yellow. #NASCARonFS1 pic.twitter.com/lCKInWIoMU
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 4, 2025
Three laps here, four laps there were not helping Larson. Who was it helping? Old sneaky three-time Cup Champion Joey Logano. Sure, he wasn’t to the lead yet, with Ryan Blaney and Michael McDowell also putting themselves in a position to fight for the victory.
That brings us to a big move from McDowell on a restart to get the lead. He fired off passing Larson on the restart, only for another multi-car wreck to shake it up again. This time, the wreck involved Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Cole Custer, and Austin Cindric. That caution ruined Larson’s chance.
Logano Says Bye-Bye
The six-shooters could’ve been McDowell’s, but his hard fight on very old tires came up just a few laps short. He held the lead with five to go, only for Logano to rocket passed him down the back-stretch even with Michael blocking him to the apron. From there, he got caught in the wake of Blaney’s car and went for a slam into the outside wall, setting up overtime for the Cup drivers.
MCDOWELL INTO THE WALL!
The late-race drama continues! pic.twitter.com/TOcqSaXrah
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 4, 2025
There was no stopping the No. 22 in overtime. Even with teammate Ryan Blaney to his outside and the always exciting Ross Chastain right behind. No one had an answer for Logano. The defending cup champion was able to score his first win of 2025, and the 37th of his career. Further proving that he’s the sneakiest driver in the Cup garage.
THE DEFENDING CHAMP IS BACK IN VICTORY LANE! @joeylogano conquers @TXMotorSpeedway! 🏁 pic.twitter.com/PSgUKWgyQq
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 4, 2025
So much for that DQ in Talladega, because he got the win in Texas. What a difference a week makes. On to Kansas.
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Featured Image Credit: Kenneth Richmond, Getty Images. 5/4/2025
