NASCAR News: Elliott wins in Texas, Larson runs out of talent once again
Chase Elliott held off Denny Hamlin in a four-lap dash to the finish to win Sunday’s Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. The victory marked Elliott’s second win of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season and the 23rd of his career.
–by Mark Cipolloni–
Elliott, driving the No. 9 Amazon Prime Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, fended off a hard-charging Hamlin in the closing laps after a late caution set up a green-flag run to the checkered flag. He becomes just the second driver with multiple wins this season, joining Tyler Reddick.
The seventh and final caution flew on Lap 257 when Corey Heim spun in Turns 3 and 4. Heim, making his second start in the No. 67 Toyota for 23XI Racing, had led a career-high 69 laps but lost the handle in the middle of the corner.
Elliott also picked up the Stage 2 win in a one-lap sprint to the green-checkered flag on Lap 165. He charged past Brad Keselowski on fresher tires following a late caution in the stage. Tyler Reddick, Keselowski, Hamlin, Ryan Preece, Daniel Suárez, Chris Buescher, Riley Herbst, Carson Hocevar, and Alex Bowman rounded out the top 10 in Stage 2.
Erik Jones claimed Stage 1 after staying out during a late caution in the opening segment. He led a group of five cars that didn’t pit and beat Carson Hocevar, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ty Gibbs, and Chase Briscoe to the stage points.
Elliott didn’t take the lead until Lap 152, when leader Corey Heim pitted for fuel on an alternate strategy. From there, the No. 9 team took control, thanks in large part to three of its fastest pit stops of the season.
After the final caution for Heim’s spin, Elliott lined up for the restart with four laps remaining. With a strong push from teammate Alex Bowman in third place, Elliott cleared Hamlin off Turn 2 and pulled away to win by 0.407 seconds.
The win was Elliott’s second career victory at Texas and the first repeat winner at the track in the last 10 races.
“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.”
Watch Kyle Larson Lose Control all by himself….again
Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson’s day ended early when he spun on his own in Turn 2 on Lap 160 while running 18th. Larson made contact with the outside wall, causing steering damage that eventually sent the No. 5 Chevrolet to the garage for repairs
Kyle Larson goes around late in Stage 2 at Texas. pic.twitter.com/bMz5SMzCC4
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 3, 2026
Hamlin was disappointed by the final caution but still turned in a strong run to second place — his second runner-up finish to Elliott this season.
“Yeah, I thought I got a good restart there at the end side-by-side,” Hamlin said. “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.”
Reddick opted for two tires on the final stop and charged from ninth to fourth. Chris Buescher finished fifth in the top Ford, with Daniel Suárez, pole-sitter Carson Hocevar, William Byron, Bubba Wallace, and Ryan Blaney completing the top 10.
Wurth 400 at TMS Race Results
| Fin | Str | No. | Driver | Team | Laps Led | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 14 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Amazon Prime Chevrolet | 87 | 267 | Running |
| 2 | 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Progressive Insurance Toyota | 21 | 267 | Running |
| 3 | 9 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 0 | 267 | Running |
| 4 | 8 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK Toyota | 0 | 267 | Running |
| 5 | 3 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fifth Third Ford | 0 | 267 | Running |
| 6 | 2 | 7 | Daniel Suarez | Freeway Insurance Chevrolet | 0 | 267 | Running |
| 7 | 1 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spectrum Chevrolet | 40 | 267 | Running |
| 8 | 15 | 24 | William Byron | Valvoline/Heavy Duty Chevrolet | 0 | 267 | Running |
| 9 | 37 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Chumba Casino Toyota | 0 | 267 | Running |
| 10 | 31 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Menards/Knauf Ford | 5 | 267 | Running |
| 11 | 18 | 35 | Riley Herbst | FRE Nicotine Pouches Toyota | 1 | 267 | Running |
| 12 | 21 | 43 | Erik Jones | AdventHealth Toyota | 13 | 267 | Running |
| 13 | 25 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Body Guard by Fastenal Ford | 4 | 267 | Running |
| 14 | 20 | 60 | Ryan Preece | Kroger/Ball Park Buns Ford | 0 | 267 | Running |
| 15 | 13 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Freightliner Ford | 0 | 267 | Running |
| 16 | 12 | 88 | Connor Zilisch # | Choice Privileges Chevrolet | 0 | 267 | Running |
| 17 | 30 | 97 | Shane Van Gisbergen | SuperFile Chevrolet | 0 | 267 | Running |
| 18 | 38 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Bass Pro Shops/Winchester AA White Chevrolet | 0 | 267 | Running |
| 19 | 22 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Onin Staffing Chevrolet | 0 | 267 | Running |
| 20 | 6 | 8 | Kyle Busch | zone Watermelon x Circle K Chevrolet | 0 | 267 | Running |
| 21 | 33 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Dollar Tree Toyota | 0 | 266 | Running |
| 22 | 34 | 38 | Zane Smith | Speedy Cash Ford | 0 | 266 | Running |
| 23 | 5 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 4 | 266 | Running |
| 24 | 35 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet | 0 | 266 | Running |
| 25 | 26 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Celsius Chevrolet | 0 | 266 | Running |
| 26 | 16 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Kubota Chevrolet | 0 | 266 | Running |
| 27 | 19 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Modo Casino Chevrolet | 0 | 266 | Running |
| 28 | 28 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Rush Truck Centers Ford | 0 | 266 | Running |
| 29 | 24 | 21 | Josh Berry | WURTH Ford | 0 | 266 | Running |
| 30 | 29 | 51 | Cody Ware | Parts Plus/Costa Oil Chevrolet | 0 | 265 | Running |
| 31 | 17 | 67 | * Corey Heim(i) | Robinhood Toyota | 69 | 254 | Accident |
| 32 | 32 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Love’s Travel Stops Ford | 0 | 254 | Running |
| 33 | 36 | 66 | * Chad Finchum(i) | Cooper & Hunter Ford | 0 | 223 | Running |
| 34 | 11 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 0 | 180 | Running |
| 35 | 27 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas/Andy’s Chevrolet | 0 | 173 | Running |
| 36 | 10 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Interstate Batteries Toyota | 1 | 110 | Accident |
| 37 | 23 | 22 | Joey Logano | Discount Tire Ford | 0 | 95 | Accident |
| 38 | 7 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Rheem Toyota | 22 | 68 | Accident |
Average Speed of Race Winner: 136.315 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 56 Mins, 17 Secs. Margin of Victory: .407 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 7 for 40 laps.
Lead Changes: 23 among 11 drivers.
Lap Leaders: C. Hocevar 1-19;D. Hamlin 20-35;C. Hocevar 36-41;B. Keselowski 42;C. Briscoe 43-46;C. Bell 47-68;D. Hamlin 69-70;E. Jones 71-83;C. Hocevar 84-88;T. Gibbs 89;C. Hocevar 90-94;*. Heim(i) 95-151;C. Elliott 152-160;D. Hamlin 161;B. Keselowski 162-164;C. Elliott 165-214;D. Hamlin 215;R. Herbst 216;C. Hocevar 217-221;R. Blaney 222-226;*. Heim(i) 227-238;C. Elliott 239-262;D. Hamlin 263;C. Elliott 264-267.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Chase Elliott 4 times for 87 laps; * Corey Heim(i) 2 times for 69 laps; Carson Hocevar 5 times for 40 laps; Christopher Bell 1 time for 22 laps; Denny Hamlin 5 times for 21 laps; Erik Jones 1 time for 13 laps; Ryan Blaney 1 time for 5 laps; Chase Briscoe 1 time for 4 laps; Brad Keselowski 2 times for 4 laps; Riley Herbst 1 time for 1 lap; Ty Gibbs 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 43,77,47,54,19,8,16,9,24,11
Stage #2 Top Ten: 9,45,6,11,60,7,17,35,77,48