- Joey Logano enters as the defending winner at Texas Motor Speedway.
- Tires could again prove decisive, just as they did last year.
- Kyle Larson heads to Texas as one of the favorites.
NASCAR is now ready to head to its next intermediate race, with Texas Motor Speedway prepared to host the event. It will stand as the lone race of the season at the venue and marks the Cup Series’ first 1.5-mile outing since Kansas Speedway in mid-April.
As the 11th race of the season comes into view, drivers will line up for another shot at a win, following trips to Victory Lane for Tyler Reddick, Carson Hocevar, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs, and Denny Hamlin.
Last year’s race’s dramatic finish
Last year, the race went down to the wire, with an overtime finish that saw Joey Logano take his first win of the season after starting from 27th and leading only seven of 271 laps.
A left-side Goodyear tyre and high track temperatures opened the door to a range of calls, from two-tyre stops to stage flips and calls to stay out in a bid to hold track position. So tyres could play a big role this year as well.
The race stretched from 267 laps to 271 after a late caution. Michael McDowell, who had led in the closing laps, hit the wall with four laps to go while trying to block Logano, setting the stage for the overtime restart.
The race also marked the day Carson Hocevar bagged his first NASCAR Cup Series pole and the first Cup pole for Spire Motorsports. Kyle Larson also made his presence felt, leading 90 laps.
Tire setup for the race
The tire setup from Goodyear for Texas has been in play since late last season. The same combination has been used this year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway, both 1.5-mile ovals like Texas, and at Darlington Raceway for the Goodyear 400.
The left-side tire first ran at Charlotte Motor Speedway last May and carries a compound update from what was used in Texas last year, while the right-side tire went through a construction change and first saw action at Kansas last fall.
Teams have already had three runs with this setup this season, and Goodyear stands by its showing at 1.5-mile tracks.
Drivers to keep an eye on at Texas
Joey Logano enters as the defending winner, though his run this season has yet to gather pace. He sits P15 in the standings after 10 races, with two top-five finishes and three top-10 results. Over 30 starts at Texas Motor Speedway, Logano has taken two wins and posted 13 top-five finishes, giving him an average finish of 13.3 at the track.
On the numbers, Tyler Reddick may hold the edge. In seven starts, the 23XI Racing driver has an average finish of 11, with one win, three top-five finishes, and four top-10 results. Last year, Reddick finished P21, while in the 2024 race, he crossed the line in P4.
Kyle Larson will enter as another favorite. He came close to sealing last year’s Texas race before it slipped away, leaving him in P4 after starting from the same spot. He held sway for much of Stage 3 until a restart on lap 244 saw Michael McDowell take the lead, pushing Larson back to fourth. Larson scored 50 points, the most in that race, cutting the gap to regular-season standings leader William Byron to 13 points.
Across recent runs, Larson has finished in the top 10 in three of the last five Texas races, including a win in October 2021, and has run at the front in each of the last five Texas races, leading a total of 541 laps.
Larson has also taken at least one stage win in each of the last five Texas races and leads all drivers in laps run in the top five and top 10 in the Next Gen car at Texas.
A winless stretch for the reigning champion has stretched close to a full calendar year, but Texas may offer a way out. After a P40 finish at Talladega following a wreck, the Texas race could be a turnaround and a push for the checkered flag.
William Byron also stands as a contender, with numbers to back the case. He has finished in the top 10 in four of the last five Texas races, including a win in September 2023. Byron has finished on the lead lap in each of the last six Texas races, held a top-10 running position in four of the last five Texas races, and has not finished outside the top 20 in a stage at Texas.
The No. 24 heads to Texas more than 200 points back and outside the top 10 in the standings, as Byron’s start to the 2026 season has yet to find its rhythm. Texas may yet offer a chance to turn the tide, with the outcome likely to hinge on pit-road execution.
