2026 SpeedyCash.com 250 Recap: Hocevar Keeps Winning Ways Going

Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway saw a loaded field of drivers tackle one of the most treacherous 1.5-mile circuits on the schedule. Joining the field of Truck Series regulars for the Speedycash.com 250 were Cup Series regulars Kyle Busch, Carson Hocevar, and Ross Chastain.

A relatively calm race saw an outbreak of chaos in the closing laps, with multiple incidents resulting in red flags. The wild racing continued into overtime, with a familiar face back in Victory Lane.

2026 SpeedyCash.com 250 Stage One

Ben Rhodes led the field to green after qualifying on pole, his first of the season. The driver of the #99 led the early going, looking to end a 66-race winless streak. IT didn’t take long for trouble to strike one of the Cup drivers as Kyle Busch found the wall off of turn four. The incident led to a flat tire for Busch, but he was able to get the truck to pit road without bringing out a caution.

Instead, the first caution of the race came as Cory Roper spun by himself off of turn one. Roper’s incident set up a dash to the finish in stage one with just 10 laps remaining when we went back to green. Ben Rhodes was able to maintain the lead following the restart, holding off a hard-charging Carson Hocevar.

Stage Two

Unfortunately for Ben Rhodes, his pit crew was unable to maintain the lead on pit road during the first stage break. Rhodes lost positions on pit road, and Brandon Jones and Tanner Gray led the field to green after staying out. Carson Hocevar opened the stage by getting three-wide on the outside and working himself all the way up to P2.

Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for trouble to strike again as Cole Butcher in the #13 backed his truck into the wall after getting loose in turns one and two. The ensuing restart saw a wild battle won when Carson Hocevar claimed the lead from Brandon Jones with yet another three-wide pass.

Layne Riggs was charging hard to challenge Hocevar for the lead when Kris Wright brought out the second caution of Stage Two after suffering a flat right front tire. Disaster struck for the aforementioned Riggs as his crew was forced to apply tape to his rear window, forfeiting his track position.

Dawson Sutton and Mini Tyrell stayed out trying to score stage front, but Carson Hocevar worked his way back to the front to claim the win in stage two.

Final Stage

Hocevar kept the lead during the stage break and dominated the beginning of the final stage, leading all the way up to green flag stops near the halfway point of the stage. Unfortunately for Hocevar, the #77 crew had a 24-second pit stop, dropping him from the lead when the cycle finished.

Instead, Gio Ruggiero inherited the lead after the green flag stops with his TRICON Garage teammate and Texas native Kaden Honeycutt behind him in P2. Everything appeared to be shaping up for a tight battle between the teammates before Tyler Ankrum spun late in the race with help from Ben Rhodes.

The ensuing restart unleashed chaos as Carson Hocevar, Kyle Busch, and Kaden Honeycutt battled desperately for the lead. The inability of the leader to pull away, thanks to the draft, resulted in some massive runs and wild moves. That run came to a close as Stewart Friesen wrecked off of turn four, with Grant Enfinger sustaining massive damage as he hit the grass to avoid Friesen.

NASCAR quickly red-flagged the race after the incident, allowing for an expedited cleanup. Still, just six laps remained when we went back to green. A wild restart saw Gio Ruggiero get by Hocevar for the lead before another massive incident set up overtime.

When the dust finally settled, it was Carson Hocevar who claimed victory in the 2026 SpeedyCash.com 250, building on the momentum from his first-ever Cup Series win. Hocevar celebrated by hanging out the window once more, firing up the Texas Motor Speedway crowd under the full moon.

Stay tuned for NOAPS action and Cup Series qualifying tomorrow!