2026 Wurth 400 Recap: Chase Elliott Dominates at Texas

After winning last week at Talladega, Carson Hocevar continued to build momentum by winning Friday’s Truck Race and qualifying on the pole for the Wurth 400. All that was left to do was go out on Sunday and win for a perfect weekend. However, the rest of the field had other plans

A clear blue sky and a raucous crowd set the tone for a picture-perfect day for racing. The treacherous turns at Texas Motor Speedway claimed multiple victims, but ultimately, Chase Elliott was able to prevail and claim his second win at TMS.

2026 Wurth 400 Stage One

Carson Hocevar powered to the lead after qualifying on the pole, but it didn’t take long for the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas of Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin to run the #77 and challenge for the lead. Hamlin soon took the lead from Hocevar with Chase Briscoe following him through. Hamlin continued to lead up until green flag stops kicked off in stage one.

Those green flag stops saw Chase Briscoe cycle to the lead. However, Briscoe didn’t stay out front for long as his JGR teammate Christopher Bell powered into first place. Bell was looking to overcome a terribly unlucky start to the season. Unfortunately for the #20, that bad luck continued as he was collected by a spinning Todd Gilliland while leading, receiving significant damage.

That late caution shook up the field a little bit, with multiple drivers electing to stay out for stage points. Erik Jones led the field to green with six laps remaining in the stage after staying out and was able to hold on for the stage win.

Stage Two

Stage Two opened with a battle between Carson Hocevar and Ty Gibbs for the lead. The two battled back and forth before Hocevar eventually prevailed. It didn’t take long for trouble to strike in stage two, however, as William Byron spun, rolling over the bumps in turns three and four. Byron’s spin didn’t result in any damage, but the pit stops under caution saw Joey Logano’s day end courtesy of contact with Cole Custer on pit road in a bizarre incident.

Reigning Truck Series chamo Corey Heim would lead the field to green on the ensuing restart after staying out under the caution. Green flag conditions were short-lived, however, as Ty Gibbs found himself in the wall after contact in turns three and four. Heim would maintain the lead after the caution, with Chase Elliott trailing him in second place.

Heim continued to dominate the second stage up until he had to pit for fuel with 14 to go in the stage. That handed the lead to Chase Elliott, who paced the field up until Kyle Larson crashed off of turn two with just six laps remaining in the stage. Elliott would pit while Brad Keselowski and Ryan Preece stayed out. The ensuing restart occurred with just a single lap left in stage two; however, the RFK cars were unable to hold off Elliott, and the #9 sped to a stage win.

Final Stage

Chase Elliott would continue to lead after green flag conditions resumed for the final stage. Elliott dominated the final stage up to his scheduled pit stop with 52 to go, where his pit crew helped him keep his lead following the completion of the cycle.

The final stage was a largely uneventful affair up until Corey Heim spun with just 11 laps to go in the race. The spin for Heim set up a mad dash to the finish with just five laps remaining, and Chase Elliott out front on old tires, hoping to hold on for a win in the Wurth 400.

Tyler Reddick was the first car to pit for tires, but with just five laps left, the #45 was unable to use those tires to find his way back to the front. John Hunter Nemechek and Kyle Busch tangled with two to go, ending with JHN in the wall, but the #42 was able to limp to pit road, allowing the race to finish under green. Chase Elliott was able to circle around to claim his second victory of the season, and his second win at Texas Motor Speedway in three years.

Post-Race Quotes

Jeff Gordon, Vice Chairman Hendrick Motorsports

“Great pit stops, great strategy to get the track position”

“Consistency keeps you in a flow and direction you can build on, but if you don’t win every 8-10 races, the hard work drains you – race wins are critical to a team’s success”

Alan Gustafson, Crew Chief for #9 Team

“The decision (to stay out), being right or wrong, is heavily dependent on what your competitors do.”

“Getting the #11 cleared was key to winning the race.”

“You have to be very cognizant of when you have differing strategies (on pit road) to avoid the issues.”

Chase Elliott, Driver #9

“Really proud of the team for getting two wins this early in the year.”

“Thought I underperformed in our qualifying effort, but happy with the execution of the team.”

“I’ve trashed this place for years. I didn’t like what they did to the race track in turns one and two. It was a good place for me prior to the repave, so there’s a little selfish opinion there. This track has loved me though, and I’m learning to love this track back.”

“You don’t know you’re going to win until the checkered flag falls. (On the final restart) I thought the bottom lane was going to be the right place in turns one and two, and then the high side after. I didn’t want to give him (Denny Hamlin) the opportunity to run me high off of two.”

That wraps a fantastic weekend of racing from Texas Motor Speedway!