FORT WORTH, TX (May 1, 2026) – Kris Wright and the No. 81 McAnally-Hilgermann Racing team roll into the Lone Star state looking to turn things around after a frustrating start to the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.

Wright and the No. 81 sits 20th in the Championship standings and is coming off a 25th place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway. Wright’s season has been a microcosm of fast trucks but a lack of racing luck when it comes to finishing position. Wright’s average finishing position is 23.2.

“This place has been relatively good to me, and I think we can really flip the script of our season starting this weekend,” Wright said of Texas Motor Speedway, the 1.5-mile oval where he recorded his best non-superspeedway result finishing 12th in 2023.

MHR is strong at TMS where they have posted five top-five and seven top-10 finishes. Wright’s MHR teammate Daniel Hemric finished second in 2025 and Tyler Ankrum started on the pole position and finished fourth.

America’s Auto Auction will be Wright and MHR’s primary partner on the No. 81 Chevrolet Silverado tonight, which will be the sixth time the company has partnered with the Wexford, PA native and the fifth time at TMS.

“I’m looking forward to having America’s Auto Auction on board for another race at Texas,” said Wright. “This No. 81 team has worked really hard all year long and I’m excited to go back to battle with them again Friday night.”

FOX Sports 2 will carry practice Friday beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET followed by qualifying at 2:30 p.m. ET. Wright is scheduled to go out ninth in the qualifying order. FOX Sports 1 will carry the racing beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Chandler Smith comes into the weekend as the Championship points leader with 208-points thanks to one win, three top-3’s and and four top10’s. Kaden Honeycutt sits one point behind in second place.

Corey Heim, the Series most-dominant driver in ’26, is tied for third with Layne Riggs at 204-points. Heim leads the series in wins (2) and laps led (213), despite two fewer starts.

The SpeedyCash.com 250 kicks off a stretch of six consecutive race weekends as the 2026 season kicks into gear this Spring.

By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service

TALLADEGA, AL (April 26, 2026) – Fitting for his first career NASCAR Cup Series win, Carson Hocevar turned in an ultra-original victory celebration sitting on the window ledge of his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet while driving around the massive 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway soaking up the emotions that will forever define and reward his first victory lap.

The huge crowd loved the unique celebration and the 23-year old Michigan native deservedly soaked it all in after earning a .114-second victory over Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing veteran Chris Buescher in Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at the iconic Talladega track completing a solid, no-holds-barred three-lap run to the checkered flag for his first trophy in NASCAR’s premier series.

It marks the second time in the last three races a driver earned his first career victory – matching the work of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs two weeks ago at Bristol, Tenn.

“I’ve had this thought up for a while,’’ Hocevar said of his winning salute. “And I’ve messed it up every which way to not be able to do it. And I don’t care if I took me 20 minutes or whatever I was going to figure out how to do it.

“I’m just so thankful,’’ he said, the grandstand crowd roaring in approval. “This is the biggest dream I’ve ever thought of. Thank you everybody. I couldn’t have done it any better way. Hopefully my grandfather is watching. My grandmother died last year and I’m just so thankful I can give my grandfather a trophy now.’’

“Just unbelievable, I’m just so thankful,’’ he added. “I knew we were going to win. I really did.’’

Over the three years he’s competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, Hocevar has taken some criticism for his bold – at times imprudent – driving style. But on Sunday, Hocevar proved his metal in the big leagues leading 19 of the final 37 laps in the 188-lap classic and holding the field off on three late race restarts.

“He deserved it for sure and this is a perfect place for him to get it,’’ third place finisher, Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman said of Hocevar.

Buescher, who also scored his career-best finish at Talladega said, “That was a fun race all the way until the end.

“Man, it was close. … awesome day and it was a good race.”

Hendrick’s Chase Elliott, a two-time Talladega winner, finished fourth in the No. 9 Chevrolet with Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith rallying to an impressive fifth place finish in the No. 38 Ford, also setting the fastest lap of the race.

Another former Talladega winner, Hyak Motorsports’ Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished sixth, followed by Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, Team Penske’s Austin Cindric, Front Row’s Noah Gragson and two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, whose 10th place showing Sunday was the first top-10 of the season for the venerable Richard Childress Racing team.

There were 16 leaders and 52 lead changes on the day, with JGR’s Christopher Bell leading a race-high 31 laps despite finishing 17th. RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece and Ross Chastain were the race’s two stage winners.

Half the field – literally – was eliminated from legitimate winning contention in a wild 26-car melee in Turn 3 on lap 115 that included championship leader Tyler Reddick among the two-dozen collected. And it all started up front.

Contact between the front cars of leader Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain triggered the chain reaction incident and brought out a 10-minute red flag stoppage. A handful of those involved – including 23XI Racing’s Wallace and fellow past Talladega winners and Team Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano – were no longer able to continue but a sizable number of those involved were able to return to the track.

“Got wrecked there, unfortunately,’’ Wallace offered in an understatement after leading three times on the day. “Our Xfinity Toyota Camry was a little unstable getting pushed, but manageable. Maybe that hard of a hit was too much, so unfortunately, we wiped out a bunch of cars.

“Got to debrief, got to be better. Just kind of riding around, not doing much in the first stage – nothing to show for it at Talladega. Unfortunate, it is a place we come to with a lot of confidence, and it is what it is. We will put this one behind us and go on to Texas and have some fun.”

Blaney was equally as frustrated, but like so many of those caught up in the incident, also philosophical about the close-quarter brand of speedway racing that has so often produced NASCAR’s version of the “the big one.’’

“I feel like we all just got pinballing off each other there,’’ Blaney said, adding, “It’s not like there’s any blame on anybody. It’s what this thing is. We see each other. We all just kind of get bumping and banging and one guy eventually gets turned with the car being as unstable as it is. It definitely stinks to be out early.”

A five-time race winner this season, Reddick was also among those whose cars suffered damage in the massive mid-race incident. Hoping to win his fifth race from pole position this season, instead the Californian had to recover from damage in both the big accidents and then again after his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota clipped the wall with 27 to go.

He stayed on the lead lap and managed a 14th place finish in the 40-car field and maintains a commanding lead atop the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings, 110 points over Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin – one of Reddick’s 23XI Racing team owners.

The NASCAR Cup Series moves west for its annual stop at Texas Motor Speedway for next Sunday’s Würth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Joey Logano is the defending race winner.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (April 25, 2026) – NASCAR today announced pivotal leadership changes with its Board of Directors naming Steve O’Donnell as Chief Executive Officer and Ben Kennedy as Chief Operating Officer, positioning the sport for its next phase of growth and innovation. These planned transitions follow a period of sustained momentum and business strength for NASCAR, driven by multi-year media rights agreements, long-term charter extensions and robust partner relationships.

Effective immediately, O’Donnell becomes the first non-France family member to serve as CEO in NASCAR’s 78-year history. He assumes all strategic and operational leadership for NASCAR, its affiliated racing series and businesses. Kennedy, in his expanded role as Chief Operating Officer, will oversee several core business functions, including the addition of NASCAR’s competition department, alongside his current leadership of track and event operations, racing innovation, hospitality, and venue strategy. Jim France, who served as NASCAR Chairman and CEO since 2018 where he oversaw nearly a decade of innovation and steady growth, will remain as Chairman of NASCAR’s Board of Directors. Lesa France Kennedy also continues as Executive Vice Chair and NASCAR’s Board of Directors remains unchanged.

“I am incredibly proud of the strength and stability we’ve achieved across the sport, which gives me tremendous confidence in our plan to transition leadership to Steve as NASCAR’s next CEO and Ben as COO,” said NASCAR Chairman Jim France. “Together, they represent the future of the sport, and along with our world-class executive team and race team partners in the garage, they will guide NASCAR into its exciting next era.”

As CEO, O’Donnell will focus on advancing NASCAR’s vision as one of the world’s premier sports and entertainment brands. Previously serving as NASCAR’s sixth President, O’Donnell is one of the sport’s longest tenured and respected executives with more than 30 years of service across competition, operations, marketing and business functions – from grassroots racing through the NASCAR Cup Series. He will also lead the development and execution of multi year strategic plans, financial and performance benchmarks, succession planning, as well as NASCAR’s next media rights and evolving content distribution strategies.

“It is an honor to step into the role of CEO working alongside Ben and our leadership team at such an important time for our sport,” said NASCAR Chief Executive Officer Steve O’Donnell. “I have devoted nearly my entire l career to NASCAR, this garage and our fans, guided by the France family’s commitment to deliver the best racing in the world. I am grateful and energized to continue to collaborate with our colleagues across our sport, while listening to our race fans to realize that vision each and every week.”

With Ben Kennedy’s elevation to NASCAR’s Chief Operating Officer, he will oversee a range of business- and competition-critical functions, including the addition of Competition led by John Probst. Probst will report to Kennedy, who began his NASCAR career on the Competition team as General Manager of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. Kennedy will also continue to oversee the creation of NASCAR’s highly anticipated annual schedule, a key driver of marquee events that expand NASCAR’s reach and introduce the sport to new audiences while honoring its most beloved racing traditions that have delivered many iconic sports moments.