NASCAR
Denny Hamlin overcomes penalty to win NASCAR Cup race at Las Vegas
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
LAS VEGAS, NV (March 15, 2026) —A refocused and rejuvenated Denny Hamlin drove the dominant car to victory in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The NASCAR Cup Series victory was Hamlin’s first of the season, his third overall and second straight at the 1.5-mile track and the 61st of his career—good for 10th on the all-time list.
The win came five races after Hamlin suffered a crushing 11th-hour defeat in the race for the 2025 Cup championship at Phoenix Raceway last November. Three laps from his first title and foiled by an ill-timed caution, the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota took months to reconcile the disappointment.
“I knew it took a few weeks to feel like driving,” Hamlin said. “Over the last couple weeks, I definitely regained my love of it, got refocused. These are great opportunities for us.”
His 61st victory broke a tie on the career list with Kevin Harvick.
“My name stands out amongst… there’s the legends of the sport,” said the 45-year-old driver. “I feel very fortunate to be on the list. Those guys were far more talented than I have ever thought about being.
“I just work really hard. I still to this day work really hard at my craft to try to continue to get better. Days like today certainly make me feel happy about where I’m at in the sport still and what I can still do.”
Brushing off a pit road speeding penalty at the first stage break, Hamlin rallied to lead a race-high 134 laps and held off the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets of Chase Elliott and William Byron, who ran second and third, respectively.
Pole winner Christopher Bell was fourth, followed by Ty Gibbs, Chris Buescher and Kyle Larson, who led 62 laps and finished second in both Stage 1 and Stage 2.
Chase Briscoe ran eighth, overcoming a pit road speeding penalty, as did Gibbs, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate. Bubba Wallace came home ninth and Brad Keselowski 10th.
Tyler Reddick, winner of the first three races this season, faded to 13th in the final run but maintained his series lead by 61 points over Wallace, his 23XI Racing teammate, and 67 over third-place Ryan Blaney.
With Hamlin relegated to the rear after his speeding penalty, the start of the second stage was a thrill show, with the cars of Larson, Bell, Byron and Elliott packed together like the Air Force Thunderbirds flying in formation.
The four drivers, soon joined by Reddick, jockeyed for position for three laps before Byron pushed Larson into the lead on Lap 93, with Bell soon following into second.
Larson led 28 laps before steering his car to pit road on Lap 121. When the pit cycle ended, Larson led Bell by nearly three seconds but began to fade toward the end of the stage. Both Bell and Byron tracked Larson down, with Byron seizing a chance to take the lead three-wide in the tri-oval on Lap 159.
Byron pulled away to win the stage, with Larson and Bell finishing second and third under the green/checkered flag on Lap 165.
Meanwhile, Hamlin spent the entirety of Stage 2 recovering from the pit road speeding penalty he incurred under caution during the Stage 1 break on Lap 84. Restarting 21st on Lap 89, Hamlin methodically worked his way forward and was fifth when the second stage ended.
Hamlin moved to second behind Byron after the final-stage restart on Lap 174, grabbed the lead to the inside of the Hendrick driver on Lap185 and began to pull away.
But Hamlin’s lead was short-lived. On Lap 211, Byron pulled ahead in Turn 3 moments before Connor Zilisch spun off Turn 4 to cause the first caution of the race for an on-track incident.
Under the yellow, Bell regained two positions and the lead with a quick stop, with Hamlin exiting pit road in second and Byron and Elliott following in third and fourth. A slow pit stop relegated Larson to eighth for the Lap 218 restart.
One lap later, Hamlin passed his JGR teammate for the lead and held it the rest of the way, holding off a fast-closing Elliott by 0.502 seconds at the finish.
“It (the No. 9 Chevrolet) was definitely better there towards the end than we had started the run,” said Elliott, who hasn’t led a lap at Las Vegas since NASCAR introduced the Gen 7 race car in 2022. “I thought there might be an opportunity. I knew that he was starting to get tight there at the end of runs.
“Yeah, man, as bummed as I am to come up that close to a win, I have to kind of bring myself back to a reality check, how much better we ran today than we’ve been running. I’m balancing that, right?
“Obviously, these things are hard to win. We had a great opportunity to do it. But really proud of the effort throughout the week, preparation, yesterday. Just kind of fighting through a not-so-good day. Getting up there in the mix with the guys that win a lot of these races anymore. Really proud of that.”
Substituting for Alex Bowman, who is suffering from vertigo, Justin Allgaier finished 25th. With long green-flag runs being the order of the day, only of the 20 of the 36 starters finished on the lead lap.
There were 21 lead changes among nine drivers and three cautions for 20 laps.
The NASCAR Cup Series races next at Darlington Raceway on March 22 (3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
FORT WORTH, TX (May 3, 2026) — In an event that spelled disaster for a handful of the NASCAR Cup Series’ established stars, Chase Elliott ran an impeccable race—and was rewarded with victory in Sunday’s Würth 400 Presented by LIQUI MOLY at Texas Motor Speedway.
Elliott didn’t lead until Lap 152 of 267, when Corey Heim brought his Toyota to pit road for fuel on an off-cycle strategy. From that point on, the driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet controlled the race with an iron fist, thanks in part to a pit crew that performed its three fastest pit stops of the season on Sunday.
After Heim spun in Turn 4 to cause the seventh and final caution of the race, however, Elliott had to survive a restart with four laps left. But with a push from teammate and third-place finisher Alex Bowman, he cleared runner-up Denny Hamlin off Turn 2 and pulled away to win by 0.407 seconds.
The victory was Elliott’s second at Texas, his second of the season and the 23rd of his career. He joins fourth-place finisher Tyler Reddick (five victories) as a multiple winner this season. Elliott also is the first repeat winner in the last 10 races at Texas.
“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.”
Elliott led a race-high 87 laps to 69 for Heim, who finished 31st.
Hamlin rued the caution that interrupted his pursuit of Elliott with 11 laps left, but he got a strong launch on the final restart.
“Yeah, I thought I got a good restart there at the end side-by-side,” said Hamlin, who finished second to Elliott for the second time this season (the first at Martinsville). “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 pitted for two tires before the final restart and charged from ninth to fourth at the finish.
“All in all, it was a solid day,” said Reddick, who leads the series by 109 points over second-place Hamlin and 117 over third-place Elliott. “It was nice to go for it there on the two tires.
“Just had a couple of passes that took a little longer than they needed to, and that was the difference between… I don’t know if we would have got back to the lead, but I think if we played it perfectly, we could have got second. All in all, it was a good day.”
Chris Buescher finished fifth in the fastest Ford. Daniel Suarez, pole winner Carson Hocevar, William Byron, Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney completed the top 10.
Rookie Connor Zilisch recorded both his best qualifying effort of the season (12th) and his best Cup finish on an oval track (16th).
Throughout the race, attrition eliminated potential contenders.
Christopher Bell’s star-crossed season continued without abatement at Texas Motor Speedway. Bell had just fought off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Hamlin to retain the lead when Todd Gilliland spun in front of Bell’s Toyota off Turn 4 on Lap 68.
Bell took evasive action toward the bottom of the track but clipped Gilliland’s Ford just enough to send Bell’s Camry rocketing into the outside wall, severely damaging the right-side suspension components.
The diagnosis of Bell’s car was terminal, and he exited the race in last (38th) place.
“It was another one of those 50-50 calls,” Bell said of his split-second decision to try to dodge Gilliland’s car. “Me and Denny were side-by-side, and I saw him (Gilliland) spinning and Denny lifted, and I thought that I could shoot the gap on the bottom.
“And I thought I did shoot the gap on the bottom, but I got clipped.”
Defending race winner Joey Logano fared no better. During pit stops under caution on Lap 94, Cole Custer slowed to allow Ty Gibbs to exit his stall. Logano slammed into Custer’s car, peeling back the left front fender of Logano’s Mustang like a can opener.
With the right front tire of his car skewed out of proper orientation, the three-time champion retired from the race.
“I’ll just keep digging and go to the next one,” Logano said philosophically.
Seven laps after Logano’s demise, Bristol winner Ty Gibbs slammed into the Turn 3 wall off the bumper of Ryan Preece’s Ford and fell out of the race in 35th.
Reigning series champion Kyle Larson wasn’t immune from calamity either. On Lap 160, he spun in Turn 2 and clobbered the wall with the driver’s side of his No. 5 Chevrolet.
“I just lost it,” said Larson, who took the car to the garage, his hopes for a second Texas victory dashed.
What Kyle Busch lost was his temper. After qualifying sixth, Busch ran consistently in the top five and earned points in the first stage. He was set for a top-10 finish until he tangled with the Toyota of John Hunter Nemechek after the final restart.
Busch took out his frustrations on the white-flag lap, knocking Nemechek’s car sideways. Busch faded to 20th on a day that started with promise and ended in disappointment.
The NASCAR Cup Series travels next to Watkins Glen International for next Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen (3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
FORT WORTH, TX (May 1, 2026) — The glass slipper still firmly on his foot from last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series win at Talladega, Carson Hocevar mashed the gas in overtime on Friday night and ran away to victory in the SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Beating runner-up and Spire Motorsports teammate Kyle Busch to the finish line by 0.730 seconds in overtime, Hocevar notched his sixth career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory at the 1.5-mile intermediate track that gave him his first in the series in 2023.
The triumph reversed a 1-2 finish from earlier this season at EchoPark Speedway near Atlanta, where Busch beat Hocevar to the stripe by 0.114 seconds.
“It’s unbelievable—what a fun race,” Hocevar said after climbing from his No. 77 Chevrolet on the frontstretch. “We had to reverse the order, obviously the 1-2 with Kyle. I watched him win a lot of truck races, and it’s finally good to put an end to his Texas streak.”
Busch had won his last four Truck Series starts at Texas, but an early brush with the outside wall forced him to regain a lost lap as the beneficiary under caution for Cole Butcher’s crash in Turn 2 on Lap 51.
Busch fought through the field and challenged for the lead in the late going but failed to add to his record 68 Truck Series wins.
“We had an eventful night,” Busch said. “We didn’t start off very well. We were really, really loose and made a lot of adjustments to get it close. When we put the last set off tires on, we were really fast, felt really good.
“I was struggling with grip all night long, but (crew chief) Brian (Pattie) and the guys made a lot of good calls to get us dialed back in. It would have been nice to be in Victory Lane, but it’s good to have a teammate in there and have him get his shot. I got one, he got one, so now we’re even there.”
After the second stage break, Hocevar thought he might have a loose wheel, but that didn’t prevent him from going all-out during a succession of restarts late in the race.
Gio Ruggiero led the field to the overtime restart on Lap 171, but he lost impetus in the middle of a three-wide situation on the white-flag lap, as Hocevar charged into the lead and opened a gap of 10 car-lengths.
Kaden Honeycutt finished third, right behind Busch’s Silverado, with Brandon Jones and pole winner Ben Rhodes in fourth and fifth, respectively, as Ruggiero fell to 17th. Layne Riggs, Christian Eckes, Daniel Hemric, Ty Majeski and Chandler Smith completed the top 10.
Though Honeycutt left with the series lead—by 14 points over Smith—he remained frustrated with his inability to close out a victory.
“I’m proud to be able to drive a truck like this,” said Honeycutt, who is winless in 66 Truck Series starts. “It’s disappointing that I just keep failing. There’s no excuse for it. As soon as I got the lead (on Lap 149), I didn’t protect it right. I didn’t do the right things and ultimately that’s what led us to lose.
“Just got to figure out how to get restarts done. I’ve got to figure out how to win races. It’s eating me alive, I can promise you that.”
Ruggiero likewise missed an opportunity. He had passed Hocevar for the lead on Lap 165 of a scheduled 167, but a violent, five-truck accident on the frontstretch caused the eighth caution, necessitated a red flag for cleanup and forced the overtime.
Hocevar won the second stage and led a race-high 76 laps to 41 for Rhodes, who won the first stage wire-to-wire.
Editor’s Note: Kris Wright finished 31st in the No. 81 America’s Auto Auction Chevrolet Silverado RST for McAnally-Hilgermann Racing.
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.
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Lernerville Speedway and Tri-City Raceway Park hoping to get seasons started Friday night
Kofoid Wins A Close One
Chase Elliott snags second NASCAR Cup victory at Texas
Dietz is Ready for Outlaws
Ganassi 2026 Trading Cards to support PNC’s Grow Up Great partner DonorsChoose
Smith Holds off Dietz in Possee Thriller; Blair Blitzes Late Model Foes at Port Royal
Ryan Blaney charges to NASCAR Cup pole position at Bristol
Alex Palou wins Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach; Scott Dixon finishes 3rd
