By Mike Haag, Raceday San Antonio
FORT WORTH, Texas – Ross Chastain capitalized on an overtime restart to finish second and earn his season-best finish on Sunday at the Würth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY race at Texas Motor Speedway.
Chastain, driving his No. 1 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing, started 31st on the grid and little by little worked his way to the front of the field. By the end of the race he was in contention to win.
“Starting 31st, we wanted to go +30 positions today,” Chastain said. “It’s all on this crew – the engineering group at Trackhouse Racing and the group at Chevrolet. We made an adjustment during the race and it fixed the car. All the problems we had yesterday and the start of the race, they were gone. I was confident. I was not confident yesterday.. you heard me in the booth say it. With just one adjustment, it brought this Tootsies Chevy to life and that’s why you keep fighting.”
It was Chastain’s second top-10 finish in nine races at TMS and his sixth top-10 finish in 2025.
Kyle Larson dominates early but falls short
Kyle Larson led a race-high 90 laps, showcasing strong performance throughout the event. However, he was unable to maintain the lead in the closing stages, ultimately finishing fourth.
Larson, driving the No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet, firmly establishing himself as a top contender from the drop of the green flag. He started fourth and quickly asserted control in the early stages, managing traffic with ease and consistently stayed in the top five, even winning Stage 2.
Larson was able to maintain a competitive pace, but he was unable to hold off the late charge from Logano and others as the field reshuffled in the final dash to the checkered flag. The chaotic nature of the final laps saw him lose a few spots and he crossed the line in fourth.
“(Michael) McDowell just did a really good job of timing the restarts,” Larson said. “He left pretty much when I did, and he had a push behind him. He got clear to the lead and I just lost control of the race there. It was a bummer to do that. If I could have kept the lead, we would have been hard to beat in clean air like that. Just a little frustrated with myself, but all-in-all, it was a good points day for us today. The No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet team did a great job today. The car was good. We’ll just study it and try to do a better job next time.”
Michael McDowell’s late-race crash alters outcome
Michael McDowell, who led late in the race, collided with Ryan Blaney while battling for second place, resulting in a crash that relegated him to a 26th-place finish. This incident brought out a caution, leading to the overtime finish that ultimately benefited Logano.
McDowell, driving the No. 71 Delaware Life Chevrolet, moved up 15 positions into second behind Larson after gambling on two tires with fuel in the final cycle of pit stops with 46 laps remaining. Logano, who went with four tires and fuel, came out fifth. Despite the tire disadvantage, McDowell would eventually overtake Larson for the lead on Lap 244 and led 19 of the next 20 laps.
While battling hard for second place, McDowell made contact with Ryan Blaney resulting in McDowell spinning out and crashing, bringing out a caution. McDowell was searching for his first top-10 finish at TMS in 27 starts.
“I just really hate it for everyone on this No. 71 Delaware Life Chevrolet team,” McDowell said. “We were giving it everything we had there to try to keep track position. Joey (Logano) got a run there, and I tried to block it. I went as far as I think you could probably go. When (Ryan) Blaney slid in front of me, it just took the air off of it and I just lost the back of it. I still had the fight in me, but I probably should have conceded at that point.”
McDowell added, “Just proud of everyone at Spire Motorsports. I know that’s not the day that we wanted, but we had the opportunity to win the race. I’m really proud of everyone at the Hendrick Motorsports engine shop – you guys saw those restarts, the motors were ripping. Just hate that we didn’t get it done, but we knew we had to go for it.”
Early exit for Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin, driver of the Progressive Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing, suffered engine failure and spun out between Turns 1-2 on Lap 75. As he was spinning the car caught fire.
Hamlin said that prior to the incident his car did not give him any warning and that it just started to slow down.
“It was blowing up for about a lap or so before it really detonated, Denny Hamlin said. “I tried to keep it off to keep it from full detonating, that was they can diagnose exactly what happened to it. It’s tough to say exactly what it is, but they’ll go back and look at it and we’ll find out in a few weeks.”
Hamlin added, “I’ve had blown engines in two or three seasons in-a-row now where we didn’t have any issues several years prior to that. Just trying to develop I’m guessing and trying to get more. Certainly, we feel like we need to get a bit more power but this was unexpected for us.”
Hamlin, who entered the race third in the point standings, finished 38th after starting eighth on the grid.
By the numbers at Texas
With the victory Logano becomes the ninth different winner in the last nine races at Texas. The track record is 13 different winners between 1998 and 2007.
Previous winners dating back to the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 in 2019 were Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Chase Elliott and now Logano.
Sunday’s race marked the 45th running of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, the 13th since the reconfiguration and the third scheduled at 400 miles (267 laps).
Logano’s win helps Ford break a four-race winning streak by Chevrolet, which is the longest streak ever by a car manufacturer at the track.
There were 20 lead changes among 13 drivers in the 271-lap race, with 12 cautions for 73 laps which played a pivotal role in eliminating contenders as well as putting several drivers in position to win at Texas. Five cautions came in the final 42 laps of the race.
