By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

FORT WORTH _ Cooper Flagg says he “grew up pretty quick” during his rookie NBA season with the Dallas Mavericks. Flagg’s selection on Monday as 2025-2026 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year reiterated that fact and served as the perfect segue into his role as Honoray Pace Car Driver for Sunday’s NASCAR WURTH 400 presented by Liqui Moly.

FORT WORTH, TEXAS – MAY 03: Cooper Flagg is seen on the grid prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Würth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY at Texas Motor Speedway on May 03, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)

Flagg experienced his first Cup Series race from the best seat on the planet _ the cockpit of a blue 2026 Chevrolet Corvette pacing the field to the green flag. Flagg was given a preview of his driving duties earlier in the morning during a ride with Cup rookie Connor Zilisch, driver of the No. 88 Choice Privileges Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 fielded by Trackhouse Racing.

Both 19, Flagg and Zilisch are earmarked for stardom in their respective careers.

“Got with Connor this morning,” Flagg said. “I don’t know much about racing but to be able to connect with someone my age going through a lot of similar things in your life in our respective sports and what we’re doing…I think that was cool.”

Zilisch qualified 12^th at 189.940 mph for the 267-lap/400.5-miler around TMS’ high-banked/1.5-mile oval, but backed off the accelerator for Flagg. “He got going pretty fast, I would say 100 mph _ I think that’s what he did, for sure,” Flagg said with a smirk. “I was more scared with a car going that fast, but it was pretty cool.

“It (the ‘Vette) was great. It was fast, very comfortable. I was never huge into cars. I grew up driving trucks and I’ve been driving a truck since I got here. Maybe this will change my outlook.”

Mark Faber, TMS’ executive vice president/general manager, presented Flagg a Lone Star State-themed helmet at the close of the interview.

Once on-track, Flagg was given a sample of NASCAR-style drafting when Cup star Denny Hamlin bolted from his second row starting spot on the 38-car grid and placed the nose of his No. 11 Progressive Insurance Toyota Camry close to the rear bumper of the ‘Vette. 

A native of Newport, Maine, Flagg said his parents _ Kelly and Ralph _ frequently attended NASCAR races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “Growing up, Tony Stewart was the main one (favorite driver) in our family,” Flagg said. “I know my mom had a big crush on him.”

Cooper’s mom played college basketball at the University of Maine, while his dad played at Eastern Maine Community College.

Cooper played one season with the Duke Blue Devils before emerging as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. He averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game for head coach Jason Kidd. Flagg led all rookies in scoring and joined Michael Jordan as the only rookies to lead their team in total points, rebounds, assists and steals in a season. In addition, Flagg is the second-youngest player to win the award, trailing only LeBron James.

Flagg also became the youngest player in NBA history to score over 50 points, recording 51 against the Orlando Magic on April 3, 2026.

Flagg received 56 first-place ROY votes to finish with 412 points, narrowly beating Charlotte Hornets guard _ and former Duke teammate _ Kon Knueppel’s 386 points.

From the moment he was drafted, Flagg was tagged as the Mavericks’ “savior,” following the turmoil surrounding the trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 2, 2025. But Flagg said the noise emanating from those “outside voices” were not his biggest challenge.

“The hardest part about becoming a pro in the NBA is the lifestyle stuff,” Flagg said. “I’m playing with guys who are older, have kids, have families _ stuff like that. It’s a different lifestyle. You’ve got to figure out how to be on your own, be away from your family, your parents _ stuff like that. I definitely grew up pretty quick. Grew up fast.”

The Mavericks finished the season with a 26–56 (.317) record, and placed 12th in the Western Conference. That record punctuated another lifestyle change for Flagg.

“Learning how to lose,” Flagg said. “With 82 games, even some of these teams that have a successful season, there’s still a lot of losing. So just learning how to take a lot of positives from even the losses and be able to learn and grow from those. That was a big part of it for me.”

Add Carson Hocevar to the list of NASCAR drivers looking to scratch his Indianapolis 500 itch. The winner of two recent NASCAR starts, Hocevar said he’d like a shot at competing in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

“Well, No. 1, it’s a wish,” Hocevar said during a presser in the TMS infield media center. “You know, I think I could actually do it, like as in confidence of running wide open and managing air. I don’t know if I’ll get to do it, literally. But I just hope if I do get a shot that I can go fit the seat and they don’t tell me I’m too tall for the ride. I, for sure, hope that’s not the case. But I’m just enjoying Sundays right now for sure, though.”

Hocevar won Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 250 in overtime on TMS’ high-banked/1.5-mile oval. Last Sunday, Hocevar scored his first Cup Series victory on the daunting 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway. Clearly, the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been on Carson’s personal radar for years.

Two-time/reigning Cup Series champion Kyle Larson is the most recent NASCAR driver to compete at IMS in a bid to complete “The Double” that includes flying to Concord, N.C., to race in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway later in the day. Larson qualified for the last two Indy 500s in a car fielded by Hendrick Motorsports in partnership with INDYCAR’s Arrow McLaren.

Hocevar said the Indy 500 was always his favorite race, and the only time he sat down to watch racing with his family.

“Growing up in Michigan, I thought I was going to go race Wingless Sprint Cars for a living,” said Hocevar, a 23-year-old native of Portage, Mich. “Bryan Clauson was my idol. My ‘Double’ is not the Coca-Cola 600 and Indy 500… my ‘Double’ I thought I’d get to do is the Indy 500 and the Kokomo 30 down the street. You know, that was ‘The Double’ that if I ever did it, that’s what I would consider it. So if I ever do get that (Indy 500) shot, it would be a lifelong dream.

“NASCAR was always so special, but Indy just was its own thing. It looks so different. It’s a month long. They go 230-240 mph and there’s so much prestige to it. It’s no different than I think how F1 drivers look at Le Mans. It’s a totally different sight and sound to them. It’s just so different from everything I’m used to with stock cars, dirt cars or anything growing up.”

Reserved grandstand seating officially sold-out for Sunday’s NASCAR’s WURTH 400 presented by Liqui Moly, a Texas Motor Speedway official announced after completion of Stage 1. The capacity crowd included fans from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and more than 15 international countries as far away as Australia, Japan, Colombia, Germany, England and Spain.

“There’s no better way to celebrate 30 years of NASCAR racing in Texas than with a capacity crowd at ‘The Great American Speedway,’^” said Mark Faber, TMS’ executive vice president/general manager. “Our success is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Texas Motor Speedway staff and the passionate support we receive from race fans across Texas and around the country.

“We are grateful for every fan that has entered our gates for the past three decades and look forward to an even bigger and better WÜRTH 400 in 2027.”

The WÜRTH 400 weekend featured all three NASCAR national touring series. Carson Hocevar won Friday night’s SpeedyCash.com 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race and Kyle Larson won Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Andy’s Frozen Custard 340. Chase Elliott prevailed in Sunday’s finale, his second Cup win in Cowtown.

Fans can renew their tickets for 2027 at the Texas Motor Speedway ticket office or online at www.texasmotorspeedway.com.