By Lonnie Hugh Skinner
5 4 2025
NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Würth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY
The Place: Texas Motor Speedway
Track Length: 1.5 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Sunday, May 4
The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $11,055,250
TV: FS1, 2 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 400.5 miles (267 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 165), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 267)
NASCAR Cup Series
Texas Storylines and Insights:
· This weekend marks 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).
· The last eight Cup Series races at Texas Motor Speedway were won by eight different drivers, the track record is 13 different winners between 1998 and 2007.
· A total of 24 drivers have won a Cup Series race at Texas, and eight of the 24 are active this weekend: Kyle Busch (2013, 2016, 2018, 2020), Denny Hamlin (2010 sweep, 2019), Joey Logano (2014), Austin Dillon (2020), Kyle Larson (2021), Tyler Reddick (2022), William Byron (2023) and Chase Elliott (2024).
· Chase Elliott’s most recent win came at Texas last April, his current 37 race winless streak is his second longest of his career behind the 42 race winless streak he ended at Texas last year.
· Brad Keselowski finished top-10 in the last six Texas races, the longest active top-10 streak.
· Brad Keselowski is winless at Texas but has three runner-up finishes there including this race last year.
· Brad Keselowski is looking for his first top-10 finish of 2025, he had four top-fives and five top-10s after 10 races in 2024.
· Chase Briscoe’s average finish of 9.0 at Texas is the best all-time by any driver, Tyler Reddick ranks second all-time at 9.3.
· Chevrolet won the last four Texas races, the longest streak ever by a make at the track.
· Hendrick Motorsports drivers won three of the last four Texas races with three different drivers: Chase Elliott 4/24, William Byron 9/23, Kyle Larson 10/21.
· A total of 27 different drivers have won the pole at Texas Motor Speedway, six of the 27 are active this weekend: Brad Keselowski (2015, 2022), Kyle Busch (2013), Austin Dillon (2016), Ryan Blaney (2018), Bubba Wallace (2023) and Kyle Larson (2024).
· The 16 cautions at Texas last April tied the track record for the most cautions set in 9/22 which was a 500 mile race compared to last year’s 400 mile race (it was the most ever cautions in a 400 mile race on a 1.5 mile track).
· The final green flag stretch was six laps or less in three of the last four Texas races.
· Four times the driver running second in this race last year was involved in an accident (McDowell on lap 143, Wallace on lap 173, Hamlin on lap 266 and Chastain on the last lap).
· Denny Hamlin leads all drivers in laps run in the top-five and the top-10 at Texas in the Next Gen car.
· William Byron leads all drivers in points earned at Texas in the Next Gen car.
· The last six races on 1.5 mile tracks were each won by a different driver.
· Kyle Larson, with three, is the only repeat winner in the last nine races on 1.5 mile tracks.
· The pass for the win came in the final seven laps in four of the last seven races on 1.5 mile tracks.
· Twice the NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway has concluded with a last lap pass for the win: 4/15/2007, 4/7/2014.
· Kyle Larson’s nine wins on 1.5 mile tracks rank fifth among active drivers, all nine came in his 31 starts on them with Hendrick Motorsports (29% win percentage on them with Hendrick).
· Alex Bowman finished top-10 in the last seven races on 1.5 mile tracks, the longest active streak and his career longest streak of top-10s on 1.5 mile tracks.
· Ryan Blaney finished in the top-10 in only two of the last eight races on 1.5 mile tracks with finishes of 32nd or worse in five of them.
· Kyle Busch finished outside the top-10 in the last six races on 1.5 mile tracks, he is on a 10 race streak without a top-five finish on 1.5 mile tracks.
· All three of Ryan Preece’s top-10 finishes on 1.5 mile tracks came in the last three races.
· With Kyle Larson’s stage 1 win at Talladega, he passed Martin Truex Jr for the most stage wins in Cup (67).
· Three of the top-four in points are Hendrick drivers (Byron-1st, Larson-2nd, Elliott-3rd) with all four drivers ranking in the top-9 (Bowman 9th).
· 26 top-10 finishes are the most ever by Hendrick Motorsports through 10 races and are the second most all-time through 10 races behind JGR with 27 in 2019.
· Kyle Larson leads all Cup drivers with 503 laps led in 2025, William Byron ranks second in 2025 laps led with 364.
· Hendrick Motorsports drivers won five of the last six stages.
· Chase Elliott is the only driver to finish inside the top-20 in all 10 races this season.
· Denny Hamlin is the only driver to finish on the lead lap in all 10 races in 2025, his current streak of 21 straight lead lap finishes is the longest active streak and his second longest streak behind 23 between 2022 and 2023.
· William Byron’s average start of 10.3 is the best of all drivers in 2025.
· William Byron’s average finish of 8.5 in 2025 leads all drivers and is the best by a Hendrick driver through 10 races since Jimmie Johnson in 2013 with 7.0.
· Kyle Larson’s six top-five finishes and seven top-10 finishes in 2025 are his most ever through 10 races in a season.
· Hendrick Motorsports is the only team with at least one car finishing in the top-five in all 10 races in 2025, no other team had at least one car finish top-10 in all 10 races this year.
· Talladega was the third race in 2025 that Hendrick Motorsports had four cars finish in the top-10 (through only 10 races), the last season Hendrick had at least three races with four cars in the top-10 was in 2014 (five races).
· The 285 lead changes in 2025 are the fourth most all-time through 10 races.
· The 244 lead lap finishers in 2025 are the most ever through the first 10 races of a season.
· Four races ended with a last lap pass in 2025, the most ever through 10 races.
· 2025 is the second straight season that Richard Childress Racing had only one top-five finish after 10 races.
· The final stage was caution free in each of the last two races of 2025, the longest streak in the Stage era.
· 2024 NASCAR Cup Champion Joey Logano’s 284 laps led in 2025 are the most for a driver through the first 10 races without a top-five finish since 2016 (Matt Kenseth – 347).
· Joey Logano is the first defending champion without a top-five finish through the season’s first 10 races.
· Ford’s nine top-fives and 23 top-10s are their fewest since 2016 (8 and 18 respectively).
· Four of the six drivers with at least six top-10 finish in 2025 drive for Hendrick Motorsports: Larson and Byron-7, Bowman, Elliott, Bell and Hamlin-6.
· Erik Jones is making his 300th Cup start this weekend at Texas, eight drivers won in their 300th start including Kyle Busch at Texas in April 2013. Jones is one of five drivers to make their 300th start at the age of 28 or younger.
· Zane Smith’s average finish through 10 races in 2025 is nine positions better than it was through 10 races in 2024.
· Bubba Wallace’s 94 stage points through 10 races in 2025 are his most ever at this point in a season by 25 points.
· Ryan Blaney ranks third in 2025 in stage points earned (92), 33% of his total points this season came from stages.
· Five of the 10 best pit crews in 2025 are Toyota teams.
· Austin Cindric gave Team Penske its first win of the season in three of the last four years.
· Kyle Larson is second in passing, first in speed, third on restarts at 1.5 mile tracks in 2025.
· Ryan Blaney is first in speed at 1.5 mile tracks this year, but DNF in both races.
· Ross Chastain has gained 21 positions on restarts at 1.5 mile tracks this year, most of all drivers.
· Ricky Stenhouse Jr. currently sits 18th in the playoff standings despite ranking 32nd in passing, 31st in speed, and having the 35th ranked pit crew this season.
· Bubba Wallace’s pit crew has gained a net 37 spots on four tire stops this season, most of all teams.
NASCAR & Texas, Etc.
Historical & Significant Events at Texas Motor Speedway:
· Construction on Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) began in 1995 just outside the Dallas/Fort-Worth area of Texas.
· The 1.5-mile track sits on approximately 1,500 acres.
· The first NASCAR national series race at Texas Motor Speedway was a NASCAR Xfinity Series event on April 5, 1997. The race was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin driving an RFK Racing Ford (122.993 mph).
· The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway was on April 6, 1997, and the race was won by Jeff Burton in an RFK Racing Ford (125.111 mph).
· In 1997, the speedway held a two-day country music festival titled Country Fest, attracting 260,000 people. A week later, the speedway held RockFest ’97, a rock music festival that attracted around 400,000 people.
· A 10-story building named the Lone Star Tower overlooks the second turn and is used for condominiums and office space. The Lone Star Tower broke ground in 1996 and was completed in early 1998.
· Texas Motor Speedway underwent its first repave between the 2001 and 2002 NASCAR Cup Series seasons.
· The infield road course at Texas Motor Speedway has four length variations – 2.324 miles, 1.07 miles, 0.7 mile, 0.5 mile.
· Texas Motor Speedway hosted its first NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race on November 6, 2005 – the postseason race won by RFK Racing driver Carl Edwards (151.055 mph).
· In 2010, the track hosted FortyFest, a Christian rock music festival.
· In 2011, the spring NASCAR Cup Series race was moved from Sunday to Saturday night under the lights at Texas Motor Speedway. The 2017 season marked the first year it was moved back to a Sunday afternoon race.
· In 2013, TMS announced the construction of Big Hoss TV, which when constructed, was set to become the biggest HD screen in the world. The video screen was completed in March 2014 and was officially certified by Guinness World Records as the largest HD television LED screen in the world.
· Texas Motor Speedway underwent its second repave between the 2016 and 2017 NASCAR Cup Series seasons. The renovation added a new layer of asphalt over the existing pavement, an expansive French drainage system on the frontstretch and backstretch and reduced the banking in Turns 1 and 2 by four degrees (now 20 degrees).
· The 2021 season marked the first time the track hosted the NASCAR All-Star Race instead of the points-paying spring event. Texas Motor Speedway hosted the NASCAR All-Star Race in 2021 and in 2022 instead of spring race.
· Texas Motor Speedway has hosted one NASCAR Cup Series race from 1997 – 2004 and two races per year from 2005 – 2020.
· In 2021 and 2022, the track hosted the NASCAR All-Star Race and one point-paying Playoff race.
· In 2023, TMS hosted a second location of the HWY30 Music Fest, a country music festival that originated from Filer, Idaho.
· Texas Motor Speedway has earned the nickname of “The Great American Speedway.”
· Since 2023, the NASCAR Cup Series has only competed at Texas Motor Speedway once a season. In total, Texas Motor Speedway has hosted 44 NASCAR Cup Series races from 1997 – 2024.
Latest Track Storylines:
· Film and television actor Shea Whigham, best known for his standout roles in acclaimed projects such as “Boardwalk Empire,” “True Detective,” “Joker” and “American Hustle,” has been named the Grand Marshal for the NASCAR Cup Series race this Sunday, May 4, at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS). The talented veteran actor co-stars with Tom Cruise in “MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – The Final Reckoning,” which will have a gala screening on May 14 at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
· The other primary dignitary role for the WÜRTH 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY will be filled by Sebastian Würth, Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Würth Group. He will serve as the Honorary Starter and wave the green flag to officially start the 11th race of the season. Benjamin Würth, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Würth Group, will be a co-Honorary Race Official alongside Moses Brings Plenty, who is best known for his portrayal of “Mo” in the Paramount Network hit series, “Yellowstone.”
· Former NCS star Kasey Kahne will buckle in as the Honorary Pace Car Driver and help lead the field to the green flag. Kahne was an 18-race winner in the NCS and was part of the closest Cup Series finish in TMS history. He was edged by Elliott Sadler by 0.028 second in the 2004 race.
· Football champion running back Spencer Tillman will provide the pre-race invocation for the WÜRTH 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY. Tillman spent eight years in the NFL with the Houston Oilers (1987-88, ’92-94) and San Francisco 49ers (’89-91). He was also an All-American and captain of the University of Oklahoma’s 1985 national championship team. Tillman is currently a college football game analyst for FOX Sports.
· Another esteemed dignitary will be National Anthem singer Don Graves, who will celebrate his 100th birthday the day prior to his appearance at the NCS race. He is a U.S. Marine veteran who is part of an exceptional group of living American heroes who took part in the successful invasion on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima during World War II. It will be Graves’ second visit to TMS to perform, having sung “God Bless America” prior to the 2023 fall NCS Playoff race.
COURTESY NASCAR COMMUNICATIONS
