Samwise NASCAR Cup Series Newsletter
Monday, May 4, 2026
Elliott Holds Off Hamlin on Late Restart to Win Würth 400 at Texas
Chase Elliott scored his second victory of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season Sunday, holding off Denny Hamlin by 0.407 seconds to win the Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. Elliott did not lead until Lap 152 of 267 — when Corey Heim pitted off-cycle — but his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet then controlled the race, aided by the team's three fastest pit stops of the year. After Heim spun in Turn 4 to trigger the final caution, Elliott survived a four-lap sprint with a push from third-place teammate Alex Bowman. Tyler Reddick was fourth. Post-race inspection cleared the No. 9; the win is Elliott's 23rd career Cup victory.
Sources: NASCAR.com, Motorsport.com
Reddick Holds 109-Point Championship Lead After Texas; Elliott Climbs to Third
Tyler Reddick finished fourth at Texas Motor Speedway, keeping him atop the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series standings with 526 points — 109 ahead of Denny Hamlin. Chase Elliott's win vaulted him to third, 117 points back; Ryan Blaney holds fourth. The playoff bubble remains tight: Christopher Bell dropped to 13th, just 49 points above the cutline. Reddick has won five of the season's first 11 races, the most dominant early run by any Cup driver since Dale Earnhardt in 1987. With 15 regular-season races remaining before the Chase, Reddick leads an increasingly competitive points battle directly beneath him.
Sources: Motorsport.com, Hendrick Motorsports
Bell Crashes Out of Texas After Contact With Gilliland, Falls to 13th in Standings
Christopher Bell's difficult 2026 stretch continued Sunday when his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota made contact with Todd Gilliland's No. 34 Ford on Lap 68 at Texas Motor Speedway. Bell had led 22 laps when Gilliland spun at the exit of Turn 4; the contact sent Bell's Camry into the outside retaining wall on the frontstretch. Damage was terminal; Bell finished last in a 38-car field. The result dropped him from ninth to 13th in points, now just 49 above the cutline. Bell and the No. 20 team are searching for answers after a run of misfortune has derailed what was expected to be a championship-caliber season.
Sources: NASCAR.com
Hocevar Leads Spire Motorsports 1-2 Sweep in Texas Qualifying on Wave of Talladega Win
Carson Hocevar claimed the Busch Light Pole at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, posting a lap at 191.340 mph to edge Spire Motorsports teammate Daniel Suárez by 0.003 seconds. The 1-2 was the first front-row sweep in Spire's history. Hocevar qualified last — per the rule granting the most recent race winner the final draw — after his debut Cup win at Talladega the previous Sunday. The 23-year-old from Portage, Michigan, has now won the Texas pole in back-to-back years. He also won Friday's NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at the track before finishing seventh in Sunday's Cup event.
Sources: NASCAR.com, Motorsport.com
Kyle Busch Addresses Crew Chief Swap as Andy Street Takes Over No. 8 RCR at Texas
Kyle Busch spoke with media at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday about the mid-season change that replaced Jim Pohlman with Andy Street as crew chief on the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Busch said the decision was driven by results: just one organizational top-10 in 10 races left RCR with little choice. Street, who served as RCR's Performance Director in 2026, worked with Busch for the final five events of the 2025 campaign, producing two top-10 finishes including a fifth at Phoenix. Busch said he is “all in” with RCR and believes Street's familiarity with him can produce quick improvement.
Sources: NASCAR.com, Motorsport.com
Busch and Nemechek Tangle on Penultimate Lap at Texas, Souring Andy Street's Debut
Andy Street's debut as crew chief for the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet ended in frustration Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch was running competitively when he and John Hunter Nemechek made contact on the second-to-last lap, relegating Busch to 20th place. The clash extended RCR's wait for a meaningful result. Busch had shown encouraging qualifying pace earlier in the weekend — his best since Daytona — raising hopes for improvement under Street. The Nemechek contact erased those gains. Both drivers are expected to address the incident at Watkins Glen International, where the Cup Series races Sunday on the 2.45-mile road course.
Sources: NASCAR.com, Jayski
Larson Loses Control in Turn 4 at Texas, Exits Early as Hendrick Splits Results
Kyle Larson's Texas Motor Speedway afternoon ended on Lap 160 when his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet snapped loose in Turn 4, sending him to the garage with damage. Larson had started 11th and was in contention before the incident. “I just lost it,” he said afterward. The result left him eighth in the championship, 208 points behind Tyler Reddick. The contrast within Hendrick Motorsports was stark: Chase Elliott won the race and Alex Bowman finished third, while Larson and William Byron both endured difficult afternoons. The team holds a strong overall position but needs consistency from its full driver lineup.
Sources: NASCAR.com
Cup Series Heads to Watkins Glen for Earliest Road Course Date Since 1985
The NASCAR Cup Series visits Watkins Glen International this weekend for the Go Bowling at The Glen on Mother's Day, Sunday May 10 — the earliest Cup race at the 2.45-mile upstate New York road circuit since its return to the schedule in 1986. NASCAR moved The Glen from August to May as part of the 2026 calendar realignment. The weekend is a triple-header: the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races Friday, the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series on Saturday, and the Cup field on Sunday. Weather is forecast to be favorable, though the earlier May date introduces more variability than drivers have historically faced during August visits.
Sources: WBNG News, Watkins Glen International
Cup Series Standings (Top 16)
1. Tyler Reddick — 526 pts
2. Denny Hamlin — 417 pts
3. Chase Elliott — 409 pts
4. Ryan Blaney — 371 pts
5. Chris Buescher — 345 pts
6. Carson Hocevar — 333 pts
7. Ty Gibbs — 330 pts
8. Kyle Larson — 318 pts
9. Brad Keselowski — 311 pts
10. William Byron — 308 pts
11. Bubba Wallace — 304 pts
12. Ryan Preece — 298 pts
13. Christopher Bell — 291 pts
14. Daniel Suárez — 271 pts
15. Austin Cindric — 248 pts
16. Chase Briscoe — 242 pts
Manufacturer Standings
1. Toyota
2. Chevrolet
3. Ford
Order by wins: Toyota 7, Chevrolet 3, Ford 1 (through Race 11)
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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