NASCAR in Texas: How to watch, TV schedule, predictions for 2026 Fort Worth race

NASCAR in Texas: How to watch, TV schedule, predictions for 2026 Fort Worth race originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

NASCAR is back in Texas.

Two months after its trip to Austin, the Cup Series heads to Fort Worth for a 400-mile race around Texas Motor Speedway.

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The 1.5-mile circuit has hosted races annually since 1997 when it first opened. Since then, thousands of race fans have flocked to the speedway to see the likes of Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. win races. Now, it’s modern stars like Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick and Kyle Larson who have visited victory lane in the Lone Star State.

So, what’s in store for this year? What’s the TV schedule for the weekend? And who could contend for the win? Here’s everything to know for the Würth 400:

When is the NASCAR race in Texas?

Green flag for the Würth 400 is set for Sunday, May 3, at 3:43 p.m. ET.

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Before the race, there will be practice and qualifying on Saturday. Thirty-eight drivers will be split into two groups, with each group getting 25 minutes of free practice. For qualifying, each driver will get one lap to set the starting order based on speed.

NASCAR TV schedule this weekend for Texas

Mike Joy (play-by-play), Kevin Harvick (analyst) and Clint Bowyer (analyst) will be on the call for FOX and Amazon Prime Video this weekend.

Here’s the full TV and streaming schedule:

Saturday, May 2 (Amazon Prime Video)

Sunday, May 3 (FOX Sports 1)

Who is racing in Texas? Here’s the entry list

Thirty-eight drivers will race at Texas — the 36 full-timers, plus two “open” entries.

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Top prospect Corey Heim continues his part-time schedule for 23XI Racing, driving the No. 67 Toyota in his third start of 2026. Elsewhere, 31-year-old Chad Finchum will make his third start of the season and 15th of his career for Garage 66.

Here’s the full entry list for Texas:

NASCAR picks, predictions, favorites for Texas

Texas is the most unique 1.5-mile track on the NASCAR schedule.

Unlike its counterparts in Charlotte, Las Vegas and Kansas, the Fort Worth circuit has two distinctly different corners a wide and low-banked turns one and two, then a tighter and higher-banked turns three and four.

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That variance has created a tricky challenge for drivers, leading to the more cautions per race than any other active track in the NextGen era (2022-present).

So, who could overcome the chaos to win on Sunday? Keep your eye on the superteams of Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing — and of course, Reddick for 23XI Racing.

HMS has been the standout in recent years, winning three of the last five trips to Texas with three different drivers (Larson, Byron and Elliott). Byron’s 11.4 average finish is the best among drivers with at least 10 Texas starts and Larson’s 615 laps led is third-best. Elliott, meanwhile, won there in 2024.

For JGR, Hamlin typically carries the torch. The veteran has three Texas wins, but his last two starts have ended with an engine failure (2025) and a crash on a late restart (2024). Bell, Briscoe and Gibbs have all started in the top-10 over the last two years, though they haven’t capitalized on great finishes just yet.

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If anyone can challenge the HMS and JGR, it’s Reddick. He’s won five of the first 10 races this season for Michael Jordan’s team, and he’s led laps in four straight Texas starts. It’s easy to put Team Penske into this group, especially after Logano’s win last year, but the Fords have struggled at intermediate tracks this season.

Finally, diving into some potential longshots, don’t forget about Hocevar and Austin Dillon. Hocevar, who won his first career race last week at Talladega, was on pole at Texas last year and led 22 laps. Dillon has finished top-10 in his last two Texas starts and won in 2020.

The winning pick for Texas is Larson, who was fourth last year and has led at least 75 laps in four of his last six Texas starts. The reigning champion hasn’t won a race in over a calendar year, so it’s time for him to get back to victory lane.

NASCAR past winners, race history for Texas

Eight of the 38 drivers in the field are past winners in Texas.

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Busch leads the field with four victories (2013, 2016, 2018, 2020), followed by Hamlin with three (2010, 2010, 2019) and Logano with two (2014, 2025). One-time winners include Dillon (2020), Larson (2021), Reddick (2022), Byron (2023) and Elliott (2024).