Wurth 400: Winners, Losers from NASCAR Race Today at Texas

Sunday’s Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway delivered some early chaos thanks to cautions, taking out top drivers like Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and Joey Logano. On a day with quite a few surprises, both at the front of the field and in terms of DNFs, there is plenty to take away.

Let’s dive into our winners and loers from the NASCAR race today.

Winner: Chase Elliott Earns His Second Win of 2026

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Even if Chase Elliott didn’t make it to victory lane on Sunday, potentially losing out on the win because of a late caution with nearly 10 laps to go, this was going to be a great points day. Thankfully for the No. 9 team, the work put into having the fastest car at Texas Motor Speedway was rewarded on the final restart as Elliott raced his way to the win. Elliott has now given himself a nice little cushion inside the top four of the points standings through 11 races.

Loser: Christopher Bell’s Bad Luck in Texas Continues

NASCAR Race Today, Würth 400 — Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Texas Motor Speedway hasn’t been kind to Christopher Bell and the No. 20 team. Coming into the Würth 400, Bell had finished 17th or worse in three of his last nine races at the track. Things looked promising early on Sunday, with Bell leading 22 laps and closing in on a Stage 1 victory. Unfortunately, as he worked to pass teammate Denny Hamlin, Todd Gilliland got loose and spun directly into the No. 20. Bell’s car suffered race-ending damage, resulting in a last-place finish with just 1 point at Texas.

Winner: Riley Herbst Starting to Prove He Belongs

On a day where Corey Heim led 69 laps, reigniting calls for him to get a full-time ride with 23XI Racing next season, Riley Herbst needed a strong showing at Texas Motor Speedway. Mission accomplished. Herbst picked up 3 stage points in the second stage and delivered his third top-20 finish of the season. While we continue to believe that Heim will be driving the No. 35 car for 23XI next season, Herbst is doing enough in 2026 to potentially earn a ride with Legacy Motor Club.

Loser: Fate Finds Joey Logano’s No. 22

It wasn’t a strong start to the day for Joey Logano, who finished 23rd in Stage 1. Fortune did seem to be on his side, however, when on Lap 94, William Byron spun out and Logano narrowly avoided smashing into the No. 24 car. Fate found him moments later. Coming out of his pit box, Logano smashed into the back of Cole Custer when the No. 41 had stopped on pit road to try and let Ty Gibbs exit so he could get down into his pit stall. The collision tore the front driver’s side of the No. 22 car off, ending his day with a 37th-place finish.

Winner: Erik Jones’ Delivers Season-Best Points Day

Coming into the NASCAR race today, Erik Jones hadn’t scored more than 16 points in a race over the last month. he was coming off three consecutive races with 14 points in each and, thanks to the No. 43 team’s strategy after the first caution in Stage 1, Jones picked up his first Cup Series stage win of the year and ended the day with a 12th-place finish with a season-best 35 points.

Loser: Ryan Blaney’s Pit Road Experience

The good news for the No. 12 team is that it wasn’t the pit crew at fault this time. Ryan Blaney lost 11 spots on his first pit stop in the Würth 400 because his car stalled leaving his pit box when he put it into the wrong gear. It came after Blaney had gained double-digit spots after poor qualifying on Saturday. Unfortunately, the trouble with qualifying poorly is that it leaves you with one of the last picks for a pit stall. That came back to bite Blaney later on. When Erik Jones came into his pit stall in an awkward position, Blaney had to back up following his stop to maneuver around the car. It’s been that type of season for Blaney on pit road. What’s remarkable, and a testament to Blaney, is he still finished 10th despite all of this.

Winner: Alex Bowman Is Getting Back on Track

We still believe there’s almost zero chance of Alex Bowman making it into The Chase. With that said, the driver of the No. 48 car has shown since his return why he might be the best option for Hendrick Motorsports next season. Coming off a third-place finish at Talladega, Bowman qualified ninth on Saturday and turned that into his second consecutive top-10. He’s scored 72 points in the last two races, a massive total for someone who just a few weeks ago had just 24 when he returned at Kansas Speedway.

Loser: Kyle Larson Has Another Bad Day

Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion came to Texas Motor Speedway with two DNFs this season and three finishes of 32nd or worse in 11 races. Unfortunately for Kyle Larson, the No. 5 car had more issues on Sunday. He was already having issues with the handling of the car and then he just lost it, spinning out to draw the caution. The damage to the No. 5 forced it to go behind the wall for repairs, resulting in him finishing outside the top 30 for the fourth time this season.

Winner: Daniel Suarez Leaves Trackhouse in the Rearview

Trackhouse Racing’s three drivers all finished outside the top 15 in the NASCAR race today at Texas. Meanwhile, the driver they didn’t want delivered his third top-10 finish of the season through just 11 races. After qualifying second on Saturday, Daniel Suarez earned 5 stage points in Stage 2 and largely held down that top-10 running position for the rest of the day, placing sixth. Suarez is clearly demonstrating that he belongs in the Cup Series, which’ll make things even more interesting when NASCAR silly season rolls around. It’s also evident at this point that Trackhouse was the problem, not Suarez.

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