FORT WORTH, Texas — Current NASCAR Cup Champion Joey Logano finally claimed his first win of the season in a challenging race in Texas. This victory came shortly after a turbulent experience at Talladega, where his Team Penske teammate, Austin Cindric, secured a win. Logano finished fifth initially but dropped to 39th as a post-race inspection discovered a spoiler issue with his No. 22 Ford. Additionally, during the Talladega race, a heated radio exchange with his teammate raised concerns that were later resolved in the days leading to the Texas race. Despite starting from the 27th position due to a poor qualifying performance, Logano pushed through for a triumphant finish.
Logano clinched victory on the restart in overtime, during the season’s 11th race, after leading only seven of the scheduled 271 laps. “After what happened last week, to be able to rebound and come right back, it’s a total ’22’ way of doing things. So proud of the team,” Logano noted with pride.
In the race’s final stretch following the 12th caution, Logano skillfully maneuvered past teammate Ryan Blaney, pulling ahead with ease and maintaining the lead over the final 1 1/2 laps. Ross Chastain outpaced Blaney to secure second place. Logano reflected on his strategic climb to the front, stating, “Just slowly, methodically. Just kept grinding, a couple here and a couple there and eventually get a win here.”
Securing his 37th career win came just after he overtook Michael McDowell on lap 264. Logano commented, “I told my wife last week before we left, I said watch me go win this one. It’s just how we do stuff.” During a caution with 47 laps left, McDowell gambled by only changing two tires, propelling him to second place and leading 19 laps. However, shortly after, he lost control, resulting in a crash and ending the race in 26th place.
William Byron, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott maintained their positions atop the season’s points leaderboard. Elliott faces another win drought, having gone 38 races and nearly 13 months without a win, finishing 16th. A crew member for Christopher Bell had to climb through the passenger side to fix an air hose in his car during a second-stage caution, an issue that required two stops for resolution.
Denny Hamlin’s streak of finishing on the lead lap ended on lap 75 following a fiery engine failure in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, marking the first car out of the race. Despite being unaffected by the flames, Hamlin’s exit cut short a remarkable run of 21 consecutive lead-lap finishes, which was tied for the eighth-longest streak in NASCAR history.
Carson Hocevar hit a milestone as the youngest driver to sit on pole in Texas, though he only led the first 22 laps before a late accident sent him to 24th place. Both stages ended under caution, with Cindric taking Stage 1 and Larson winning Stage 2. Larson set records with his 68th career stage win and his sixth in Texas, extending a winning streak in stages across five Cup races at this venue.