By Roy J. Akers — www.skyviewsports.net
Talladega crowned another first-time CUP winner with Carson Hocevar edging out Ford Racing/RFK driver Chris Buescher. The series moves to Texas Motor Speedway for race 11 of 26 regular-season races. Joey Logano has been in the witness protection program in 2026, but he is the defending champion.
| LOGANO GOING FOR TEXAS REPEATJoey Logano will be looking for his second straight NASCAR Cup Series win this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway and third overall. That’s because Logano was able to pass Michael McDowell on the backstretch after an overtime restart one year ago. Logano, who has 37 career victories, has won multiple Cup races at 10 different racetracks (Atlanta, Bristol, Kansas, Las Vegas, Michigan, New Hampshire, Phoenix, Richmond, Talladega and Texas). |
 FRONT ROW COMING OFF SEASON BESTThe Front Row Motorsports trio of Todd Gilliland, Noah Gragson and Zane Smith ended up with solid finishes last week at Talladega Superspeedway. All three took advantage of the final restart with three laps to go to improve their positions and finish in the top 11. Smith took the restart eighth and finished fifth, marking his third top-10 of the year, while Gragson earned his first top-10, improving from 14th to ninth, and Gilliland went from 15th to 11th. |
 CINDRIC CONTINUES TO RALLYAustin Cindric’s 2026 season got off to a rough start as accidents in Atlanta and Phoenix contributed to a 30th-place spot in the point standings. But that has changed dramatically over the past five races with Cindric registering three top-10 runs, including a hard-fought eighth-place finish at Talladega in which he and his team overcame damage from a 26-car accident midway through the race. Those results have helped the 2022 Daytona 500 champion climb 14 spots to 16th going into Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway. |
 NINE ALL-TIME FORD CUP WINNERS Ford has 16 NASCAR Cup Series victories at Texas Motor Speedway with nine drivers having at least one. Kevin Harvick ran off a streak of three straight playoff victories at the 1.5-mile track from 2017-19 and is tied with Carl Edwards, who had three career Ford wins including a season sweep in 2008. Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano have two apiece while Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Dale Jarrett and Elliott Sadler have one each. |
| WEEKEND OF FIRST-TIMERSChevrolet is coming off its second NASCAR Cup and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series doubleheader sweep of the 2026 season – a feat accomplished by a pair of first-time winners. |
 In an always thrilling trip to Talladega Superspeedway, it was Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar that survived the ‘Big One’ and a three-lap dash to the finish to make his first career trip to victory lane at NASCAR’s highest level. Competing in his third full-time campaign in the division, it was only a matter of time before the Michigan native etched his name into history as a Cup Series winner. In 91 career starts, Hocevar has earned six top-five finishes, three of which have come just this season. The victory was enough to push Hocevar into the top-10 of the points standings for the first time this season with the No. 77 team ranked eighth heading into the Texas race weekend. The 1.5-mile oval has produced a set of ‘firsts’ for the young Team Chevy driver including his first career Cup Series pole (2025) and his first career Craftsman Truck Series win (2023). |
 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series ‘Rookie of the Year’ contender, Corey Day, led just one lap around the 2.66-mile Alabama superspeedway, but it was the most important one of the race. Sitting at the top of the leaderboard on the final lap when the caution came out, the California native went on to earn his first trophy in the NASCAR national ranks. His rookie campaign has been nothing short of impressive. In 11 races this season, Day has collected nine top-10s to lead the series with fellow Team Chevy drivers and series veterans, Justin Allgaier and Sheldon Creed. |
| TOP-10 TALLY Chevrolet’s second NASCAR Cup Series win of the season was celebrated by a strong contingency of drivers representing the Bowtie brigade among the top of the leaderboard. First time winner, Carson Hocevar, led Chevrolet to six top-10 finishes. It marked the second time this season a manufacturer has placed six cars in the top-10 of a Cup Series event, but Chevrolet took it one step further by achieving the highest representation of different organizations within those results. In addition to Spire Motorsports’ victory, Hendrick Motorsports earned two top-fives with Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott, while Hyak Motorsports’ Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain and Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch rounded out the top-10. |
NASCAR National Series – NCS/NOAPS/NCTSS
Reddick continues top-15 streak … With a 14th-place finish last weekend in Talladega, Tyler Reddick has finished within the top-15 in every Cup Series race this season. It’s been a historic start to 2026 for the 23XI Racing driver, who’s accrued five victories, six top-fives and seven top-10s in 10 races and holds a 110-point lead in the standings. This weekend marks the eighth start for Reddick at Texas Motor Speedway, where he’s a previous winner in 2022.
Bell, Jones look to extend Texas success … Joe Gibbs Racing’s (JGR) Christopher Bell and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’s Erik Jones have both garnered success at Texas in their Cup Series careers to date. At the mile-and-half oval, Bell has made seven career starts, with three top-fives and four top-10s. For Jones, he’s made 14 career starts at the “Lone Star State” oval, with four top-fives and eight top-10s, including a fifth-place result last season. He also recorded six consecutive top-10s at Texas from 2017 to 2020.
Crews extends streak … In his first career superspeedway race at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend, Brent Crews just missed out on his first career O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win, but continued the amazing start to his series career. It was the third consecutive top-five result for the Toyota Development Driver, as well as his fifth top-10 in seven career starts. The 18-year-old will make his debut at Texas this weekend.
Burton returns to favorable Texas … Texas has been a kind spot for Sam Hunt Racing’s Harrison Burton over the course of his O’Reilly Series career. The 25-year-old has made six career series starts at Texas, earning a win in 2020, along with two top-fives and five top-10s. Burton enters the weekend with two straight top-10s at Texas, with an eighth-place finish in 2024 and a sixth last season.
