Yardbarker
Yardbarker
x
Joey Logano conquers Texas for first Cup victory of 2025
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Joey Logano erased his difficult start to the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season by capitalizing on an overtime shootout and winning the Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 4.

The reigning three-time Cup Series champion from Middletown, Connecticut, led twice for seven of 271 over-scheduled laps in an event where he rolled off the starting grid in 27th place. Although mired within the top-20 mark after the first stage, he moved up to ninth place following the second stage period.

Logano’s breakthrough moment occurred with four laps remaining when he prevailed in a late duel with Michael McDowell to lead for the first time. Despite enduring a single overtime attempt after McDowell wrecked, Logano was able to fend off teammate Ryan Blaney and Ross Chastain as he attempted to cash in on his first Cup victory of the 2025 season.

On-track qualifying determined the starting lineup on Saturday, May 3. Carson Hocevar notched his first Cup career pole position with a pole-winning lap at 191.659 mph in 28.175 seconds. Joining Hocevar on the front row was William Byron, the latter of whom clocked in his best qualifying lap at 191.564 mph in 28.189 seconds.

When the green flag waved and the race started, pole-sitter Carson Hocevar and William Byron dueled for the lead ahead of two-stacked lanes through the first two turns and the backstretch. Hocevar muscled his No. 77 Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente Chevrolet’ entry ahead through Turns 3 and 4. He then led the first lap ahead of Byron while Austin Cindric, Michael McDowell and Kyle Larson followed suit in the top five, respectively.

Over the next four laps, Hocevar nearly lost the lead to Byron after he slid up the track and nearly hit the backstretch’s outside wall. But he maintained the top spot over Byron as a series of on-track battles ensued within the field. Hocevar extended his early advantage to more than a second over Byron at the Lap 10 mark. Cindric, McDowell and Larson maintained their respective top-five spots ahead of Josh Berry, Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger and Bubba Wallace.

On Lap 19, the event’s first caution flew. Noah Gragson, while battling Daniel Suarez in the top-20 mark, got sideways and spun his No. 4 Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry from the center to the bottom of the track in Turn 2. Despite spinning, Gragson proceeded without sustaining any damage to his entry. By then, Hocevar stabilized his lead to more than a second over Byron while Cindric, McDowell and Larson were in the top five.

During the event’s first caution period, nearly the entire field led by Hocevar pitted for a first round of pit service while Hamlin remained on the track. Following the pit stops and amid mixed strategies, Cindric, who opted for a two-tire pit service, exited pit road first.

Berry, Chris Buescher, Hocevar (the first with four fresh tires), Austin Dillon, Larson, Byron, McDowell, Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell followed suit. Shortly after, Hamlin, who meant to pit but did not do so due to a miscommunication with his team, pitted. This allowed Cindric to cycle into the lead. Amid the pit stops, Ty Dillon received a penalty due to his pit crew jumping over the pit wall too soon. Ryan Blaney and John Hunter Nemechek also received penalties for speeding on pit road.

The start of the following restart on Lap 25 featured Cindric and Berry dueling for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. Meanwhile, Chris Buescher, Hocevar and the rest of the field followed suit. As Cindric muscled his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry ahead of Berry, Buescher briefly came off the gas after hitting a bump on the track’s surface and was bumped by Hocevar. But both proceeded without drawing a caution. Amid the battles, Cindric led the following lap over Berry. Buescher maintained third place over Hocevar while Larson pursued in fifth place ahead of teammate Byron.

Just past the Lap 35 mark, Cindric, who nearly hit the outside wall entering the frontstretch, retained the lead by a tenth of a second over a hard-charging Berry. Third-place Buescher trailed by less than half a second. Meanwhile, Buescher and Larson remained in the top five ahead of Byron, McDowell, Austin Dillon, Briscoe and Ty Gibbs. Bell, Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones and Kyle Busch pursued in the top 15 ahead of Ross Chastain, Ryan Preece, Justin Haley, Zane Smith and Alex Bowman.

At the Lap 50 mark, Cindric continued to hold strong on his two fresh tires and led by three-tenths of a second over Berry. Buescher remained in close pursuit by six-tenths of a second. With the top three competitors racing on two fresh tires, Larson, the first competitor with four fresh tires, trailed in fourth place by a second.

Teammate Byron, Hocevar, McDowell, Tyler Reddick, Gibbs and Briscoe followed suit in the top 10. Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Wallace, Bell, Kyle Busch, Preece, Chastain, Chase Elliott, Haley and Zane Smith, followed in the top 20. Meanwhile, Alex Bowman was mired in 21st place ahead of Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, rookie Riley Herbst and Ryan Blaney. Hamlin was mired in 26th place ahead of Daniel Suarez and Cole Custer. In addition, Gragson, Nemechek and Ty Dillon were outside the top-30 mark.

Ten laps later, Cindric maintained his lead to three-tenths of a second over Berry while Buescher continued to trail in third place by six-tenths of a second. Another 10 laps later, Cindric, who was slowly approaching lapped traffic, was leading by three-tenths of a second over Berry. Top-five competitors Buescher, Reddick and Larson trailed the lead by less than a second. By then, Reddick, who had cracked the top five since Lap 67, had overtaken Buescher for third place. He then pursued Berry for the runner-up spot and claimed it by Lap 73.

Then on Lap 74, the event’s second caution flew. Hamlin, who had fallen off the pace and reported power loss, spun sideways in between Turns 1 and 2 as he had flames billowing out from his No. 11 Progressive Toyota Camry XSE entry. The incident took him out of further contention and made him the first retiree of the event. It also snapped Hamlin’s 21-race streak of finishing on the lead lap.

The caution for Hamlin’s engine issues was enough for the first stage period to officially conclude on Lap 80 under caution. As a result, Cindric, winner of last weekend’s Cup event at Talladega Superspeedway who had fended off a challenge from Reddick, claimed his second Cup stage victory of the 2025 season. Reddick followed suit in second ahead of Berry, Larson and Buescher. Hocevar, Byron, Ty Gibbs, McDowell and Erik Jones were in the top 10, respectively.

Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Cindric returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Berry edged Cindric off of pit road first. Larson, Buescher, Reddick, Byron, Hocevar, Gibbs, McDowell and Jones, completed the top 10. Amid the pit stops, Haley and Jones received penalties for speeding on pit road. Bell received a penalty for a safety violation.

Stage 2

The second stage period started on Lap 87 as Berry and Cindric occupied the front row. At the start, Berry muscled ahead of Cindric to lead the field through the first two turns and the backstretch. As Berry proceeded to lead through Turns 3 and 4, Larson made his way into the runner-up spot over Cindric.

The caution then returned a lap later. Briscoe restarted in 10th place, was mired in a three-wide battle with Wallace and Preece, and got sideways through Turns 3 and 4. Despite Briscoe’s efforts to keep the car straight, he barely clipped Riley Herbst before Briscoe spun back sideways towards the frontstretch’s outside wall. He sustained minimal damage to his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE entry and limped back to his pit stall.  

During the caution period, Bell, Briscoe’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, pitted to have the air hose connecting to his cooling system inside of his No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry XSE entry addressed.

As the event restarted under green on Lap 93, Berry and Larson dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. Both Larson and Berry continued to duel through the frontstretch and for the following lap as Cindric, Reddick and Buescher pursued.

Berry then muscled his No. 21 Würth Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry ahead of Larson exiting the backstretch to lead the field. Larson maintained the runner-up spot over Reddick, Cindric and Buescher. Behind, Hocevar, who nearly got loose entering the frontstretch, maintained sixth place in front of Byron. McDowell while Gibbs, Wallace and Alex Bowman battled for ninth place. Amid the battles, Berry proceeded to lead at the Lap 100 mark.

Through the Lap 110 mark, Berry was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Larson. Third-place Reddick trailed by more than a second. Behind, Buescher and Cindric occupied the top-five spots ahead of Byron, Hocevar, Bowman, McDowell and Gibbs. Wallace, Kyle Busch, Preece, Blaney and Logano were mired in the top 15 ahead of Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Nemechek, Gragson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Ten laps later, Berry slightly extended his lead to a second over Larson while Reddick, Buescher and Cindric continued to trail in the top-five mark. By then, Bowman overtook Hocevar for seventh place and Wallace navigated his way back into the top-10 mark while McDowell dropped to 11th place.

Then on Lap 124, the caution returned when Berry, the leader who was approaching the lapped competitor of Cody Ware, got sideways after he went too high in Turns 3 and 4, spun and hit the outside wall. Amid Berry’s incident, Larson escaped with the lead while Reddick, Buescher, Cindric and Byron followed suit in the top five.

During the latest caution period, nearly the entire field. led by Larson. pitted for service while Todd Gilliland remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Larson exited pit road first. Hocevar, Preece, Reddick, Buescher, Nemechek, Keselowski, Byron, Gibbs and Wallace, followed behind. During the pit stops, McDowell and Cody Ware received penalties for speeding on pit road. Jones was also penalized for vehicle interference along with Zane Smith, the latter of whom was due to removing equipment from his pit box.

When the event restarted under green on Lap 131, Gilliland briefly muscled his No. 34 Love’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry ahead of the field from the inside lane through the frontstretch before Larson used both the outside lane and four fresh tires to rocket his No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet entry past Gilliland and take off with the lead entering the backstretch.

As the field fanned out to multiple lanes, Preece, Reddick, Hocevar and Nemechek carved their way into the top five while Gilliland drifted back to the top-10 mark on his worn tires. As the event reached its halfway mark between Laps 133 and 134, Reddick motored past Preece for the runner-up spot and teammate Wallace would climb up to seventh place in between Byron and Nemechek while Larson led by nearly half a second.

At the Lap 145 mark, Larson continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Reddick while Buescher, Preece and Hocevar followed suit in the top five ahead of Byron, Wallace, Bowman, Nemechek and Blaney, respectively. Meanwhile, Logano, Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Gibbs and Elliott were in the top 15. Gilliland was back in 18th place amid his pit strategy call to remain on the track on older tires. In addition, Cindric, after enduring a slow pit service during the previous caution period, was racing in 21st place, Erik Jones was mired in 23rd place and Bell was back in 27th place behind McDowell, Stenhouse and Haley.

Ten laps later, Larson stabilized his lead to four-tenths of a second over Reddick while Buescher, Preece and Hocevar remained in the top five, respectively. By then, Byron was overtaken by teammate Bowman and Wallace, with Bowman overtaking Hocevar for fifth place. Logano overtook Nemechek to navigate his way back into 10th place. In addition, Blaney was up to ninth place and Nemechek maintained 11th place in front of Kyle Busch, Gibbs, Gragson and Elliott while Gilliland was strapped in 19th place.

Then on Lap 161, the caution flew due to debris on the course when Buescher, who was racing in third place, scrubbed the frontstretch’s outside wall. He had fallen off the pace a lap prior as he had a right-rear tire starting to come apart. As Buescher limped around the track and back to pit road, the tire carcass then rolled out of Buescher’s No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry, coming to rest in the middle of Turns 3 and 4. Despite making it back to pit road, Buescher, who lost a lap in the process, was ineligible for both the free pass and the wave around due to being busted with a commitment line violation.

The caution for debris on the course concluded the second stage period that was initially scheduled to conclude on Lap 165. At the stage’s conclusion, Larson cruised to his sixth Cup stage victory of the 2025 season. Reddick followed suit in second ahead of Bowman, Preece and Wallace while Hocevar, Byron, Blaney, Logano and Kyle Busch were scored in the top 10, respectively.

During the stage break, the field led by Larson returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Byron, who spun Cole Custer while exiting his pit stall, exited pit road first ahead of teammate Elliott, Cindric, teammate Larson, Reddick, Wallace, McDowell, Hocevar, Blaney and Logano. Amid the pit stops, Riley Herbst was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation. McDowell was also penalized for pitting outside his pit box.

With 96 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as teammates Byron and Elliott occupied the front row. At the start, Byron, who opted to remain on the track despite sustaining right-front fender damage from hitting Custer on pit road, rocketed his No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet entry away from the field through the first two turns and the backstretch.

Then through the backstretch, the caution returned when Wallace, who was racing in seventh place, scrubbed the outside wall in front of Logano. He was hit in the rear by Logano and his car snapped sideways, spinning his No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota Camry XSE entry to the bottom of the track. In the process, he clipped Gragson before hitting the inside wall.

At the same time, AJ Allmendinger got sideways and collided with Bowman towards the outside wall before he collided with Gragson while Bowman was hit by Chad Finchum. The incident knocked Allmendinger, Bowman, Finchum, Gragson and Wallace out of contention.

The start of the following restart with 89 laps remaining featured teammates Byron and Elliott dueling for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. Byron managed to clear Elliott through Turns 3 and 4. As Byron led the following lap, Cindric, Larson, Reddick and Gibbs made their way into the top-five mark.

Elliott, who went wide, fell back to sixth place. Elliott proceeded to drop to ninth place for the following lap before he dropped to 10th place with 85 laps remaining. By then, Byron retained the lead by four-tenths of a second over Cindric.

With 80 laps remaining, Byron maintained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Cindric while Larson, Gibbs and Blaney followed in the top five. Meanwhile, Hocevar, who was making fast lap times, was in sixth place ahead of Reddick, Preece, Logano and Gilliland. Ty Dillon, Keselowski, Elliott, Nemechek and Erik Jones trailed in the top 15.

A lap later and with the front-runners getting stacked up behind Byron, Larson used the outside lane to overtake Cindric for the runner-up spot through the first two turns. Gibbs and Blaney followed suit which dropped Cindric to fifth place. Larson proceeded to overtake teammate Byron for the lead with 78 laps remaining. As Larson led, Gibbs and Blaney overtook Byron to move into second and third, respectively. Byron would then get pressured by Reddick and Hocevar for fourth place while Larson led by four-tenths of a second with 75 laps remaining.

Down to the final 65 laps of the event, Larson was leading by half a second over a hard-charging Blaney. Gibbs, Reddick and Hocevar trailed in the top five. Behind, Preece, Logano, Cindric, Gillilan and Nemechek were racing in the top 10 ahead of Erik Jones, Kyle Busch, Ty Dillon, Keselowski and Bell. By then, Byron, who pitted four laps earlier and dropped out of the lead lap category, was in 30th place.

With 55 laps remaining, various pit strategies within the field started to occur. Cindric pitted his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry for four tires and fuel. By then, Reddick started to gain ground on both Larson and Blaney before Hocevar and Gibbs pitted towards the final 50-lap mark.

The Final Laps

Then with 49 laps remaining, the caution flew when Jesse Love, an Xfinity Series regular who was making his second Cup Series career start driving the No. 62 Chevrolet entry for Beard Motorsports, spun. He then hit the backstretch’s inside wall after he got loose underneath rookie Shane van Gisbergen. By then, Preece and Gilliland had pitted their respective entries. Larson, who was among several in the field that had yet to pit, was leading ahead of Blaney, Reddick, Logano and Busch.

During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Larson peeled off the track to pit for service. Following the pit stops, Larson exited pit road first while McDowell, who opted for a two-tire pit service, exited second. They were followed by Blaney, Busch, Logano, Reddick, Jones, Zane Smith, Keselowski and Bell, respectively.

The following restart with 42 laps remaining featured Larson and McDowell jumping ahead of the field and dueling before Larson rocketed ahead from the inside lane entering the backstretch. Both Bell and Hocevar were having issues navigating through the first two turns and losing a bevy of spots. Larson proceeded to lead the following lap while McDowell maintained second place in front of Busch, Blaney, Reddick, Logano and Jones. Larson was leading by two-tenths of a second over McDowell with 40 laps remaining while Reddick and Logano battled for fifth place.

Then with 39 laps remaining, Busch, who was racing in third place in front of Blaney, ran over a small bump through Turns 3 and 4. His car snapped sideways before he backed his No. 8 7-Eleven Chevrolet entry into the outside wall. The field dodged Busch as he nursed his entry back to pit road. Stenhouse, who barely dodged Busch, briefly caught some air as he drove his No. 47 SunnyD Chevrolet entry through the frontstretch’s grass.

As the event restarted under green with 33 laps remaining, Larson rocketed ahead with the lead. McDowell was challenged and overtaken by Blaney for the runner-up spot. With Larson leading the following lap, Blaney pursued Larson as McDowell, Reddick and Logano trailed in the top five. The caution then flew with 31 laps remaining when Hocevar pushed Preece up the track entering the backstretch, which resulted in them wrecking from the top to the bottom of the straightaway. Cody Ware was also involved as he, along with Preece and Hocevar, were knocked out of contention.

The event restarted under green with 23 laps remaining. McDowell, who was being pushed by Reddick, launched ahead of Larson and led the field through the first two turns and the backstretch. Then in Turns 3 and 4, Larson, who was dueling with Reddick for the runner-up spot, went wide and caused both to go up the track. This allowed Blaney to move into the runner-up spot. Logano would follow suit while Larson fell back to fourth place in front of Reddick. Amid the battles, McDowell, who was still holding strong on two fresh tires, continued to lead with 21 laps remaining.

Shortly after, the caution returned. Keselowski, who was racing in 12th place, slid sideways on his own entering the backstretch and was dodged by a majority of the field. However, Cole Custer, Cindric and Busch, all of whom wrecked after running into one another amid the chain reaction, slid into Keselowski. The incident resulted in Keselowski having his No. 6 Consumer Cellular Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry to be towed back to his pit stall, and retiring from further contention. It also extended Keselowski’s difficult start to the 2025 season as he was strapped with his eighth result of 26th or worse.

Down to the final 15 laps, the race restarted under green. At the start, McDowell and Blaney dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. Both Blaney and McDowell continued to duel through Turns 3 and 4 and the frontstretch before Blaney started to muscle ahead from the outside lane.

The caution returned when Reddick, who was racing in the top 10, spun sideways from the bottom of the track through the frontstretch after contact with Suarez. Amid the incident, Reddick managed to straighten his No. 45 Air Jordan Toyota Camry XSE entry and proceed without getting hit by the field. At the moment of caution, McDowell was ruled ahead of Blaney and placed as the leader.

The start of the next restart with 10 laps remaining featured McDowell and Blaney dueling for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. McDowell used the inside lane to muscle back ahead through Turns 3 and 4. As McDowell led the following lap, Logano battled and overtook teammate Blaney for the runner-up spot. Chastain made his way up to fourth place ahead of Jones, Larson and Suarez. With Logano keeping McDowell close within his sights, the latter maintained the top spot by three-tenths of a second over the next three laps.

Then with four laps remaining, Logano, who gained a strong entry entering the backstretch, made his move beneath McDowell, who briefly missed his mark. Although he tried to block and force Logano below the apron in the backstretch. Logano would not be denied. He muscled his No. 22 AAA Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry into the lead. Teammate Blaney would then get beneath McDowell, starting through Turns 3 and 4, before he raced up into the runner-up spot while McDowell fell back to third place.

A lap later, however, McDowell’s road to a potential victory was spoiled when he got loose after Blaney slid in front of him and smacked the outside wall hard before he veered back down to the track and hit the inside wall at the driver’s left side. The incident heavily damaged McDowell’s No. 71 Delaware Life Chevrolet entry and took him out of contention. McDowell’s incident was enough to both draw a caution and send the event into overtime.

The start of overtime featured teammates Logano and Blaney dueling for the lead in front of a stacked field before Logano rocketed ahead with the lead through the first two turns. Chastain muscled up to second while Blaney maintained third place in front of Larson, Stenhouse and Jones.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Logano maintained a steady lead over Chastain and Blaney. With the latter two unable to mount a final lap charge, Logano was able to cycle his entry around Texas for a final time smoothly. He returned to the frontstretch and claimed his first checkered flag of the 2025 Cup Series season by three-tenths of a second over Chastain.

With the victory, Logano racked up his 37th career win in NASCAR’s premier series, his first since he won the season-finale event at Phoenix Raceway in November 2024. It was also his first at Texas since April 2014. Logano is the seventh different winner through the first 11 scheduled events of the 2025 Cup Series season. He also recorded the third victory of the year for the Ford nameplate and the second in a row in recent weeks for Team Penske. Logano’s win adds to his crew chief Paul Wolf’s resume as the winningest active Cup crew chief in the garage with 43 victories

Before Logano’s Texas victory, Logano’s average finishing result was 19.7. In addition to finishing no higher than eighth, he was strapped with four results outside the top-20 mark. As a result of his Texas victory, Logano became the ninth different competitor to win at the Lone Star State through the event’s previous nine events.

“The sport changes so quickly,” Logano said on the frontstretch on FS1. “It’s crazy how you can just ride these roller coasters. Proud of the team. [I] Finally get AAA Insurance into Victory Lane. They’ve been a partner of mine since I’ve been to Penske, so 13, 14 years and we’ve yet to win with them. So, it was awesome to get that done here. I [prevailed] just slowly, methodically, a couple at a time. We had a really tough pit stall situation.

“The pit crew did a good job at managing that and just grabbed a couple here and there. The car was fast. I knew that yesterday. I did a poor job qualifying and just grinding it out. Just keep grinding a couple here and a couple there and eventually, get a win here. So, it’s nice to get one. Real nice.”

Behind Logano, Ross Chastain made a late charge to net a runner-up finish for his highest-finishing result through the first 11-scheduled events. Ryan Blaney, who started in 24th place, finished in third place for his third top-five result through the previous four events. Despite netting strong results, both Chastain and Blaney expressed mixed feelings about their performance and missed opportunities of contending for the Texas victory.

“That’s a working-class day,” Chastain said. “[I had] Just no confidence in the car yesterday and y’all saw that. Just the speed of the Trackhouse [Racing] cars on Saturdays is just terrible. We’re just not confident, all three drivers. There was one pit stop today that [crew chief] Phil Surgen and the group, it takes a ton of people back at Trackhouse, and on the box here and GM at Chevrolet, and they made me a confident driver.

“All of a sudden with one adjustment, and it was small stuff. It doesn’t even make sense, but after that, I was a confident driver. I can’t drive an uncomfortable car. I can’t, personally, so as soon as they got it comfortable or at least gave me some confidence, we started going forward.”

“The one time I didn’t pick the outside [lane], [McDowell] gets the lead and then, I couldn’t get it back,” Blaney said. “Just driver making dumb decisions and not doing his job. Appreciate [the] No. 12 car. It was a fast car. Just can’t do nothing right currently So hopefully, it’ll work itself out.”

Meanwhile, Kyle Larson, who led a race-high 90 laps, commenced his month of May racing tour by finishing in fourth place. Erik Jones rallied from his pair of pit road penalties to notch a fifth-place result in his 300th Cup Series career start. While Jones was left satisfied with his result, Larson was left disappointed after not capping off a dominant run with a victory.

“You don’t want to give up the lead on a mile and a half [track],” Larson said. “It’s hard to get it back. Michael [McDowell] just did a good job [of] timing [the restart with 23 laps remaining]. I left early the restart before and was going to leave early again. He just anticipated and left probably right with me or just barely before. He had [Tyler] Reddick pushing him behind him. I wish I could go back and do that all over again. Bummer, but I’ll try to learn from it.”

“It’s been a long time,” Jones said. “I guess somebody just told me it’s [been since] Kansas [2023] since we had a top five on [a] non-speedway [track]. Just proud of Legacy [Motor Club], proud of this group. It’s been a long road, last year and a half. [I] Was happy to see the AdventHealth Camry upfront. Happy to be upfront in contention. It was kind of a long day with some penalties, but [I] ended up in contention for it. It was fun.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon, John Hunter Nemechek, Christopher Bell and Daniel Suarez completed the top 10 in the final running order.

Notably, the following names drivers including Todd Gilliland, William Byron, rookie Riley Herbst, Chase Elliott, Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, rookie Shane van Gisbergen, Ty Gibbs, Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Preece, Jesse Love, Josh Berry, Bubba Wallace, Noah Gragson, Alex Bowman, AJ Allmendinger and Denny Hamlin capped off their respective runs in 11th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 18th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 25th, 27th, 28th, 29th, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 34th, 35th, 36th and 38th.

In addition, pole-sitter Carson Hocevar, who led 22 laps, ended up in 24th place while Michael McDowell, who led 19 laps, settled in 26th place. There were 20 lead changes for 13 different leaders. The race featured 12 cautions for 73 laps. In addition, 23 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the 11th event of the 2025 Cup Series season, William Byron leads the regular-season standings by 13 points over teammate Kyle Larson, 83 over both Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott, 84 over Tyler Reddick and 86 over Christopher Bell.

Results:

1. Joey Logano, seven laps led

2. Ross Chastain

3. Ryan Blaney, two laps led

4. Kyle Larson, 90 laps led, Stage 2 winner

5. Erik Jones

6. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

7. Austin Dillon

8. John Hunter Nemechek, one lap led

9. Christopher Bell

10. Daniel Suarez

11. Todd Gilliland, four laps led

12. Ty Dillon

13. William Byron, 22 laps led

14. Riley Herbst

15. Justin Haley

16. Chase Elliott

17. Zane Smith

18. Chris Buescher

19. Cole Custer

20. Kyle Busch

21. Tyler Redick, one lap led

22. Shane van Gisbergen

23. Ty Gibbs

24. Carson Hocevar, one lap down, 22 laps led

25. Austin Cindric, three laps down, 60 laps led, Stage 1 winner

26. Michael McDowell – OUT, Accident, 19 laps led

27. Chase Briscoe – OUT, Suspension

28. Brad Keselowski – OUT, Accident

29. Ryan Preece – OUT, Accident

30. Cody Ware – OUT, Accident

31. Jesse Love – OUT, Accident

32. Josh Berry, 84 laps down, 41 laps led

33. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident

34. Noah Gragson – OUT, Accident

35. Alex Bowman – OUT, Accident, one lap led

36. AJ Allmendinger – OUT, Accident

37. Chad Finchum – OUT, Accident

38. Denny Hamlin – OUT, Engine, one lap led

Next on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, for the AdventHealth 400. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, May 11, and air at 3 p.m. ET on FS1.

This article first appeared on SpeedwayMedia.com and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

Yardbarker +

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

TODAY'S BEST

Steelers Coach Makes WR2 Crystal Clear
NFL

Steelers Coach Makes WR2 Crystal Clear

The Pittsburgh Steelers have reportedly been looking for another skill position player to help supplement their offense, but wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni believes Calvin Austin III is more than capable of filling the No. 2 role behind DK Metcalf. "Everyone's downplaying, underplaying our group right now," Azzanni said, per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Chris Adamski. "I love it that way. I don't want anyone looking at us anyway. It'll be good. So I think that two spot is all Calvin's. And really him and DK are such different players, there's going to be plays where he is the one guy, 'cause that's his route and vice versa, because they're so different in stature." The Steelers' receiver room has been rather thin over the past few years. While Metcalf is likely an upgrade over George Pickens, who was traded to the Dallas Cowboys last month, the team still has a need for supplementary pieces who are capable of making an impact on a weekly basis. While Roman Wilson, a 2024 third-round pick, and veteran Robert Woods, who signed a one-year deal in April, will both be incorporated within Pittsburgh's offense, Austin seems to be in line for an elevated role after flashing his potential throughout the 2024 campaign. While showing signs that he was becoming a more well-rounded receiver, Austin finished the year with 36 catches for 548 yards and four touchdowns while acting as the Steelers' primary option out of the slot. He had a bit of a slow start to his career after missing his entire rookie campaign in 2022 due to a foot injury, but the 26-year-old has gotten back on track over the past two seasons. There's plenty of explosiveness in his game, and Azzanni is bullish about what he brings to the table as he enters a contract year. "I think everyone overlooks No. 19," he said, per Steelers insider Mark Kaboly. "That guy's a legit NFL receiver ... he just gets separation all over the field, he'll bite your face off in the run game, nothing affects him, a great leader. He can do a lot of things a two can do."

Crazy practice green rule could have U.S. Open golfers seeing red
Golf

Crazy practice green rule could have U.S. Open golfers seeing red

Golfers will have to navigate a number of challenges during the 2025 U.S. Open this week, but there is one in particular that they may not be accustomed to. Ryan Herrington of Golf Digest wrote on Tuesday about a local rule at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, that will require some extra thought from players in the U.S. Open field. The rule pertains to the practice green, which is actually connected to the ninth green. The ninth green at Oakmont is so massive that the portion of the 22,000-square-foot surface closest to the clubhouse is used as the practice green. There are blue stakes and a sign near the middle of the green that indicate where the actual ninth green and practice area are separated. Golfers who are playing the ninth hole and hit their approach shot long and into the practice area will likely be entitled to free relief. As Herrington explained, USGA rule 16.1d states that a player can take relief when their ball ends up in a spot where a practice hole interferes. That is the friendly part. What golfers need to be even more cognizant of is USGA rule 5.2b, which prohibits players from practicing "on the course" prior to a round. If a player were to make a stroke on an actual area of the course prior to playing their round, that player would be assessed a one-stroke penalty on the first hole. A second violation would result in the player being disqualified from the tournament. That means players who are practicing their putting at Oakmont need to be certain they do not cross the blue stakes into the area of the ninth green that is part of actual play. Herrington notes that the USGA sent a memo to golfers ahead of the U.S. Open reminding them of the unique practice green setup. Even still, the extremely unique rule is one that will have to remain on the minds of golfers and their caddies.

Ranking NFL minicamp holdouts from most to least concerning
NFL

Ranking NFL minicamp holdouts from most to least concerning

Mandatory minicamps started Tuesday, which also marks the beginning of holdout season for players seeking contract extensions. Players who hold out of minicamp are subject to fines. According to NFL.com's Kevin Patra, players can be fined up to $104,768 if they miss all three days of minicamp. Players sometimes are willing to pay the fines if it leads to a team caving and giving them a new deal. With that in mind, here's a ranking of the major holdouts from most to least concerning: 1. Cincinnati Bengals edge-rusher Trey Hendrickson, per ESPN's Adam Schefter Hendrickson and the Bengals aren't in a good place. In May, the 30-year-old pass-rusher told The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr. he won't play on the last year of his deal, which is set to pay him $15.8M. He said he was "disappointed" with contract negotiations multiple times during a 25-minute conversation. The Bengals, meanwhile, don't seem willing to budge. At the league meetings in April, Cincinnati executive vice president Katie Blackburn said, "Some of it is on [Hendrickson] to be happy at some point" (h/t Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer). The Bengals have allowed Hendrickson to seek a trade, but extending him would be a better move for the team. Last season, he had a league-leading 17.5 sacks in 17 regular-season games and earned a first-team All-Pro nod. Without Hendrickson, Cincinnati's pass-rush would falter. Edge-rusher Joseph Ossai finished second on the team in sacks (five in 17 games) last season. The Bengals took Texas A M edge-rusher Shemar Stewart with pick No. 17 in the NFL Draft, but he logged only 4.5 sacks in three seasons with the Aggies. According to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, Stewart still hasn't signed his rookie contract and is holding in at minicamp, giving Hendrickson even more leverage. 2. Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin, per The Athletic's Dianna Russini In a story published Tuesday, Russini and The Athletic's Ben Standig reported McLaurin has grown "frustrated" with contract negotiations and has skipped OTAs. He did the same before he signed a three-year, $68.36M extension in June 2022. The Commanders acquired WR Deebo Samuel Sr. in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers in March, but it's easy to argue McLaurin is the better player. In 15 games with the 49ers last season, Samuel had 51 receptions for 670 yards and three touchdown catches. McLaurin, meanwhile, had 82 receptions for 1,096 yards and 13 TD catches. The Commanders seem to realize McLaurin is a valuable weapon for quarterback Jayden Daniels. In March, Washington general manager Adam Peters told the media, "We want to make Terry a Commander for a long time." With the Commanders feeling McLaurin is a key member of the franchise, don't be surprised if they sign him soon. 3. Pittsburgh Steelers edge-rusher T.J. Watt, per NFL Media's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo On a May episode of his podcast, longtime Steelers reporter Mark Kaboly said the team has made a "substantial" offer for Watt, but "it's probably not" what he wants. Watt — entering the final year of a four-year, $112.01M deal — may want a deal that pays him the same or more than Cleveland Browns edge-rusher Myles Garrett. In March, Garrett — 2023 Defensive Player of the Year — signed a four-year, $160M extension with the Browns. Like Garrett, Watt is an elite pass-rusher. He won 2021 DPOY and has earned four first-team All-Pro nods in eight seasons with the Steelers. Pittsburgh has remained confident it'll sign Watt. At the NFL Scouting Combine in February, Steelers general manager Omar Khan said he's "hopeful" Watt will spend the rest of his career with the Steelers, as former Pittsburgh wide receiver Hines Ward and safety Troy Polamalu did. The Steelers may have to increase their offer to sign Watt, but Khan's comments suggest they're willing to do that.

Padres star had surprising take after Dodgers let Enrique Hernandez pitch
MLB

Padres star had surprising take after Dodgers let Enrique Hernandez pitch

Enrique Hernandez’s versatility as a utility man truly knows no bounds. The Los Angeles Dodgers were getting blown out by the San Diego Padres 9-0 in the 6th inning of Tuesday’s game at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif. With a comeback unlikely, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts decided to have Hernandez eat some innings. Hernandez actually did a decent job during his time on the mound, limiting the Padres to just a single earned run with two walks across 2.1 innings pitched. San Diego won 11-1. Padres slugger Jackson Merrill sounded impressed with Hernandez as he spoke to reporters after the game. “That was the nastiest cutter I’ve ever seen,” Merrill said of Hernandez’s pitching, via Marty Caswell of The Sporting Tribune. “He would literally step out of the batter’s eye, and [the ball] would go across the whole other batter’s box and the plate, and land in the zone. It was nasty. Shoutout to [Enrique].” Reporters had to clarify if Merrill was being sarcastic. The 22-year-old All-Star assured them he was dead serious. He added that he probably would not get a hit off Hernandez if they faced each other again. Hernandez got Merrill to ground out in three pitches. The Puerto Rican’s three pitches to Jackson all hovered around 50 mph. Tuesday’s game was the third time Hernandez pitched for the Dodgers this season. He entered the game with no runs allowed across 2.0 innings. With a 2.08 ERA through three games as a pitcher, Enrique may be angling to follow in Shohei Ohtani’s footsteps as a two-way player.