Cup - 2026 - Würth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY
Date: 2026-05-03 | Track: Texas Motor Speedway
Three ways to measure this race
| Official winner | TLS leader | Best ARP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | Chase Elliott (#9) | Denny Hamlin (#11) | Denny Hamlin (#11) |
| Finish | P1 | P2 | P2 |
| TLS points | 9082 | 9114 | 9114 |
| ARP | 5.11 | 4.99 | 4.99 |
| Laps led | 87 | 21 | 21 |
Three different ways to measure a race — and they often point to different drivers.
Official winner — Chase Elliott (#9): where the car was at the checkered flag (P1). Led 87 laps with 5.11 average running position and 9,082 TLS points.
TLS leader — Denny Hamlin (#11): most position-weighted points across every scored lap (9,114 points). Finished P2 with 21 laps led and 4.99 ARP. TLS rewards running up front all afternoon, not only the final lap.
Best ARP — same as the TLS leader (4.99). The official winner ran a worse average position (5.11).
The checkered flag reflects who survived the final seconds. TLS reflects where drivers ran across the whole race. ARP tells you the typical running spot — but not who banked the most valuable laps.
Elliott holds off Hamlin at Texas
A messy lap-94 pit-road tangle and mid-race contact for Ty Gibbs (#54) were early signs this Würth 400 would be decided late. Kyle Larson (#5) brought out a lap-160 caution; only Brad Keselowski (#6) and Ryan Preece (#60) stayed out before Chase Elliott (#9) cycled to the lead at the end of stage 2.
Elliott (#9) and Hamlin (#11) stayed out on the final stop while much of the field pitted. Elliott (#9) led Hamlin (#11) by 0.394 seconds at the white flag and held on to win after John Hunter Nemechek (#42) spun past the line but reached pit road.
| Finish Position | Points Position | Driver | Car Number | Manufacturer | Team | Start Position | Laps Led | ARP | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 14 | 87 | 5.11 | 9082 |
| 2 | 1 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 4 | 21 | 4.99 | 9114 |
| 3 | 8 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 9 | 0 | 11.42 | 7391 |
| 4 | 4 | Tyler Reddick | 45 | Toyota | 23XI Racing | 8 | 0 | 7.39 | 8472 |
| 5 | 3 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Ford | RFK Racing | 3 | 0 | 5.97 | 8851 |
| 6 | 6 | Daniel Suarez | 7 | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 2 | 0 | 8.83 | 8086 |
| 7 | 5 | Carson Hocevar | 77 | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 1 | 40 | 8.21 | 8252 |
| 8 | 10 | William Byron | 24 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 15 | 0 | 14.13 | 6665 |
| 9 | 14 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | Toyota | 23XI Racing | 37 | 0 | 16.54 | 6018 |
| 10 | 19 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Ford | Team Penske | 31 | 5 | 19.40 | 5252 |
| 11 | 13 | Riley Herbst | 35 | Toyota | 23XI Racing | 18 | 1 | 15.57 | 6280 |
| 12 | 18 | Erik Jones | 43 | Toyota | Legacy Motor Club | 21 | 13 | 19.32 | 5273 |
| 13 | 17 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | Ford | RFK Racing | 25 | 4 | 18.07 | 5609 |
| 14 | 16 | Ryan Preece | 60 | Ford | RFK Racing | 20 | 0 | 17.74 | 5698 |
| 15 | 9 | Austin Cindric | 2 | Ford | Team Penske | 13 | 0 | 13.94 | 6717 |
| 16 | 21 | Connor Zilisch # | 88 | Chevrolet | Trackhouse Racing | 12 | 0 | 20.40 | 4985 |
| 17 | 22 | Shane Van Gisbergen | 97 | Chevrolet | Trackhouse Racing | 30 | 0 | 21.39 | 4719 |
| 18 | 26 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 38 | 0 | 25.21 | 3697 |
| 19 | 12 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | Chevrolet | HYAK Motorsports | 22 | 0 | 15.28 | 6358 |
| 20 | 7 | Kyle Busch | 8 | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 6 | 0 | 9.67 | 7861 |
| 21 | 15 | John Hunter Nemechek | 42 | Toyota | Legacy Motor Club | 33 | 0 | 17.12 | 5842 |
| 22 | 25 | Zane Smith | 38 | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 34 | 0 | 23.88 | 4038 |
| 23 | 11 | Chase Briscoe | 19 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 5 | 4 | 14.66 | 6499 |
| 24 | 31 | Ty Dillon | 10 | Chevrolet | Kaulig Racing | 35 | 0 | 29.63 | 2503 |
| 25 | 23 | AJ Allmendinger | 16 | Chevrolet | Kaulig Racing | 26 | 0 | 22.16 | 4496 |
| 26 | 20 | Ross Chastain | 1 | Chevrolet | Trackhouse Racing | 16 | 0 | 20.18 | 5025 |
| 27 | 28 | Michael McDowell | 71 | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 19 | 0 | 26.21 | 3415 |
| 28 | 27 | Noah Gragson | 4 | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 28 | 0 | 25.80 | 3524 |
| 29 | 24 | Josh Berry | 21 | Ford | Wood Brothers Racing | 24 | 0 | 23.87 | 4039 |
| 30 | 34 | Cody Ware | 51 | Chevrolet | Rick Ware Racing | 29 | 0 | 32.24 | 1797 |
| 31 | 37 | * Corey Heim(i) | 67 | Toyota | 23XI Racing | 17 | 69 | 0.00 | 0 |
| 32 | 33 | Todd Gilliland | 34 | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 32 | 0 | 31.15 | 2001 |
| 33 | 37 | * Chad Finchum(i) | 66 | Ford | Garage 66 | 36 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| 34 | 29 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 11 | 0 | 20.69 | 3314 |
| 35 | 36 | Cole Custer | 41 | Chevrolet | Haas Factory Team | 27 | 0 | 33.02 | 1041 |
| 36 | 30 | Ty Gibbs | 54 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 10 | 1 | 9.64 | 3259 |
| 37 | 35 | Joey Logano | 22 | Ford | Team Penske | 23 | 0 | 20.31 | 1794 |
| 38 | 32 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 7 | 22 | 6.13 | 2268 |
Season Points Standings (Up to This Race)
| Rank | Driver | Car Number | Season Points | Average Running Position | Total Laps Led | Points this race |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | 93068 | 9.79 | 624 | 9114 |
| 2 | Tyler Reddick | 45 | 90882 | 8.96 | 201 | 8472 |
| 3 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | 85712 | 10.60 | 249 | 5252 |
| 4 | Kyle Larson | 5 | 84317 | 10.03 | 499 | 3314 |
| 5 | Chase Elliott | 9 | 82415 | 12.08 | 196 | 9082 |
| 6 | Chris Buescher | 17 | 81084 | 11.95 | 68 | 8851 |
| 7 | Ty Gibbs | 54 | 78616 | 10.68 | 61 | 3259 |
| 8 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 77134 | 12.92 | 89 | 6018 |
| 9 | Austin Cindric | 2 | 76888 | 13.83 | 26 | 6717 |
| 10 | Christopher Bell | 20 | 76163 | 10.71 | 325 | 2268 |
| 11 | Carson Hocevar | 77 | 73878 | 16.05 | 71 | 8252 |
| 12 | William Byron | 24 | 73206 | 12.72 | 34 | 6665 |
| 13 | Ryan Preece | 60 | 72115 | 15.62 | 25 | 5698 |
| 14 | Chase Briscoe | 19 | 70568 | 14.06 | 69 | 6499 |
| 15 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | 69394 | 16.49 | 160 | 5609 |
| 16 | Joey Logano | 22 | 66687 | 15.36 | 114 | 1794 |
| 17 | Ross Chastain | 1 | 66468 | 16.56 | 52 | 5025 |
| 18 | Daniel Suarez | 7 | 64899 | 17.30 | 1 | 8086 |
| 19 | Zane Smith | 38 | 54003 | 20.87 | 10 | 4038 |
| 20 | Josh Berry | 21 | 53093 | 19.62 | 15 | 4039 |
| 21 | Erik Jones | 43 | 53058 | 21.46 | 13 | 5273 |
| 22 | Austin Dillon | 3 | 52698 | 20.97 | 5 | 3697 |
| 23 | Riley Herbst | 35 | 51312 | 21.36 | 1 | 6280 |
| 24 | Shane Van Gisbergen | 97 | 49661 | 20.62 | 6 | 4719 |
| 25 | Michael McDowell | 71 | 49600 | 21.61 | 16 | 3415 |
| 26 | Kyle Busch | 8 | 48452 | 20.44 | 19 | 7861 |
| 27 | AJ Allmendinger | 16 | 46950 | 22.78 | 2 | 4496 |
| 28 | Todd Gilliland | 34 | 44279 | 23.10 | 1 | 2001 |
| 29 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | 41974 | 23.68 | 6 | 6358 |
| 30 | Noah Gragson | 4 | 40674 | 25.28 | 2 | 3524 |
| 31 | John Hunter Nemechek | 42 | 40357 | 23.63 | 19 | 5842 |
| 32 | Connor Zilisch # | 88 | 36772 | 25.26 | 0 | 4985 |
| 33 | Ty Dillon | 10 | 31419 | 27.23 | 3 | 2503 |
| 34 | Alex Bowman | 48 | 28918 | 19.53 | 0 | 7391 |
| 35 | Cole Custer | 41 | 26592 | 28.07 | 1 | 1041 |
| 36 | Cody Ware | 51 | 22410 | 30.38 | 2 | 1797 |
| 37 | * Jimmie Johnson | 84 | 2399 | 30.00 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | * Casey Mears | 66 | 1101 | 36.38 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | * BJ McLeod | 78 | 821 | 30.24 | 0 | 0 |