This article is part of our NASCAR Barometer series.
One week after the low of disqualification at Talladega, Joey Logano righted his ship with a push to victory in the final miles at Texas Motor Speedway. The Team Penske driver started deep in the field but picked his way forward throughout the afternoon, avoiding the mistakes that cost many other contenders. In the end, as cautions and restarts piled up, Logano leveraged his car's short-run speed to jump into the lead. once there, the track position advantage was difficult for others to overcome and Logano weathered the storm, driving to a relatively comfortable overtime finish. The track lived up to its expectations as being difficult to pass at and filled with cautions. The race featured 20 lead changes among 13 drivers and 12 cautions, but being in the lead was the place to be. The track's fast lap and narrow racing lanes made overcoming the advantage of clean air a tricky one. In the end, Logano was the one able to seize that advantage at the right moment, giving him the edge as the miles drew to completion.
The NASCAR Cup Series makes its way to Kansas Speedway for another 1.5-mile oval race this coming week. Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain won the two trips there last season, and this week's race will be the last before the All-Star Race weekend focuses on North Wilkesboro. After that, another 1.5-mile oval looms in the form of Charlotte Motor Speedway. Logano was able to turn his season's woes around on Sunday,
One week after the low of disqualification at Talladega, Joey Logano righted his ship with a push to victory in the final miles at Texas Motor Speedway. The Team Penske driver started deep in the field but picked his way forward throughout the afternoon, avoiding the mistakes that cost many other contenders. In the end, as cautions and restarts piled up, Logano leveraged his car's short-run speed to jump into the lead. once there, the track position advantage was difficult for others to overcome and Logano weathered the storm, driving to a relatively comfortable overtime finish. The track lived up to its expectations as being difficult to pass at and filled with cautions. The race featured 20 lead changes among 13 drivers and 12 cautions, but being in the lead was the place to be. The track's fast lap and narrow racing lanes made overcoming the advantage of clean air a tricky one. In the end, Logano was the one able to seize that advantage at the right moment, giving him the edge as the miles drew to completion.
The NASCAR Cup Series makes its way to Kansas Speedway for another 1.5-mile oval race this coming week. Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain won the two trips there last season, and this week's race will be the last before the All-Star Race weekend focuses on North Wilkesboro. After that, another 1.5-mile oval looms in the form of Charlotte Motor Speedway. Logano was able to turn his season's woes around on Sunday, and several other contenders will be hoping to do the same for themselves in the next few weeks.
UPGRADE
Joey Logano - Despite starting deep in the field in Sunday's race, Logano methodically picked his way forward and avoided the mistakes that cost many others. By the end of the second stage, Logano had worked his way into the top 10, and just kept that process going as the final stage progressed. Through several late cautions, Logano was able to use his car's strength on restarts to get to the lead and hold off the last few charges until the final overtime restart when he cleared the competition and sailed away to the checkered flag. It was Logano's first top-five finish of the season and it comes just one week after he faced a disqualification at Talladega for a rear-spoiler infraction. After a frustrating start to his championship defense, Sunday's victory give Logano and his No. 22 team the elbow room they need to begin focusing on preparation for the playoffs. First on that trek is Kansas where Logano is a three-time winner.
Ryan Blaney - Despite ruing his decisions during Sunday's race, Blaney still finished third to claim his fourth top-five and best finish of the season so far. In fact, the third-place spot was his third top-five from the last four races. However, Blaney felt as thought his choice to not take a front-row spot for one of the many final restarts cost him a shot at the win. Instead of taking that spot and opting to line up behind Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell was able to move up and nail the restart to put himself in the lead, leaving Blaney to struggle in dirty air. Making passes for the lead was a tough proposition Sunday, and Blaney paid the price for not blocking out McDowell. However, Blaney and Ford are racing at their best of the season so far and with back-to-back wins for his teammates, Blaney could be in line for a win soon. He has never won at Kansas but he led three laps and finished fourth there last fall. While Texas may have been a missed opportunity, the resulting damage was minimal.
Kyle Larson - Larson shone at Texas, capturing his seventh top-five finish of the season and claiming a stage victory along the way. The Hendrick Motorsports driver was expected to be quick before the team even loaded at the track, and Larson didn't disappoint. He qualified fourth, won the second stage, and led the most laps (90) of the afternoon before losing ground on the final restarts to finish fourth. Like Blaney, Larson found making a pass for the lead a difficult task. Once he lost his position at the front, it was too much for Larson to claw his way back. Sunday's result was also his fourth top-five finish from the last five races, which is just further evidence of Larson's pace compared to the rest of the field. The coming week's visit to another 1.5-mile oval could offer more of the same for him, too. Larson is the defending winner of the coming race, and he has led 248 laps in his last four Kansas starts.
Ross Chastain - A 31st-place qualifying effort didn't keep Chastain from a top finish. The Trackhouse Racing driver said he had little to no confidence in the car on Saturday and even in the first half of Sunday's race. However, he and the team battled on and an adjustment to the car gave Chastain what he needed to begin climbing forward. That is exactly what he did the remainder of the day. Chastain clawed his way all the way up to the runner-up spot at the finish, collecting his second top-five of the season. It was a gritty day of perseverance from the team that keeps Chastain inside the playoff positions in the championship standings with Kansas up next before the All-Star Race weekend. He won the fall race at Kansas last season and has four top-10 finishes from 12 career starts there. Sunday's turnaround and recent Kansas success could be a recipe for performance for the No. 1 squad.
DOWNGRADE
Denny Hamlin - A rare engine failure led to Hamlin to his first DNF of the 2025 season Sunday at Texas. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver started the day eighth, but his afternoon turned for the worse early. First, a miscommunication with his crew led to him missing the call to come to pit road under caution. He pitted one lap later but lost a significant amount of track position. Once racing resumed, his engine gave way, sending the car spinning on its oil and out of the race completely. The 38th-place finish is his worst of the second and second in a row outside of the top 20. He and the team don't need to worry too much with two victories under their belts, though. With plenty of time to turn things around, Hamlin knows that peaking during the playoffs is the most important thing. Things could turn around quickly, too. At Kansas, Hamlin is a four-time victor and hasn't finished worse than eighth there since 2021.
Bubba Wallace - A starting spot in the top 10 suggested Wallace was in line for a competitive afternoon at Texas. Things didn't unfold that way, though. Wallace was able to score stage points in the second segment, but he was squeezed on the subsequent restart and crashed out of the race with just under 100 laps remaining. His 33rd-place finish was his fifth finish outside of the top 20 so far this season. Despite those results, Wallace remains inside the playoff positions in the standings, but he and the team would feel a lot better about their chances with a race win. They do have four top-10 finishes, including a pair of third-place finishes, though. At Kansas, Wallace is also a former winner. He won in 2022, which is one of three top-10 finishes for him at the track from his 14 series tries. However, Wallace has not finished better than 17th in his last three stops at the circuit.
Kyle Busch - Texas was another weekend for Busch to forget. The Richard Childress Racing driver qualified just 26th, but Busch was making the most of the equipment he had in the race. By the time the second stage ended, Busch was inside the top 10. In the final stage, Busch was holding his own near the front but lost control and hit the outside wall while running third. The team made repairs and sent him back out, but he was caught up in yet another crash with just over 20 laps remaining. The rough and tumble day ended with a 20th-place finish for his efforts, which was his second finish outside of the top 20 in as many races. With just one top-five so far this season, Busch now looks to Kansas as a path forward. He sits 17th in the series standings, 12 points outside of the playoff positions, and needs to return to scoring regular top-10 finishes. He is a two-time Kansas winner, and he finished eighth there last spring.
Josh Berry - Initially, Sunday afternoon was unfolding nicely for Berry. He qualified in the top 10 and went on to score stage points in the race's first segment. In the second stage, Berry actually worked his way into the lead and spent 41 laps there before losing control and hitting the outside wall. While the team made repairs and kept Berry running, his chances at more stage points and a decent finish were lost with the mistake. With a win already earned this season, Sunday's misstep isn't detrimental to Berry's playoff hopes, but to have a shot at advancing through the championship eliminations, mistakes like Sunday's will have to be eliminated. Berry hasn't finish in the top 10 since his victory at Las Vegas and that will need to change before the playoffs. Berry's best Kansas finish was 15th in last year's spring race, but capitalizing on the car's current 1.5-mile oval speed will be an imperative for him this week.
Chase Elliott - Elliott's last series victory came a year ago at Texas, but he wasn't able to repeat that magic. Instead, Elliott largely struggled through the weekend and barely made an imprint at the front of the pack. He qualified 29th, didn't lead any laps, and failed to score any stage points. It was an anonymous weekend from the Hendrick driver that many expected to continue his run of top-10 form or even push the envelope for a top-five finish. Given those expectations, Elliott's 16th-place finish was a disappointment. Now the former champion must look ahead to Kansas to return to form and prove that Texas was an anomaly. Elliott won at Kansas in 2018 and finished third and ninth in the two visits there last season. His eighth-place finish in the fall came despite a 38th-place starting spot, too. While wins are the goal, a quick return to the top 10 this week would be a successful outing for the No. 9.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Michael McDowell - Impressive pace from Spire Motorsports put McDowell and teammate Carson Hocevar into the top five in qualifying. McDowell used his speed throughout Sunday's race to score stage points and then capture the lead as late restarts began to pile up. The No. 71's restart pace was impressive and it enabled McDowell to lead 19 laps as the finish approached. Eventually, Joey Logano was able to challenge McDowell, who threw everything he had at the Team Penske contender. After losing the top spot, McDowell continued pushing but lost control in the wake of the car ahead, which shot the No. 71 Chevrolet hard into the outside wall and out of the race. Fans can argue whether or not McDowell should have settled for a top-five finish, but he went out pushing hard for the win. It was an otherwise impressive day for he and the team, and if they can keep that speed, a win may not be too far away.
