This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to Texas for the first of two visits to Kansas Speedway. Coverage of the Wurth 400 begins with NASCAR RaceDay at 2 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Race coverage will start at 3:30 p.m. ET, while the green should fly around 3:45 p.m. ET. Radio coverage will be provided by local PRN radio affiliates and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

Records and facts

Last year's Wurth 400 saw Michael McDowell attempt an alternate pit strategy and lead late. However, Joey Logano ran him down and took the lead on lap 264. McDowell then proceeded to crash and bring out a caution that extended the race.

On the restart, Ryan Blaney was able to take the lead at the line, but Logano retook the advantage shortly afterwards and held on for the win.

Logano won by .346 seconds over Ross Chastain. Blaney was third, then Kyle Larson and Erik Jones.

Among active drivers, Jimmie Johnson (not entered) has the most victories at Texas with seven. Kyle Busch has four career wins, while Denny Hamlin has three wins and Logano has two.  

All-time, Johnson's seven wins are the most at Texas. Kyle Busch is tied for second with Carl Edwards with four, then Hamlin and Kevin Harvick.

Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 1.5-mile quad-oval, 267 laps (400.5 miles)
Banking: 24 degrees
Frontstretch: 2,250 ft., banked 5 degrees
Backstretch: 1,330 ft., banked 5 degrees
Grandstand Seating: 128,655
Pit Road Speed: 45 mph
Pace Car Speed: 55 mph
Opened: 1997
 

Twitter: http://twitter.com/TXMotorSpeedway

Pre-Race Schedule:

Practice: Saturday, May 2, 10:30 - 11:20 a.m. ET on FOX Sports 1

Qualifying: Saturday, 11:30 a.m. ET on FOX Sports 1

Say What?!

"I feel like you see a little bit more [attrition] at Texas just because it’s narrow. Everyone is fighting for a couple of lanes through one and two, so you get guys making the bold moves to get in the hole into one or something and then three and four, if you’re trying to hustle it on the top, we’re running so low that there’s that big bump in the middle of three and four, so guys kind of bust their butts over it pretty easy. I think everyone knows that it’s kind of a track position place. It’s hard to move forward when it’s narrower like that, so everyone knows that restarts are a huge key and when you have restarts that are a huge key at a narrower place, you’re gonna get guys fighting for position and contact. We’ll see if the trend continues." - Ryan Blaney

"They knocked the banking out of turns 1 and 2, so they slid the apron way inward towards the infield, and now it's like a one lane apron where it used to be five lanes wide. The outside wall is still at the same spot but when they brought the banking so far inside towards the infield, it flattened it out and to me it feels like a yo-yo. You go way down in speed in turns 1 and 2, and then you're way up in speed in turns 3 and 4 and it's this constant give and take. The car goes through such a different load. In the end your car is pushed down to the ground harder in turns three and four and then it's very up out of the racetrack, long one and two feels like with the open entry of turn 1 and just not as much angle in the asphalt. So yeah, in all the series it's challenging." - Ross Chastain

"The bump in turn 4 on the high side is a big challenge, especially during restarts. It took us out in 2024 so you just need to be aware of how you hit that bump. The track is very fast paced and can be intimidating to this day, even as it ages, because the speeds are so high and these cars are right on the razor edge. Now, you have some of that character with those bumps, and our cars are so low that when you bottom out, they can take off on you. I wasn't the only car to back it into the fence there while trying to get clear in the past few years. You have to hit it just right in turn 4. We saw a few other guys do that recently, as well. Traditionally, Cup guys don't make a ton of mistakes, but we have seen a lot of hiccups at Texas. I think it really proves how challenging this track is. It’s still one of those places that can take your breath away." - Michael McDowell

"I’ve been successful at Texas, so I’m feeling good heading into this weekend. We’re looking to turn a corner, and we’ve continued to make progress in our intermediate program. It’s kind of a wild card, and track position will be critical, so as long as we can set ourselves up well in qualifying, we should be in a good spot at the end." - John Hunter Nemechek

Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at [email protected]. Photo is courtesy of NASCAR Media via Sean Gardner of Getty Images.