Best of the Rest: Texas

Everything is bigger in Texas….the NASCAR weekend at Texas Motor Speedway was no exception. Well known for being a fast, aggressive track where drivers hope that they don’t make the highlight reel after trouble…the 2026 edition did not disappoint. 

With all three of NASCAR’s top divisions paying a visit to the lone star state, the drama was indeed bigger. From Carson Hocevar maintaining momentum on the back of his Talladega Cup win, to a fair amount of drama amongst competitors….here are the Best of the Rest for Texas.

Next week, we see who had showed up and showed out in an entirely too early weather-wise Watkins Glen weekend.

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SPEEDYCASH.COM 250

Winner: Carson Hocevar

#77 Carson Hocevar

What else can you say about the roll Hocevar is on lately? Picking up his cowboy hat where he left off in Talladega with a Cup win, Hocevar took the reigns of Spire Motorsports’ #77 Chevrolet Silverado in Texas….and won again. Sporting the now famous Chili’s paint scheme, the Cup disrup-star scored a popular win.

Rolling off 11th, Hocevar quickly made his way through the field, led twice for 76 laps, and scored the win in another last lap charge to the front. Making his truck debut in 2019, Hocevar now has six career truck wins as his resume continues to grow.

#27 Toni Breidinger

While not creating the excitement of Hocevar, a returning Toni Breidinger had a quietly solid run in Texas. A former Toyota prospect, Breidinger was left searching for a seat following TRICON Garage’s post-2025 shuffling. Enter Rackley W.A.R. Racing, who is fielding a part-time effort for Breidinger in their second #27 Chevrolet.

2026 did not start out fantastic, with Breidinger failing to make the Daytona event in the 27. Next race on the schedule was Texas, where Breidinger’s performance deserves some recognition. Placing her Silverado 35th on the grid, Breidinger survived the general Texas chaos, and left with a lead lap 18th-place effort.

Texas was big for Breidinger, who earned her best finish since an 18th with TRICON at Rockingham in 2025.

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ANDY’S FROZEN CUSTARD 340

Winner: Kyle Larson

#51 Jeremy Clements

The alliance between owner-driver Clements and Haas Factory Team in 2026 has already proven to be what Clements and JCR needed to hit that next wrung on the ladder. Clements’ has spent over a decade now proving that an owner-driver can still compete in the big dog, multi-car team environment.

With returning sponsor Alliance Driveway Solutions on board, Clements qualified his bright yellow-and-black Chevrolet in the 8th position, ran up front for most of the race, and drove out of Texas with a 10th-place finish.

Clements has been on a roll of late especially, not finishing worse then 15th in the last four races.

#96 Anthony Alfredo

Often over-shadowed this season by teammate Parker Retzlaff  in finishing results, Anthony Alfredo had a much need strong run in Texas. Joining Viking Motorsports to begin 2026, Alfredo was handed the keys of Viking’s second, brand-new #96 Chevrolet. While the growing pains have been often apparent this season, Texas provided the team a chance to prove themselves.

A long-time NOAP Series competitor, Alfredo took advantage of his experience at Texas. With new colors on his Chevrolet welcoming sponsor Big Rack Spirits, Alfredo finished 12th in a chaos-ridden race following his 18th-place starting spot.

While the bad luck bug has stung Alfredo often in 2026, Texas was his best run since finishing 18th in Bristol several weeks ago.

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WURTH 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY

Winner: Chase Elliott

#35 Riley Herbst

This week, we move slightly out of the top ten to just shy of it. One of the biggest surprises in recent weeks, 23XI Racing’s Riley Herbst continued to show a sudden improvement in on track performance. Herbst graduated to the Cup Series in 2025, rejoining the Toyota family and becoming 23XI’s third driver. With performance called into question after a tough 2025 season, Herbst is now starting to regain his NOAP Series form on the Cup level.

In what was one of Herbst’s best weekends of 2026 thus far, Herbst started his #35 Toyota in 18th, led a lap during an exchange of pit stops, and scored an 11th-place finish.

Following an 8th in Daytona, the 23XI driver’s season quickly took a quick hit, with several finishes outside of the top twenty. Fast forward to the last few races, and Herbst has two top fifteen finishes in the last three races.

#43 Erik Jones

Following in corporate teammate Herbst’s tire tracks, Erik Jones and his #43 Legacy Motor Club team had an impressive run in Texas.

With the struggles of LMC have been well documented the last two seasons, Jones and his #43 team seem to be slowly but surely gaining on the competition this season. Hiring veteran crew chief Justin Alexander in the off-season has already paid off for Jones and #43 crew.

With Jones rolling off 21st on the grid, the LMC driver was able to make his way to the front, lead 13 laps in his first laps led in 2026, and earn a 12th-place finish. 

Texas was Jones’ best run since a pair of 10th place finishes in Phoenix and Darlington.