Chase Elliott wins at Texas, becomes second repeat victor in NASCAR season
Chase Elliott’s Texas victory made him NASCAR’s second repeat winner, giving the early season a sharper edge at the front of the standings.
Chase Elliott turned a late restart into the kind of result that can start sorting out a crowded season. He won the Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway by 0.407 seconds over Denny Hamlin, took his second Cup Series victory of 2026 and became only the second repeat winner in the field.
The finish was built on execution as much as speed. Elliott did not lead until Lap 152 of 267, then climbed into control after Corey Heim’s spin in Turn 4 brought out the seventh and final caution. On the decisive restart, Alex Bowman lined up behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate and gave Elliott the push he needed to clear Hamlin. Elliott then stayed in front for the closing four laps, while Hamlin came up short for the second time this season against Elliott after also finishing behind him at Martinsville Speedway.
Elliott’s race was stronger than the final margin suggested. He led five times for a race-high 87 laps, and NASCAR said his pit crew produced its three fastest stops of the season in Fort Worth, Texas. That combination of track position, pit work and restart help mattered in a race where Elliott said he was unsure whether to take the top or bottom lane, but believed the lower groove had been winning most restarts.
The bigger significance comes from what the win says about the shape of the season. Tyler Reddick had already built an early run of five victories, including wins at Daytona International Speedway, EchoPark Speedway, Circuit of The Americas, Darlington Raceway and Kansas Speedway, and held a 105-point lead over Hamlin after the Kansas race on April 19. Elliott’s Texas win does not erase that separation, but it shows another driver is beginning to separate from the pack with repeat results. NASCAR’s season winners list now shows Reddick and Elliott as the only multiple winners, with Carson Hocevar also on the board after Talladega Superspeedway.
That makes the early championship picture look less like pure chaos and more like a race in which a small group is starting to separate from the field. Elliott’s second win, and the way he held off Hamlin in another high-pressure finish, gives Hendrick Motorsports a stronger playoff foothold and adds another signal that the most consistent teams are turning speed into points, wins and positioning while the calendar is still young.
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