Joey Logano is playoff-bound once again, leading a trio of drivers who started 24th or worse but ended the day with podium finishes at Texas. The pole-sitter wrecked, the outside pole-sitter had an incident on pit road, and the race really flew off the rails in the final stage. It was caution after caution with Michael McDowell nearly securing a big win for the underdogs in a dramatic showdown for the win before finding the wall.
So, who came out on top as winners and the losers from the roller coaster ride that was NASCAR Cup at Texas...
WINNER: Logano shows how a win changes everything in modern NASCAR
The three-time and defending Cup Series champion has had a rough start to the 2025 season. It took him seven races to even score a top ten and then lost his only top five to a post-race disqualification last weekend at Talladega. But all that talk about a post-title slump has now vanished as Logano escaped the chaos and claimed victory at Texas. Suddenly, all those frustrating weekends don't matter as he's now one of seven drivers locked into the playoffs. What was one of his worst season starts is now another potential run at the Cup for Logano. It also continues an impressive streak of Logano winning at least one race every year, going all the way back to 2012.
LOSER: Blaney for willingly giving up track position
I don't need to hammer Ryan Blaney for this decision as he did plenty of that himself, but it was shocking when he willingly gave up the front row on a late-race restart where track position was everything. To add insult to injury, it was the same restart where Michael McDowell (who was at a disadvantage with two older left-side tires), snatched the lead away from Kyle Larson. Blaney later lamented his "dumb decision" and said he "can't do anything right currently." He's now the only Penske driver without a win this year, so the pressure is on to finally reach Victory Lane, and hopefully Sunday's decision doesn't haunt him as the season progresses.
WINNER: McDowell puts it all on the line for the underdogs
It ended in tears, but we have to give praise to veteran driver Michael McDowell. He drove his heart out at Texas, taking the lead with a tire disadvantage and then holding on for the several restarts that followed. He was just four laps away from securing Spire Motorsports its first Cup win in nearly six years and only lost the lead after blocking Logano all the way to the apron. He literally did everything he could and even after losing the lead, he didn't give up. He kept pushing, which led to him crashing into the outside wall while running third, ending his inspiring run. It was almost one for the underdogs, but even in defeat, he put on a show that made him a 'winner' this weekend.
LOSER: Hamlin as his impressive lead lap streak 'burns' away
Denny Hamlin entered Talladega with zero DNFs this year and a series-leading streak of 21 consecutive races where he finished on the lead lap. That is extremely impressive with how chaotic these races can be, but that all came to an end on Sunday and by no fault of his own. The race started with some miscommunication over code words, which left him mired deep in the pack, but that had no impact on what came later. Hamlin suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure as his car went up in flames before the end of Stage 1, leaving him with a last-place finish and Toyota scratching their heads over what happened.
WINNER: Chastain, who remains NASCAR's restart king
Ross Chastain is one of the best defenders in NASCAR, but more than that, he is statistically the best restarter in the sport. And that was on full display at Texas when a rash of cautions plagued the event in the closing laps. Every single restart, he moved forward, coming from outside the top ten to march inside the top five, reaching all the way up to second-place by the time the checkered flag flew. After starting 31st and scoring no stage points, he literally came out of nowhere at the end of that one.
LOSER: Hocevar pairs his first career pole with an avoidable DNF
Carson Hocevar's weekend started on a high note with the first pole position of his career. But after leading early, he lost out on the Stage 1 win when some cars on a two-tire strategy snatched the lead away. From that point onward, he never led again. It was still a strong showing, but a caution in the middle of a green-flag pit cycle left him deep in the pack. And while trying to make something happen, Hocevar triggered a multi-car crash as he pushed Ryan Preece into the wall. Certainly not the end he was hoping for, finishing 24th and clearly angering Preece
WINNER: Legacy Motor Club leads the way for Toyota with a double T10
LMC already has a double top ten this year, but that came at the Daytona 500. Sunday's result is the team's first-ever double top ten at a non-drafting track with Erik Jones finishing fifth and John Hunter Nemechek in eighth. They also led the way for team Toyota with the highest Joe Gibbs Racing driver in ninth and the highest 23XI Racing driver in 14th. That's something we rarely -- if ever -- see, so good on them for surviving the chaos.
LOSER: That annoying bump in Turn 4
KYLE BUSCH GOES AROUND. 👀 #NASCARonFS1 pic.twitter.com/3UeRLIuthB
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 4, 2025
Perhaps more frustrating than the PJ1-stained track and unusable upper grooves at Texas Motor Speedway is the evil bump in Turn 4. And yes, I call it evil because it doesn't play by any rules. Sometimes drivers can run over it and be completely fine, while other times the cars immediately spin out from under them. That bump claimed a few more drivers on Sunday. The first was Josh Berry, who was leading the race and went up there simply trying to find a way around a slower, lapped car when his own machine snapped around and slammed the way. But later on, it ruined the day of Kyle Busch, who was battling for second at the time and having his best run of the year with his new 7-Eleven colors. He was confused on the radio when the team asked what happened, failing to understand why the car snapped around then but not in previous laps.
