Wurth 400
Fort Worth, Texas – May 3, 2026
AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 MENARDS/FREIGHTLINER FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE
START: 13TH STAGE 1: 13TH STAGE 2: 16TH FINISH: 15TH POINTS: 15TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric finished 15th in Sunday’s Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway, closing out a steady afternoon for the No. 2 Freightliner Ford Mustang Dark Horse. After starting 13th, Cindric battled a loose-handling condition through much of the opening run but remained within striking distance of the top 10. A late push in Stage 1 allowed him to recover to a 13th-place finish in the opening segment. The middle portion of the race was marked by multiple cautions that shuffled the field, with Cindric continuing to manage the balance of his Ford Mustang while maintaining track position. He finished Stage 2 in 16th. Over the closing laps, Cindric worked his way forward and put himself just outside the top 10 for a late restart. He continued to fight for positions in the final run to the checkered flag, ultimately crossing the finish line in 15th.
CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “Overall, a steady day for our Freightliner Ford. Mustang. We stayed out of trouble and kept it clean. Not quite where we want to be on speed, but these are the kind of clean days that help you stay in the hunt.”
RYAN BLANEY No. 12 MENARDS/KNAUF FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE
START: 31ST STAGE 1: 28TH STAGE 2: 27TH FINISH: 10TH POINTS: 4TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Menards/Knauf Ford Mustang Dark Horse team took advantage of a late-race caution to come away with a 10th-place finish Sunday at Texas, marking their seventh top-10 of the season. Despite starting 31st, Blaney worked his way through the field to reach 15th in the running order by lap 30 prior to the first green flag pit cycle of the day. Following a four tire stop under green on lap 37, Blaney was scored 15th by the time the cycle completed prior to the first caution of the afternoon with 11 laps remaining in Stage 1. Blaney was called to pit road for four fresh tires but stalled when exiting the pit box, miring him back to 27th for the ensuing restart in what amounted to a 28th-place finish in Stage 1. He continued to battle to regain track position over the course of the second segment when the caution flew on lap 160, prompting another four tire stop prior to the stage end. Due to a loose wheel following the stop, Blaney was forced to make an additional trip to pit road before the restart, resulting in a 27th-place finish in Stage 2. Crew chef Jonathan Hassler made the call to run long during the opening run of the final stretch, allowing Blaney to take the lead on lap 222 during the green flag pit cycle. Blaney was eventually called to pit road five laps later and was scored 19th when the cycle completed before a caution with 11 laps to go reset the field. A mix of the leaders opted to pit as Hassler made the call to stay out and gained 10 positions, setting up Blaney to take the green flag from the outside of row four with four laps remaining. Blaney was able to defend cars on fresher tires behind him in the closing laps to come away with a 10th-place finish when the checkered flag flew.
BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “Proud of the effort from this 12 group to stay in it all day. We fought through some struggles early but slowly regained track position throughout those longer runs to get us in a decent spot for that final restart.”
JOEY LOGANO No. 22 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE
START: 23RD STAGE 1: 23RD STAGE 2: 36TH FINISH: 37TH POINTS: 17TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano and the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse team were involved in an incident on pit road on lap 94 that brought an early end to the afternoon in Texas Sunday, resulting in a 37th-place finish. After starting 23rd, Logano maintained track position over the course of the opening run before getting the call to pit road on lap 37 during the first green flag pit cycle of the day. A caution with 11 laps left in Stage 1 saw Logano hit pit road in order to stay out prior to the start of the second segment as the Discount Tire Ford lined up to restart 20th with six laps remaining, but was held up in the top lane as he was scored 23rd to cap off the opening stage. Logano began to make a charge towards the top-10 during the first run of Stage 2 when the No. 24 spun off the exit of turn four right in front of him, but narrowly avoided contact before the caution flag flew. Several teams opted to only take right side tires when pit road opened – including the No. 22 team – but when Logano was exiting his stall, his made contact with the No. 41 who was stopped on pit road to allow the No. 54 to exit its stall. The contact resulted in heavy damage around the left front tire as Logano brought it back down pit road the following lap, but was unable to continue on from that point.
LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “Everyone was trying to take two tires and they were just checked up and stopped ahead of me. You’re trying to look and get up out of the way and I just couldn’t stop in time. Proud of the speed we had today. The Discount Tire Mustang had good speed and was capable of getting up there which makes it hurt even more.”
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Watkins Glen International on Sunday, May 10 for the second road course event of the 2026 season. Coverage of the Go Bowling at The Glen begins at 3:00 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
