Fort Worth, Tex. – Joey Logano claimed his first victory of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season in the Würth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY at Texas Motor Speedway on May 4, 2025, capitalizing on a late-race crash that ended Michael McDowell’s bid for the win. Logano, driving the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, beat Ross Chastain by 0.346 seconds in overtime, securing his second Texas win and 37th career victory. The race, marked by 12 cautions and 20 lead changes among 13 drivers, saw McDowell’s No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet dominate late before crashing on Lap 265, just four laps shy of the scheduled finish.
McDowell had surged to the lead after a restart on Lap 245, holding it through two cautions. On Lap 264, Logano went low on the backstretch, passing McDowell after avoiding a block. A lap later, McDowell, overtaken by Ryan Blaney for second, lost control in dirty air and slammed into the Turn 2 wall, finishing 26th. “Sorry, boys, I tried,” McDowell radioed to his team. Logano then dominated the overtime restart, clearing Blaney and holding off Chastain to reach Victory Lane.
“The sport changes so quickly,” Logano said after the race. “It’s crazy how you can ride these rollercoasters and just proud of the team. Finally got (sponsor) AAA Insurance into Victory Lane. They’ve been a partner of mine since I’ve been to Penske, so 13, 14 years. I’ve yet to win with them. It was awesome to get that done here.” Starting 27th, Logano methodically worked forward, overcoming a tough pit stall. “Slowly, methodically, a couple at a time,” he said of his climb. “The car was fast. I knew that yesterday. We just did a poor job qualifying. Just grinded it.”
Chastain, starting 31st, charged to second with a late adjustment that restored his confidence. “Gosh, that’s a working day,” Chastain said. “Just no confidence in the car yesterday… one pit stop today that (crew chief) Phil Surgen and the group… made me a confident driver all of a sudden with one adjustment.” Blaney finished third, followed by Kyle Larson, who led a race-high 90 laps but lost the lead to McDowell on the Lap 245 restart. “You don’t want to give up the lead on a mile and a half,” Larson said. “It’s hard to get it back. Yeah, Michael just did a good job timing it.”
Erik Jones rounded out the top five, his first top-five since Talladega’s fall 2024 race. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon, John Hunter Nemechek, Christopher Bell, and Daniel Suarez completed the top 10. William Byron, finishing 13th, retained the points lead by 13 over Larson. The race, with an average speed of 116.885 mph, lasted 3 hours, 28 minutes, and 40 seconds.
Several contenders faced setbacks. Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota suffered an engine failure on Lap 75, ending his streak of 21 consecutive lead-lap finishes. “It was blowing up for about a lap or so before it really detonated,” Hamlin said. “That was so they can diagnose exactly what happened to it.” Josh Berry, who led 41 laps, crashed on Lap 125 after hitting a Turn 4 bump while passing lapped traffic. “I don’t know what I would do too much different,” Berry said. “If you’re going to be fast, it’s going to be uncomfortable and you’re going to be on edge.”
Austin Cindric, who led 60 laps, was caught in a four-car crash on Lap 247, while pole-sitter Carson Hocevar, who led 22 laps, wrecked on Lap 219 after a caution disrupted pit stops. Other notable incidents included Bubba Wallace, Noah Gragson, and Alex Bowman crashing out by Lap 179, contributing to the race’s 73 caution laps.
Logano’s win followed a disqualification at Talladega due to a missing spoiler nut, making his Texas triumph a redemption. Team Penske’s back-to-back wins, with Cindric’s Talladega victory the prior week, underscored their momentum. The race showcased Texas Motor Speedway’s challenging 1.5-mile layout, with its notorious Turn 4 bump and high-speed demands testing drivers throughout the 271-lap event.
The Würth 400 highlighted the Cup Series’ competitive depth, with 13 drivers leading and no single team dominating. McDowell’s late crash shifted the outcome, but his performance signaled Spire Motorsports’ growing presence. Logano’s strategic drive and Chastain’s late surge set the stage for intense battles as the season progresses.
