Chase Elliott Holds Off Denny Hamlin by 0.407 Seconds to Win the Würth 400 at Texas

FORT WORTH, Texas — Chase Elliott did not lead a lap at Texas Motor Speedway until Lap 152. By the end of Sunday's Würth 400, he had led more than anyone. Elliott took control in the back half of the race, survived a four-lap sprint to the finish and held off Denny Hamlin by 0.407 seconds to win in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

It was Elliott's second win of 2026, his second at Texas and the 23rd of his Cup Series career, according to the NASCAR Wire Service. He started 14th, finished eighth in Stage 1, won Stage 2 and led a race-high 87 laps of the 267-lap, 400.5-mile race.

Strategy Opens the Door

For much of the middle of the race, the car to beat was Corey Heim's No. 67 Toyota. Heim led from Lap 95 through Lap 151, but he pitted for fuel on an off-cycle strategy, and Elliott inherited the lead for the first time on Lap 152. From there, Elliott's crew delivered. The NASCAR Wire Service reported that his pit crew turned in its three fastest stops of the season.

Heim led 69 laps in all and was back out front late, but he lost traction in Turn 4 and hit the wall in a single-car spin, bringing out the seventh and final caution and setting up a four-lap shootout. He was scored 31st.

A Push From a Teammate

Elliott faced a choice on that final restart, and he admitted he was not sure he made the right one. "I wasn't really sure whether to go top or bottom," Elliott said, according to the NASCAR Wire Service, noting that the bottom had been winning out on a lot of restarts and that he would be in trouble if he did not clear Turn 2. "Fortunately, Alex gave me a great push."

Hendrick teammate Alex Bowman did the pushing, and Elliott got clear of Hamlin through Turns 1 and 2. Hamlin closed at times over the final laps but never got close enough to make a move. "I didn't have great restarts all day," Hamlin said, according to Texas Motor Speedway. "Just one short."

Elliott, who has spent plenty of difficult days at this track, seemed almost amused by his record here. "To say as much as we struggled out here to have won two races here now in the last few years is pretty wild," he said.

Contenders Fall Early

Several big names were out of contention long before the finish. Christopher Bell was caught up early when Todd Gilliland spun in front of him. Bell tried to shoot the gap on the bottom, got clipped, and hit the outside wall, finishing last in 38th. "It was another one of those 50-50 calls," Bell said.

Defending race winner Joey Logano finished 37th after a pit road incident with Cole Custer damaged his No. 22 Ford. Kyle Larson, who had won Saturday's O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race at the track, spun in Turn 2 and hit the wall in the second half, finishing 34th. "I just lost it," Larson said. Kyle Busch, who ran in the top five for much of the day, made contact with John Hunter Nemechek on the white-flag lap and fell to 20th.

Stage 1 winner Erik Jones also had a rough ending, spinning into the wall as the white flag waved. The leaders finished without another caution. The race had seven cautions for 40 laps and 23 lead changes among 11 drivers.

The Rest of the Top 10

Bowman finished third for the second straight week, a welcome run after missing much of the early season with health issues. "Big shoutout to (Tyler) Reddick for cutting me a break on the last lap," Bowman said, according to Texas Motor Speedway.

Reddick gambled on two tires before the final restart and climbed from ninth to fourth. "It was nice to go for it there on the two tires," he said. Chris Buescher was fifth, his best finish at Texas and his first top 10 there in 17 starts. "It means a lot," Buescher said. "Home track. So many friends and family here."

Daniel Suárez finished sixth, and pole winner Carson Hocevar, who led 40 laps after taking the top spot in qualifying at 191.340 mph, was seventh. William Byron, Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney completed the top 10.

What It Means

Reddick left Texas with a 109-point lead over Hamlin in the standings, with Elliott 117 back in third. For Elliott, the bigger point was momentum. "We're just going to try to keep our heads down and keep chugging," he said, according to Texas Motor Speedway.

A track that has given him fits has now given him two trophies. Sunday's came with a little help from a teammate, a pit crew having its best day of the season, and four laps of keeping Denny Hamlin in the mirror.

Photo Credit: Luis Revilla Mata/Undrafted