NASCAR Wurth 400 preview: Favorite, underdog, top storylines

On Sunday, the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series will tackle 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway for the 11th race of the 2025 season.

Here's what you need to know before Sunday's Wurth 400 at Texas (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Favorite: Kyle Larson (+330, per DraftKings)

It's no surprise that Larson is the clear favorite coming into Texas. So far this season, the two-race winner has a pair of wins at the Lone Star State track despite finishing outside the top 20 in each of the last two races.

Considering he has led laps in both 1.5-mile races this season, including the win at Homestead, Larson should have a race-winning car underneath him. It will likely come down to how he manages the track throughout the 400 miles, given that the last four races have had double-digit cautions.

Underdog: Carson Hocevar (+6500, per DraftKings)

The 2025 season has been a wild ride for Hocevar with five finishes of 30th or worse. His last two races at Bristol (11th) and Talladega (sixth) have established momentum, heading to a track where he has had past success.

His first career top-10 finish in the Cup Series came at Texas last April. He also won his first Craftsman Truck Series race there in 2023. Hocevar could be worth watching this weekend as he looks to build off his recent consistency.

How will Ryan Preece, Joey Logano respond after Talladega post-race disqualifications?

Preece (second) and Logano (fifth) appeared to have solid top-five runs to their credit at Talladega until they were disqualified in post-race inspection for spoiler violations. Preece lost what would have been a career-best finish and fell to 19th in points, while Logano remains at zero top-five finishes this season and fell two spots to 11th in the standings.

Preece has a best finish of 12th at Texas, but two of his top-10 finishes this season have come at 1.5-mile tracks. Logano has one win at Texas (2014) with three finishes outside the top 10 in his last five starts. If Preece and Logano can stay out of trouble at a track that has produced a lot of chaos in the previous four races, their weekend may end on a better note this time around.

Will Texas produce more drama?

There have been three Next Gen races at the 1.5-mile track dating back to 2022, and each has been chaotic. There have been 16 cautions in two of the three. The 2023 race did not have that many yellows, but saw Larson spin from the lead in Turn 1 while battling 23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace.

Texas seems to throw drivers for a loop each year, and this weekend should be no different. If the last four races and the three in the Next Gen era are any indication, we could be in for another dramatic race on Sunday.

Chase Elliott returns to Texas riding 37-race winless streak

After snapping his 42-race drought last April in Texas, Elliott returned to the Lone Star State on a 37-race winless streak. His consistency (six top 10s) has him fourth in points, but he wants more with only 45 laps led this season.

With a top-20 finish in all 10 races, Elliott has proven he can be around at the end of each race. As he returns to the site of his most recent points-paying win, getting the No. 9 back up front and leading laps is key for the 2020 Cup Series champion.