Three big questions ahead of the Wurth 400 at Texas

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the "Lone Star State" for Sunday's running of the Wurth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Here are three big questions ahead of the 11th race of the 2026 season.

Will first career win open the floodgates for Carson Hocevar?

It was only a matter of time until the 23-year-old Portage, Michigan, native finally broke through after coming agonizingly close so many times last season. That moment finally arrived with Sunday's win at Talladega Superspeedway in Hocevar's 91st Cup Series start.

Don't be surprised if the momentum carries over for Hocevar, either. 

Hocevar is currently eighth in the standings with three top fives and four top 10s so far this season. His talent is undeniable, and he is a legitimate Chase contender through the season's first 10 races. 

As the defending pole sitter at Texas, and with some favorable tracks on the horizon for Hocevar, the breakthrough win at Talladega could be all he needs to get the monkey off his back and start turning so many near-misses into long-overdue wins.

Can anyone slow down Tyler Reddick?

Sure, Reddick was one of 26 drivers caught up in the Stage 2 "Big One" at Talladega. He also crashed with 27 laps to go after cutting a tire in Turn 2. Somehow, he still came away with a decent 14th-place finish and leads 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin by 110 points in the standings.

Prior to that, Reddick was the fourth driver to win five of the first nine races in a season when he picked up an overtime win at Kansas. He is still searching for his first stage win of the season, but the No. 45 Toyota has been on rails all season.

With one win (2022) and two top fives in his last four starts at the 1.5-mile facility, Reddick has been competitive there even prior to his current hot streak to begin the season. He may not win on Sunday, but there is a good chance he will be in contention once again.

Will attrition be the theme at Texas again?

There have not been many cautions this season. Look no further than Kansas two weeks ago when the only caution for incident did not come out until the leaders were coming off Turn 4 to take the white flag. On Sunday, the 98-lap opening stage went caution-free at Talladega.

If history is any indication, that trend may not continue on Sunday. In the four points-paying races at Texas in the Next Gen car (since 2022), there have been a total of 55 cautions. There have been 16 cautions twice in that span (2022, 2024), which speaks to the potential challenge that could await drivers this time around as well.

The overall racing product has not been great at Texas, but it has become one of the most attrition-filled tracks the series visits. Until proved otherwise, it is hard to expect anything less on Sunday as drivers tackle the third 1.5-mile race of the season.