At Texas Motor Speedway, Chase Elliott picked up his second victory of the 2026 season and his second career win at the track. Following him in second place was Denny Hamlin to make it a 1-2 for Elliott and him for the second time this season. For Elliott, though, the win wasn’t a result of just speed or strategy. Instead, it was a mix of timing, help, and a little bit of luck. And on the flip side, one costly decision from Denny Hamlin which changed everything.

Split-second call that changed everything

“I wasn’t really sure whether to go top or bottom and you know the bottom had been winning out on a lot of the restarts. I just felt like, man, if I didn’t get clear off the two, I was going to be in a lot of trouble, so fortunately Alex gave me a great push. Was able to you know execute turns 1 and 2 and get clear and then just kind of managed the last few laps, so it worked out really good but just man, it was really cool to get a win as early as it did at Martinsville.”

That one decision pretty much sums up how Chase Elliott stole the show at Texas Motor Speedway. It wasn’t clean or straightforward. But it worked, and that’s what matters.

Chase Elliott officially took the checkered flag in Sunday’s Würth 400 presented by Liqui Moly, but the race flipped on its head with just 11 laps to go. A solo spin from Corey Heim brought out yet another caution in what had already been a chaotic, seven-yellow afternoon. Suddenly, strategy came back into play.

Track position was everything. The front eight drivers stayed out, gambling on clean air over fresh tires, while those just behind opted for two tires to try and shake things up. That set up a crucial front-row restart between Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin. That’s where things really unraveled.

Chase Elliott chose the bottom lane, which had quietly been the preferred groove on restarts. Hamlin, on the other hand, committed to the outside. On paper, it wasn’t a terrible call, but in practice, it left him exposed. As the green flag waved, Elliott got exactly what he needed: a perfectly timed push from Alex Bowman in the No. 48. That shove into Turn 1 gave him just enough momentum to clear Hamlin off Turn 2.

And once Chase Elliott got track position, the race was effectively over. Hamlin, stuck on the outside with no help, lost ground almost immediately. What could have been a winning restart turned into damage control in a matter of seconds. Elliott, meanwhile, managed the final laps with clean air and control, never giving the field another real shot.

Sometimes, races are won on speed. This one? It came down to a split-second call and who had the right help at the right time.

Things keep slipping away for Denny Hamlin

For all the speed and dominance Denny Hamlin brings on a weekly basis, there’s been a frustrating pattern developing that shows up at the worst possible time. Late-race restarts and overtime situations have quietly become his Achilles’ heel. And, It’s not about pace here.

More often than not, Hamlin has the car to beat. The problem lies in the decisions and circumstances that follow late cautions. Whether it’s opting for four tires and sacrificing track position or getting caught in the wrong lane on a restart, those small calls have had massive consequences. The 2025 championship race at Phoenix Raceway is still a painful example, where he dropped from the lead to sixth after a strategy gamble that never paid off.

Lane choice has been another recurring issue. On intermediate tracks, where momentum off the corner is everything, picking the wrong side can end your race in seconds. Ironically, while the top lane has often carried better runs, the dynamics constantly shift, making the decision anything but straightforward. And when the field is stacked up for a restart, there’s little margin for error. This was evidently seen at Texas today.

Then comes overtime the ultimate chaos factor. Green-White-Checkered finishes erase everything built over the course of a race. At Kansas Speedway earlier this season, Hamlin dominated most of the day, only to lose it in the final moments after getting shuffled back in a frantic restart.

That’s what makes Texas sting even more. It wasn’t just one mistake, but another chapter in a growing trend. Until Hamlin solves these late-race puzzles, wins like this may continue slipping through his fingers, no matter how fast his car really is.