Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney, both front-runners in the closing laps of the Würth 400 presented by Liqui Moly at Texas Motor Speedway, were left to ponder what could have been as Joey Logano emerged victorious after a series of late-race restarts.
Larson, who led a race-high 90 laps, found himself bested by Michael McDowell on a critical restart with less than 30 laps remaining. McDowell, whose team had made a bold two-tire strategy call, controlled the subsequent two restarts as Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet faded to fourth.
“He just did a good job of timing it,” Larson said of the restart. “He left right when I did, or a fraction before, and he had a push behind him. So, you know, if I could have gotten just any bit of nudge behind me, I could have been side-by-side with him still, but yeah, so he did a good job there and I didn’t. Just stinks to give up control like that and really just give up the race win there, but we’ll study it and I’ll try to do a better job.”
Despite the disappointment, Larson acknowledged the strong performance of his car and the positive points day, which included another stage win. “Obviously, you always know what you can do different the next time. But yeah, all in all, you know, good car and a great points day and another stage win. So you know, we’ll take it. We’d love to get a win, but it could have been worse.”
Blaney, who brought his No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang home in third, also found himself on the wrong side of the finish. The 31-year-old driver had chosen the inside lane on the race-changing Lap 244 restart, a decision he later questioned as McDowell surged to the lead on the outside.
“The top wasn’t very good at all. It was pretty dirty. And the one time I have a shot to do it, and don’t do it, the guy (McDowell) gets the lead,” Blaney explained. “So I just didn’t do a good job. Then it was hard to get it after that. Just didn’t get a good push, and just could never hang with them over in [Turns] 3 and 4.”
Despite the missed opportunity, Blaney remained positive about his team’s performance, having started the race in 24th position and methodically worked his way through the field. “Honestly, we really didn’t do it with strategy,” Blaney said. “We just kind of passed cars. So no, it was good and I thought our car was really good. I couldn’t get control of the race. So, overall, a proud day, fast car, and hopefully go forward. We’ve had speed all year, so it was nice that in the last couple of weeks, we’ve [Penske] gotten a car in Victory Lane. So that’s good, hopefully we can join them.”
As Larson and Blaney reflected on their missed chances, it was their fellow competitor Logano who capitalized on the late-race chaos, securing his first win of the 2025 season and extending Team Penske’s recent success. The two drivers will now look to regroup and focus on the upcoming races, hoping to convert their strong performances into victories.
