Nascar update: April 17

Another week in the NASCAR Cup Series saw another Hendrick Motorsports driver go to victory lane.

At Texas Motor Speedway, that driver was Chase Elliott, who scored his first win since 2022. It was his 19^th career Cup Series win, and his team’s fifth this year.

Hendrick is one of only three teams to have won through the season’s first nine races along with Joe Gibbs Racing and Trackhouse Racing.

Elliott took the checkered flag under caution, as Ross Chastain spun off the bumper of William Byron on the final lap. Byron finished third, behind Elliott and Brad Keselowski.

Prior to that, Denny Hamlin crashed out while battling Elliott for the lead with two laps to go, settling for a 30^th-place run as a result.

As for Elliott, his win improved him to fourth in the standings. Teammates Kyle Larson and Byron also hold top-five positions.

Texas Motor Speedway will not host another Cup race in 2024. Now, the Cup Series will move on to Talladega Superspeedway, the largest oval on the circuit, for the GEICO 500.

The race will be held over 188 laps, and Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch is the defending winner.

While Busch may have 63 career victories, that win last year was only his second at Talladega, 15 years after his first in 2008.

Sitting 16^th in the standings, Busch could benefit from a good finish this weekend.

Ryan Blaney is also winless this season, but that could change this week. He has driven his No. 12 Team Penske Ford to victory three times at Talladega, including at the track’s most recent race in October.

With Ford as a manufacturer also winless this year, Blaney’s previous success could give him a chance to take his and his team’s first win this year.

Bubba Wallace could also have a good week. Ninth in the standings, he is coming off top-10 finishes at Texas and Martinsville. He also finished fifth at both Daytona and Atlanta to start the season.

Wallace’s Daytona result was one of five top-five finishes he has at that track, in addition to a Talladega win in 2021. It appears possible the No. 23 Camry could end up in victory lane this week.

Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell has proven to do well at superspeedway racing, with four career top-10 finishes at Talladega and eight at Daytona, including his 2021 Daytona 500 victory.

His run at Texas ended after he spun out of second place on Lap 143. Still a 2023 Cup Series winner, McDowell appears ready to potentially give Ford its first 2024 triumph.

And Keselowski could do so too, as he is a six-time Talladega winner.

The GEICO 500 is scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

Logan Groeneveld-Meijer is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email lsg5237@psu.edu.