Photo by Getty Images
This week the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series heads for the Lone-Star State for the AAA Texas 500. This is NASCAR's second trip to the 1.5 mile oval this year. The last time they were here, Denny Hamlin went on to claim his third win of the season after passing Austin Dillon in the later stages of the race. Overall, the racing that we saw there seemed to be closer but it still turned out to be a dominating performance from Joe Gibbs Racing. This time around, the circumstances are much different considering what is at stake as each driver in the round of eight will look for a chance to punch their ticket to the championship race in Homestead-Miami.
Last week, Martin Truex Jr. went on to win his season-high seventh win of the season and will now get to race for a championship for the third consecutive year. As I stated in the Martinsville preview, I predicted that Martin Truex Jr would have no issue getting to victory lane and he went out there and made me look like a genius (which is hard to do). When the dust settled, he led a career-high 464 laps and was never really challenged for most of the day. The closest anyone could ever get to him was William Byron and he couldn't even get to the back bumper of Truex. While we saw the same amount of beating and banging that we have always seen, like the last time they were here at Martinsville, no one could seem to pass the leader.
While many people would say, "Isn't the leader supposed to be hard to pass?" it shouldn't be next to impossible like what we saw last Sunday. What it all boiled down to was the size of the spoiler on the back of the car. With this new rules package, the rear spoiler is nine inches tall and 61 inches around. This was implemented to add more drag and resistance to keep the cars closer together and while for the most part it worked for the rest of the field, Truex was able to get into clean air and just take off. After the race, Brad Keselowski said "when you get behind someone and you are way faster, this big spoiler would just kill you." Many fans agreed with him and suggested a much smaller spoiler for these 750 horsepower races. I think this could be the best idea to help improve races here. With the cost being minimal, I would not be surprised if this is the direction that NASCAR goes in the future.
The big headline after the race was the altercation between Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano during post-race. On the track, Denny Hamlin squeezed Joey Logano into the wall down the backstretch flat spotting Logano's tire. Logano confronted Hamlin on pit-road by shoving him and then walking away. This led to Hamlin and his team attacking Joey but the fight was quickly broken up after Denny Hamlin was thrown to the ground by a crew-member. This was fairly routine for Martinsville. The last three consecutive years there has been a conflict at the end of the race and Hamlin has been involved in two of them. It will be interesting to see if Logano returns the favor going forward into this round.
The driver that I have winning this weekend is Kyle Larson. While he may not be the favorite for a lot of people and the results haven't quite been what this Chip Ganassi Racing team would have liked, Larson has proved that he can run up front here. Ever since the track has been reconfigured, it has seemed to fit Larson's driving style fairly well and they just haven't had the luck to go along with their efforts. Every time he seems to get going, there has always been an obstacle in his way. The last time he came there in March, he was charging through the field and looked to be in a position to contend until an accident took him out of contention on lap 147.
This time around, I believe that Larson will be able to run a complete race with no issues and take the win and finally lock himself into the championship race at Homestead. This could very well be a race to remember for the fifth year driver and if he is able to move on to the championship round, he will be a serious threat for the championship. Another side-note, if Larson is able to win, he will break a twenty-five year win-less streak for a McDonald's sponsored car as the last driver to win for the iconic restaurant was Jimmy Spencer all the way back in 1994. Look for Larson and the Golden Arches to go to victory lane at Texas.
(All stats and information used in this article is brought to you by the good folks at driveraverages.com and Racing-Reference.com the best website for all NASCAR stats).
Will Houston's offense improve with a new OC calling the shots? Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images.
As quarterback C.J. Stroud returns to lead the Houston Texans for a third season, his offense has a much different look than it did a year ago.
Top receiver Nico Collins and leading rusher Joe Mixon are back. But the Texans have a new offensive coordinator in Nick Caley after Bobby Slowik was fired and longtime left tackle Laremy Tunsil was traded to the Commanders in the offseason.
In other moves on offense, Houston traded for receiver Christian Kirk, signed receiver Justin Watson and drafted Iowa State receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel before signing running back Nick Chubb last month.
Chubb should get a lot of work early in camp with Mixon opening camp on the non-football injury list after missing minicamp with an ankle injury.
“Every year you’re looking to add more and more to your team,” coach DeMeco Ryans said Wednesday as the Texans opened camp. “I’m excited about the receivers that we’ve added. The young guys, Noel, Higgins, also with Kirk, Watson, all the guys we’ve added at those spots will definitely enhance our offense, giving us more options for where the football can go, and that will help our quarterback a lot.”
It’s officially training camp szn ‼️ pic.twitter.com/WBYXQE8myg
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) July 23, 2025
The Texans needed depth at receiver after veterans Stefon Diggs and Robert Woods left in free agency and with Tank Dell out indefinitely recovering from a gruesome knee injury sustained in December.
Even though it’s early, Stroud has already been impressed by his rookie receivers. Higgins, who has been compared to Collins, had 87 receptions for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns last season for the Cyclones and Noel added 80 catches for 1,194 yards and eight scores.
“They’ve came in with a great mindset,” Stroud said. “They are really mature guys. Guys who love to work, consistently, here at the building or working with me in the offseason. So, I’m really excited to see those guys’ growth and see them take a step forward each and every day. Not going to be perfect for them, but I think they’re going to make a lot of plays.”
I am speed 🏃♂️ pic.twitter.com/Z6tjqebi1z
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) July 23, 2025
While the Texans addressed their need at receiver, their most pressing issue is improving the offensive line after Stroud was sacked 52 times last season, which ranked second in the NFL. Though Tunsil was penalty-prone he was Houston’s most consistent lineman and replacing him won’t be easy.
Second-round pick Aireontae Ersery could be Houston’s left tackle of the future after starting 38 games at the position over three seasons at Minnesota. But veteran Cam Robinson will likely open the season at left tackle while Ersery adjusts to the NFL.
Ryans knows everyone is concerned about the offensive line after Stroud was sacked eight times in a 23-14 loss to the Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs last season.
“I know I’m going to get a ton of questions about the offensive line and what it looks like,” Ryans said. “You guys will see what it looks like when we line up across from another team and we get a chance to actually compete in live reps. Me talking to you is probably not going to convince anybody here … we’ll see what it looks like, man. I’m excited about the group because I know they’ll be better.”
Stroud is also looking to take another step after leading the Texans to the postseason in each of his first two seasons. Stroud threw for 3,727 yards with 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 17 games last season after winning AP Offensive Rookie of the Year in his debut when he had 4,108 yards passing with 23 TD passes and just five interceptions in 15 games.
He was asked what the biggest lesson he learned last year was that he believes will help him this season.
“Just trust the process,” he said. “It’s not about what people think, who people think you are, what they think you are or when they think you should do it. It’s about your process and how you’re going to go about it. If God is happy, your teammates are happy and yourself, then you’re good.”
You can watch Stroud discuss his growth as a QB in the video below.
'I've grown a lot' #Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud @CJ7STROUD @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/OOMIWpC8zF
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) July 23, 2025