5 NASCAR drivers who lost big in the 2025 Talladega race ft. Denny Hamlin & Kyle Busch

On a day when Joey Logano scored his first win in 2025 at Texas Motor Speedway, NASCAR's Würth 400 left several contenders bitterly short of the checkered flag. The 400-mile race was anything but straightforward and stretched to 271 laps due to an overtime finish.

Marked by 12 cautions over 73 laps and 20 lead changes, the NASCAR Cup race became a tactical and survivalist contest. On a day of attrition at the 1.5-mile oval, only two racers, starting in the first five rows finished in the top 20. While drivers like pole-sitter Carson Hocevar and 23XI's Tyler Reddick showed speed but fell short, several others lost ground just when it mattered most.

Here are five of the biggest losers at the NASCAR Cup race in Texas:

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#1 Michael McDowell - Spire Motorsports No. 71

Michael McDowell was left the most frustrated after NASCAR's Würth 400, where he looked set to get his first win in almost two years. After starting fifth, the veteran held his place in the top ten and ran ninth in the first Stage. As he gradually lost that position, the #71 Spire team made the boldest call of the race.

McDowell changed two tires on a lap 222 pit stop, leaping 15 spots to the front row with 43 laps remaining. Battling Team Penske's Ryan Blaney and Logano, he managed to lead for 19 laps. But a failed block on Logano with four laps to go caused him to get loose in Turn 2, and dirty air from Blaney turned him into the wall a lap later. He eventually fell back and finished 26th.

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#2 Kyle Busch - Richard Childress Racing No. 8

Kyle Busch made a promising start to the NASCAR Wurth 400 at Texas, despite qualifying 26th. He ran inside the top 20 most of the race and claimed to finish the second stage in tenth. After cautions at the top of the field, he climbed further to the top 5 by lap 224 and looked poised to fight for the win.

However, his race took a turn as he spun into the wall on Turn 4 from third on lap 228. The RCR veteran was also involved in another crash a few laps later, with Brad Keselowski and Austin Cindric which pushed him back further. His 20th-place finish extends a 68-race winless streak, dating back to Gateway in June 2023.

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#3 Josh Berry - Wood Brothers Racing No. 21

Josh Berry had one of the strongest runs of his season. After qualifying seventh, he ran third in Stage 1 and led 41 laps. While leading on lap 125, the Turn 4 bump, long a Texas menace, caught him out. His car snapped loose mid-lane change and slammed the wall on the high line. Berry, already into the playoffs, retired 32nd in the race marking his third DNF of the year.

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#4 Brad Keselowski - Roush-Fenway Keselowski No. 6

Brad Keselowski continued his disastrous run in the 2025 NASCAR Cup in a wreck-laden race at the Texas Motor Speedway. Starting 30th, Keselowski carved his way into the top 20 and sat 14th with just 21 laps to go. But the veteran was in the wrong place at the wrong time during a pile-up involving Busch, Cole Custer and Cindric.

On a day none of the RFK drivers finished in the top 15, Keselowski's heavy damage forced him to retire at 28th. He remains winless in 2025 and sits 32nd in points, ahead of only four full-time drivers, two of whom are rookies.

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#5 Denny Hamlin - Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11

A nightmare day ended early for Denny Hamlin in the NASCAR Wurth 400. The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran began eighth but missed the first pit stop under caution due to miscommunication on Lap 28. That dropped him to the back of the field. He improved ten spots to 22nd within the next 40 laps.

While recovering, a dramatic mechanical failure ended his race on lap 78 due to an oil fire. It snapped a streak of 21 straight lead-lap finishes and gave him his first DNF since the 2023 fall Talladega race.