Texas Wurth 400 Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Rankings / Post Practice Predictions

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On Sunday, get ready for a showdown at Texas for the Wurth 400. Texas is a fast 1.5-mile track that’s become the “Talladega of 1.5-Mile Tracks”, but not for superspeedway-style racing, but for the sheer number of drivers running into trouble. Texas will be the third high-speed 1.5-mile track visited this year, here’s a look at 2026 High-Speed 1.5-Mile Track Total Speed Rankings.

On Saturday, practice was held for Texas. Teams had 25 minutes, and keep in mind teams have different agendas. Make sure you check out our Texas Practice Notes, Texas Group Speed Rankings, Texas 10,15,20,25 and 30 Lap Average Speed Cheat Sheet and Texas Practice Speeds and 10-lap averages. 

Here’s the Texas Wurth 400 Starting Lineup. 

Texas Wurth 400 Full Field Fantasy NASCAR Rankings

1) Denny Hamlin
Start 4th/ Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – High
Texas Outlook – 3-time Texas winner, Denny Hamlin will likely be the driver to beat in the Texas Wurth 400. Hamlin’s performed at an elite level here and at high-speed 1.5’s in 2026, no driver has been better, with Hamlin winning at Las Vegas, getting robbed of the win at Kansas (4th) and having the best Total Speed Ranking in both races. At high-speed 1.5’s over the last five races going back to last year, Hamlin’s Track Type Total Speed Ranking is 1.4. At Texas, Hamlin currently has back-to-back results in the 30’s but don’t let that scare you away. Hamlin’s race was anything but incident free last spring and then in 2024, he should’ve won his 4th Texas race but had problems late. In terms of Texas Next Gen Speed Rankings, Hamlin ranks 5th. Last year, Hamlin had a short afternoon and finished 38th, after having pit code miscues and then an early engine failure, so avoid all takeaways. In 2024, Hamlin could’ve easily raced his way to victory lane but while he was battling for the lead late, he crashed which led to his 30th. I’ll also note shortly before he crashed, Hamlin was the leader but was burned by a caution just after a restart, which cost him the race and had him in the outside groove which was perilous. In the race, Hamlin had the Fastest Car Late In A Run, had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking, the 2nd best Average Running Position (7.8), was tied for leading the 3rd most laps (37) and earned the 5th best Driver Rating. In 2023, Hamlin had a great car and finished 5th, despite Ty Gibbs running into him on pit road. I’ll also note that finish underrates him and before late mass mayhem kicked into gear, Hamlin looked poised to finish in 3rd. In the race, Hamlin ranked #2 in terms of Total Speed Rankings and Speed Late In A Run. In 2022, Hamlin had a great car but finished an asterisk mark 10th. Around lap 268 under caution while running in 2nd, Byron spun him, and it dropped Hamlin all the way back to 22nd. In terms of speed stats, Hamlin ranked 4th for Speed Late In A Run and 8th for Total Speed Rankings. In practice, Hamlin had the best 10-lap average and said his car was in the ballpark.
DraftKings $11,000/ FanDuel $14,000

Further Recommended Reading = Texas Finish Projections, DraftKings Texas Scoring Projections, FanDuel Texas Scoring Projections, Texas Quick Rankings, Texas Next Gen Average Finishes, Texas Next Gen Speed Rankings, Texas Next Gen RPM

2) Tyler Reddick
Start 8th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Texas Outlook – Tyler Reddick, the 2022 Texas winner should prominently be on your short list of favorites to win the Wurth 400. Reddick’s been a standout performer in the Lone Star State and he’s fresh off a win at Kansas a few weeks ago. Last year at Texas, Reddick ranked among the best but finished an asterisk mark 21st. In the race, Reddick started 17th, finished 2nd in Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2, had the 2nd best average running position (7.1), led 1 lap but then late in the race on lap 254 while running in 6th, Reddick spun out which led to his 21st. In terms of speed stats, Reddick was the Fastest Driver Late In A Run and his Total Speed Ranking ranked 2nd. In 2024, Reddick finished 4th but was arguably the best (after Larson had his problem). In the race, Reddick had the best Total Speed Ranking, the best Driver Rating, the best Average Running Position (6.5) and led 37 laps. I’ll note, Reddick did tag the wall in the last Stage, so he wasn’t at his best late. In 2023, Reddick finished an asterisk mark 25th. On lap 200, Reddick was in 16th but then three laps later during a green flag pit cycle he pitted early and was then burned by a caution which dropped him off the lead lap back into the 30’s. I’ll note, Reddick did rebound and was up to 9th on lap 254, but then on lap 255 he was collected in a “Big One.” In the race, Reddick had the 11th best Total Speed Ranking and a 14.3 average running position. In 2022 en route to victory lane, Reddick led the most laps (70), earned the best driver rating and had the 4th best Total Speed Ranking. This year between the two high-speed 1.5’s visited, Reddick ranks 5th in terms of Track Type Total Speed Rankings and is the most recent winner. At high-speed 1.5’s going back to last year, Reddick ranks 3rd in terms of Track Type Total Speed Rankings. In practice, Reddick was fast and had the best 20-lap average and was tied for the best 25-lap average (to the hundredth).
DraftKings $10,700/ FanDuel $13,000

3) Christopher Bell
Start 7th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium
Texas Outlook – Christopher Bell will be a contender at Texas. Bell’s been great in the “Lone Star State” and in 3 of the last 6 races, he’s finished in the top 4. In the Next Gen, Bell has two top 10’s but over the other two he finished 17th or worse. Last year, Bell finished 9th but I’ll also note his race was far from incident free (got a pit penalty, made an extra pit stop under caution, got out of the groove late which dropped him from 10th to 21st). In terms of speed stats, Bell ranked 9th for Speed Late In A Run and had the 16th best Total Speed Ranking. In 2024, Bell was a top five contender but finished an asterisk mark 17th. In the race, Bell started 3rd, finished 2nd in Stage #1 but then on lap 101 while running in 10th (pit strategy dropped him back), Bell backed the #20 into the wall. Over the first segment which was incident free for him, Bell ranked as having the 2nd fastest car on the track. In 2023, Bell finished 4th. “Performance Wise”, I would say Bell was realistically around 10th place good but late mayhem boosted him in the results column. With about 20 to go, Bell was in 10th. In 2022, Bell showed top ten potential but crashed and finished 34th. In the race, Bell had problems twice while running in 7th. Bell had a flat tire on lap 77, and then later on lap 136 he had another flat and backed his car into the wall. In the two races prior to that, Bell had back-to-back 3rd place finishes. At high-speed 1.5’s, Bell’s been elite and since 2025 on this track type, Bell has the best average finish (7.6) and the 2nd best Track Type Total Speed Ranking. This year at high-speed 1.5’s, Bell finished 4th at Las Vegas, was top five good at Kansas (spun at the end) and has the 2nd best Track Type Total Speed Ranking. In practice, Bell was solid.
DraftKings $10,000/ FanDuel $12,500