Carson Hocevar Beats Suarez by 0.003 Seconds as Spire Locks Out Front Row, Bubba Wallace Crashes in Practice

What’s Happening?

Continuing his hot momentum, Carson Hocevar earned yet another pole at Texas Motor Speedway, his 2nd consecutive at the track. Fresh off his first career Cup Series win at Talladega last week, besides a win on the Truck Series race Friday night, Hocevar was the last car to go out and narrowly edged his teammate, Daniel Suarez, to take pole position.

It feels good to be @CarsonHocevar right now. pic.twitter.com/hYliQGp0cA

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 2, 2026

Suarez’s day went from night to day in a matter of minutes. During practice, the no. 7 car had a flat tire, bringing out the red flag. His car was stopped for a few minutes, and there was concern about getting the car damaged from towing or pushing it back to the pit road. Suarez, however, decided to drive it backward to pit road, avoiding damage and making it work later in qualifying as he is set for his best starting position this season, in P2.

Second week in a row that Daniel Suarez has driven his car to pit road in reverse https://t.co/CQd9ySluKR pic.twitter.com/6QCJcviXH0

— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) May 2, 2026

Bubba Wallace, on the other hand, wasn’t as lucky. The driver of the 23 pushed the limits and spun through turns 3 and 4, hitting the outside wall hard. He will go for a backup car and start on the rear.

#NASCAR… Bubba Wallace has crashed in Turn 2 during NASCAR Cup Series practice from Texas Motor Speedway. pic.twitter.com/ChgKLGBWui

— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) May 2, 2026

Bubba Wallace said he pushed the limits and found them here at Texas. @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/o7NOOzjQ8l

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 2, 2026

Practice Results

• Fastest Lap: William Byron [28.527s]
• Best Overall Average: Erik Jones [29.450s]
• Best 5-Lap Average: William Byron [28.839s]
• Best 10-Lap Average: William Byron [29.076s]
• Best 15-Lap Average: Chris Buescher [29.274s]
• Best 20-Lap Average: Tyler Reddick [29.357s]
• Best 25-Lap Average: Chase Elliott [29.446s]
• Best 30-Lap Average: Chase Briscoe [29.556s]

Starting Lineup

Drivers to the Rear

• Bubba Wallace (Backup Car)
• Austin Dillon (Engine)

Ones to Watch

• Spire Motorsports: Spire Motorsports locked out the front row for the race, that is despite Daniel Suarez having a flat tire in practice. Carson Hocevar has momentum by his side, and with a win under his belt already this weekend, it is impossible to count him out as well.
• Denny Hamlin: Hamlin has constantly been the fastest driver on intermediate tracks ever since the introduction of the Gen 7 car, and this year has been no different. Having fought until the very end at Kansas, 2 weeks ago, and with great pace in practice, it is expected that this week will be no different. His recent Texas results may not show, but his Texas pace is consistently up there with the likes of Kyle Larson, William Byron, and other frontrunners. He starts 4th.
• William Byron: Arguably the fastest driver at Texas in the Gen 7 era, Byron has collected the most points in the three point-paying races at Texas. He also has the best average finish of all drivers at the track, at 5.7. The stats speak for themselves, and though Chevrolet has yet to show consistent speed this season, Byron’s practice pace was rather encouraging. He starts 15th.

Honorable Mentions:

• Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, RFK Racing, Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs

Pit Stall Selections

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