Clean Slate or Calm Before the Storm? Pre-Race Inspection Clears, No Rear Starts Ahead of Texas Cup Race

Ahead of today’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, teams have been given a mostly drama-free lead-up, with no major issues reported in pre-race inspection and no cars required to drop to the rear of the field at the start. It’s a surprisingly clean start to what could be a chaotic race later this afternoon.

Technical inspection went off without a hitch, with all cars passing without incident. That means no last-minute penalties or shuffling of the grid—something that’s become more common in recent seasons as teams push the limits of tolerances. Today, though, the field will roll off just as they qualified.

Among those of note: Shane van Gisbergen (SVG), who made headlines by dipping into the Cup garage again this weekend, escaped with only cosmetic damage from earlier practice sessions. There were no repairs required on his car heading into the race.

No major issues for cars in prerace checks. Have not heard of any cars torear. SVG had some cosmetic damage from practice but no repairs. Nemechek came close but didn’t hit have any damage from nearly getting into wall in qualifying. NASCAR RaceDay on FS1 now. Green 3:43p ET pic.twitter.com/vWEbtlZz2r

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 4, 2025

Meanwhile, John Hunter Nemechek had a tense moment in qualifying, coming dangerously close to tagging the wall, but managed to keep his car clean. He’ll start the race without issue—though he might be carrying a bit of extra adrenaline into the green flag.

The relatively quiet pre-race buildup is a contrast to some of the recent chaos in the garage area, where last-minute adjustments, failed inspections, and unplanned backup cars have dominated the conversation. Whether the calm continues once the race begins remains to be seen.

With NASCAR RaceDay airing now on FS1, fans are settling in for what promises to be an important race in the middle stretch of the season. The green flag is scheduled to fly at 3:43 p.m. ET, and all eyes will be on whether a clean start leads to a clean race—or if that serenity is just the calm before Texas does what Texas often does: go off the rails.

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