Defending NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) champion Justin Allgaier and recent NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) winner Tyler Ankrum look to carry their season momentum into Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) this weekend and chase down an elusive win at the 1.5-mile tri-oval.

Allgaier and Ankrum are part of the “Fast Five” storylines for the support series events heading into the NASCAR tripleheader that includes Friday evening’s NCTS SpeedyCash.com 250 (7 p.m. CT, TV: FS1, Radio: MRN, SiriusXM) and Saturday’s NXS Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 (1 p.m., TV: CW, Radio: PRN, SiriusXM). The weekend culminates with the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) WÜRTH 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY on Sunday (2:30 p.m., TV: FS1, Radio: PRN, SiriusXM and Lone Star 92.5 locally).

The NCTS returns to action after an off week with its eighth race of the 25-event season. The series opens with practice at 1:35 p.m. Friday and then into pole qualifying at 2:40 p.m. to set the starting lineup. The NXS is coming off Saturday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway won by Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill, with Texas Motor Speedway serving as the 12th race of the 33-event season. NXS practice will begin at 4:05 p.m. Friday and immediately followed by qualifying at 5:10 p.m. for a full opening day with both series.

Here’s the “Fast Five” storylines to watch for during the SpeedyCash.com 250 and Andy’s Frozen Custard 300:

1) It took Justin Allgaier 14 full seasons to finally secure his first NXS title after being a perennial contender, and the JR Motorsports veteran now will be looking to solve the puzzle of TMS.

Allgaier also has been a perennial contender at TMS, but he arrives for Saturday’s Andy Frozen Custard 300 still winless after 27 career starts. He owns 15 top-10 finishes, including seven among the top five, and has led 476 laps at the 1.5-mile tri-oval. The laps led are the fifth most of any track he has competed at during his career and the only one among the top 11 for career laps led where is winless.

The good news for Allgaier is he continues to get even better at TMS.

Allgaier has finished fifth or better in five of his last six visits, including a best of second in 2021. He finished fifth in 2023 and third last season while combining to lead 250 laps in those races. He also claimed his first TMS pole in the ’23 event.

Allgaier also is rolling once again this season. He sits atop of the series standings, leads the series in top-five finishes (eight), top 10s (eight) and laps led (335) and one of only two multiple winners on the season (Las Vegas, Homestead-Miami). He arrives at TMS coming off a fourth-place finish last week at Talladega and has recorded top-five finishes in seven of his last eight starts.

2) Tyler Ankrum of McAnally-Hilgemann Racing is riding a wave of momentum coming into Friday evening’s NCTS SpeedyCash.com 250.

Ankrum snapped a 130-race winless streak when the 24-year-old secured a victory at the series’ previous race at Rockingham Speedway. It was his first since his inaugural series win came at Kentucky Speedway in July of 2019. The timing was ideal as he also earned a $50,000 bonus for winning the final Triple Truck Challenge race. It may have been a fuel strategy win, but don’t consider him a fluke this season.

He has finished fourth or better in his last four starts and leads the series in top-five finishes (five) and co-shares the lead for top 10s (six). He also has reeled off six consecutive top-10 efforts since finishing 34th in the season opener at Daytona. He has struggled at TMS in his last three visits, but had enjoyed previous success with top-eight finishes in four of his first five races at the venue. He finished a best of third in 2019.

3) Katherine Legge returns to TMS for the first time since 2012, driving the No. 32 Chevrolet for Jordan Anderson Racing in the NXS Andy’s Frozen Custard 300. The versatile 44-year-old racer from England last appeared at TMS in June of that year for INDYCAR’s Firestone 550, where she started 22nd and finished 15th for Dragon Racing. 

It will be the third of seven NXS races she runs with Jordan Anderson Racing this season, along with five NCS races for Live Fast Motorsports beginning with the Mexico City race on June 15.

She has competed in seven career NXS races, the most recent coming last week at Talladega Superspeedway where she finished 34th. She was running 15th on Lap 100 of 113 when she was collected in an accident by Aric Almirola. Earlier in the race, Legge became the fourth woman in history to lead a lap in an NXS race.

Her career-best NXS finish is 18th, which came at Road America in 2018.

4) Chandler Smith and Daniel Hemric have returned to the NCTS after recent stints in NASCAR’s other top-tier national series and both are making the most of the opportunity.

Smith spent the past two seasons in the NXS, including a career-best performance last year for Joe Gibbs Racing. Despite two wins, 17 top-five finishes and finishing fifth in the series championship, there was no room for him to compete fulltime for the organization in 2025.

The 22-year-old pivoted to Front Row Motorsports (FRM) in the NCTS, where he competed fulltime in 2021 and ’22 for Kyle Busch Motorsports and recorded five wins. It took him just six races to find Victory Lane for FRM, winning at Bristol Motor Speedway. He currently sits second in the series points through seven races and has finished eighth or better in six of those starts.

Hemric, with 83 career NCS starts to his credit, ran a full season for Kaulig Racing last season that was highlighted by a career-high four top-10 finishes. He previously ran two fulltime NCTS seasons in 2015 and ’16 and now returns with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing.

It took Hemric just five races to earn his first career NCTS win (Martinsville), and the 34-year-old followed that achievement with his inaugural series pole in the next race at Bristol. He currently is fourth in the series standings heading into Friday’s SpeedyCash.com 250. 

5) Actor-turned-racer Frankie Muniz, who starred in “Malcolm in the Middle” and “Agent Cody Banks,” will get his first look at TMS in the NCTS SpeedyCash.com250.

Muniz, who ran a limited schedule last season in both the NCTS and NXS, has embarked on his first full NCTS season driving the No. 33 Ford for Reaume Brothers Racing.

Through the first seven races, he recorded a career-best 10th place finish at the season opener at Daytona and is 24th in the NCTS point standings.

His best racing season came in 2023 when he finished fourth in the ARCA Menards Series championship with 11 top-10 finishes in 20 starts.