Cooper Flagg is taking the green flag at Texas Motor Speedway.
The Dallas Mavericks’ Rookie of the Year candidate will be the honorary pace car driver for the NASCAR Cup Series race May 3 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Flagg will drive a 2026 Chevrolet Corvette to pace the field for the Wurth 400, the speedway said. The race is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. and will be televised on FS1.
“Being asked to drive the official pace car at Texas Motor Speedway is such an honor,” Flagg said in a statement. “My Mom and Dad are both big NASCAR fans so we’re excited; this is going to be a special experience for our family.”
The 6-foot-9 Flagg, a 19-year-old out of Duke, lived up to expectations as the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft and is a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year after averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals. He is the first rookie to lead his team in all four of those categories since Michael Jordan in 1984-85.
The Wurth 400 will cap a NASCAR tripleheader at Texas Motor Speedway, with the SpeedyCash.com 250 Truck Series race on May 1 and the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Andy’s Frozen Custard 340 on May 2.
Game schedule dates, times, locations
NEXT UP: Game dates, times, locations, channel
Rangers ▶
April 17 Rangers 5, Seattle 0
April 18 Seattle 7, Rangers 3
April 19 Seattle 5, Rangers 2
April 21 Rangers 5, Pittsburgh 1
April 22 Pittsburgh 8, Rangers 4
April 23 Rangers 6, Pittsburgh 1
April 24 vs. Athletics, 7:05 p.m., CW
April 25 vs. Athletics, 6:05 p.m., RSN
April 26 vs. Athletics, 1:35 p.m., RSN
April 27 vs. N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m., RSN
April 28 vs. N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m., RSN
April 29 vs. N.Y. Yankees, 1:35 p.m., RSN
TCU Baseball ▶
April 14 TCU 12, Tarleton State 5
April 17 Baylor 11, TCU 4
April 19 TCU 5, Baylor 4 (doubleheader)
April 19 TCU 10, Baylor 2 (doubleheader)
April 21 TCU 6, Dallas Baptist 5 (10 innings)
April 24 vs. Houston, 6 p.m., ESPN+
April 25 vs. Houston, 2 p.m., ESPN+
April 26 vs. Houston, 1 p.m., ESPN+
April 29 vs. UT Arlington, 6 p.m., ESPN+
May 1 at Oklahoma State, 6 p.m., ESPN+
May 2 at Oklahoma State, 6 p.m., ESPN+
May 3 at Oklahoma State, 1 p.m., ESPN+
Stars ▶
First-round playoff series (Stars lead 2-1)
Game 1: April 18 Minnesota 6, Stars 1
Game 2: April 20 Stars 4, Minnesota 2
Game 3: April 22 Stars 4, Minnesota 3 (2OT)
Game 4: April 25 at Minnesota, 4:30 p.m., TBS, truTV, HBO Max, Victory+
Game 5: April 28 vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m., ESPN2, Victory+
Game 6 (if necessary): April 30 at Minnesota, TBA
Game 7 (if necessary): May 2 vs. Minnesota, TBA
Wings▶
April 30 at Indiana (preseason), 6 p.m., Ion
May 3 vs. Las Vegas (at Austin) (preseason), 6 p.m., Ion
May 9 at Indiana, noon, ABC
May 12 vs. Atlanta, 7 p.m., KFAA
May 14 vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m., Amazon Prime Video
TCU Football ▶
2026 season
Aug. 29 vs. North Carolina (at Dublin), TBA
Sept. 12 vs. Grambling State, TBA
Sept. 19 vs. Arkansas State, TBA
Sept. 26 at Central Florida, TBA
Oct. 3 vs. BYU, TBA
Oct. 17 at Baylor, TBA
Oct. 24 vs. West Virginia, TBA
Oct. 31 vs. Kansas, TBA
Nov. 6 at Arizona, TBA
Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA
Nov. 21 vs. Utah, TBA
Nov. 26 at Texas Tech, TBA
Cowboys ▶
2026 season
TBA vs. TBA (at Rio de Janeiro), TBA
2026 opponents (dates and times TBA; one home game will be in Rio)
vs. N.Y Giants
vs. Philadelphia
vs. Washington
vs. Arizona
vs. San Francisco
vs. Tampa Bay
vs. Jacksonville
vs. Tennessee
vs. Baltimore
at N.Y Giants
at Philadelphia
at Washington
at L.A. Rams
at Seattle
at Green Bay
at Houston
at Indianapolis
FC Dallas ▶
March 14 FC Dallas 3, San Diego 3
March 21 FC Dallas 4, Houston 3
April 4 FC Dallas 4, D.C. United 0
April 11 FC Dallas 1, St. Louis 1
April 18 FC Dallas 2, LA Galaxy 2
April 22 vs. Minnesota, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV
April 25 at Seattle, 9:30 p.m., Apple TV
May 2 at NY Red Bulls, 6:30 p.m., Apple TV
May 9 vs. Salt Lake, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV
May 13 vs. Vancouver, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV
Texas Motor Speedway ▶
April 23-25 Pate Swap Meet
April 25 FuelFest
April 30-May 2 High Limit Racing Stockyard Stampede
May 1 NASCAR Truck Series: SpeedyCash.com 250
May 2 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series: Andy's Frozen Custard 340
Jim Barnes is the Star-Telegram’s sports editor. A Fort Worth native and graduate of Castleberry High School, he returned to Texas after 13 years at the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He previously was sports editor of the Waco Tribune-Herald and a freelance high school sports reporter for The Dallas Morning News.
