Joey Logano won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas on Sunday and Chipper Jones had an interesting reaction After calling out Logano last week for ripping his teammate Austin Cindric the Atlanta Braves legend went to X/Twitter to congratulate him “Congratulations to [Joey Logano],” Jones wrote Hard charging wins and gracious top 5s and 10s Congratulations to @joeylogano Chipper Jones seems to no longer have a beef with Logano after seeing Logano blast Cindric for letting Bubba Wallace win a stage at Talladega Chipper went to social media to send a message to the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Top 101Trump, SabanDuo's NIL order blasted Hot32026 NFL Mock DraftTodd McShay looks ahead By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms and use of my personal information described therein On3 is a registered trademark of On3 Media Joey Logano’s fifth-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway was wiped out after NASCAR discovered a critical spoiler violation on his No Cup Series managing director Brad Moran explained how the infraction gave Logano an unintended performance edge sparking debate over fairness in the garage Ryan Preece also lost his second-place result for a separate spoiler issue sending both drivers to the back of the 39-car field The penalties highlight NASCAR’s growing scrutiny of aerodynamic tweaks at superspeedways Moran displayed the illegal spoilers at Texas Motor Speedway explaining that Logano’s team violated Section 14.5.8.E (spoiler braces) and Section 14.1.P (fastener security) A missing nut and loose bolt on Logano’s spoiler brace allowed excess flexibility all fasteners need to be fastened and secure at all times during an event,” Moran said The spoiler brace bolt with the missing nut and NASCAR Cup Series director Brad Moran's explanation on the DQ of the Joey Logano car last week. @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/HBoYZPOlQr — Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 3, 2025 For Preece, an extra spoiler shim — more than the two allowed — led to disqualification “They’re allowed two shims maximum at a superspeedway that must go the entire distance; the maximum they can be is 50 thousandths “Where the problem comes in is that there was a third [shim] Logano’s violation echoed a familiar superspeedway tactic: adjusting spoiler angles to reduce drag “Teams are trying to do everything they can to get that spoiler out of the air, by either deflecting it from the front, or making it invisible from the rear,” Denny Hamlin noted on his Actions Detrimental podcast Logano admitted the loose bolt may have helped The penalty cut Logano’s points from 41 to one, deepening a tough season. He now sits 11th in the standings with just one top-10 finish. Preece lost 40 points, dropping from second to 38th. Hamlin weighed in, comparing the penalty to past cases. “If you remember, I think Rodney [Childers] in the No. 4 car had, like, three windshield bolts missing out of their front windshield. It doesn’t matter why, there’s no reason they should come loose,” he said. NASCAR’s crackdown highlights the ongoing balance between innovation and enforcement. For Logano, the Talladega disqualification adds pressure heading into Texas. For Moran, it’s simple: “Everybody knows the rules. You know, this is our job to find things like this, clean it up.” Copyright © 2019-2025. PFSN. All Rights Reserved. © 2025 BVM Sports. Best Version Media, LLC. acknowledging that a mistake led to his team's downfall Initially finishing fifth and earning 41 points in the Jack Link's 500 22 Ford Mustang was disqualified due to a missing nut on the spoiler's bolt during post-race inspection The reigning champion emphasized the importance of accepting the consequences stating it doesn't reflect their team's values and noted the significant impact on both points and team image Team Penske decided not to appeal the ruling highlighting the incident as unintentional As Logano prepares for Texas Motor Speedway he faces pressure with only one top-10 finish in 12 races thus far this season Logano and Team Penske will aim to bounce back at Texas Motor Speedway needing to improve their performance and regain lost points They must implement better processes to prevent similar mistakes and enhance their competitiveness moving forward Logano's disqualification emphasizes the importance of team diligence and accountability; moving forward they must learn from this error to ensure it doesn't hinder their championship aspirations The summary of the linked article was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence technology from OpenAI We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it OK Privacy policy Get quick access to your favorite articles Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers Make your voice heard with article commenting While he was checked and released from the infield care center, it was revealed a few days later that he would skip this weekend's race at Texas due to injuries sustained in the crash. However he has declined to speak about the nature of the injuries while updating his recovery "I'm getting better each day," Zilisch told The CW on Friday "I'm up around and walk in and injuries to your back are ones you don't want to mess with it's unfortunate because the Blue's Hog car looks really good this weekend l've got a driver that's pretty fast driving it this weekend -- Kyle [Larson] I'm excited to watch my team and cheer them on this weekend It's tough missing a race and watching your race car getting driven by another race car driver but I'm super excited to learn from Kyle and see what he has to say "I'm doing everything I can to heal up as quick as Xfinity mobile -- that's a good one I'm excited to get back as soon as I possibly can." As for if he'd like to see Larson wheel his car to Victory Lane or if it would be bittersweet "I want to see my team do well, and I want to see my team succeed," he continued. "And it wouldn't be a hit on me, because, you know, Kyle Larson winning a race isn't really a shock to anybody and I'm excited to see what he says and what his feedback is like I drove the car in sim and I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of what it's like so I'm curious to see what he has to say." From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport In order to keep delivering our expert journalism we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker PLEASANT SPRING DAY: The sky is partly to mostly sunny across Alabama this afternoon with temperatures in the 60s and 70s A few isolated showers could form this evening over the Tennessee Valley otherwise tonight will be mostly fair with a low in the 50s Read More it will likely be October before we see weather this nice again across Alabama with a few more clouds the farther north you go as an upper-level low spins over the Ohio River Valley Read More knew he made the right decision to open his own business but it wasn’t until he won the 2023 Birmingham Small Business Week Pitch Competition that he got an additional boost Read More COOL START: Temperatures are in the 40s across much of North/Central Alabama just before daybreak… for some places this will most likely be the last morning with temperatures in the 40s until late September or October Read More Sunday brought Alabama a taste of early spring and a mix of sun and clouds—especially north of the Tennessee River where a few sprinkles are still possible Read More Exceptional Anglers events at Oak Mountain State Park teach basic fishing skills to students with disabilities from Alabaster and Pelham city schools and the Shelby and Jefferson County school systems Read More Sunday brings Alabama a breath of fresh air—literally and figuratively—with cooler temperatures and low humidity replacing Saturday’s storms in a refreshing pattern shift worthy of a “Cool Change.” Read More but dense fog may pose a travel hazard overnight and into Sunday morning across north Alabama and southern Tennessee Read More the severe threat is nearly over in Alabama as storms shift east into Georgia Read More strong storms remain active in eastern Alabama this evening with gusty winds Read More A new severe thunderstorm warning is in effect for northeastern Lee County and heavy rain moving east toward Auburn and Opelika Read More Severe storms continue across east Alabama with warnings active in Chambers County and strong storms impacting several others under Severe Thunderstorm Watch #221 through 10 PM Read More Strong to severe storms continue moving through east-central and southeast Alabama this evening with the threat of damaging winds and frequent lightning continuing through 10 PM Read More Severe storms with 60 mph winds and quarter-size hail are moving into Tallapoosa and Chambers counties Read More NASCAR has put the illegal car parts of Joey Logano and Ryan Preece on display at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend following their respective disqualifications at Talladega Let’s be honest, last week’s NASCAR weekend at Talladega Superspeedway drew mixed reactions While the Cup Series featured left fans divided earning praise from die-hard fans and racing aficionados alike But NASCAR veteran Kenny Wallace saw things differently While last week’s Jack Link’s 500 received flak from fans for its underwhelming action he upped the ante further with a rather explicit outburst unapologetically bashing “some” fans Last Sunday’s Cup Series race at Talladega drew over four million viewers on FOX the TV rating was down by 6% compared to last year but Wallace didn’t believe that was any indication while others deemed it was due to NASCAR’s dwindling viewership some fans felt that the race was unusually calm for a superspeedway race with fewer wrecks the veteran dirt racer Wallace highlighted the sheer anomaly His emphasis was on the TV numbers. Sharing Adam Stern’s post, Wallace took a sharp dig  – “4 MILLION PEOPLE That’s a lot of people watching a race that was supposedly no good.”  Yet in a separate online poll by renowned NASCAR journalist Jeff Gluck 61% of fans voted against the “Dega” race Even the thrilling finish by Team Penske’s Austin Cindric claiming the win didn’t quite satisfy the fandom’s yearning fan-shot clips began surfacing on the internet with many capturing live reactions and visible protests from the stands of Talladega One particularly infamous video that made rounds showed a fan flipping both middle fingers towards the track giving the entire field a loud and clear dose of boo birds It didn’t take long for Wallace to catch the wind of the viral video, and he didn’t mince his words. Firing back, he gave a befitting reply to all detractors, posting “I see “some” people still cannot get over ME liking the @TALLADEGA race The veteran acknowledged the fact that the days of selling out the iconic short track is in the past He also urged fans to be less critical and accept the changing times He wrote “95% of the people complaining about empty seats at @ItsBristolBaby ARE OLD PEOPLE that are living in the past Those 150 thousand seats must stay for other special sporting events.”  READ: Kenny Wallace Silences Kyle Larson Doubters With Candid Response Even though NASCAR races are not what they used to be the sport has drastically transformed across the board and is now attracting the younger section of the population with its unique bumper-to-bumper racing The con man parked his 1981 Monte Carlo in the infield The stage was the Alabama International Motor Speedway a racing wonderland with enough room for about 25 Rose Bowl stadiums inside capacity for 175,000 people in the stands and a 2.66 mile gnaw-your-fingernails-to-the-nubs stretch of asphalt in between the track that has tried the nerves of some of the world's best drivers at some of the stockcar world's top speeds was then and is now considered to be one of the man whom a week earlier appeared on the NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National racing scene out of nowhere was there to chase the wildest of the wildest wonders of his imagination He was there with the car that he'd kind of purchased from Coo Coo Marlin and his son He was there to try to qualify for the Winston 500 at Talladega the ninth of 30 NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National races that year Another Larry was there, too. Larry Woody, the journalist from The Tennessean Wright?" Woody asked a few drivers while roaming the garage area the day before qualifying a con man with whom he soon would be face-to-face with for the first This bus washer to country music stars who seemed to tell more tall tales than Pinnochio A 33-year-old who claimed to hail from Hendersonville This petty criminal with a penchant for deception Not a single one of these lions of racing had a shred of memory of the con man who said he was a former Golden Gloves boxer with 29 victories to his name and no evidence other than his imagination to back it up Those answers left the curious journalist with even more questions at least not any that a logical mind could decode Not even with time has he been able to solve them with certainty before his eyes stood a man the journalist described as being of "average height That's what Woody wrote about Wright decades later a slick swindler whose bouquet of bad checks and checkered past had not yet been exposed Longish dark hair spilled out of that hat and over his ears leaning into those "average sideburns" Woody wrote about Sterling Marlin introduced the con man to the journalist But Woody wasn't there for handshakes and hellos and how you doings The curious journalist was there to try to quench his thirst for answers To find out if the rat he caught a whiff of on the other end of the telephone in a Nashville newspaper office was a rat at all and they've never heard of you," Woody said "Nobody I've talked to has ever heard of you." Answers weaved with enough partial truths to offer a pinch of plausibility Just like he did when Woody pressed him a week earlier about the fact that neither Merle Haggard nor T.G Sheppard had given him money to chase this fantasy Admitted he'd never actually run with the Earnhardts or Allisons of the world but rather raced at some of the same tracks they had the time had come to find out whether the con man could get anything done Wright wasn't the only novice working with the No Larry Woody wasn't the only one there that weekend with suspicions who would go on to win back-to-back Daytona 500s and be named one of NASCAR's 75 greatest drivers Figured he'd do a little experiment of his own The man who made $42 million behind the wheel during his storied career decided to stay behind the wall for this race perched in the seat reserved for the crew chief The first and last time he flirted with such crew-chief tomfoolery Marlin watched the con man contort his body through the driver's side window and into his four-wheeled metal missile powered by a 358 cubic inch V8 engine capable of spitting out some 670 horsepower Marlin recalled the exact moment his doubts began to sprout like dandelions about the man who would come to be known as the "D.B “When he put the seatbelt on," Marlin said with a chuckle during a recent interview from his Tennessee farm ‘I’m going to make a qualifying run.’ I said He'd have rather been in an electric chair than that seat." no sooner had Wright introduced his eyes to the 14,000-plus foot long 33-degree-banked string of pavement the day before did it occur to him to wonder whether he'd be able to drive himself out Talking his way into a Winston Cup race now seemed like the easy part of the plot on a flimsy whim weaved together with nothing more than dreams and schemes Here's what Wright told Rick Houston, host of "The Scene Vault" podcast and the man who found and interviewed Larry Wright in the spring of 2022: I remember pulling into the infield and standing at the end of the track and looking down it I looked over at my brother (a crew member) and I said "You think about holding that pedal flat on the floor all the way around this track How much can that car gain before you go into that turn?" the heart of his car rumbling like thunder Thoughts of Earnhardt and Allison tangoed in his head He told Houston that the two had shared some words of wisdom with him upon completion of the first of his two qualifying laps He shifted his car into gear and pressed the gas pedal A speed 13 mph short of pole position winner Benny Parsons who set a NASCAR speed record that day of 200.179 mph A speed slower than all but four others − Slick Johnson Bill Scott and Ferrel Harris − the first two of whom later died in racing accidents and the third of whom was making his NASCAR Winston Cup debut that weekend but that speed would be good enough to put his car 36th out of 40 on the starting grid He'd qualified for the Winston 500 at Talladega An ice cube had better odds of surviving hell "The average person couldn't drive around Talladega one lap and not wreck sideways through those turns and the concrete wall inches away but Sterling said the more he was around him 'I got the feeling he hadn't done a whole lot of racing quarter-mile dirt tracks or something like that particularly after he turned one fast qualifying lap." That was enough for con man to conquer the next step in a caper that captured imaginations near and far for the next 40-plus years His chance to turn upside down all those fabulous fibs he'd concocted about racing with Earnhardt and Allison and Petty and Yarborough into nonfiction Gospel he one day could tell his grandchildren that wouldn't be like so much of his life But how was Wright able to defy death and odds and common sense the former attorney and former NASCAR driver and track owner and he's lapping around at whatever he was 180-something miles an hour around the Talladega track could that be done by a novice who had never spent any quality time in a race car Baker's next question was the most important could he do it in a pack of cars?" Baker asked "Talladega's track is pretty wide open," Baker said "If you were going to pick any track to run your first laps on and try to exceed 180 miles an hour Then came the con man's second qualifying lap Then came the wreck on his day of reckoning The impact cast doubt about Wright's chances of being able to race in two days A quarter panel was wrinkled beyond repair If the answer to any of those questions had been "yes," we wouldn't be talking about L.W Wright − or Larry Ernest Wright − all these years later At least not to any degree of significance Marlin and his crew did what any crew would try to do under these circumstances Fellow driver Travis Tiller's team came to the rescue for those parts who told The Tennessean he doesn't remember anything about Wright from that day when he finished first in Junior Johnson's No Marlin and his crew spent the next 36 hours or so doing something for the con man's car that not even all the king's horse's and all the king's men could pull off for the famous egg who also had a run-in with a wall the sun and blue skies at Talladega his cover nestled in what often is called the "crow's nest," above the start-finish line One-hundred-thousand witnesses rose to their feet anticipating the start of the Winston Cup 500 at Talladega like a pack of hound dogs ready for the hunt Little did anyone there in person or watching at home know that they were about to witness the biggest − and most embarrassing − con in the history of a sport with a "wild Propped up by four black Goodyear tires he wrote a bad check for One-hundred-eighty-eight laps were in front of them each cheering his particular favorite in this competition And we'll see speeds in excess of 200 miles an hour And right now we see the green flag as the Winston 500 from Talladega is under way Nobody was there to watch some nobody named L.W the television announcers didn't even mention him save for a reference while introducing the drivers and once more later Wright looked more like a nervous kid with a permit in driver's ed than a professional race car driver He was the lone tortoise in a harem of hares considering the cameras didn't pan far enough back to see him initiated after David Simko crumpled his No That slip-up assured Wright of two things: He wouldn't finish last in his first and last race And his NASCAR career would be extended by nine laps who did not respond to messages left by The Tennessean in this real-life ruse: He's the only person to ever finish behind L.W followed by Benny Parsons into turn number 1 Not until few minutes later did Jenkins notice Wright A full lap after Kinder waved his black flag at the con man signaling him off the track for going too slow Wright for the second time to those watching on TV The car that was given the black flag a lap ago was L.W and Wright has been ordered to the pit area The slowest hamster behind the wheel had been banished from the race for failure to maintain safe speeds "If he could have driven as fast as he talked he'd have been a champion," Woody wrote in The Tennessean a month after the race when the world began to catch on to the con Time has stolen a lot of that day from the memory of many doesn't want to − remember many details about what happened after that black flag flew that day at Talladega "He came in the garage area and got out and walked off," Marlin said Equal parts Harry Houdini and Frank Abagnale the conclusion of the series: After getting a black flag This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Ryan Preece has been a revelation during his first season at RFK Racing. He competed for the win at Talladega this past weekend, underscoring the awesome season he’s been having in the No. 60 Ford, finishing as the runner-up — or so he thought After celebrating one of the best runs of his career, NASCAR rained on Preece’s parade. His car was disqualified the punishment stemmed from an unintentional adjustment during pre-race inspection to correct a spoiler angle issue and not meeting the approved compliance method The range of emotions Preece experienced certainly drained him and his team’s morale, but they’re looking to bounce back this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Ahead of the race, the 34-year old spoke with FOX’s Bob Pockrass about his mindset at the moment. “It’s not like it was a performance thing. I don’t think you’d want to add a shim to put spoiler angle in a car. It was to meet the rule that to pass tech, and in the heat of the battle, you’re just trying to get through tech. So, you know, it is what it is,” Preece stated. “The thing that I like about our group is we’ll go out there, execute, get stage points and keep putting ourselves in positions to have great days like that. Yeah, just keep fighting.” By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein. Alas, Preece’s attitude has certainly changed since joining RFK over the offseason, and he’ll lean on his teammates in Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski throughout the season. That’s what he’s done so far in 2025, and it’s worked wonders. “I couldn’t be more proud of being a part of RFK and everything,” Preece added. “The knowledge and the support, and everything that we’ve had, or I’ve had — it’s been a lot of fun. “Even going into the mindset with Chris and Brad — it was funny, at the beginning of that race, you know, Brad, by Lap 3, was potentially leading that race, coming from where he was. So it’s just — it’s neat to study, and see all the different ways about how you attack a race. Glad to be part of it.” All told, Ryan Preece is P19 in the point standings, but he’s certainly fighting for a playoff spot at the moment. With three top tens and a top five on the season already, he’s breaking out and looking for more. Bet against the Berlin, Connecticut native at your own risk throughout the summer. Denny Hamlin watched as Joey Logano and Ryan Preece both drove their way to top five finishes at Talladega Superspeedway this past weekend. Then, the Ford tandem was disqualified by NASCAR Officials found Logano’s No. 22 to be in violation of Section 14.5.8.E, which covers spoiler braces that are used as superspeedway events. He was also in violation of Section 14.1.P under General Vehicle Assembly, which states, “All fasteners must be securely fastened at all times during an Event,” per NASCAR As for Preece, “The infraction stemmed from an unintentional adjustment during pre-race inspection to correct a spoiler angle issue. While the change did not provide a competitive advantage, it did not meet the approved compliance method,” RFK Racing revealed Teams are always looking for an advantage at superspeedways, and Logano and Preece thought they found one, but it ended up costing them in the end. On the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast Hamlin reacted to the punishment that was dished out by NASCAR in Alabama All told, the disqualifications were a big blow to Preece and Logano, as they both finished in the top five at Talladega. Preece finished second behind the confirmed winner in Cindric, and Logano finished fifth. With the disqualifications, Preece and Logano earned 38th and 39th finishes on Sunday, respectively.  Moving forward, Ryan Preece and Joey Logano will be hoping to bounce back in a big way, while Denny Hamlin will be looking to continue his strong 2025. We’ll see if any of them can get the job done at Texas this coming weekend. currently serves as president of Denmark Technical College in South Carolina Talladega College, the oldest HBCU in Alabama, named Willie L. Todd Jr. as its 22nd president on Saturday, May 3, according to AL.com. Todd replaces interim President Walter Kimbrough, who took over in July 2024 after Gregory J. Vincent retired. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Talladega College (@thetalladegacollege) Todd served as the president and chief executive officer of Denmark Technical College in South Carolina in English from Georgia State University and has 32 years of professional experience “His experience and dedication will be invaluable as we navigate the next chapter of Talladega College’s rich history and continue on our path forward to build back better and stronger,” said Rica Lewis-Payton “I look forward to working with President Todd and I believe that he is equipped with the skills and experiences to help the college achieve its goals.” Todd officially begins his tenure on July 1 member also highlighted the resilient legacy of his newest school while stressing his idea of what the school can become “This institution was founded in defiance of limitation and in pursuit of possibility,” explained Todd who graduated from Albany State University “That legacy calls us to lead with boldness and integrity As a proud product of an HBCU and a lifelong servant of these sacred institutions I believe the time has come to reimagine liberal arts education as a dynamic force for the future.” Todd’s time at Denmark Tech makes him an optimal candidate for the position his leadership saw an 870% increase in fundraising With over $32 million raised in five years, the school also saw its probationary notice given by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools-Commission on Colleges removed within a year, Talladega College said in a news release. “Infused with his passion for advancing Historically Black Colleges and Universities Todd reimagined DTC’s future through a bold vision and a student-centered approach that expanded student leadership while building a culture of care,” the colleg added The South Carolina Association of Technical College Commissioners named Todd the 2022 CEO/President of the Year He also became the first president of DTC to lead the Presidents’ Council for the South Carolina Technical College System Todd also served in leadership roles at multiple HBCUs including Wiley University and Norfolk State Todd will embark to “forge a culture of true collaboration grounded in shared vision and mutual respect and the greater Talladega College community.” RELATED CONTENT: ‘Cherry-Picked’ Performance: Usher Alters Show In Abu Dhabi. Y’all Know Why! Last week, Joey Logano was screaming on his radio and walked home with a DQ. Now, he’s in Victory Lane at Texas! Momentum in NASCAR can change on a dime and that is exactly what has happened for Logano today The first 10 races of this season were rough for Joey Logano He had a single top-10 and no top-five finishes Add on that disqualification from Talladega Logano is going home with the win today. This puts him in the playoffs, too. Will he make another deep run after a poor start to the season? P27 at the green flag to P1 at the checkered Redemption. From 27th to Victory Lane.@joeylogano | @Team_Penske pic.twitter.com/Oz1uHcS4FQ This race was sloppy, and it was hard to pass. But we can’t ignore that a bulk of the top-10 came from the back of the pack to finish in the front. Joey Logano wasn’t the only hard charger in the race. Ross Chastain was the runner-up; he started P31. Ryan Blaney started P24 and moved up to P3. Kyle Larson was the only driver in the top-10 to start the race to finish in the top-10. He started today at Texas P4 and finished there in the end. Should Blaney have been able to pass Larson in Stage 2 of this race? Yeah, that would have been nice. Still, given the lack of action we have seen recently, 12 cautions and a pass like Logano made on Michael McDowell for the lead feels like a breath of fresh air. Coming into this race, Joey Logano was 11th in points. He had led 284 laps on the season and even earned two stage wins. The finishes were just falling out of his hands week in and out. From on-track incidents to bad cars, driver mistakes to a DQ post-race. Now he has a win, that other stuff doesn’t matter anymore. Logano is going to go to the playoffs this season, and that is always dangerous or the field. All it takes is a strong performance at Gateway or New Hampshire. If he gets to Las Vegas in the Round of 8, his chances of winning and making it to Phoenix go up exponentially. Team Penske was on it today at Texas. They had two of the best cars at the end of the race. Austin Cindric led 60 laps. Josh Berry led 41 laps before wrecking his Wood Brothers No. 21 car from the lead. Joey Logano is going to be just fine. Paul Wolfe and this group are getting things together now. It would be disappointing to see them slip back to their old ways and pick up more mediocre finishes. The three-time champ needs to keep racing like a three-time champ. USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Joey Logano (22) talks with media at Darlington Raceway Joey Logano Faces Consequences of Talladega Penalty: “We Must Take Responsibility” NASCAR fans were left in shock as Joey Logano accepted the repercussions of a penalty that cost him dearly at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend Despite initially clinching a fifth-place finish 22 Ford Mustang failed post-race inspection due to a missing nut on a bolt securing the spoiler The disqualification led Logano to plummet to the 39th position receiving just one point for his participation in the event This setback dashed his hopes of securing his first top-five finish of the season leaving him to reflect on the costly mistake made by his team Logano emphasized that Team Penske does not engage in deliberate rule violations attributing the error to an accidental nut detachment during the race Despite the team’s decision not to appeal the penalty the reigning series champion acknowledged the gravity of the situation both in terms of championship standings and financial implications dropping Logano to 11th place in the overall standings a stark contrast to the eighth position he would have held if not for the disqualification Logano compared the situation to causing a car accident stating that while apologies are necessary he recognized the need to take ownership of the mistake and forge ahead with a renewed focus on adherence to regulations Logano remains determined to overcome this hurdle and bounce back stronger in upcoming races As the NASCAR series shifts its focus to Texas Motor Speedway all eyes will be on Logano and Team Penske to see how they navigate through this challenging period and strive for redemption on the track Carson Hocevar Shocks the NASCAR World with First-Ever Cup Pole Win Setting the Stage for Texas Showdown In a jaw-dropping turn of events Formula One F1 - Miami Grand Prix - Miami International Autodrome 2025 First placed McLaren's Lando Norris celebrates with second placed.. In a thunderous display of raw talent and speed Carson Hocevar has shaken the grounds of Texas Motor Speedway by clinching his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series pole position... 2025 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in action during the sprint race.. © 2025 M Sports - Premium news & magazine M Sports Please enter your username or email address to reset your password © 2025 M Sports - Premium news & magazine M Sports. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Watch All Subscriber Events NASCAR SERIES Results from the NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, April 27, 2025. ShareTopAustin Cindric won the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway narrowly beating Ryan Preece to the line of the NASCAR Cup Series event Cindric crossed the line 0.022 seconds ahead of Preece in a side-by-side fight to the finish The win is Cindric's first of the year in the NASCAR Cup Series Ryan Preece (too many spoiler shims) and Joey Logano (missing spoiler bolt) were disqualified while Logano was fifth prior to the disqualification Related ArticlesLuke Baldwin Earns First CARS Tour Victory at Orange County Prime Video Docuseries ‘Earnhardt’ to Premiere May 22 NASCAR Unveils Format for 2025 All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro TALLADEGA, Ala. - With no practice on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule for Talladega Saturday morning's qualifying session gave drivers their only track time before Sunday's race.  However, Sunday promises to be an entirely different animal with pack racing reaching three- and four-wide sure to rule the day "Going out there and going full speed again it's been a couple of weeks," Byron said of last week's off weekend The 2.66-mile, mammoth tri-oval in Alabama has been yet another site of success for Hendrick Motorsports The organization leads the way in Cup Series wins (14) A Hendrick Motorsports driver has gone to victory lane at a drafting track in every year of the Next Gen era including this year's season-opening DAYTONA 500 won by Byron.  Among the team's current roster, Elliott owns a pair of wins at Talladega while Byron has the best average finish (7.7) at the track in the Next Gen era. Elliott is debuting his Prime Video livery this weekend.  A pair of NASCAR races were set for Saturday afternoon. The ARCA Menards Series was slated to hit the track at 12:30 p.m. with an Xfinity Series event set for 4 p.m. It all leads to the 10th race of the Cup Series season at 3 p.m. on Sunday. The event will air on FOX.  NASCAR is set for races in the ARCA Menards, Xfinity and Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway.  Dr. Willie Todd Jr.Talladega College's Board of Trustees has selected Dr. Willie L. Todd Jr. as the institution's 22nd president. Todd, who has served as president and CEO of Denmark Technical College (DTC) in South Carolina since 2020, will assume his new role on July 1. "I am profoundly honored to have been chosen to lead Talladega College, an institution with a powerful legacy and boundless potential," Todd said.  "This institution was founded in defiance of limitation and in pursuit of possibility. That legacy calls us to lead with boldness and integrity." Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough, who has served as interim president of Alabama's first private historically Black liberal arts college during the transition period, will conclude his tenure as Todd takes office. Kimbrough, known for his leadership in HBCU circles, has helped maintain stability at Talladega while the presidential search was conducted.  During his presidency at Denmark Technical College, Todd led an impressive institutional turnaround driven by "a bold vision, compassion, creative problem-solving, and a student-centered approach," said Talladega officials. His accomplishments at DTC include an 870% increase in fundraising with over $32 million raised in five years, a 400% increase in scholarship offerings, over 98% placement rate, and a 54% increase in enrollment with improved retention and graduation rates. The institution also saw a 1,104% increase in revenue from its Workforce and Continuing Education program under Todd's leadership. Notably, Todd addressed over 50% of DTC's deferred maintenance issues and had the institution's probationary status with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools-Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) lifted within just one year. Before his tenure at DTC, Todd held leadership positions at several institutions, including roles as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Wiley College (now Wiley University), vice provost and associate vice provost at Norfolk State University, and various positions at Clark Atlanta University and Albany State University. A Georgia native, Todd holds a Ph.D. in English from Georgia State University, a Master of Education in higher education administration from Regent University, and both a Master of Education in English education and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Albany State University. Starting lineup for the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, April 27, 2025. ShareTopZane Smith earned his first career NASCAR Cup Series pole position during Saturday's qualifying session for the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway Smith clocked in at 52.565 seconds during the second round of qualifying to earn the pole for Sunday's race Kyle Busch will join Smith on the front row with Joey Logano and Ryan Preece qualifying third and fourth Busch's Richard Childress Racing teammate The Jack Link's 500 takes the green flag at 3:00 p.m the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Related ArticlesNASCAR Cup Series VIDEO: First Episode of Pre-Race Pulse on Racing America The 2025 NASCAR season continued with the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday But a heaping pile of points in leading another solid showing by Hendrick Motorsports were some notable consolation prizes.  Larson scored the most points (52) including winning stage one en route to finishing second. And for the third time already this year, all four of the organization's cars finished in the top 10. William Byron finished just behind (and alongside) Larson in third with Chase Elliott coming home fifth and Alex Bowman seventh.  The stage win gave Larson the 67th of his career, moving him out of a tie with Martin Truex Jr. for the most in Cup Series history His third-place showing matched his best run in a race at a drafting track.  (third) in the second stage and (third) in the final," Larson said "Great points day and best career finish at a superspeedway so happy about the performance today from the HendrickCars.com Chevy Now we'll get to go to some strong race tracks for us and see if we can get some wins." The Hendrick Motorsports contingent flashed its speed at the end of stage one After hovering around the middle of the pack throughout much of the opening 60 laps a couple of late cautions regrouped the field A final restart with three laps to go provided the perfect opportunity as Larson Byron and Elliott grouped up and surged to the end second and fourth respectively to score early points.  Outside of Larson, the other three Hendrick Motorsports entries each had significant adversity to overcome.  who was contacted during a stage-one crash with left-side damage being dealt to the No fought a steering issue throughout stage one and two before the No 24 Valvoline team went under the hood and corrected the problem in time for the stretch run Elliott had to make an additional pit stop late in stage two due to a penalty.  And yet, all were able to make their way back to the front throughout a stage three that didn't feature a caution flag Larson and Byron were side-by-side in the second row over the final few laps but couldn't find an opening as the final laps ticked away.  "The guys did a great job getting it to where I could drive it in the third stage," Byron said To be able to overcome that is just a testament to what our team is and the things we're able to do.  "I felt like I was in a really good spot to win there with 10 to go or eight to go I've just got to look back at that and figure out where that went wrong But still happy to get a top five and hopefully we can go get a win at Texas (Motor Speedway)." The NASCAR Cup Series will head to Texas next Sunday with green flag set for 3:30 p.m Elliott is the defending winner of the event.  Connor Zilisch was involved in a violent head-on impact on the final lap of last Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity race at Talladega Superspeedway. Zilisch was leading the field when he got turned trying to block a run from Jesse Love He was later checked and released from the infield care center he said: "That was one of the wrecks when you move the legs and make sure everything feels okay afterwards Very grateful to drive safe JR Motorsports race cars I haven't really watched it close enough to see what happened that same crash is now forcing him to skip the upcoming Xfinity race at Texas Motor Speedway Two off-weekends will follow this weekend's race there are no details regarding the nature of the injury A statement from Trackhouse read as follows: "Connor Zilisch will miss Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway due to lower back injuries sustained at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The Trackhouse Racing development driver plans to return to the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet as soon as possible." While Zilisch will surely be granted a medical waiver that will allow him to keep his playoff eligibility this will still hurt him in the regular season standings Zilisch was set to enter Texas sixth overall with just 23 points separating him and 12th-place driver Kyle Larson will replace Zilisch behind the wheel of the No Larson has two previous starts this year in the Xfinity Series He won at Bristol Motor Speedway and has 16 career wins in NASCAR's second-tier division competing at Watkins Glen in 2022 where he was victorious "Thank you to Kyle Larson for stepping up for me this weekend and everyone who has helped me through this process," said Zilisch in a social media post Doing everything I can to be back as soon as possible." reacted to the news as well: "It sucks to see Connor have to sit out but I'm thankful he is being smart and patient with this injury He'll be back in the seat and back at the front of the field soon enough." A look at the winners and losers from Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway: Austin Cindric — He snapped a 30-race winless streak with his victory Sunday at Talladega He came close to winning the Daytona 500 and at Atlanta this year until late incidents This time there were no issues and Cindric won to score his third career Cup win Team Penske — The organization led 54.8% of the laps at Daytona and Atlanta but did not win either and had only one top-five finish in either of those races at the drafting tracks it got the win — its first victory of the Cup season Hendrick Motorsports — Placed all four cars in the top 10 marking only the second time the team has done so at Talladega Chase Elliott fifth and Alex Bowman seventh Noah Gragson — He finished a season-best fourth for his second top 10 of the year It marks the 11th time in the last 12 races a Front Row Motorsports car has scored a top 10 at Talladega Ryan Preece — NASCAR took away his runner-up finish when his car failed post-race inspection Sunday night Joey Logano — NASCAR took away his fifth-place finish when his car failed post-race inspection Sunday night Brad Keselowski — Eliminated in a crash when he and a few other cars were attempting to pit in the first stage Keselowski finished 36th — the seventh time he’s finished 26th or worse in the first 10 races of the season Ryan Blaney — Couldn’t avoid Brad Keselowski and hit his car Christopher Bell — A tap from teammate Denny Hamlin turned him while leading late in the frontstretch and sent him into Chris Buescher and the inside SAFER barrier on the backstretch which would have been his best finish of the season A Division of NBCUniversal DISCLAIMER: This site and the products offered are for entertainment purposes only and there is no gambling offered on this site This service is intended for adult audiences No guarantees are made for any specific outcome If you or someone you know has a gambling problem CONCORD, N.C. - Who's ready to draft We're talking pack racing at 200 mph.  This weekend, Hendrick Motorsports tackles the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway It will be the first of two races held at the 2.5-mile track this season.  RELATED: Check out the paint schemes for Talladega While Chase Elliott is the only active Hendrick Motorsports driver to win at Talladega, Rick Hendrick's team is no stranger to success at the facility the team's 14 wins and 13 poles are the most of any organization in the NASCAR Cup Series The current array of drivers will look to make it 15 this weekend Check out the full schedule for this weekend NASCAR heads to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend 10:30 a.m. - Cup Series qualifying NASCAR is ready to go racing at Talladega The lineup is set for the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway Zane Smith is on pole for the April 27 race Here's the starting lineup for the Jack Link's 500 NASCAR Cup Series Talladega race More: Christopher Bell taking big step as one of NASCAR's superstars in 2025 NASCAR'S GREATEST IMPOSTOR: The long Talladega con: How L.W. Wright talked his way onto NASCAR's fastest track We occasionally recommend interesting products and services If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently EDITOR’S NOTE: Results have been updated after NASCAR disqualified the cars of Ryan Preece and Joey Logano Austin Cindric, who had been in position to win at Daytona and Atlanta until the final laps, scored his first victory of the season, winning Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway Cindric beat Ryan Preece by .022 seconds to score his first victory of the season and third of his career NASCAR disqualified Preece’s car for failing post-race inspection and he was later credited with finishing 38th overcame a pit road speeding penalty to finish second for his best result at Talladega giving him his first top five of the season Logano’s car was disqualified for failing inspection after the race and credited with last in the 39-car field holding a 31-point lead on Larson heading into next weekend’s race at Texas Motor Speedway Hendrick Motorsports placed all four of its cars in the top 10 Sunday marking the second time it had done so at Talladega Chase Elliott finished fifth and Alex Bowman was seventh to join Larson and Byron in the top 10 There were 67 lead changes among 23 drivers The race was slowed by four cautions for 22 laps NASCAR's first race weekend of the 2025 season at Talladega Superspeedway has come to an end, and it featured some big hits. Connor Zilisch, who will miss Texas Motor Speedway with a back injury and Christopher Bell both went headfirst into the backstretch wall Bell hit the wall with an angle because of the access road for emergency vehicles Due to the impact, NASCAR is making a long-overdue change to the backstretch wall, according to senior director of racing communications Amanda Ellis on this week's edition of "Hauler Talk." “That wall will be adjusted or essentially corrected before we return in the fall," Ellis said "They're going to take that lip out and actually straighten it out and kind of straighten the wall as well And then there's an additional area of the track too that in our kind of recapping the weekend and looking at all the areas that will also be fixed before we return to Talladega in the fall.” NASCAR will straighten the wall to help minimize the impact moving forward Ellis also said an additional area of the track will be fixed before the sport returns in the fall NASCAR has to put safety first at superspeedway tracks and fixing Talladega's backstretch wall will certainly help more than not doing anything at all More: Kyle Larson addresses possible attempt at the 2026 Indianapolis 500 Editor's note: Austin Cindric won the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega The NASCAR Cup Series is back after a one-week break for Easter and it's returning to the largest track on the schedule for the first of two visits this season Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama will host the Jack Link's 500 on Sunday and it'll headline a race weekend that also includes the Xfinity Series and ARCA Menards Series Here’s all the information you need to get ready for the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway: NASCAR BRISTOL WINNERS AND LOSERS: Kyle Larson dominates short track — again What time does the NASCAR Cup race at Talladega start?The Jack Link's 500 starts at 3 p.m April 27 at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama The Jack Link's 500 can be live streamed on Max and the FoxSports app. Viewers can also stream the race on Fubo which is offering a free trial to new subscribers Watch the Jack Link's 500 with Fubo How many laps is the NASCAR Cup race at Talladega?The Jack Link's 500 is 188 laps around the 2.66-mile oval for a total of 500 miles The race will feature three segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: 60 laps; Stage 2: 60 laps; Stage 3: 68 laps SCHEDULE: How to watch NASCAR Cup Series races in 2025 won a wild playoff race in overtime on Oct narrowly beating Brad Keselowski and William Byron in an exciting three-wide finish The ending was set up by a 23-car wreck that took out a large portion of the field with five laps to go During the 2024 Geico 500 that took place at Talladega Superspeedway one year ago Tyler Reddick emerged from third place around the final corner of the race and passed race leader Michael McDowell for the win It was the first time 23XI Racing team owner Michael Jordan was at the track when one of his drivers won a race It’s a full day of racing at Talladega Superspeedway with Cup qualifying and races for the ARCA and Xfinity series keeping cars on track for at least eight hours The NASCAR Cup Series will hit the 2.66-mile track for the first time this weekend at 10:30 a.m in a qualifying session for Sunday’s 500-mile race Michael McDowell (then driving for Front Row Motorsports) won both pole positions at Talladega last year but starting first seems an unfavorable omen the Talladega pole-sitter has finished 17th or worse Jake Finch is the defending winner of the 76-lap ARCA race Jesse Love won the Xfinity race at Talladega last April and is one of six different winners in the past six races there Saturday: Partly cloudy with scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon High of 83 degrees with a 40% chance of rain It’s expected to be 77 degrees with a 24% chance of rain at the start of the ARCA race and 81 degrees with a 41% chance of rain at the start of the Xfinity race This story was updated with new information out-drag racing Ryan Preece to the finish line to win for the third time in his Cup Series career Cindric and Preece were able to hold off several Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets behind them not leaving either William Byron or Kyle Larson any room to draft around them in the final laps Unlike the earlier stage finishes in the race And very unlike recent superspeedway races no late-race cautions or crashes impacted the finish when Preece (spoiler shims) and Joey Logano (spoiler brace fasteners) were disqualified after failing post-race inspection relegated to 38th and 39th-place finishes Here are the winner(s) and losers from Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega THE TALLADEGA IMPOSTER: The long Talladega con: How L.W. Wright talked his way onto NASCAR's fastest track OUCH: Christopher Bell hits inside wall, crashes big at NASCAR Talladega race The first Team Penske driver locked into the NASCAR playoffs: Austin Cindric who won by a nose at the line at Talladega Cindric was able to emerge as the leader of the pack after green-flag pit stops with about 15 laps to go and stayed tucked in closely with a pair of Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets instead of trying to own both lanes led the top line but neither could get a clear advantage Cindric got just enough of a pull from lapped cars on the final lap through the tri-oval and managed the win by 0.022 seconds over Preece 2 Team Penske Ford entered the weekend 22nd in points but is now locked into the postseason Cindric now has wins in three of the last four regular seasons NOTE: Preece was originally considered a winner when this story was initially published before failing post-race inspection Both Ford drivers originally finished inside the top 5 then failed post-race inspection and were credited with finishes in the back of the field Preece (spoiler shims) and Logano (spoiler brace fasteners) slipped considerably down the points standings on Sunday as a result who remains without a top-5 finish this season is in 11th and Preece is now 18th and on the outside looking in for the playoffs through 10 races It would surprise few to see the defending Cup Series champion win his way into the postseason (or earn multiple wins in the regular season) so this won't have quite the impact on Logano as it does Preece 60 RFK Racing Ford has had a solid start to the season with three top-10s through nine races before Talladega he's staring up at the playoff cutline with what amounts to a 40-point penalty after originally finishing in 2nd Ryan Blaney suffered his fourth DNF in 10 races this season with a 39th-place finish at Talladega after getting caught up in the Stage 1 crash between Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski Blaney was an innocent bystander in the crash getting clipped in the side by Keselowski who had spun with Busch as they tried to slow down coming down to pit road Blaney had to have high expectations coming to a track that he has won at three times An important thing to note: Blaney is still one of the championship favorites and has run well for the majority of the first three months of the season there's a history of Penske drivers with challenging regular seasons surging to the top when it matters most it's fair to start looking at the points standings to get a good vision of who is likely going to make the 16-driver field and who will not Buescher was the first driver out of the playoffs after some late-regular season winners bumped the cutoff up He was clearly one of the better drivers in 2024 ninth in average finish and in top-10 finishes Buescher was a bystander while another car's issue took him out of the race A bad bump off of turn 2 by Denny Hamlin turned Bell into Buescher and the pair spun down to the inside and pounded the inside wall He should be OK for now in the playoff picture but it's those kinds of results that could put the No 17 driver in a similar position as last year The streak is at nine consecutive winners without a repeat winner at Talladega Superspeedway Since Ryan Blaney won consecutive races at Talladega in 2019-20 the last nine races have featured these winners in order: Denny Hamlin That leaves a roster of possible candidates for extending the streak that includes two-time Daytona 500 winner William Byron and three-time Talladega winner Joey Logano Daniel Suarez and Austin Cindric — all of whom have shown the capability to put themselves in position to win on drafting tracks The past seven drafting track races also have been won by different organizations Bell’s victory two months ago at Atlanta was the first for Joe Gibbs Racing during the Next Gen era (which started in 2022) who is mired in his worst start (31st in points) since his 2010 rookie season leads active drivers with six victories at Talladega START: The command to start engines will be given at 3:08 p.m The green flag is scheduled to wave at 3:20 p.m The drivers meeting will begin at 2:05 p.m Driver introductions will begin at 2:30 p.m The 100th United States Army Band of Fort Knox DISTANCE: The race is 188 laps (500 miles) on a 2.66-mile oval ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 39 cars entered at Talladega TV/RADIO: Fox will begin its race broadcast at 3 p.m Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have radio coverage FORECAST: WeatherUnderground — Sunshine and clouds with the possibility of a stray shower or thunderstorm High of 84 degrees with light winds and a 19% chance of rain It’s expected to be 82 degrees with a 15% chance of rain at the start of the Cup race 2024 race and held off Brad Keselowski for his second victory at Talladega Superspeedway A YEAR AGO: Tyler Reddick led the final six laps of the April 21 2024 race and held off Brad Keselowski for his first victory at Talladega Cindric won by a slim margin of 0.022 seconds However, following the race, Preece and fifth-place finisher Joey Logano were disqualified for infractions involving their rear spoilers RECAP: Cindric Narrowly Breaks Through in Talladega Win Over Preece and Chase Elliott rounded out the remainder of the top-five finishers following the disqualifications Here are the complete race results for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway # indicates Rookie of the Year contender* indicates "Open" entry(i) indicates driver ineligible to score NASCAR Cup Series points TOBY CHRISTIEToby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023. The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER Here is what drivers had to say after Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway: Austin Cindric — Winner: “It takes everything and we’ve had it so many races here and you’ve got to have a little bit more I’m just so proud of everybody on this race team the entire shop deserves wins at these racetracks with how fast our race cars are and I’m just so proud to be able to win for John Menard and the Menards team – to get this yellow car in Victory Lane and get in the playoffs … You’re waiting for it to go wrong (on the final laps) There are so many times at the end I was just focused on the feedback (spotter) Doug Campbell was giving me and what I knew about our car and maybe other cars I observed throughout the field today so just an absolutely fantastic job by everybody involved.” William Byron — Finished 3rd: “I don’t know about that 48 (Alex Bowman) behind us and he was doing a good job pushing It just seemed like we couldn’t get enough help from the third guy in line and that’s what it takes the top lane just couldn’t get the runs off the corner at the right time to get connected We’d get connected too late and then get a little bit squirrely and lose our momentum we could have connected a little better to stay even with the bottom lane but we were working really hard to do that with the No It just seemed like it took a lot of effort for us to maintain the track position on the front row 24 Valvoline Chevrolet team did a good job today We got it better and then we were able to race there in the final stage I feel like we were in the perfect position there with 10 laps to go.” Noah Gragson — Finished 4th: “We were in the third row on the outside and was trying to keep Cindric out front and keep the outside lane that I was in from getting there and then the 60 (Ryan Preece) was able to pull up and we had two Fords out front but this is a good reset and good points today after the first 10 races of the season so it’s a good reset after the off weekend and a good way to start off the next part of the season.” Bubba Wallace — Finished 8th: “I don’t really know what to think as I think we were all waiting for a big wreck there at the end and it never happened our Leidos Toyota Camry was pretty solid today Daniel Suarez — Finished 9th: “It was an up-and-down day for the No I wasn’t in love with the balance of the car but I just felt like the balance of the car we have a little bit of work to do to fight consistently at the front Michael McDowell — Finished 11th: “Not the day we were hoping for at Talladega we were able to get to the lead and kind of control the lanes We just lost track position there at the end and never could really get it back but we’ll take a solid finish and move onto Texas.” Erik Jones — Finished 18th: “It’s hard to win from 15th or 20th but we had a plan to organize and couldn’t get it going It would have been nice to see if we could have gotten the top going Ty Dillon — Finished 23th: “We were having a pretty smooth day with our No We did our job on pit road pretty much and on the track we put ourselves in position and where we needed to be at the end We were running in seventh and ran out of the gas Running out of gas has robbed us of a lot of finishing positions and points over the last two weeks We’ve shown a lot of really good speed on the super speedways It’s nice to see the hard work paying off when we show up at the track We’ll keep grinding and the finishes we deserve will come.” We were racing our own race there of hanging back and going at the end of the stages almost worked out for the second stage and I thought we were in a decent position in the third stage We ended up with a combination of bad luck and not a great last stop at the end That cost us there at the end and that’s disappointing.” John Hunter Nemechek — Finished 30th: “Overall We’ll go back and review what we need to do better and try to get our superspeedway packages better.” Cody Ware — Finished 31st: “I think that today we showed from green flag to checkered flag that we were a race-winning contender today I’m really proud of the pit crew and the road crew and everybody back at the shop for building a super fast Arby’s Barbeque Ford Mustang I’m really dejected with how the day ended so our fate was kind of sealed after that last pit stop no matter what I’ll work on the things I need to work on and I know the team is going to work on the things they need to work on and we just need to move forward knowing that we can do this Chris Buescher — Finished 34th: “Everything was great out the windshield I know we’re all going for it there at the end We’re in a great spot with our Travel Centers Ford Mustang We had fuel to go wide-open and not worry about it all the way to the end of that stage and it certainly didn’t work out but we had worked really well with Preece early on in the race and had been really smart about how we linked up and got to pushing and it worked really well for us just kind of backing up to him to receive that first big push down the back and just seen the 20 come across the nose Christopher Bell — Finished 35th: “Whenever you’re the car getting pushed you’re completely at the mercy of the guy behind you It’s a product of the cars we race with this rules package.” Brad Keselowski — Finished 36th: “It was just a stack of guys trying to come to pit road as fast as they could and we were kind of the ham in the sandwich that got squeezed I waved down the backstretch to let everybody know I was gonna pit and I came off of four and everybody was so tight behind me that I didn’t even have a chance to turn left I don’t think I could do anything different.” Ryan Blaney — Finished 37th: “We just broke too many pieces in the right-rear The right-rear wheel and it broke everything It looked like a group of guys trying to get to pit road and maybe some guys not knowing that they were coming to pit road and not giving them any room I saw the 8 (Kyle Busch) and 6 (Brad Keselowski) kind of get hooked together and they were going up the track so I kind of picked the bottom and tried to get out of there and I think they clipped someone outside of them and the 6 came back into me and I got clipped in the right-rear Just when we were kind of getting our momentum and didn’t even get to race today Ryan Preece — Finished 38th (after car was disqualified for failing inspection): “We did all we could I felt like we executed stage three exactly like we needed to We came out in the front of our group and worked our way through that traffic We had the opportunity to get to the top lane and then from there it was just managing those cars behind us and not giving up what we gained I’m really proud of everybody at RFK for this race car I’m just really super appreciative from Jack without Kroger and BAM and Celsius and a lot of the other partners today I’m really excited about the rest of this year Joey Logano — Finished 39th (after car was disqualified for failing inspection):“Yeah it’s all about the cycle and then once it got two-by-two there you’re kind of there just watching it all happen in front of you and you really don’t play much of a part You just hope that your lane clears enough to where you can possibly make a move but there are no lanes to make a move there it was a solid day for the Shell/Pennzoil Ford so I can’t be too frustrated with that I guess.” Year in and year out, with an exception here and there, the four superspeedway races at Daytona and Talladega get better ratings than the general weekly fare produced by NASCAR the reason is obvious — the Daytona 500 isn't just the first race of a new year UNLUCKY BUT LUCKY Line drive to head has MLB umpire Hunter Wendelstedt recovering but thankful many insiders and competitors fought against the rules package that slows the cars to a more-sane speed at these tracks but that bit of sanity invites another — the hamstringing of horsepower serves to equalize the field and invite the huge traffic jams 5:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series qualifying (CW App) Talladega Superspeedway will have ARCA practice and Xfinity qualifying on track Friday as the 2.66-mile oval opens its first major race weekend of the season The Xfinity entry list will feature 41 drivers and a lack of experience across the board There are 11 drivers who will make their Talladega debut in Xfinity and Jake Garcia will try to qualify for his first Xfinity Series race The garage also will open for technical inspection in the Cup Series Friday: Cloudy with the possibility of a stray shower or thunderstorm High of 83 degrees with winds from the south to southwest at 5-10 mph The NASCAR Cup Series race weekend at Talladega opened with qualifying on April 26 ahead of the Jack Link's 500 Zane Smith earned his first career pole in his 55th NASCAR Cup Series start He ran a lap of 52.564 to beat out Kyle Busch to the pole position Wood Brothers Racing) have claimed race victories after Kyle Larson's dominant win last time out at Bristol Will another team find victory lane at Talladega Follow our live updates of NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Talladega NASCAR'S CON MAN: The long Talladega con: How L.W. Wright talked his way onto NASCAR's fastest track Zane Smith beats Kyle Busch to NASCAR Talladega poleZane Smith ran a blistering lap of 52.564 to earn his first career pole award four one-thousandths of a second faster than Joey Logano Joey Logano leads halfway through final round of NASCAR Talladega qualifyingHere's the top 5 halfway through the final round of NASCAR Talladega qualifying: Ten drivers will make their run to try and win the pole for the NASCAR Talladega race Round 1 complete of NASCAR Talladega qualifying, top 10 advanceHere's the top 10 advancing to the final round of NASCAR qualifying at Talladega Zane Smith continues to lead NASCAR Talladega qualifying after 30 driversThe top 10 advances to the final round and Zane Smith's lap of 52.661 continues to lead Here is the top 10 after 20 drivers at NASCAR Talladega qualifying Zane Smith rockets to lead of NASCAR Talladega qualifyingZane Smith ran a blistering lap of 52.660 to take the lead of NASCAR Talladega qualifying Here's the top 10 after 10 drivers at NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Talladega Cole Custer moves to the top of qualifying with a lap of 52.941 Todd Gilliland ran a lap of 52.994 to move to the top of the qualifying chart Anthony Alfredo leads NASCAR Talladega qualifying after five driversAnthony Alfredo is one of three drivers needing to qualify for the NASCAR Talladega race on time The track is now active at Talladega for NASCAR Cup Series qualifying Anthony Alfredo will be the first to make a qualifying run for the NASCAR Talladega race EXPERT PICKS: NASCAR Talladega predictions 2025: Expert picks for Cup Series race TALLADEGA ODDS: NASCAR Talladega odds: Who is Sunday's Cup Series race favorite LAST TIME OUT: NASCAR Bristol winners and losers: Kyle Larson dominates at Bristol — again at @ChastainAJ or reach him via email at achastain@gannett.com