By David Morgan, Associate Editor
TALLADEGA, Ala. — After the lone off weekend of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, the long grind through the remainder of the season starts this weekend with a trip to Talladega Superspeedway for Sunday’s running of the Jack Link’s 500.
Since opening its doors in 1969, the 2.66-mile track just off Interstate 20 in Eastern Alabama has been a wild card on the schedule with the unpredictable nature of superspeedway racing on full display over the past half-century, leading to some of the most memorable moments in NASCAR history.
Anyone in the field has a chance at the win as long as they can be in the right place at the right time. Sunday’s race should be no different. While there will be favorites, any of the cars still running in the closing laps could pull off the win. There is a reason fans come from far and wide to witness racing at Talladega and that unpredictability is a big part of it.
Who will come out on top this go around? 188 laps of white-knuckle racing will tell the tale.
By the Numbers
What: Jack Links 500, NASCAR Cup Series Race No. 10 of 36
Where: Talladega Superspeedway – Talladega, Alabama (Opened: 1969)
TV/Radio: FOX, 3:00 pm ET / MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Channel 90
Track Size: 2.66-mile tri-oval (Turns banked 33 degrees, Tri-oval banked 16.5 degrees)
Race Length: 188 laps, 500.08 miles
Stage Lengths: 60 laps each (First two stages); 68 laps (Final stage)
April 2024 Race Winner: Tyler Reddick – No. 45 Toyota (Started 18th, 13 laps led)
October 2024 Race Winner: Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – No. 47 Chevrolet (Started 32nd, 19 laps led)
Track Qualifying Record: Bill Elliott – 44.998 seconds, 212.809 mph – April 30, 1987
Top-10 Highest Driver Rating at Talladega:
- Ryan Blaney – No. 12 Team Penske Ford – 91.2
- Chase Elliott – No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – 89.4
- Brad Keselowski – No. 6 RFK Racing Ford – 87.7
- Joey Logano – No. 22 Team Penske Ford – 87.7
- William Byron – No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – 86.2
- Cole Custer – No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford – 83.8
- Austin Cindric – No. 2 Team Penske Ford – 81.6
- Kyle Busch – No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet – 81.5
- Denny Hamlin – No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – 81.4
- Noah Gragson – No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford – 80.5
From the Driver’s Seat
“Superspeedway racing is high-speed chess. That’s why I love it, but that’s also why it’s difficult,” said Anthony Alfredo, driver of the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet.
“It’s fun because of the strategy and knowing when to be aggressive and when to be patient. Obviously, it can be very difficult to control the outcome of your race because so much can happen that’s out of your control – more so at those races than any other. It’s not solely just about having raw speed. It’s also about having teammates, having help and a little bit of luck.
“Talladega is different from Daytona for a few reasons. I think the first and most obvious thing is the characteristics of the track. Talladega is wider. It’s a little bit longer and provides a little more room for three- and four-wide racing. What also comes with that is that it’s a little bit less of a handling track than what Daytona is.
“Daytona gets hot and slick where, at Talladega, handling is not as important. I think, with this NextGen car, you have to have good drive quality to be able to get over the bumps, to be able to push and be pushed aggressively. It’s a little bit less chaotic in the draft because there is a little more room. You can run three-wide around there pretty comfortably, whereas at Daytona it’s pretty tight. It’s not uncommon to even see four-wide at Talladega.
“I think that’s just the plain difference. As far as the strategy and the job behind the wheel, though, it kind of remains the same because superspeedway races ultimately come down to that manufacturer battle, teammates and, really, fuel mileage. That’s been everything the last few years.”
Last Time at Talladega
It had been a long wait for Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. to make his return to Victory Lane in a NASCAR Cup Series race, but he had to wait no longer after last fall’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Despite starting back in 32nd place, Stenhouse channeled his previous superspeedway luck in working his way forward, finishing the first stage in second-place and hanging around in the lead pack for much of the day until it came down to go time.
After battling with Austin Cindric in the late stages of the race, with the two trading the lead back and forth, Stenhouse was able to come away with superficial damage to his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Chevrolet and asserted himself as the driver to beat when the 24-car melee brought out the red flag and pushed the race into overtime.
Lining up against another superspeedway ace in Brad Keselowski for the overtime restart, Stenhouse used a push from William Byron to hold steady with the six-time Talladega winner for almost the entirety of overtime.
One final shove from Byron entering the tri-oval for the final time was all he needed to get clear of Keselowski as they stormed toward the checkered. Both Keselowski and Byron would fan out on either side of Stenhouse at the line, but the Olive Branch, Miss. Native had enough momentum to edge out ahead of them both.
The margin of victory would be 0.006 seconds to break Stenhouse’s 65-race winless streak dating back to the 2023 Daytona 500.
What a finish at @TALLADEGA!! pic.twitter.com/uMgVnUyalQ
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 6, 2024
“It felt really good. We had our Chevy teammates behind us, and I was hoping Kyle wasn’t going to push the 6 that hard. I knew the 24 was probably going to try and get to the line there,” said Stenhouse.
“But, man, this team has put a lot of hard work in. Obviously, we haven’t won since the 500 in ’23. It’s been an up-and-down season.
“It was a lot of hard work this season just trying to find a little bit of speed, but we knew that this track is one of ours to come get. So, for all of our Mississippi people, appreciate you all coming. This means a lot, winning here.”
Weekend Schedule (All Times Eastern)
- Saturday, April 26
- NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying (10:30 am – Amazon Prime)
- Sunday, April 27
- Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega (3:00 pm – 188 laps, 500.08 miles – FOX)
