The Cup Series goes super speedway racing this week Jack Links 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Forty-one teams brought cars to Talladega for 40 starting spots including a return to racing for Daniel Dye.
Qualifying was cancelled after bad weather moved through the area which put Tyler Reddick on the pole again this week. This will be the fourth time that Reddick will start the race from the pole position; three of his five wins so far this season came after starting on the pole.
Due to the starting lineup being decided by the NASCAR rule book and not the drivers, Casey Mears is the odd man out of the open cars and will not make the field for the race.
The starting lineup for the Jack Link’s 500:
Tyler Reddick
Kyle Larson
Denny Hamlin
Bubba Wallace
Chase Briscoe
Brad Keselowski
William Byron
Chase Elliott
Ty Gibbs
Chris Buescher
Ryan Preece
Carson Hocevar
Austin Cindric
Christopher Bell
Ryan Blaney
Daniel Suarez
Riley Herbst
Austin Dillon
Todd Gilliland
Alex Bowman
Erik Jones
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
John Hunter Nemechek
Ross Chastain
Joey Logano
Josh Berry
Cole Custer
AJ Allmendinger
Noah Gragson
Zane Smith
Michael McDowell
Connor Zilisch
Shane van Gisbergen
Kyle Busch
Ty Dillon
Cody Ware
Jesse Love
Chad Finchum
Joey Gase
Daneil Dye
After the three wide endless of parade laps during the Daytona 500, NASCAR officials have decided to make some major changes to the stage lengths in order to put a halt to the slow moving fuel saving strategies. As a result, stage one is 98 laps with stages two and three lasting 45 laps each for a total of 188 laps around the 2.66 mile track.
Both of the Kaulig Racing cars – the number 10 car driven by Ty Dillon and the number 16 car driven by AJ Allmendinger – failed the pre-race inspection process twice, but passed on the third time around. As a result, both teams have lost a crew member for the weekend and will also lose their pit selection for the race – they will have their pit stall assigned to them by NASCAR.
Tyler Reddick announces that the contract deal is done and he is staying at 23XI for the foreseeable future.
On Saturday afternoon, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series not only avoided “the big one”, they didn’t even have a caution flag for an on track incident until the last lap of the race. Can the Cup Series be as lucky or will it be a crash filled race???
The drivers can run 42 to 50 laps on a single load of fuel.
In the past eleven Talladega races, there have been eleven different winners.
Country music star Zac Brown gave the command to start engines before a sold out crowd.
NASCAR has announced that the cut-off time to begin procedures to end the race is 7:10pm local time (8:10est).
Ryan Blaney is making start number 300 with Team Penske.
Bubba Wallace is the only Alabama born driver in the field.
Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Kyle Larson alongside. Kyle Larson gets out in front. Denny Hamlin comes up on the inside to take the lead.
The drivers are already moving up for form a third lane with many of the drivers coming from the back of the field.
Chase Briscoe moves up in the middle lane to take the lead.
Lap three, the top five are Chase Briscoe, Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Ty Gibbs.
Lap four, drivers are three wide through the field.
Lap six, pole sitter Tyler Reddicki has dropped out of the top 10 in eleventh.
Lap seven, Denny Hamlin takes the lead with teammate Chase Briscoe in second; Ty Gibbs, Kyle Larson, and William Byron round out the top five.
NASCAR changed the stage lengths in order to help with the fuel saving, lower throttle moves; however, it doesn’t appear to be helping in the early stages of the race, the drivers are still running slower speeds to conserve fuel.
Lap 12, Chad Finchum has come from the back of the field to take the lead for his first ever Cup Series race lead.
Lap 13, the top five are Chad Finchum, Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Denny Hamlin, and Cody Ware.
Lap 14, Cody Ware has move up to second behind leader Chad Finchum.
The top eight drivers have broken away from the field with Chad Finchum leading the way; Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five.
Lap 20, Denny Hamlin leads the race with a seven car breakaway; Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, John Hunter Nemechek, and Cody Ware round out the top five; RCR drivers Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon are also a part of the breakaway.
Lap 25, Denny Hamlin leads the race with teammates Chase Briscoe and Ty Gibbs in second and third; John Hunter Nemechek and Cody Ware round out the top five.
Lap 27, nearly the whole field is single file with Denny Hamlin leading the way.
Carson Hocevar reports that he may have an issue with the car; he is reporting a very loose condition and may have a tire going down.
Tyler Reddick reports a possible engine or power issue. It is a rather windy day that may be causing some issues for the drivers.
The drivers have grouped themselves according to manufacturers with the top four cars Toyotas, then five Chevrolets, thee Fords, four Chevys, and four Fords for the top 20.
Longtime crew chief and FOX broadcaster Larry McReynolds said that he has never seen such a large playbook for today’s race. When it comes to strategy, the field is wide open.
Lap 36, Denny Hamlin continues to lead the race.
The fastest lap so far is 193.6mph.
Lap 40, the drivers are now in their fuel window…
Ty Dillon is the first driver to come down pit road…and he came down alone.
Lap 41, leaders come down pit road for service; Ryan Preece is the new leader.
Denny Hamlin was caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty at 55mph.
Chris Buescher was charged with a safety violation and will have to serve a passthrough penalty
Chad Finchum was caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Lap 44, the top five are Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski, Josh Berry, Austin Cindric, and Todd Gilliland.
Lap 45 more drivers come down pit road – mostly Chevrolets.
Lap 47, big group of drivers come down pit road – mostly Fords.
Tyler Reddick is the new leader.
Lap 49, Ty Gibbs leads the race after Tyler Reddick made a pit stop.
Zane Smith was charged with an uncontrolled tire and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
During his pit stop, Chase Briscoe hit his tire changer who jumped up and finished the stop. He is fine.
Austin Cindric overshot his pit stall and had to drive around and come down pit road by himself.
Ryan Preece has some radio issues.
Ryan Preece and Kyle Larson had fuel exchange issues and may be short on fuel to end the stage. They are in max fuel conservation mode.
Lap 52, Ty Gibbs leads the race with John Hunter Nememchek in second; Kyle Busch, AJ Allmendinger, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.
Lap 57, Ty Gibbs continues to lead the race with John Hunter Nemechek, Kyle Busch, AJ Allmendinger, and Ross Chastain rounding out the top five.
Lap 60, leaders are approaching Denny Hamlin who is in danger of going a lap down after being caught speeding on pit road.
Michael McDowell comes up on the outside lane to battle with Ty Gibbs for the lead.
Lap 64, Austin Dillon takes the lead with Cody Ware in second on the outside lane; Ty Gibbs, Michael McDowell, and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five with Denny Hamlin right in front of the field trying to stay on the lead lap.
Lap 66, ty Gibbs retakes the lead with teammates Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe right in front working to stay on the lead lap.
Lap 68, Austin Dillon passes Ty Gibbs for the lead.
Several drivers come down pit road including Ty Gibbs and Denny Hamlin.
Lap 69, the top five are Austin Dillon, Cody Ware, Kyle Busch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and Michael McDowell.
Lap 70 more drivers come down pit road for service with Christopher Bell taking the lead.
Lap 72, the top five are Christopher Bell, William Byron, Shane van Gisbergen, Alex Bowman, and Erik Jones. There are 37 cars on the lead lap.
Just 20 laps remaining in stage one; the top 16 drivers have made only one pit stop; the remainder have made two stops.
Riley Herbst was charged with speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Lap 83, Christopher Bell leads the race with William Byron in second; Shane van Gisbergen, Alex bowman, and Erik Jones round out the top five.
Lap 86, Christopher Bell leads the race and has teammates Ty Gibbs and Denny Hamlin right in front of him.
With just eleven laps remaining in stage one, a group of drivers in the lead pack come down pit road for service.
Ryan Preece is the new race leader with Chris Bueschder, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, and Ryan Blaney rounding out the top five.
The top 10 drivers have made only one pit stop during stage one.
Just five laps remain in stage one with Ryan Preece leading the race with teammates Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski in second and third; teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.
Riley Herbst was charged with improving his position by going below the double yellow no go line. He will have to serve another passthrough penalty.
Bubba Wallace came down pit road for service.
Ryan Preece wins stage one.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Ryan Preece
Brad Keselowski
Joey Logano
Chris Buescher
Ryan Blaney
Josh Berry
Tyler Reddick
Noah Gragson
Todd Gilliland
Ross Chastain
Drivers come down pit road for service with Bubba Wallace winning the race off of pit road after taking fuel only.
Tyler Reddick was charged with pitting too soon and will have to restart the race from the back of the longest line.
Bubba Wallace leads the race and will bring the field down for the green flag start of stage two from the outside lane on lap 105 with Ross Chastain alongside. With a little push from behind, “Melon Man” Ross Chastain takes the lead.
Bubba Wallace comes up on the outside lane to battle for the lead.
Lap 109, Ross Chastain leads the race with Joey Logano in second; Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, and Brad Keseleloski round out the top five.
Lap 111, Joey Logano takes the lead from the outside lane with Ryan Blaney in second; Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.
The drivers have once again gotten into three lanes with Joey Logano leading the way.
Bubba Wallace takes the lead in a four wide battle with Ross Chastain in second; Ryan Blaney.
Lap 115, the caution flag comes out for “The Big One” that took out nearly the whole field! Ryan Preece, Chris Buscher, Christopher Bell, and Ross Chastain avoided the crash after a four wide battle.
NASCAR has red flagged the race.
Bubba Wallace gets loose, gets bumped, and into the wall and the remainder of the field got stacked up and it became a case of bumper cars that nobody could avoid.
With all of the stopped cars finally off of the track in a parade of tow trucks, after a near 10 minute red flag, the yellow flag has been displayed and the cars are moving again. Cars on pit road may begin making repairs.
The cars NASCAR has listed in “The Big One” are:
Bubba Wallace
Austin Cindric
Austin Dillon
Kyle Larson
Brad Keselowski
Daniel Suarez
Kyle Busch
Denny Hamlin
Ryan Blaney
Chase Briscoe
Josh Berry
Joey Logano
William Byron
Jesse Love
Cole Custer
John Hunter Nemechek
Erik Jones
Joey Gase
Tyler Reddick
Cody Ware
Ty Gibbs
Chad Finchum
Michael McDowell
Carson Hocevar
Connor Zilisch
Shane Van Gisbergen
The are currently 20 cars on the lead lap.
Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney, Cole Custer, Joey Logano, and Kyle Larson are out of the race.
Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag restart with Ross Chastain alongside on lap 122. After going side by side for over a lap, Ross Chastain takes the lead.
The top five are Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, Todd Gilliland, Cody Ware, and Chris Buescher.
Ty Gibbs gets into the wall hard with a flat tire to bring out the caution flag. Michael McDowell was also involved.
Ross Chastain brings the field down for the green flag restart with Christopher Bell alongside on lap 130 and edges out for the lead.
The top five are Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, Ricky Stenhouse JR, and Todd Gilliland.
Lap 132, Christopher Bell takes the lead as he and Ross Chastain swap the lead back and forth.
Lap 135, Ross Chastain and Chrisotpher Bell continue to battle back and forth for the lead.
Lap 137, Christopher Bell pulls away for the lead; but Ross Chastain pulls up from the inside lane to continue the battle for the lead.
With just four laps remaining in stage two, Christopher Bell and Ross Chastain continue their battle for the lead as Ricky Stenhouse Jr is looking to join the battle.
Ross Chastain wins stage two.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Ross Chastain
Christoher Bell
Chris Buescher
Ricky Stenhouse JR
Todd Gilliland
Ryan Preece
Cody Ware
Alex Bowman
Chase Elliott
Zane Smith
Drivers come down pit road for service.
Chase Briscoe was charged with pitting too soon and Shane van Gisbergen was caught speeding on pit road. Both drivers will restart the race from the back of the longest line.
Chris Buescher brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Alex Bowman alongside with just 38 laps remaining in the race. Chris Buescher gets out in front after a push from Carson Hocevar.
The top five are Chris Buescher, Carson Hocevar, Alex Bowman, Erik Jones, and Chase Elliott.
Carson Hocevar comes up on the outside lane to battle with Chris Buescher for the lead.
Carson Hocevar takes the lead with a push from Erik Jones.
Just 35 laps to go, Carson Hocevar has the lead with Chris Buescher in second; Erik Jones, Alex Bowman, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
With 32 laps remaining in the race, Carson Hocevar and Chris Buescher continue to swap the lead back and forth.
Thirty to go, Chris Bueschder takes the lead from the inside lane but Carson Hocevar moves up on the outside to battle for the lead.
The caution flag comes out on lap 162 after Tyler Reddick gets into the wall and leaves some debris on the track – tire carcass – from a flat tire.
Chris Buescher brings the field down for the green flag restart with Carson Hocevar alongside with just 22 laps remaining in the race. Carson Hocevar gets out in front for the lead on the inside lane.
Lap168, Chris Buescher comes up on the outside lane to take the lead with Erik Jones in second.
Twenty to go, Chris Buescher leads the race with Carson Hocevar in second; Erik Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
With 17 laps to go, Carson Hocevar and Chris Buescher continue their battle for the lead.
Fifteen laps remain in the race; 19 cars are separated by less than one second with Carson Hocevar and Chris Buescher continuing their battle for the lead.
Ten to go, Carson Hocevar and Chris Buescher continue their back and forth battle. If Chris Buescher can hold off Hocevar to win the race, he will get Ford their 750th win.
The caution flag comes out with eight laps to go when Erik Jones gets loose and ends up in the grass after on track contact. Denny Hamlin finally gets his lap back as the “lucky dog”.
Chris Buescher brings the field down for the green flag restart with Carson Hocevar alongside with just three laps remaining in the race. Carson Hocevar edges out for the lead.
Chris Buescher takes the lead on the outside lane.
Two laps to go, Carson Hocevar has the lead on the inside lane.
Carson Hocevar takes the white flag.
Chris Buescher edges out for the lead after a push from Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Cars were crashing as Carson Hocevar crossed the finish line first to make it a first time winner sweep at Talladega this weekend.
Austin Dillon and Zane Smith made contact to start the last lap melee.
There were some rousing cheers when Carson came out on the window. He is sitting in the widow and driving the car! And finishes it off with a burnout.
Saying that he is very thankful in his interview, Carson Hocevar walks the wall in front of the fence waving to the cheering crowd.
The unofficial results of the Jack Links 500:
Carson Hocevar
Chris Buescher
Alex Bowman
Chase Elliott
Zane Smith
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ross Chastain
Austin Cindric
Noah Gragson
Kyle Busch
Todd Gilliland
Daniel Suarez
Ty Dillon
Tyler Reddick
Denny Hamlin
AJ Allmendinger
Christopher Bell
Ryan Preece
Austin Dillon
Shane van Gisbergen
Cody Ware
John Hunter Nemechek
Eerik Jones
Daniel Dye
Riley Herbst
Connor Zilisch
Jesse Love
Chad Finchum
Chase Briscoe
Joey Gase
Brad Keselowski
Michael McDowell
Josh Berry
Ty Gibbs
William Byron
Bubba Wallace
Ryan Blaney
Cole Custer
Joey Logano
Kyle Larson