NASCAR Live Race Updates: Jack Link's 500 at Talladega
Welcome to the Racing America On SI Live Race Updates page for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Be sure to refresh this post throughout Sunday's race as the Live Race Updates story will be updated with the biggest moments from the 188-lap race, including lead changes, crash replays, the winner of the race, finishing results, and more.
Stage 3 Updates
Lap 188: Austin Cindric Beats Ryan Preece in Photo Finish
Austin Cindric held steady on the inside line to make it to the start-finish line first, winning the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway -- his third career win in the NASCAR Cup Series. Ryan Preece, Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Joey Logano rounded out the top-five.
Pos | # | Driver |
|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | Austin Cindric |
2 | 60 | Ryan Preece |
3 | 5 | Kyle Larson |
4 | 24 | William Byron |
5 | 22 | Joey Logano |
6 | 4 | Noah Gragson |
7 | 9 | Chase Elliott |
8 | 77 | Carson Hocevar |
9 | 48 | Alex Bowman |
10 | 23 | Bubba Wallace |
Lap 174: Austin Cindric vs William Byron After Pit Cycle
Austin Cindric has cycled out to the race lead following the multi-groups of cars made pit stops at separate times. Cindric, who has Kyle Larson pushing him, has William Byron and Alex Bowman lined up beside him on the outside lane.
Lap 172: Josh Berry, Kyle Busch Busted for Speeding
Josh Berry and Kyle Busch were among the final group of cars to reach pit road on Lap 171, however, both drivers were flagged for speeding on pit road when they came back around the track on Lap 172.
Both drivers will have to serve pass-through penalties, and will likely fall out of contention without a quick caution.
Lap 170: Ty Dillon Leads Next Group Onto Pit Road
Another sizable group of cars, led by Ty Dillon, have gone to pit road for their final fuel-only pit stops of the race. They will fire back out onto track, and we'll see where they blend in with the Toyota/Spire grouping.
Lap 163: Toyotas and More Hit Pit Road
The full Toyota brigade peeled off the track onto pit road on Lap 163, and they were joined by Anthony Alfredo and the three-car Spire Motorsports team. Carson Hocevar, the driver of the No. 77 Spire entry, won the race off pit road.
Josh Berry and Joey Logano are battling for the lead as we await the next set of cars to head to pit road.
Lap 162: Logano to the Lead
As the field begins to prepare for their final pit stops, Joey Logano and Zane Smith were able to utilize their high-lane alliance to push Logano ahead of Ty Gibbs for the race lead on Lap 162.
Logano taking the lead snapped a 31-lap streak of Gibbs maintaining the top spot in the race.
Lap 155: Outside Lane Starting to Mount a Challenge
As we are quickly approaching the final pit stop sequence of the race, Joey Logano, who is being shoved by Zane Smith, is starting to make some headway in the outside lane. Toyota still has things on lock-down in a single-file line up front, but the second lane is starting to surge forward.
Lap 150: Ty Gibbs Still Leads
With under 40 laps to go, Ty Gibbs still holds the lead in the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega, and it's still all-Toyota out front. But as the laps continue to click off, the intensity will continue picking up.
Denny Hamlin runs second ahead of Riley Herbst, Bubba Wallace, and Chase Briscoe.
Lap 131: Ty Gibbs, Toyota Take Control
Ty Gibbs took the lead on Lap 131, and as the race stands on Lap 142, the top four drivers in the running order are all Toyotas, and they are single-file in front of the field. A second lane of cars is starting to form with Joey Logano leading that lane up top.
Lap 126: Back to Green
Chase Briscoe leads the field back to the green flag for the start of the final Stage of Sunday's Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Stage 2 Updates
Lap 120: Bubba Wallace Defeats Joey Logano for Stage 2 Win
Bubba Wallace was able to hold off Joey Logano, and a hard-charging outside lane of Ford drivers to take the Stage 2 win in Sunday's Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Stage 1: Kyle Larson
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 27, 2025
Stage 2: Bubba Wallace!
Stage 3: ???
More» https://t.co/8BlkBmZuFL pic.twitter.com/odU5ZXUqOQ
After the finish of the Stage, Logano was vocally upset with his Team Penske teammate Austin Cindric, who he felt gave away the Stage Win for the Ford teams.
Sooooo ... Joey Logano isn't thrilled with his teammate right now ... 👀 pic.twitter.com/hUOpcQHwk9
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 27, 2025
Stage 2 Results
Pos | Car | Driver | Stage Points | Playoff Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 10 | 1 |
2 | 22 | Joey Logano | 9 | -- |
3 | 5 | Kyle Larson | 8 | -- |
4 | 2 | Austin Cindric | 7 | -- |
5 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | 6 | -- |
6 | 60 | Ryan Preece | 5 | -- |
7 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 4 | -- |
8 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | 3 | -- |
9 | 38 | Zane Smith | 2 | -- |
10 | 21 | Josh Berry | 1 | -- |
Lap 113: John Hunter Nemechek Spins
With eight laps remaining in Stage 2 of Sunday's Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, John Hunter Nemechek went spinning at the exit of pit road.
Trouble exiting pit road for JHN! We stay green. pic.twitter.com/ViZ6rFDtLd
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 27, 2025
The driver of the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota spun to the inside of the track, and the caution flag did not come out as a result.
Lap 101: Logano Leads as Alfredo Pits
Anthony Alfredo took his No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet to pit road, and that handed the lead to Joey Logano, who now leads Noah Gragson and Ryan Preece.
Lap 88: Alfredo Hanging Tough As Leaders Keep Changing
19 of the 39 cars in the field have now taken a turn in front of the pack, and Sunday's Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway has reached 37 lead changes. Anthony Alfredo, who is on a unique strategy as he didn't pit under the Stage break, is your race leader at Lap 88.
After the restart, William Byron led from Laps 66 to 69, folllowed by Alfredo, who led for four consecutive laps, Ross Chastain took over the lead for a lap before John Hunter Nemechek took the lead for the first time on Lap 75.
Alfredo would reassume the lead on Lap 76, but would relinquish the lead to Ross Chastain on Lap 77. Chastain would lead until Lap 80, at which point Alfredo would take the lead again on Lap 81.
After Alfredo and Chastain continued to swap the lead through Lap 86, Daniel Suarez took the lead for the first time on Lap 87, but it would be short lived as Anthony Alfredo took over the lead again on Lap 88.
Lap 66: Back to Green
Anthony Alfredo, driving the No 62 Beard Motorsports "Open" entry, restarted from the lead as he didn't pit under the stage break caution. However, he is immediately passed by William Byron for the race lead on the restart.
Lap 63: Kyle Larson busted for speeding
Kyle Larson won Stage 1, but he'll start from the rear of the field in Stage 2 of Sunday's Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway as he was busted for speeding on pit road.
Carson Hocevar also had to make an additional pit stop to swap out helmets as the helmet he was wearing was leading to discomfort.
Stage 1 Updates
Lap 60: Kyle Larson Wins Stage 1
In a battle with Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson was able to score the Stage 1 win in Sunday's Jack Link's 500 at Talladega. Wallace would fade to fifth as Larson had fellow Chevrolet drivers William Byron, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Chase Elliott behind him.
A big surge from @BubbaWallace, but Larson fought back on the outside. pic.twitter.com/SN4AuBjqhr
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 27, 2025
Stage 1 Results
Fin | Car | Driver | Stage Points | Playoff Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | 10 | 1 |
2 | 24 | William Byron | 9 | -- |
3 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 8 | -- |
4 | 9 | Chase Elliott | 7 | -- |
5 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 6 | -- |
6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 5 | -- |
7 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | 4 | -- |
8 | 51 | Cody Ware | 3 | -- |
9 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 2 | -- |
10 | 10 | Ty Dillon | 1 | -- |
Lap 51: Back to Green, and Caution Again
RFK Racing driver Chris Buescher and Christopher Bell restarted from the front row on Lap 51, but by the time they got to the backstretch, they were spinning into the inside wall.
Bell slammed head-first into the inside wall with his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in a very intense impact.
"That is a HUGE hit."
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 27, 2025
Here's another look at the crash for Christopher Bell and Chris Buescher at Talladega: pic.twitter.com/Jgo97gfJ7z
Lap 43: Blaney, Keselowski, Busch Crash in Trioval Grass
The horrendous 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season continues for Brad Keselowski and the No. 6 RFK Racing team as Keselowski suffered a ton of damage in a Lap 43 crash through the trioval grass.
Here is the incident between Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, and Ryan Blaney, which also involved Buescher and Bowman. This brought out the first caution of the day: pic.twitter.com/eBUDAAGOUr
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) April 27, 2025
It looked like Keselowski was attempting to get to pit road, and received contact from Kyle Busch from behind. This sent Keselowski spinning, and Ryan Blaney would join Keselowski and Busch in the crash.
Chris Buescher and Alex Bowman also suffered some damage in this incident.
Blaney would go to the garage for repairs to his car, which appeared to have a broken toe link.
Lap 41: Green Flag Pit Stops Begin
Chase Briscoe, the rest of the Toyota contingent and several others have hit pit road for the first green flag stops of the day on Lap 41. As Briscoe relinquished the lead, Cole Custer became the eighth different leader of the race.
Briscoe stalled his car on pit road, and will lose a lot of time.
Lap 30: Toyotas Have Stranglehold on Front
Six Toyotas, led by Chase Briscoe, have taken control of this race. At Lap 30, the six Toyotas are out front in a single lane, while the field behind them is running two-by-two. It looks like fuel saving may be out the window as the Toyotas have hit the go-button.
Lap 26: New Leader, Chase Briscoe
There have now been seven different leaders through the opening 26 laps of a fevered Jack Link's 500 at Talladega as Chase Briscoe led his first lap of the event on Lap 26. Overall, there have been 15 lead changes among the seven drivers.
Lap 23: Kyle Busch Becomes Sixth Leader of Race
Kyle Busch, who started second in Sunday's Jack Link's 500 at Talladega, has taken the lead for the first time in the race on Lap 23. Busch becomes the sixth different leader of the race, and the field has now registered 14 lead changes.
Prior to Busch taking the lead, Zane Smith took the lead from Michael McDowell on Lap 21, and Josh Berry led again on Lap 22.
Lap 18: McDowell emerges to lead pack
After trading the lead off with Ryan Preece three consecutive laps, Michael McDowell took the lead on Lap 18, and he is now leading the pack, which features three-by-three rows behind him. We're up to 11 lead changes through the opening 18 laps.
Lap 15: Lead Change 8
Ryan Preece has taken the lead for the first time in this race. The driver of the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford was able to narrowly lead over Michael McDowell and Josh Berry in a three-wide battle.
Lap 14: Three-Wide for Lead Again
Josh Berry still has the lead, but he is attempting to hold off Ryan Preece, who is running the middle line, and Michael McDowell, who has started an inside line and is three-wide for the race lead.
Lap 11: Lead Change 6
Zane Smith is back in front of the field for the second time in the race, as he was able to surge just ahead of McDowell for the race lead on Lap 11, but the lead is short-lived as Josh Berry takes over the top spot again on Lap 12.
McDowell has now fallen to sixth.
Lap 9: McDowell, Berry Trading Off Lead
Josh Berry got back to the finish line before McDowell narrowly to lead the eighth lap of the race, but McDowell would surge back out to the race lead on Lap 9. McDowell has now pulled to the lead in a row by himself, and he is trying to hold off a four-wide pack behind him.
Lap 6: Lead Change 3
Joey Logano missed a block and was hung out by the front runners. Michael McDowell led the sixth lap of the race.
Lap 5: Lead Change 2
Joey Logano has snuck through to lead the fifth lap of the race as the field is still running three wide essentially all the way through. Logano becomes the third official leader of Sunday's race joining Zane Smith and Josh Berry.
Lap 4: Lead Change 1
Josh Berry has become the second leader of Sunday's Jack Link's 500 at Talladega as he and Michael McDowell climbed through the field in a hurry over the opening four laps.
Lap 3: Pack is Three-by-Three
Zane Smith has continued to eek out narrow leads as he crossed the finish line in each of the opening three laps, but the field is three-by-three essentially all the way through, and now four-wide situations are starting to appear throughout the pack.
Smith is three-wide with Joey Logano and Austin Dillon for the lead.
Lap 1: Zane Smith Leads From Pole
Zane Smith parlayed an incredible initial jump on the start of the race to claim the lead by himself by the exit of Turn 2 on the opening lap of the race. Smith, who had Joey Logano, the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford tucked in behind him, led the opening lap of the race.
3:20 PM ET: Green Flag!
The Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway is officially underway. Zane Smith, who scored his first career NASCAR Cup Series pole, and Kyle Busch battle into Turn 1 side-by-side for the race lead.
Pre-Race Updates
3:08 PM ET: Engines Fired
After a command by Adam Smith, the Chief Financial Officer of Jack Link's, who was accompanied by Sasquatch and Yeti, the engines for all 39 of the competitors in Sunday's field have been fired.
Sasquatch and Yeti are elusive, but Talladega brings them out in the open.
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 27, 2025
ENGINES ARE FIRED IN ALABAMA. pic.twitter.com/6jfPKaGPDn
The field will head out onto the track behind the pace car to perform the pace laps prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
No Cars To The Rear
NASCAR has confirmed that currently, no drivers will have to drop to the rear of the field prior to the green flag of Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
NASCAR has also revealed the official pre-race festivities schedule:
- 3:00 PM ET: Invocation
- 3:01 PM ET: National Anthem
- 3:08 PM ET: Command to start engines
- 3:20 PM ET: Green Flag
Sunday's pit road speed limit has been set at 55 mph, and the pace car will travel around the 2.66-mile speedway at 70 mph. The estimated fuel window for the NASCAR Cup Series car at Talladega is 45 laps, although expected fuel saving strategies throughout the race are expected to vary from that total.
Jack Link's 500 Race Info
The Jack Link's 500 will be televised on FOX and can be streamed on the FOX Sports App with a valid television provider login. Television coverage of the event will begin at 3:00 PM ET. Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide the radio broadcast of the event.
For subscribers of the Max streaming service, NASCAR Driver Cam, which streams live in-car camera footage from every car in the field, will be available for today's race.
The overall race purse, which teams will fight for their portion of in Sunday's race is a total of $11,055,250.
The race distance is 188 laps around the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway, which equates to a 500.08-mile race distance.
The race will be broken into three Stages. Stage 1 will end at the conclusion of Lap 60, Stage 2 will end at the conclusion of Lap 120, and the race is scheduled to finish at the end of Lap 188, barring an overtime finish.
The winner of Stages 1 and 2 will be awarded one Playoff Point, and the overall race winner will be awarded five Playoff points. The Playoff Points will be added to the reseeded point totals if the drivers make it into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, and the Playoff Points will be carried through each round of the Playoffs.
The top-10 finishers in Stages 1 and 2 will also receive regular-season championship points. The Stage Winners will receive 10 points for the Stage Win, and the point total will decrease by one point througout the top-10 finishers in each Stage.
Tyler Reddick is the defending race winner of the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega. Reddick will start 26th in the No 45 23XI Racing Toyota Camry. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the most recent NASCAR Cup Series event at Talladega as he captured the victory in last Fall's YellaWood 500.
The last nine NASCAR Cup Series events at Talladega Superspeedway have featured nine different race winners.
Zane Smith Cruises to First-Career Pole
On Saturday afternoon, Zane Smith was able to check off a bucket list achievement as he became a polesitter in the NASCAR Cup Series ranks with an impressive 52.565-second (182.174 mph) lap time in the final round of qualifying.
"It's something to check off an accomplishment that I've always wanted," Smith said of the pole. "You know, I've always wanted to race on Sunday, and to be ablet get a pole on Sunday now is really cool to say."
Smith, the final driver to take a lap in the final round of the session, bumped Kyle Busch from the provisional pole position. Busch, seeking his first win since June 2023, will start from the outside of the front row.
Jack Link's 500 Starting Lineup
Pos | Car | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
2 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
4 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Ford |
5 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
6 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford |
7 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford |
8 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
9 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
10 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
Click here for the full starting lineup
First Race Without Rodney Childers Off to Rough Start for No. 7 Spire Motorsports Team
Justin Haley, who admitted he was surprised by the mutual parting of ways between Spire Motorsports and crew chief Rodney Childers, came into the weekend with optimism that his No. 7 Spire Motorsports team would hit the ground running.
Haley is comfortable with interim crew chief Ryan Sparks, who he worked with over the final seven races of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season after he was sent to the team in a driver trade with Rick Ware Racing.
However, the Jack Link's 500 race weekend at Talladega Superspeedway has not gotten off to an ideal start for Haley and the No. 7 Spire team.
In pre-race inspection, the No. 7 Chevrolet was the lone car in the NASCAR Cup Series garage to fail inspection multiple times, which led to the weekend ejection of the team's car chief Robbie Fairweather, and led to the team losing its pit selection for Sunday's race.
In Saturday's qualifying session, things didn't get any better as Haley qualified 37th in the 39-car field. Haley clocked in faster than only BJ McLeod and JJ Yeley, who are driving part-time "Open" entries for Live Fast Motorsports and NY Racing Team.
Fortunately, qualifying matters very little at superspeedways, but if Haley is swept up in a crash, or is essentially a non-factor all race, it will certainly have many questioning the mutual decision to move on from crew chief Rodney Childers after Tuesday's weekly team meeting.
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Toby 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.
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