Talladega's Draft Provides Opportunity for a Cinderella Story

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We have reached one of the key wild-card race weekends of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season -- the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. The 10th race of the 36-race NASCAR Cup Series season could be the catalyst to turn an abysmal season into a Playoff run, and for two great reasons: the draft and 'The Big One' -- a crash that can wipe out upwards of 20 cars in one fell swoop.

The draft is the great equalizer, which will allow just about all 39 cars in the field to have a chance to compete for the lead at some point in the race. And at the 2.66-mile superspeedway in Alabama, the draft has led to a roulette wheel of race winners in recent years.

Over the last nine NASCAR Cup Series races at Talladega, there has not been a repeat race winner.

Over that stretch, we've seen Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. reach victory lane at the facility. Interestingly enough, of that list, only Hamlin has a win through the opening 10 races of the season, so, even if we get a repeat winner, there's a better-than-not chance it'll be a win that locks in someone's place in the Playoff field.

Among the Cinderella Stories to keep an eye out for this weekend would have to be John Hunter Nemechek and Erik Jones, teammates at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB. While Jones actually got turned while drafting with Nemechek in this race a season ago, which resulted in Jones missing races due to a back injury, the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB cars were really fast in the season-opening Daytona 500.

Team owner Jimmie Johnson, who was driving the part-time No. 84 LEGACY entry, finished the Great American Race in third, while Nemechek came home in fifth, and Jones finished 12th. Jones, who is mired 30th in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings after nine races, could massively reverse his fortunes with an unexpected win in the No. 43 car, and Nemechek, who sits 21st in points, could put the exclamation point on what has been a decent start to the season for the No. 42 team.

In addition to LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, Spire Motorsports should have a stout representation in Sunday's Jack Link's 500.

Michael McDowell, the 2021 Daytona 500 champion, is seemingly always in the mix at superspeedway events, and Justin Haley, who scored his lone NASCAR Cup Series win in a rain-shortened event at Daytona International Speedway in 2019, to date the only Cup win for the Spire team, is very skilled at superspeedway racing.

All four of Haley's NASCAR Xfinity Series wins came at Daytona or Talladega, superspeedway drafting tracks.

And then there is Carson Hocevar, the driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. While Hocevar hasn't had the best luck mechanically, at these races, he narrowly missed his first-career win at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the track that was reconfigured into a superspeedway, in February.

Among drivers with previous wins at Talladega Superspeedway, Brad Keselowski stands to benefit the most from an additional win at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.

The 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion, who has made the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in each of the last two seasons, has suffered from a miserable start to the 2025 campaign. Keselowski, who has just two top-15 finishes through the opening nine races, sits 31st in the championship standings.

While it's been tough sledding for the driver, who is attempting to gel with new crew chief Jeremy Bullins, who joined RFK Racing after the departure of Matt McCall, Talladega is a major opportunity for Keselowski, who finished runner-up in both races at the track a season ago.

Keselowski boasts six victories at the track over the course of his NASCAR Cup Series career, on Sunday, he could make it lucky number seven.

There is also last Fall's race winner at Talladega Superspeedway, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

All four of Stenhouse's NASCAR Cup Series race wins have come on superspeedway tracks, two of them at Daytona International Speedway, and two at Talladega. The HYAK Motorsports driver has had a very steady opening portion of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season as he is in possession of the 18th spot in the regular season point standings.

In a season very reminiscent of his 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, Stenhouse could secure his second Playoff berth in the last three seasons with another superspeedway win on Sunday.

The NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway is set for Sunday, April 27 and will be televised on FOX with coverage kicking off at 3:00 PM ET. Click here for the full weekend television schedule.