NASCAR Race 10: Austin Cindric wins at Talladega

Motorsport-Magazin.com

News, information, statistics, starters, live TV, driver rankings, timeline, practice, qualifying & race report from the 10th race of the regular season at Talladega Superspeedway.

Stephan Vornbäumen 28.04.2025, 00:44 Race report

Regular Season Talladega Superspeedway Saturday, April 26: from 4:35 p.m.: Qualifying

Sunday, April 27: from 8:30 p.m.: Pay-TV LIVE on Sportdigital1+ from 9:19 p.m.: Jack Link's 500

188 (60/60/68) laps

Pictures (gallery is constantly being expanded) Sunday/Monday, April 27/28, 2025 Race report Talladega I: Austin Cindric wins the high-speed spectacle

Austin Cindric won the tenth race of the season at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama after 188 laps in his Penske-Ford. It was Cindric's first win of the season and his first success at Talladega after leading for seven laps. The 26-year-old celebrated his third career victory in his 125th Cup race.

Ryan Preece crossed the finish line in second place in the RKF Ford, just 0.022 seconds behind. He was followed by the two Hendrick Chevrolets of Kyle Larson and William Byron. Defending champion Joey Logano finished fifth in the Penske Ford, ahead of Noah Gragson, Chase Elliott, Carson Hocevar, Alex Bowman, and Bubba Wallace in the fastest Toyota in tenth place.

A detailed race report with statistics will follow on Monday…

Saturday, April 26, 2025 Qualifying: Zane Smith sensationally takes the Talladega pole

Qualifying for the tenth race of the season at Talladega Superspeedway ended with a sensation. Zane Smith (#38 Front Row Motorsports) won the first pole award of his career in his Ford.

The 26-year-old took pole position at the Alabama superspeedway with a speed of 182.174 mph in 52.565 seconds. He won the pole award by a large margin of 0.132 seconds over Kyle Busch in the RCR Chevrolet. Defending champion Joey Logano finished third in the Penske-Ford.

The other positions in the top 10 qualifying: Ryan Preece (Penske-Ford) finished fourth ahead of Austin Dillon (RCR-Chevrolet), Chris Buescher (RFK-Ford), Austin Cindric (Penske-Ford), Josh Berry (Wood-Ford), Ryan Blaney (Penske-Ford) and Ty Gibbs in the fastest Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing in tenth place.

This means that seven Ford teams will start from the front five rows. Pole-sitter Smith has yet to win a Cup race. His best finish to date was second place at Nashville in the 2024 season. Last year's winner Tyler Reddick will begin Sunday's 188-lap race from 26th position. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who won the last Talladega race in the fall, will start from 35th. The fastest rookie was Riley Herbst in 23rd place.

Update: JJ Yeley (#44 NY Racing Team) has to start from the back

Driver Ranking 09/2025

Top 20 after the 9th race of the 2025 season at Darlington Raceway

After each race, Motorsport-Magazin.com determines the current form of all NASCAR drivers based on the results of the last six races.

After the race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin is the new number one in our rankings. Last season, Hamlin only held the lead after race 15. After the win at the Bristol Coliseum, Kyle Larson jumped from eighth to second. William Byron dropped to third, and Christopher Bell is now fourth.

This means that four of the five winners so far this season are in the top four. Only Josh Berry is far behind in 17th place. Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Ty Gibbs, and Chase Briscoe made a big leap forward.

This week's losers are champion Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, and Kyle Busch. Zane Smith is no longer in the top 20, but Justin Haley made a comeback. Haley was last among the top 20 drivers after race 22 in the season before last.

Wednesday, April 23, 2025 Starting list with driver change for the 10th race of the season in Bristol

For the 10th race of the season at Talladega Superspeedway, 39 drivers have been registered by the teams. This marks the ninth consecutive season with a field of less than 40 drivers. Three Open teams are on the entry list and are therefore eligible to start in the race.

There were no driver changes among the 36 charter teams. Among the Open teams, JJ Yeley makes his fifth appearance of the season driving the #44 for the NY Racing Team. Yeley will be driving a Cup car for the 390th time at Talladega. BJ McLeod will be driving the #78 for Live Fast Motorsports for his third outing. The 41-year-old has completed 145 races since 2015.

Beard Motorsports also entered Anthony Alfredo for the second time in the #62 car. The 26-year-old has competed in 41 races since 2021. Only at Talladega has he finished in the top 10 twice. Sixth place last year was his career highlight. All three Open drivers failed to qualify for the season opener at Daytona.

10th race of the season: 36 charter teams, no driver change (DC) 3 open teams (OT) / 2 rookies (R)

Charter Teams: 1. #1 Ross Chastain (Chevrolet) Trackhouse Racing 2. #2 Austin Cindric (Ford) Team Penske 3. #3 Austin Dillon (Chevrolet) Richard Childress Racing 4. #4 Noah Gragson (Ford) Front Row Motorsports 5. #5 Kyle Larson (Chevrolet) Hendrick Motorsports 6. #6 Brad Keselowski (Ford) RFK Racing 7. #7 Justin Haley (Chevrolet) Spire Motorsports 8. #8 Kyle Busch (Chevrolet) Richard Childress Racing 9. #9 Chase Elliott (Chevrolet) Hendrick Motorsports 10. #10 Ty Dillon (Chevrolet) Kaulig Racing 11. #11 Denny Hamlin (Toyota) Joe Gibbs Racing 12. #12 Ryan Blaney (Ford) Team Penske 13. #16 AJ Allmendinger (Chevrolet) Kaulig Racing 14. #17 Chris Buescher (Ford) RFK Racing 15. #19 Chase Briscoe (Toyota) Joe Gibbs Racing 16. #20 Christopher Bell (Toyota) Joe Gibbs Racing 17. #21 Josh Berry (Ford) Wood Brothers Racing 18. #22 Joey Logano (Ford) Team Penske 19. #23 Bubba Wallace (Toyota) 23XI Racing 20. #24 William Byron (Chevrolet) Hendrick Motorsports 21. #34 Todd Gilliland (Ford) Front Row Motorsports 22. #35 (R) Riley Herbst (Toyota) 23XI Racing 23. #38 Zane Smith (Ford) Front Row Motorsports 24. #41 Cole Custer (Ford) Haas Factory Team 25. #42 John Hunter Nemechek (Toyota) Legacy Motor Club 26. #43 Erik Jones (Toyota) Legacy Motor Club 27. #45 Tyler Reddick (Toyota) 23XI Racing 28. #47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Chevrolet) Hyak Motorsports 29. #48 Alex Bowman (Chevrolet) Hendrick Motorsports 30. #51 Cody Ware (Ford) Rick Ware Racing 31. #54 Ty Gibbs (Toyota) Joe Gibbs Racing 32. #60 Ryan Preece (Ford) RFK Racing 33. #71 Michael McDowell (Chevrolet) Spire Motorsports 34. #77 Carson Hocevar (Chevrolet) Spire Motorsports 35. #88 (R) Shane von Gisbergen (Chevrolet) Trackhouse Racing

36. #99 Daniel Suarez (Chevrolet) Trackhouse Racing

Open Teams: 37. #44 (OT) JJ Yeley (Chevrolet) NY Racing Team 38. #62 (OT) Anthony Alfredo (Chevrolet) Beard Motorsports 39. #78 (OT) BJ McLeod (Chevrolet) Live Fast Motorsports

18 Chevrolet / 12 Ford / 9 Toyota

Tuesday, April 22, 2025 Standings before Race 10 NASCAR Cup Standings

TOP 20 (after race 9/36) Regular Season 2025 (with all bonus points & penalties) -----

all winners & best-scoring drivers (races 1-26):

1. (1) Christopher Bell, 305 points (3 wins) 2. (2) Denny Hamlin, 316 points (2 wins) 3. (4) Kyle Larson, 304 points (2 wins) 4. (3) William Byron, 346 points (1 win) 5. (5) Josh Berry, 179 points (1 win)

Total points (without win):

6. (6) Chase Elliott, 278 points 7. (8) Ryan Blaney, 275 points 8. (7) Tyler Reddick, 274 points 9. (9) Bubba Wallace, 251 points 10. (10) Joey Logano, 245 points 11. (11) Alex Bowman, 244 points 12. (13) Ross Chastain, 229 points 13. (12) Chris Buescher, 227 points 14. (15) Chase Briscoe, 213 points 15. (14) Ryan Preece, 201 points 16. (16) Kyle Busch, 200 points

On the bubble:

17. (17) AJ Allmendinger, 198 points 18. (19) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 176 points 19. (18) Michael McDowell, 174 points 20. (26) Ty Gibbs, 171 points

The first 16 drivers are qualified for the PLAYOFFS

Race Facts: Preview Race 10

The tenth stop on the 2025 NASCAR calendar will be the Talladega Superspeedway for the 112th time.

At 2.66 miles, the high-speed track is the largest and longest oval on the calendar. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small town of Lincoln. A total of 111 races have been held on the tri-oval since 1969. Following the inaugural 188-lap (500.08-mile) race, the NASCAR calendar has always hosted two events per year. The first event starts in the spring, and the second is a playoff race in the fall.

Fuel window: 42-46 laps

Goodyear Tire Notes: Prime (P), Option (O)

Qualifying: 1 (P)

Race: 6+1/Qualifying (P)

At Talladega Superspeedway, 'Big Ones' are commonplace and can lead to major upsets during the race. The banking in the corners ranges from 32.4 to 33 degrees. The start-finish straight is banked by 16.5 degrees, and the back straight has a bank of just three degrees. The race distance is divided into three stages of 60, 60, and a final 68 laps.

Race report from the last spring races in Talladega (April 22, 2024)

Victory Lane: The last polesetters, winners & record winners at Talladega Superspeedway

There have been nine different winners at Talladega in the last few seasons. Before that, Ryan Blaney won twice in a row. Brad Keselowski holds the record for active drivers with six wins. Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney are two other Ford drivers with three victories. Ten previous winners will compete on Sunday.

Tyler Reddick won for the first time twelve months ago. Ricky Stenhouse Junior celebrated his second victory in the playoff race. Michael McDowell won both pole awards last season. In the last three races, there have been only four caution periods and two conclusion cautions.

10th season race (Regular Season) Jack Link's 500

Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega, AL

2.66 mile tri-oval, superspeedway

188 laps (stages: 60/60/68), 500.08 miles

All active winners at Talladega Superspeedway

6 wins: Brad Keselowski 3 wins: Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney 2 wins: Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 1 win: Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, Michael McDowell

All-time record winner: Dale Earnhardt (10 wins)

Talladega: The last winners (pole setters)

27.04.2025: ? (Pole Award: ?) October 6th, 2024: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Pole Award: Michael McDowell) April 21st, 2024: Tyler Reddick (Pole Award: Michael McDowell) October 1st, 2023: Ryan Blaney (Pole Award: Aric Almirola) April 23rd, 2023: Kyle Busch (Pole Award: Denny Hamlin October 2nd, 2022: Chase Elliott (Pole Award: Christopher Bell) April 24th, 2022: Ross Chastain (Pole Award: Christopher Bell) October 4th, 2021: Bubba Wallace (Metric-Pole: Denny Hamlin) April 25th, 2021: Brad Keselowski (Metric-Pole: Denny Hamlin) October 4th, 2020: Denny Hamlin (Metric Pole: Denny Hamlin) June 21, 2020: Ryan Blaney (Draw-Pole: Martin Truex Jr.) October 14, 2019: Ryan Blaney (Pole Award: Chase Elliott) April 28, 2019: Chase Elliott (Pole Award: Austin Dillon) October 14, 2018: Aric Almirola (Pole Award: Kurt Busch) April 29, 2018: Joey Logano (Pole Award: Kevin Harvick) October 15, 2017: Brad Keselowski (Pole Award: Dale Earnhardt Jr.) May 7, 2017: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Pole Award: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) October 23, 2016: Joey Logano (Pole Award: Martin Truex Jr.) May 1, 2016: Brad Keselowski (Pole Award: Chase Elliott) 10/25/2015: Joey Logano (Pole Award: Jeff Gordon) 05/03/2015: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Pole Award: Jeff Gordon)

(US data)

Birthdays and anniversaries in April/May

April 25, 1993: Alex Bowman April 28, 1999: Justin Haley May 2, 1985: Kyle Busch May 24, 1990: Joey Logano

May 30, 1996: Erik Jones

April 6, 2025: Ryan Blaney (350th race in Darlington) May 4, 2025: Erik Jones (300th race in Texas) May 25, 2025: Daniel Suarez (300th race in Charlotte) May 25, 2025: Ryan Preece (200th race in Charlotte)

May 25, 2025: Ty Gibbs (100th race in Charlotte)

The next NASCAR race in 2025: Timeline Race 11/36 (CEST)

Regular Season Texas Motor Speedway Saturday, May 3: from 5:05 PM: Final Practice I (Group A & B) followed by Qualifying

Sunday, May 4th: from 8:30 p.m.: Pay-TV LIVE on Sportdigital1+ from 9:45 p.m.: Würth 400

267 (80/85/102) laps

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