YellaWood 500
Talladega, Alabama – October 25, 2026
AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 MENARDS/KNAUF FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE
START: 28TH STAGE 1: 10TH STAGE 2: 4TH FINISH: 27TH POINTS: 8TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric’s afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway came to a premature end Sunday after a late-race, multi-car incident relegated the No. 2 Menards/Knauf Ford Mustang Dark Horse to a 27th-place finish in the YellaWood 500. Cindric started the 188-lap event from the 28th position but quickly worked his way through the field, moving into the top 10 by Lap 2 as the field raced three-wide around the 2.66-mile superspeedway. Cindric maintained a position near the front of the pack throughout the opening stage, making a green-flag pit stop with his Team Penske teammates on Lap 58 for four tires and fuel. He went on to finish Stage 1 in the 10th position, earning one stage point. Cindric reported that the No. 2 Ford was handling well overall, with only a slight tendency to build free over the course of a run. After restarting ninth for Stage 2, Cindric continued to navigate the constantly shifting lanes of the draft. A multi-car incident on Lap 132 brought out the caution, but Cindric was able to avoid the incident and remain in contention near the front of the field. He ultimately worked his way to a fourth-place finish in Stage 2, collecting an additional seven stage points. Following a four-tire pit stop under the stage break, Cindric restarted 16th with 40 laps remaining and continued battling for position as the field returned to three-wide racing. However, with just five laps remaining, Cindric was collected in a multi-car incident that brought an early end to an otherwise competitive afternoon for the No. 2 team. He was ultimately credited with a 27th-place finish as the NASCAR Cup Series now heads to Martinsville Speedway for the penultimate race of the 2026 season.
CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “It sure looked like Talladega to me. All we could really do there was try to push our lane forward, but some guys racing for the lead pushed a little too hard and got turned around, and unfortunately, we got caught up in it. It was great to link up with Joey (Logano) and earn some valuable stage points, but it’s a shame we weren’t able to finish out the race and have more control over our end result.”
RYAN BLANEY No. 12 ADVANCE AUTO PARTS FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE
START: 27TH STAGE 1: 8TH STAGE 2: 36TH FINISH: 38TH POINTS: 6TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Hopes were high for Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang Dark Horse team as the multi-time Talladega winner headed into Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. Blaney started from the 28th position and settled in at the rear of the field as the majority of the competitors focused on fuel conservation. The strategy paid off, as Blaney jumped from outside the top 30 to inside the top five following his first pit stop of the day on Lap 58. He ultimately finished Stage 1 in eighth place. Blaney restarted inside the top 10 to begin Stage 2 and quickly worked his way toward the front of the field. Teaming up with teammate Joey Logano, Blaney climbed as high as second before being caught up in a multi-car accident on Lap 133. The Advance Auto Parts crew worked diligently to repair the damage and return the No. 12 Ford to the track in hopes of gaining additional positions. However, the damage proved too extensive to overcome, and the No. 12 team was forced to settle for a 38th-place finish. Fortunately, Blaney heads to Martinsville Speedway next Sunday, a track where he has won two of the last three fall races.
BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “We were just racing hard three-wide and protecting and probably didn’t make a very good move. It hurts us a lot, so we’ll have to see what we can do next week. It wasn’t his fault. We were both trying to protect it. Both of us didn’t time it very good and unfortunately wrecked folks. I feel like I had a hand in kind of being aggressive there, but it’s a shame guys got tore up.”
JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE
START: 16TH STAGE 1: 9TH STAGE 2: 1ST FINISH: 36TH POINTS: 5TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano and the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse team executed a nearly flawless game plan to put themselves in position to win Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway before being caught up in the second multi-car incident of the day on Lap 184. After starting from the 16th position, Logano and crew chief Paul Wolfe were content to remain patient throughout the first half of Stage 1 as they monitored the car’s handling in traffic with the new rules package in place for the weekend. Wolfe called Logano down pit lane for the first time on Lap 57 alongside his teammates, one of the last groups to make a pit stop, and the strategy paid off as Logano collected stage points with a ninth-place finish. A solid pit stop prior to Stage 2, coupled with pit lane penalties assessed to competitors ahead of him, placed Logano second and on the outside of the front row for the restart. From there, the three-time Talladega winner controlled much of the second stage, ultimately winning the stage and collecting 10 additional points. A caution late in Stage 2 gave numerous teams the opportunity to pit prior to the stage’s conclusion, resulting in Logano lining up behind those competitors following his pit stop during the stage break. Despite being unable to advance quickly to the front, Logano remained committed to the third lane around the 2.66-mile oval and began climbing the leaderboard with 20 laps remaining. By Lap 173, he had worked his way into second place as the intensity increased in the closing laps. Unfortunately, Logano was unable to make it to the checkered flag after contact from behind sent the No. 22 Ford airborne, eventually overturning and sliding down the frontstretch on its roof. Logano emerged uninjured from the incident but leaves Talladega 100 points behind the championship leader.
LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “It looks like I just got a little push in the wrong spot there. It was a very much a Talladega Nights moment like, ‘Oh, no. I’m upside down. This is not a good moment.’ But I can’t think the safety crew enough. They did an amazing job flipping that thing over. The car did a great job. The last time I flipped it was crushed on my head. This time, I don’t think anything really caved or crushed at all. I appreciate what NASCAR has done. Thank you and the safety team for getting me out of there. There were some vicious hits in that one. I’m just happy to be alive.”
The NASCAR Cup Series Chase for the Championship heads to the penultimate race of the season at Martinsville Speedway. Race coverage begins Sunday, November 1 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
