NASCAR Cup Series

After a week off for the Easter break, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series go back to the track as Talladega Superspeedway is the home for this weekend's races.

The race will mark Jimmie Johnson’s 625th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start in 19 years. Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1, is tied with Cale Yarborough for sixth on the all-time wins list with 83. Johnson, who will be the 27th driver with 625 or more starts, has two wins at Talladega Superspeedway.

Since 2010, the spring Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Talladega Superspeedway, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, have shown what the world’s largest and greatest track is all about – 200 mph speeds, three- and four-wide, 10 rows deep competition and absolute nail-biting, close finishes by a matter of feet, sometimes even inches.

Coming off the first break of the season for Easter, Roush Fenway Racing takes its Fords to Sweet Home Alabama as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) rolls into the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. RFR has eight wins all-time at Talladega including the most recent by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 2017.

Horns were honking and the RVs were rolling through the new Turn 3 Oversized Vehicle Tunnel at Talladega Superspeedway Wednesday as NASCAR drivers Jeffrey Earnhardt and Chase Briscoe assisted in the ribbon cutting ceremony as part of the “official” Grand Opening for thousands of fans to enter the track’s iconic infield.

After two successful weekends on the short tracks followed by the Easter weekend break, Paul Menard and the No. 21 Quick Lane team head to one of the biggest tracks, Talladega Superspeedway where an all-new rules package will be used.

“Talladega is one of our best chances to win a race and have a great finish for our Love's Travel Stops Ford, especially since we started the season so strong at Daytona. We know what we need to do to execute well and have a clean race. I'm optimistic about the speeds we'll see this weekend from all three Front Row Motorsports cars. We’re happy to welcome Brisk to our team this weekend, too. I think we’re all looking forward to a good run on Sunday.”

Talladega Preview: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be heading to Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, April 29, for 500 miles of action around the Alabama tri-oval. Hamlin will be looking for his second career victory at Talladega, after capturing the checkered flag in 2014. Hamlin and the #11 FedEx team will look to earn their third win of the season and get back into the top two in the Cup Series standings.

DIBENEDETTO BY THE NUMBERS: In eight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career starts at Talladega Superspeedway, Matt DiBenedetto has an average start of 33.4 and an average finish of 27.4. He’s completed 1,397 of 1,524 (91.7 percent) career laps and has led for 20 laps at the 2.66-mile high-banked track.

Newman will make his 35th Cup start at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday. In 34 prior starts, Newman has 13 top-10s and six top-fives with an average finish of 19.6.