LEGACY MOTOR CLUB:
TALLADEGA PRE-RACE ADVANCE
EVENT: Jack Link’s 500

DATE: April 26, 2026
RACE: NASCAR Cup Series 10 of 36
TRACK: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway | 2.66-Mile Oval

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
NO. 42 PYE-BARKER FIRE & SAFETY TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
JHN AT TALLADEGA: John Hunter Nemechek has six NASCAR Cup Series starts at Talladega, where he has earned two top-10 finishes. He finished eighth in both races in 2020. In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Nemechek has made four starts, including two top-10 finishes in April 2018 and April 2019. In his seven starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, he earned one pole award in October 2022 and two top-10 finishes, including a best finish of fourth in October 2021.

T-MACK AT TALLADEGA: Sunday’s race will be crew chief Travis Mack’s 12th NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega. His first outing came in 2018 with Kasey Kahne. Mack returned to Talladega with Daniel Suárez in the 2021 season. The duo competed in six races together, and had three top-10 finishes (October 2022, April 2023, and October 2023). In 2024, Mack competed with Shane van Gisbergen for both races. He then returned in April 2025 with Nemechek. In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Mack has three starts with Michael Annett, where the pair earned one pole award in 2019 and one top-10 finish in 2020.

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:
“I’m ready to get back to a superspeedway. We showed good speed in Daytona, and I feel like if we stay out of trouble, Talladega has the potential to be a great race for us. The new stage lengths will definitely be a factor, but I know the No. 42 team will be ready to adapt and make changes to put us in a good spot in the end when it counts.”

TRAVIS MACK QUOTE:
“We’re always happy with superspeedway racing. We feel like we have potential to win those races. The Toyotas showed great performance in Daytona, and our car ran really well up front. I’m ready to see where we can qualify, because if we can make improvements in qualifying and bring more speed in the car, then I think we’ll really have a shot. I’m excited about the new stage lengths and being more aggressive in Stage 3. We’ll have to maintain track position in Stage 2, and then really race it hard in Stage 3 with the new lap count. I’m excited that cars will be running more wide-open and racing harder.”

ERIK JONES
NO. 43 DORITOS DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
JONES TALLADEGA STATS: Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 will mark Erik Jones’ 19th NASCAR Cup Series starts at the 2.66-mile, behemoth track of Talladega Superspeedway. In total, he’s earned three top-fives and eight top-10 finishes at Talladega. He’s been especially consistent as of late, finishing in the top-10 in seven of his last 11 races while leading a total of 75 laps. He earned a best finish of second in October 2020, where he finished .086 seconds behind race winner Denny Hamlin. In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Jones has three starts at Talladega, never qualifying outside the top-10 and securing a best finish of fifth in May 2017, where he led five laps after starting 10th. In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the 2015 champion made two starts at Talladega, boasting an average starting position of 4.5 and an average finish of fifth. Jones earned a best finish of fourth in October 2015 and never finished outside of the top-10 in the Truck Series.

DORITOS TAKEOVER: This weekend at Talladega, Jones will replace his iconic green and white Dollar Tree paint scheme for a No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE decked out for Doritos, a vendor partner of Dollar Tree. Through social media and media activations, Jones will highlight the partnership and showcase the car both on and off the racetrack. In addition, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB will have a Doritos and Pepsi Co. inspired menu at its state-of-the-art hospitality for partners at the track curated by by Michelin-trained Chef Duyen Ha, a Chopped champion and Top Chef season 23 contestant.

ALEXANDER AT TALLADEGA: This Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway will be crew chief Justin Alexander’s 17th NASCAR Cup Series race at the 2.66-mile oval in Alabama. He’s earned a total of two top-fives and five top-10s at this track in his career on top of the box. His best finish of second came in April 2022 with Austin Dillon when the duo finished just .105 seconds behind race winner Ross Chastain. Alexander has one additional NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series start at Talladega where he made the calls from the top of the box with Ben Kennedy in May 2017. The duo started and finished fourth.

ERIK JONES QUOTE:
“Talladega should be good for us. Superspeedways in general have been a strong point for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, and now I think it’s just a matter of putting it all together and having everything play out really well. I’m excited to get there. The new stage lengths should make it a lot of fun in the second half of the race since you’re not going to be focused on saving fuel as much. It should put on a good show. Looking forward to it – we’ve been close a handful of times at Talladega. Hopefully this time we can put it all together, close it out, and bring home a win.”

JUSTIN ALEXANDER QUOTE:
“Talladega’s always a place where a lot is out of your control, but the stage length changes should mix things up some. We won’t have to save as much fuel, so guys can race harder and be more aggressive, especially in the second and third stages. That’ll change strategy quite a bit and hopefully make for a more straightforward race. For us, it’s about staying out of trouble, executing all day and being in position at the end to win. We had a shot in Daytona, and we plan to finish that off in Talladega.”

CLUB MINUTES:
JJ AT TALLADEGA: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB owner and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson has 38 career Cup Series starts at Talladega Superspeedway. He earned two wins, seven top-fives, 13 top-10s, and led 474 laps. He scored back-to-back poles in his first two starts there in both of the 2002 races. His first victory came in May 2006 when Johnson started 16th and led the final lap of the race to beat Tony Stewart by .120 seconds. Johnson won his second race at Talladega in April 2011 after starting second and leading 14 laps. He bested Clint Bowyer by .002 seconds. Johnson has an additional two NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts at Talladega with a best finish of 28th in April 2001.

KENSETH TALLADEGA STATS: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB competition advisor and 2003 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Matt Kenseth has run 38 Cup Series race at Talladega. He earned one win, six top-fives, 10 top-10s and led 524 laps at the 2.66-mile, behemoth oval. He won at Talladega in October 2012 after starting 15th and leading 33 laps, beating Jeff Gordon under caution. Kenseth has an additional six starts in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Talladega. He earned one top-five and three top-10s in his starts with a best finish of fourth in April 1999.

THE KING WINS AT TALLADEGA: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB ambassador and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Richard Petty owns 46 Cup Series starts at Talladega. During his legendary career, the NASCAR Hall of Famer collected two wins, 11 top-fives, and 18 top-10s as well as led 273 laps. He scored his first victory in August 1974 when he started third, led 34 laps and bested David Pearson. He followed that up in May 1983 when he started 15th and led a total of 52 laps en route to a victory over Benny Parsons.

SOCIAL SPOTLIGHT:

CLUB APPEARANCES:
John Hunter Nemechek will be at the trackside merchandise trailer for an autograph session on Sunday, April 26 at 10:30 a.m. local time.

TUNE IN:
Fans can tune in to watch the Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, April 26 at 3 p.m. EDT on FOX, MAX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

LEGACY MOTOR CLUB (LEGACY MC) is a premier auto racing organization owned by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2024 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, Jimmie Johnson and Knighthead Capital Management, LLC. Drawing from a rich tradition of success, LEGACY MC is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of motorsport and setting new standards of excellence. The CLUB competes under the Toyota Racing banner in the NASCAR Cup Series with the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE piloted by Erik Jones and the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE driven by John Hunter Nemechek. Johnson also races on a limited basis in the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE. With NASCAR legend and Hall of Famer Richard Petty, “The King”, serving as CLUB Ambassador, LEGACY MC blends timeless racing traditions with a new forward-thinking vision. As an inclusive community for motorsport enthusiasts, LEGACY MC honors both its storied past and the promising future of its members, always striving for victory and championship glory at the pinnacle of NASCAR competition.

• In 28 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Spire Motorsports has logged one top five, four top 10s and one pole award. Corey LaJoie owns the team’s best finish, a fourth-place effort earned in October 2023. Spire Motorsports fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the Cup Series with Daniel Suarez, Michael McDowell and Carson Hocevar, respectively.
• The Jack Link’s 500 will be televised live on FOX Sunday, April 26 beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The 10th of 36 points-paying races on the 2026 Cup Series calendar will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Daniel Suárez – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Daniel Suárez will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
• Suárez has made 18 Cup Series starts at the legendary 2.66-mile superspeedway where he has earned five top-10 and 10 top-20 results while leading 51 laps. He carries an average starting position of 20.1 and a 19.1 finishing position. His series/venue best came in Oct. 2022, when he finished eighth.
• Last spring, the 34-year-old driver qualified 24th and finished ninth. After being relegated deep in the pack as the result of a pit-road penalty, Suárez rallied to come away with a top-10 result.
• Out of Suárez’s 332 Cup Series starts, 75 have come on tracks measuring two miles or longer. In those races, he’s delivered seven top-five finishes and 20 top-10s, while leading 190 laps. This season, his performance on those speedways includes a 13th-place finish in the Daytona 500.
• Last week at Kansas Speedway, the Monterrey, Mexico native overcame team communication issues to finish 19th in the AdventHealth 400, his seventh top-20 in nine races this season.
• In NASCAR O’Reily Auto Parts Series action, the first Mexico-born driver to earn a pole on a superspeedway was at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Aside from his Daytona exploits, Suárez recorded three starts at Talladega Superspeedway where he earned two top 10s, and paced the field for five laps. He finished seventh in the 2016 Sparks Energy 300.
• After nine races, Suárez sits 16th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, second among Spire Motorsports’ three entries. The two-time Cup Series winner has one top five, two top 10s and one lap led, and is averaging a 16.6 finish—six positions better than this time last season.
• Freeway Insurance was established in 1987, Freeway Insurance is one of the largest and fastest-growing personal lines insurance brokers in the United States, offering coverage through a “click, call, or come in” approach that connects customers nationwide. The company continually researches, grows, and diversifies its product offerings to stay responsive to the evolving insurance market. Freeway provides a wide range of options—from basic to premium coverage—in auto, truck, commercial vehicle, homeowners, renters, small business, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, fire, and flood insurance. In 2008, Freeway Insurance became part of Confie, the nation’s leading personal lines insurance distribution company. Customers can access Freeway Insurance through neighborhood offices, online at www.freeway.com, or by calling (800) 300-0227.

Daniel Suárez Quote
Heading back to the second superspeedway of the season, what are your thoughts going to Talladega?
“We had strong speed at Daytona and the car drove really well, so there’s no reason to expect that to change. Our engineers and everyone on the No. 7 team put in a lot of work to keep the superspeedway package competitive. Still, we need to approach it with the right mindset and adapt to the new stage format. I expect we’ll have good speed again.”

Atop the No. 7 Box – Crew Chief Ryan Sparks

• Ryan Sparks has called 211 NASCAR Cup Series races, earning five top-five and 12 top-10 finishes since making his debut as a crew chief in 2020.
• The Winston-Salem, N.C., native’s best finish at Talladega came in October 2023, where he earned a fourth-place finish with driver Corey LaJoie. Sparks has called 12 races at Talladega and, overall, has led the charge in 45 races on superspeedway-style tracks, earning three top-five and seven top-10 finishes.
• Sparks joined Spire Motorsports in 2021, where he served as both Crew Chief and Competition Director, leading the organization’s competitive and technical efforts. In 2026, Sparks serves in a singular role as crew chief for Daniel Suárez.
• Sparks brings more than a decade of experience across all three of NASCAR’s national series, highlighted by 13 seasons at Richard Childress Racing and contributions to title-winning campaigns in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (2011) and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (2013).

Michael McDowell – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Michael McDowell will race Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 GUNK Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
• McDowell owns three top-five and four top-10 finishes at Talladega, highlighted by a pair of third-place results in May 2021 and Oct. 2022.
• Over the course of the first nine races in 2026, the 2021 Daytona 500 winner has collected one top-five, two top-10, and five top-20 finishes. To date, the veteran racer has earned an average starting position of 17.7 and a 19.8 average finish, while pacing the field for a total of 15 laps.
• McDowell qualified 14th and led 10 laps enroute to a respectable 11th-place finish in last spring’s Jack Links 500.
• The No. 71 Chevrolet will sport a bright orange and blue GUNK paint scheme this weekend. Branding for GUNK’s Engine Degreaser and Outdoor Cleaner will also be showcased on the side of McDowell’s No. 71 machine.
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• The two-time Cup Series race winner led the field to the green flag at both Talladega races in 2024 and led a combined 78 laps. Unfortunately, he was collected in late-race incidents in both events, dashing his hopes for a trip to Victory Lane.
• Across his last five attempts at the famed 2.66-mile high-banked superspeedway, McDowell has led laps in each race and paced the field for 98 laps. In 30 total Talladega Cup Series starts he has topped the scoring pylon for 100 laps, his most at any venue on the schedule. He has led the field to the green-flag in three of the last four races. Over those four starts, McDowell has earned a 4.25 average qualifying effort. Last fall, he earned Spire Motorsports’ third pole award in team history and second of the 2025 season.

Michael McDowell Quote
How will shortened stage lengths change fuel-saving strategy at Talladega?
“You’re still going to save fuel at some point. That’s going to be part of it. Probably sooner than later in comparison to the years prior. Fuel saving is just going to be part of superspeedway racing. There’s no doubt that’s part of it.
The changes in stage length will make the end of the race more exciting but we’ll still want to bring home as many stage points as possible. I will say, making the last stage shorter should make things more ‘hammer-down’ in the end. Leading into Stage 3, you’re still going to want the shortest stop you can get. That’s just going to be a part of what we do. Regardless, I feel really good about our chances going into this weekend. We have had a ton of speed here in the past, sat on the pole a few times, led a lot of laps, and had some shots to win the race, but ended up wrecked or just short of the checkered. I’m ready to get there with GUNK and have a shot at it, especially with how Carson (Hocevar) and I worked together in the Daytona 500.”

Atop the No. 71 Box – Crew Chief Travis Peterson

• Travis Peterson, 34, is the crew chief of Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series and calls the shots for driver Michael McDowell.
• As a race engineer at JR Motorsports, Peterson played a key role in Regan Smith’s 2013 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win at Talladega where Smith survived a late-race, multi-car incident to win in a three-wide finish.
• The West Bend, Wis., native earned his first Cup Series victory at Talladega Superspeedway in May 2015 as a race engineer at Hendrick Motorsports, working alongside crew chief Greg Ives and driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr., on the No. 88 team. After qualifying fourth, Earnhardt, Jr., led 67 laps en route to the win.
• Peterson led McDowell to back-to-back pole awards at Talladega in 2024. The potent Peterson/McDowell combination backed up their 2024 efforts by winning their third pole in four Talladega races last fall.

Carson Hocevar – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Carson Hocevar will race Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Chili’s Ride the ‘DenteTM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, marking his sixth start in NASCAR’s premier division at the famed Alabama tri-oval.
• It’s time to Ride the ‘DenteTM … Again’te! The black, white and red Chili’s® Grill & Bar design returns this weekend, a livery featuring pepper vines crawling across the top and sides, a homage to Chili’s founder Larry Lavine and the fashion sense he displayed in the early days of the 50-year-old restaurant brand.
• Through nine races, Hocevar sits 12th in points, 27 points out of ninth. His two top fives, three top 10s, 237 points scored, average starting position of 10.9 and 15.4 average finish are all career highs through the first nine points-paying races of the 2026 season. The team’s average starting position thus far is seven positions higher than this point in 2025, and its average finish is eight positions better.
• Last Sunday at Kansas Speedway, Hocevar was racing inside the top 10 until a late-race caution extended the race into NASCAR Overtime. After pitting for four fresh Goodyear Racing Eagles, Hocevar restarted 16th and picked up three more spots to come home 13th when the checkered flag waved.
• The 2024 Cup Series Rookie of the Year owns five previous Cup Series starts at Talladega, where he’s tallied two top-10 and four top-20 finishes, including back-to-back sixth-place results in 2025.
• In 15 combined Cup Series starts at Atlanta, Daytona and Talladega – all drafting-style racetracks – Hocevar has notched two top fives, five top 10s and 11 top 20s.
• In three Talladega starts in CRAFTSMAN Truck Series competition, the Portage, Mich., native collected a venue-best 11th-place finish in 2023.
• Aside from his NASCAR Cup Series duties, Hocevar will compete in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series races Friday and Saturday night at the Talladega Short Track, a 0.33-mile dirt oval just across Speedway Boulevard from the traditional 2.66-mile superspeedway. He will drive a Spire Motorsports-owned No. 77 Longhorn race car sponsored by Chili’s for the Alabama Gang 100 weekend. This is the same car Hocevar raced at the Gateway Dirt Nationals in St. Louis, Mo., last December.
• Hocevar, who grew up racing pavement late models, has competed in 10 dirt late model events, qualifying for six A-main feature races and earning a career-best sixth-place finish at Eldora (Ohio) Speedway in June 2023 during a Dirt Late Model Dream preliminary feature.
• Hocevar made his first and only World of Outlaws Late Model Series start November 2, 2022, during the World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
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Carson Hocevar Quotes
How do you believe handling matters compared to speed at Talladega? Furthermore, how do you utilize the drivers around you to make moves?
“A good handling car helps you take a push, which is really important to moving your line forward. Ultimately, you hope you don’t get a push at the wrong time. If there is a big gap and you have guys pushing three deep behind you, it’s really easy to get turned off their bumper if your car isn’t handling right. You’re just hoping you get the right push and know your stuff is handling as good as possible when you take that push.

“In today’s racing, it is tough because you rely on those around you. Everybody kind of helps everybody most of the race, but when it gets close to the end, they look for who their friends are and who they can trust. For me, it is different than a normal weekend where you can just be on offense the whole time. You need friends at Talladega to help you move forward.”

Talk about the opportunity to not only have Chili’s supporting your Cup Series car this weekend, but also on the dirt late model.
“I’m excited about it. We finally have a dirt late model race close to where we are for the weekend. We have had a few sprint car events close by, and it has been fun to go out and support Gio (Scelzi) and the team, but I am ready to go racing. It is too easy and too much fun not to do, and this will kind of jump start our dirt late model schedule for the year. It is super cool that Chili’s will be not only on the Cup car, but also the dirt car, all in one weekend. I know they are excited, and hopefully we can put on a good show for them three days in a row.”

Atop the No. 77 Box – Crew Chief Luke Lambert

• Crew chief Luke Lambert is in his third season at Spire Motorsports and fourth with driver Carson Hocevar. The duo has logged one pole award, five top-five and 18 top-10 finishes in 89 races together.
• The 16-year veteran crew chief has called 25 NASCAR Cup Series races at Talladega, earning four top fives and nine top 10s, highlighted by runner-up finishes with drivers Jeff Burton and Ryan Newman in Oct. 2011 and 2017, respectively. He tacks on an additional pair of top fives with Burton during his time as a race engineer at Richard Childress Racing.
• The Mount Airy, N.C., native has been atop the war wagon for three NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races at Talladega, earning three top-10 results including a victory with Noah Gragson in April 2022. He also led Elliott Sadler to the pole position in May 2012.

About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports fields full-time entries in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing.

The team, co-owned by longtime NASCAR industry executive Jeff Dickerson and TWG Motorsports CEO Dan Towriss, earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado to its inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win on April 7, 2022, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent win came on Feb. 21, 2026, when Kyle Busch took the checkered flag at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

In 2026, Spire Motorsports campaigns the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the NASCAR Cup Series and the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverado RSTs in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The Mooresville, N.C., organization also fields the No. 77 410 sprint car in Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing competition.

TALLADEGA 1
Saturday, April 25 – NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, 4 p.m. ET (CW)
Sunday, April 26– NASCAR Cup Series, 3 p.m. ET (FOX)

Austin Cindric is the defending winner of this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, continuing a decade-long streak of success for Ford Racing and Team Penske. Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 is the headline event of the weekend, following Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Ag-Pro 300.

CINDRIC GOING FOR REPEAT WIN

Austin Cindric came out with the lead following a late-race green flag pit cycle and was able to outduel fellow Ford driver Ryan Preece at the finish line to win last year’s Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Cindric and Preece exchanged the lead five times over the final seven laps with Cindric driving the inside lane and Preece the outside. Cindric, who led five times for seven laps, ended up winning by .022 seconds. The win also marked the 200th Cup Series points victory for Roush Yates Engines.

TALLADEGA GOOD FOR FORD AND BLANEY

Ford’s Ryan Blaney has won three times at Talladega Superspeedway, which is a personal best and one of five tracks where he has registered multiple victories. Phoenix, Daytona, Martinsville and Pocono are the others with two wins each. Blaney’s streak started with consecutive triumphs, winning the playoff race in 2019 and then the following event in the spring of 2020. He capped off the streak in 2023 with a dramatic photo finish victory over fellow Ford driver, Kevin Harvick. The win marked Ford’s 12th win at the superspeedway in the previous 19 races, which included a seven-race winning streak from 2015-18.

DECADE OF EXCELLENCE

Ford and Team Penske have won 11 of the last 23 NCS races at Talladega Superspeedway. Brad Keselowski started this run by winning in 2014 and registered four victories at the track before joining Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing in 2022. Joey Logano won in back-to-back seasons (2015-16) while Ryan Blaney followed suit, winning three times in a five year span (2019-23). Austin Cindric became the fourth Team Penske driver to reach Victory Lane when he won this event a year ago.

TEAM PENSKE WINS AT TALLADEGA SINCE 2014

2014 – Brad Keselowski (Talladega 2)

2015 – Joey Logano (Talladega 2)

2016 – Brad Keselowski (Talladega 1)

2016 – Joey Logano (Talladega 2)

2017 – Brad Keselowski (Talladega 2)

2018 – Joey Logano (Talladega 1)

2019 – Ryan Blaney (Talladega 2)

2020 – Ryan Blaney (Talladega 1)

2021 – Brad Keselowski (Talladega 1)

2023 – Ryan Blaney (Talladega 2)

2025 – Austin Cindric (Talladega 1)

KESELOWSKI ACTIVE TALLADEGA WIN LEADER

Brad Keselowski is the winningest active driver at Talladega with six NASCAR Cup Series victories and is tied for second on the all-time list with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon. In 34 career starts at the Speedway, Keselowski has 17 top-10 and 12 top-five finishes, including a pair of back-to-back second-place runs in 2024. The track’s all-time winner is Dale Earnhardt Sr., who won 10 times during his NASCAR Hall of Fame career.

SITTING ON 749

The next Ford win will be its 750th all-time in NASCAR’s top series. Ned Jarrett is Ford’s win leader with 43 while Bill Elliott is second with 40. Shirtless Jimmy Florian scored the Blue Oval’s first series victory when he upset the likes of Lee Petty, Curtis Turner and Joe Weatherly at Dayton Speedway on June 25, 1950. Florian earned his nickname after getting out of his 1950 flathead Ford without a shirt. Overall, 91 drivers have won at least one series race with Ford, including notable drivers Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, A.J. Foyt, Richard Petty, and Dale Earnhardt.

RYAN BLANEY

THE SUCCESS YOU HAVE HAD AT TALLADEGA. WILL THAT CHANGE WITH NASCAR BREAKING UP THE STAGES? “I don’t know if it’ll change much. I think you just have to figure out a new approach to how you want to go about it. How do you want to go about the different lengths and stuff like that. You’re still gonna be wanting to come out in the top three or four rows. I mean, that’s just kind of what it is there, so we’ll adjust to it and try to figure out the best way to do it and you just hope you hit it right. One thing I do know is that we’ve been consistent there because we’re bringing really fast cars and that’s a huge part of it. I have no doubt we’re gonna do that again and then just hope we hit the strategy side right and hopefully I do my job correctly on that side.”

DO YOU THINK THERE WAS TOO MUCH RIDING AROUND IN THE EARLY STAGES? “Yeah. I personally despise the fuel save stuff. I think any driver does. It’s an interesting strategy play, but, to me, it’s like you’re not racing the whole time. You are racing, but not 100 percent and you’re forced to do it because it’s what everyone else is doing and you have to do that to keep track position. That’s the game that it has become, but I’m not a big fan of that. I hope what NASCAR is doing by taking action on it is good. We’ll see where that goes.”

MARTIN LEFT HIS MARK

Mark Martin is the only Ford driver to have won in all three of the major series offered by NASCAR at Talladega. Martin won the Cup series race in 1995 and 1997, O’Reilly in 1996 and lastly in the Truck series’ debut 2006 event. Current blue-oval branded driver Joey Logano (2015 O’Reilly) has won in both the Cup and O’Reilly series, most recently sharing a sweep of the 2018 Cup doubleheader. David Ragan is also a part of the list, having won a Cup race in 2013 and an O’Reilly event in 2009.

DAVEY ALLISON’S FIRST WIN

Ford has had many milestone moments at Talladega Superspeedway, including the first NASCAR Cup Series win for the late Davey Allison, who won the Winston 500 on May 3, 1987. The race came down to a restart with 10 laps to go in which Allison found himself behind Dale Earnhardt in the outside lane. Earnhardt bolted to the lead when the green flew and Allison tucked in behind him through turns one and two. As they came off the second corner, Allison went to the inside and easily passed Earnhardt for what proved to be the winning move. Terry Labonte ended up finishing second with Earnhardt third. Allison went on to win 19 NCS races, including three at Talladega.

ROBERT YATES RACING’S FINAL WIN

When Dale Jarrett won the UAW-Ford 500 on Oct. 2, 2005 it marked his final trip to victory lane for Robert Yates Racing. This race came down to a green-white-checker restart, where Jarrett was positioned fourth. He was still in that spot when they came around to start the final lap, but quickly moved to the outside as Tony Stewart grabbed the lead on the inside lane. The two drivers battled side-by-side down the backstretch before Jarrett powered his way in front. Seconds after getting the lead, Kyle Petty was involved in a single-car accident that brought out the caution as the cars entered turn three. Jarrett was declared the winner after NASCAR verified that he was in front at the time the yellow flag was thrown. The win was RYR’s 57th triumph in the NASCAR Cup Series, and came six years after the team won its only championship with Jarrett in 1999.

FORD’S NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS

AT TALLADEGA

1975 – Buddy Baker (Sweep)

1976 – Buddy Baker (1)

1979 – Bobby Allison (1)

1983 – Dale Earnhardt (2)

1985 – Bill Elliott and Cale Yarborough

1987 – Dave Allison and Bill Elliott

1989 – Davey Allison and Terry Labonte

1992 – Davey Allison (1)

1994 – Jimmy Spencer (2)

1995 – Mark Martin (1)

1997 – Mark Martin (1)

1998 – Dale Jarrett (2)

2005 – Dale Jarrett (2)

2009 – Jamie McMurray (2)

2012 – Matt Kenseth (2)

2013 – David Ragan (1)

2014 – Brad Keselowski (2)

2015 – Joey Logano (2)

2016 – Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano

2017 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Brad Keselowski

2018 – Joey Logano and Aric Almirola

2019 – Ryan Blaney (2)

2020 – Ryan Blaney (1)

2021 – Brad Keselowski (1)

2023 – Ryan Blaney (2)

2025 – Austin Cindric (1)

FORD’S NOAPS WINNERS AT TALLADEGA

1995 – Chad Little

1997 – Mark Martin

2002 – Jason Keller

2009 – David Ragan

2015 – Joey Logano

2017 – Aric Almirola

The Ford Mustang is the world’s best selling sports car and one of its most popular race cars. With Mustang-based race cars competing in international sports car competition (GT3 and GT4), NASCAR, NHRA, Formula Drift, in Supercars, at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and in its own bespoke regional one-make series – Mustang Cup and Mustang Challenge – the platform has an unprecedented global reach. This weekend, 23 Mustang race cars are scheduled to race across all disciplines. Learn more about Mustang at www.FordRacing.com .

Cody Ware Brings Super.com Chevy to NASCAR’s Biggest Superspeedway

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 21, 2026) – When your best career finish has come at a superspeedway and you’ve led laps in the last three superspeedway races, the potential a superspeedway offers is palpable.

Cody Ware, driver of the No. 51 Super.com Chevrolet, can feel it. It’s not hyperbole. It’s pragmatic.

“It’s a place where we have a really good shot to win a race. It boils down to that,” Ware said.

There are two superspeedways on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule – the 2.5-mile Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and the bigger, 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Even with the high banks featured at both venues containing cars traveling at nearly 200 mph, these tracks provide a level playing field. Horsepower, aerodynamics and handling all still matter, but the draft is the great equalizer.

The draft creates pack racing, and drivers can’t outrun the pack on their own. They have to rely on others, specifically the gaggle of cars around them and their collective aerodynamics, to gain speed. By tucking in tightly behind one another, drivers reduce the amount of air resistance on their cars. It’s a high-speed chess match where side drafting, bump drafting and strategic line selection determine who moves forward and who gets shuffled back.

“Every time we go to Talladega and Daytona, we inch that much closer to really being in contention for the win,” said Ware, who earned his career-best finish of fourth in the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona. “The last couple of races, the end result didn’t reflect our work. Leading laps and being up front, that’s become more consistent each time we’ve been out on track. It’s momentum, and it’s grown my confidence and grown the team’s confidence.”

Two months after the season-opening Daytona 500 brought pack racing to a nationwide TV audience of 7.489 million, pack racing is back this Sunday at Talladega with the Jack Link’s 500. For Ware, it means being back in contention to win.

“It takes talent, it takes skill, and it takes consistency to run well at Talladega. It’s a chance for challenger teams like ours to be competitive and fight for a win,” Ware said.

There have been 11 different winners in the last 11 NASCAR Cup Series races at Talladega. It’s the longest streak of races without a repeat winner in the track’s 61-year history. Additionally, Talladega has produced 12 different first-time winners. Ware would like to be the 13th.

“We’ve focused a lot of time and energy on our superspeedway program,” Ware said. “Being an alliance partner with RCR (Richard Childress Racing) and having those ECR engines has really been an asset. Kyle Busch showed how fast these Chevrolets are at the superspeedways when he won the pole for the Daytona 500. It’s definitely moved the needle for us. We’ve got a lot of Chevrolet teammates, which means good people to work with and draft with throughout the race. All those things matter when it comes to putting it together on Sunday.”

While Daytona and Talladega are both superspeedways and are often talked about in the same breath, there are differences.

“You have a lot more room at Talladega, so the aggression level starts off a lot higher there because you can go three-wide pretty easily. Even four-wide is doable,” Ware said. “Anytime you’re four-wide at Daytona, you’re on pins and needles. At Talladega, you can run four-wide simply because there’s room for it, but that also means there are some bold moves happening. I feel like the ‘Big One’ tends to happen a little bit earlier at Talladega compared to Daytona.”

The Big One is the habitual multicar accident that dashes any hope of victory and leaves drivers with just a handful of points and teams with garages full of mangled parts. There are two strategies drivers use to avoid it – get up front and stay up front, or hang at the back and bide time until the last 30 laps.

“I think it all comes down to what the tone of the race is,” said Ware about which strategy he will employ on Sunday. “Once the green flag drops, we want to make sure we’ve got a good racecar, so I’d like to get up to the front and lead some laps. Once we know we’ve got a good piece, we kind of go into defense mode. We still want to race hard and get some stage points, but the most important thing is to be there at the end.”

Getting to the end of the race on Sunday means navigating a new wrinkle to the race’s format.

Stage racing remains, but instead of the first stage being short, it will be the longest of the race (98 laps). The final two stages will be 45 laps apiece. For comparison, the typical stage lengths for Talladega have been 60 laps, 60 laps and 68 laps. This NASCAR update was made to reduce fuel savings and promote unbridled, foot-to-the-floor power, the way the internal combustion gods intended.

“We’re getting the fuel-mileage racing out of the way early so for those last 100 laps, we’re hammer down and putting on a show,” Ware said. “Once the first stage is over, you’re not going to see much riding around. There’s too much at stake. Every position matters – for stage points and for the win.”

The Jack Link’s 500 goes green at 2 p.m. CDT/3 p.m. EDT on Sunday with live coverage by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

About Rick Ware Racing:

Rick Ware has been a motorsports mainstay for more than 40 years. It began at age 6 when the third-generation racer began his driving career and has since spanned four wheels and two wheels on both asphalt and dirt. Competing in the SCCA Trans Am Series and other road-racing divisions led Ware to NASCAR in the early 1980s, where he finished third in his NASCAR debut – the 1983 Warner W. Hodgdon 300 NASCAR Grand American race at Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway. In 1995, Rick Ware Racing was formed, and with wife Lisa by his side, Ware transitioned out of the driver’s seat and into fulltime team ownership. He has since built his eponymous organization into an entity that competes full-time in the elite NASCAR Cup Series while simultaneously campaigning winning teams in the Top Fuel class of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, Progressive American Flat Track (AFT), FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX) and zMAX CARS Tour.