Austin Cindric earned his first win of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Sequence season at Talladega, beating Ryan Preece to the road by 0.022 seconds to assert the third victory of his Cup Sequence profession. With 10 of 36 races full, right here’s the place the NASCAR Cup Sequence area stacks up.
(Final week: 2)
Apr 26, 2025; Talladega, Alabama, USA; NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Austin Cindric (2) and NASCAR Cup Sequence driver William Byron (24) battle for place at Talladega Superspeedway.
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Regardless of steering points that gave Byron a “sketchy” trip via the primary two levels of the race, the No. 24 group persevered and got here out of Talladega with a powerful fourth-place end. Byron additionally retained his lead within the factors standings after Talladega, main his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson by 31 factors.
2. Kyle Larson
(Final week: 3)
Apr 26, 2025; Talladega, Alabama, USA; NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Kyle Larson (5) and NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Alex Bowman (48) go into flip one at Talladega Superspeedway.
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Two weeks faraway from his dominant displaying at Bristol, Larson drove what might simply be thought-about the most effective superspeedway race of his profession. Larson held off the pack to win Stage 1, completed third in Stage 2 and completed the race in third earlier than being bumped as much as a second-place end result because of the disqualification of Ryan Preece. With a terrific stretch of tracks on the horizon for the No. 5 group, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Larson within the No. 1 spot quickly.
(Final week: 1)
Apr 26, 2025; Talladega, Alabama, USA; NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Chase Briscoe (19), NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Christopher Bell (20), and NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Denny Hamlin (11) battle for place at Talladega Superspeedway.
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A late block from Ross Chastain as Hamlin’s pack tried to catch the leaders dashed no matter hopes Hamlin had of attending to the entrance. A Twenty first-place end isn’t indicative of the pace the No. 11 had on Sunday, however there’s no purpose to fret within the Hamlin camp. He ought to have loads of alternatives to get again to victory lane over the following month.
(Final week: 6)
Apr 26, 2025; Talladega, Alabama, USA; NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Riley Herbst (35) and NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Tyler Reddick (45) battle for place at Talladega Superspeedway.
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Reddick solely strikes up because of the misfortune of those that have been above him, as a 14th-place end wasn’t something particular for the defending winner of the Talladega spring race. Like Larson, the following stretch of races traces up effectively for Reddick and the No. 45 group as they go for his or her first win of 2025.
(Final Week: 8)
Apr 26, 2025; Talladega, Alabama, USA; NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Chase Elliott runs a qualifying lap throughout Jack Hyperlink’s 500 qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway.
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Like Reddick, Elliott primarily strikes up because of the misfortune of those that have been instantly above him within the rankings. It was one other quiet day for the 2020 champion, who completed fourth in Stage 1 and is credited with a fifth-place end after each Preece and Joey Logano have been disqualified. Regardless of a 12 months during which he hasn’t been in rivalry to win a race but, Elliott is as constant as ever and is fourth within the standings.
(Final week: 4)
Apr 26, 2025; Talladega, Alabama, USA; NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Christopher Bell comes out of flip three at Talladega Superspeedway.
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Regardless of all of the people within the Talladega infield who partied too arduous this weekend, Bell left the speedway with the most important headache of anybody. A vicious hit in a Lap 52 crash took Bell out of the race, however there’s no purpose for the No. 20 group to fret about something aside from ensuring their driver is one hundred pc going into the Could 4 race at Texas.
(Final week: 9)
Apr 26, 2025; Talladega, Alabama, USA; NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Alex Bowman (48) comes into pit row after his qualifying lap at Talladega Superspeedway.
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After a stretch of three straight finishes of twenty seventh or worse, Bowman and the No. 48 group bought again on observe with a seventh-place end at Talladega. It’s secure to say the off weekend was a welcome one for Bowman as he appears to be like to start out one other string of top-10 runs.
(Final week: 5)
Apr 27, 2025; Talladega, Alabama, USA; Technicians for NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Ryan Blaney put together for the race earlier than stage one of many NASCAR: Jack Hyperlink’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
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Like Bell, Blaney wasn’t even allowed to race for the win due to an early crash. A wreck throughout inexperienced flag pit stops on Lap 43 took Blaney out of the race at considered one of his finest tracks. It’s additionally the fourth DNF of the 2025 season for Blaney, who nonetheless sits eighth within the standings regardless of not ending 40 % of the races run thus far in 2025.
(Final week: 11)
Apr 26, 2025; Talladega, Alabama, USA; NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Bubba Wallace shares a lighter second together with his group after his run throughout Jack Hyperlink’s 500 qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway.
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After ending Twenty first at Darlington and nineteenth at Bristol, Wallace and the No. 23 group additionally bought again on observe at Talladega. Wallace completed fifth in Stage 1, gained Stage 2 and ended up ending eighth. Wallace is seventh within the Cup Sequence standings and has an 86-point cushion to the playoff minimize line as he continues to take pleasure in his finest begin to a season in his Cup Sequence profession.
10. Ross Chastain
(Final week: 7)
Apr 26, 2025; Talladega, Alabama, USA; NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Ross Chastain goes into flip 4 at Talladega Superspeedway.
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Chastain might solely muster a Twentieth-place end at Talladega, however he did lead 11 laps and confirmed respectable pace. The subsequent month might be essential for the No. 1 group, and could possibly be the purpose of the season the place they solidify themselves as both a darkish horse playoff menace or a group that gained’t be taken critically as a championship contender.
(Final week: 10)
Apr 26, 2025; Talladega, Alabama, USA; NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Chase Briscoe goes into flip 4 at Talladega Superspeedway.
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Briscoe and the No. 19 put collectively a quiet day at Talladega, which isn’t all the time the worst factor. A Fifteenth-place end leaves extra to be desired, however Briscoe is twelfth within the Cup Sequence factors standings – not a foul mark contemplating how poor his begin to the season was.
(Final week: Not Ranked)
Apr 26, 2025; Talladega, Alabama, USA; NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. comes out of flip 4 throughout the Common Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway.
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It’s time for the storage to start out taking discover of Stenhouse, who completed twelfth on Sunday and is barely seven factors out of a playoff spot. The 2023 Daytona 500 champion has six top-20 finishes via the primary 10 races of the season. After a disappointing 2024 marketing campaign, the No. 47 group is again to the place they have been in 2023, after they have been contained in the playoff image for a lot of the common season, even with out the Daytona 500 win that assured them a berth.
13. Austin Cindric
(Final week: Not Ranked)
Apr 27, 2025; Talladega, Alabama, USA; NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Austin Cindric waves the checkered flag for the followers on a victory lap after successful the NASCAR: Jack Hyperlink’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
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Cindric’s third profession win provides the fourth-year driver his third playoff berth in his fourth Cup Sequence season. After a serious penalty following an incident at COTA dropped Cindric to thirty fifth within the standings, he and the No. 2 have bounced again. Following their win on Sunday, Cindric is 14th, however in contrast to the opposite drivers round him, he doesn’t have to fret in regards to the playoff bubble.
14. AJ Allmendinger
(Final week: 15)
Apr 26, 2025; Talladega, Alabama, USA; NASCAR Cup Sequence driver AJ Allmendinger goes into flip 4 at Talladega Superspeedway.
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Allmendinger solely completed twenty fourth on Sunday, however he did earn 5 stage factors and is at the moment holding on to the sixteenth and ultimate provisional playoff spot. Allmendinger and the No. 16 group have been quietly spectacular this season, and because the summer season schedule heats up, they’re out to show that their quick begin is not any fluke.
(Final week: Not Ranked)
Apr 26, 2025; Talladega, Alabama, USA; The headgear of NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Carson Hocevar sits in wait on his automotive throughout Jack Hyperlink’s 500 qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway.
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Don’t look now, however Hocevar is as much as Twentieth within the standings following his sixth-place end at Talladega on Sunday. It was a rocky begin to 2025 for the No. 77 group, however the pace is starting to point out because the circuit heads to Texas, the place Hocevar scored the primary top-10 of his Cup Sequence profession in 2024.
16. Joey Logano
(Final week: 12)
Apr 26, 2025; Talladega, Alabama, USA; NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Joey Logano (22) and NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Ryan Preece (60) go into flip one at Talladega Superspeedway.
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Logano had pace on Sunday, as a second-place end in Stage 2 and a fifth-place end within the race proved. Sadly, the three-time Cup Sequence champion was disqualified in post-race inspection, relegating him to a Thirty ninth-place end. Whereas Logano nonetheless sits eleventh within the factors standings, it’s secure to say the championship hangover has bit him – no defending champion has gone this lengthy right into a season with out a top-five end since 1950, which was simply the second 12 months of Cup Sequence competitors.
