Kyle Larson bested the field in a big way on April 13 at Bristol Motor Speedway and carries all the momentum coming out of the Cup Series off-weekend. But Talladega is a different animal and could give other former champions, such as Ryan Blaney, an opportunity for win No. 1 this season.
NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 Cup Series contenders after the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway and before Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
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Analysis: Few drivers in the sport can take charge of a race and just flat-out dominate the way Larson has at Bristol, twice in a row now, and the rest of the garage has to wonder how they’re gonna beat this guy. Thankfully for them, Talladega is the great equalizer, and as his four top 10s there in 20 tries suggest: He’s incredible but not infallible.
Analysis: Hamlin did everything right — and everything he could — to match teammate Christopher Bell’s 2025 feat of three straight wins but fell just short of accomplishing the task after a runner-up finish to Larson. Still, he’s off to one of his best starts ever and heads to a track where he’s won twice with a style of racing at which he tends to excel.
Analysis: While Byron failed to lead his first laps at Bristol — to be fair, his teammate didn’t exactly help to accommodate that — he did turn in his fifth top-six finish in the past seven races to keep a healthy points lead atop the standings. After some misfires in his early career at Talladega, he’s been sneaky good in the Next Gen and has an average finish there of 7.7 since 2022.
Analysis: Bristol felt like a bit of a quiet race for Bell, but No. 20 did wind up scoring the third-most points of the afternoon behind Larson and Hamlin. He’ll look to carry momentum from three straight top 10s into Talladega, where he has just three of them in his 10 career starts.
Analysis: Blaney nearly lucked into a win at Bristol, had a late caution flown after he inherited the lead while Larson pitted late, but alas … luck has not favored the No. 12 through nine 2025 races. Pure speed and talent weigh a little heavier in this sport, though, and Blaney’s had plenty of that this year and also at ‘Dega, where he’s won thrice.
Analysis: His 22 points at Bristol are tied for the fewest Elliott has scored in a race this season as he’s starting to slightly trend downward. Nothing major and nothing that a trip to Talladega — where he’s won twice and led laps in 10 of the last 12 — can’t fix, however.
Analysis: While Reddick is already sporting what would be a career-best 12.4 average finish, it’s notable that he’s on pace for just 16 top 10s after posting 21 last year. It’s quite possible he hasn’t fully gotten going yet, however, and as the defending Talladega winner, we could see that start next weekend.
Analysis: We’re officially a quarter of the way through the entire season, so it feels fair to wonder what, exactly, is behind the defending champion having just one top 10 so far and being on pace for his worst average finish since 2011. Logano and Penske have proven time and again that early-season returns do not indicate eventual championship chances, but if No. 22 still ain’t right at Talladega — where the three-time track winner will be inducted into the Walk of Fame next weekend — perhaps the alarm bells will ring a bit louder.
Analysis: For all the “Bubba’s off to a hot start” buzz that was out there, it’s jarring to now look at his stats at the quarter pole and see that he’s on pace for fewer top 10s than last year and his worst average finish since 2022. Still, he’s eighth in points (which would be a career-best) as we head to one of the two tracks where he’s won. Could be worse.
Analysis: Chastain continues to just flat-out wheel it despite not quite having the oomph in his car, grinding out an ugly, 35th-place qualifying run into a P7 at Bristol. His overall Talladega record isn’t stellar, but we know he can get it done there (2022 spring win), and his aggressive nature should come in handy when we return to the track.
Analysis: Buescher has five top 10s this year, but only two have come consecutively as No. 17 looks strong at times but has struggled to maintain consistency so far. Daytona’s been a strong track for him but the superspeedway success hasn’t quite translated to ‘Dega for Buescher, though he did land a P3 in this race two years ago.
Analysis: Briscoe did recently mention he felt he was one-to-two weeks away from things really clicking in his fresh tenure at JGR, and as one of three cars the team put in the Bristol top four, it appears the time has come. Six of Briscoe’s eight Talladega results ended in top 15s, so he could keep it rolling, too.
Analysis: Thankfully for Bowman, the Bristol pole winner stayed in the race long enough to collect stage points to buffer an otherwise disappointing result (37th) after his engine expired. That’s three rough endings in a row for him after starting the season brilliantly, as he now heads to a track at which he’s averaged a 22.4 finish.
Analysis: After looking quite strong for a three-race stretch in March, Preece has dipped a bit again with finishes in the 20s the past two, and his fewest points scored since COTA coming at Bristol. That said, it’s tough to count out any driver who once raced at Talladega in a Wonder Bread scheme — and scored his best track finish in doing so — and he could get back on the horse down in Alabama.
Analysis: Only nine drivers finished on the lead lap at Bristol, and how many people out there before the weekend would’ve penciled in Allmendinger to be one of them? Probably not many, but he continues to be slept on as his Cup return has now seen three top 10s in the past five races — none of which, notably, were road courses. The somewhat recent Xfinity Series winner at Talladega could make a little noise here.
Analysis: Busch did finally turn in his first Bristol finish better than 20th since 2020, but it’s a far cry from the days of him sweeping tripleheaders at the track as the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing entry still appears to be missing some sizzle. The two-time champ did win the Talladega spring race with this bunch just two seasons ago, so maybe the week off and return to a happy place rekindles some magic.
Analysis: Berry did stop the bleeding a bit with a 25-point, 12th-place Bristol finish, but all that momentum from a Vegas win is all but washed away, with no top 10s in the month since. That said, the sophomore actually led a handful of laps at ‘Dega in his first shot in Cup last year in this race before settling in 16th.
Analysis: That’s more like it. Perhaps no driver in the field has had a greater divide between expectations vs. results, but things did seem to click for Gibbs at Bristol, where he had easily his best run of the year. It’s a step in the right direction, but we’ll need to see more to consider him a true contender, and it may be hard to keep it rolling at a track (Talladega) that he has no top 10s at with just one finish better than 22nd in five tries.
Analysis: There was a lot of hope Stenhouse, starting on the front row at one of his best tracks, could turn in his second top 10 of the year, but alas … nil. Thankfully for him, we now head to another of his best tracks — one where he is the most recent winner and averaged a 2.5 finish last year.
Analysis: McDowell is in the confusing spot of thus far cultivating his second-best average finish ever … while also failing to secure a single top-10 finish to date in 2025. He’s become a threat on more and more tracks the past few years, but part of his bread-and-butter will always be superspeedways, and it wouldn’t be the biggest shock to see him win when we get back to action.