Austin Cindric held off Ryan Preece at the line to win the Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, notching the first victory of 2025 for the No. 2 Team Penske Ford Mustang.
While plenty of other competitors brought home strong performances, some left a little more to be desired at the end of the 500-mile event. With a trip to the Lone Star State on deck, here are our picks for three drivers up and three drivers down after race 10 of the season:
RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Talladega | Preece, Logano DQ’d
THREE UP ⬆️
1. Kyle Larson
Started: 25th
Finished: 2nd
What happened: Larson started Sunday strong with a Stage 1 victory, granting him the Cup Series record for most stage wins of all time per NASCAR Insights. Battling his teammates down the stretch, the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet scored his seventh top-10 run of 2025, backing up his Bristol win with a second-place finish at Talladega. It’s Larson’s second consecutive top five at the Alabama superspeedway; before last fall, he went four consecutive Talladega events finishing outside the top 15.
What’s next: Texas Motor Speedway is on deck as the Cup Series returns to 1.5-mile racing action for 400 miles. As Larson looks to tally his third victory of the year, historically, Texas has been a bit of a mixed bag for the Elk Grove, California, native. He won the playoff race at the track in 2021, but has finished 21st or worse in his last two starts there.
2. Noah Gragson
Started: 27th
Finished: 4th
What happened: Gragson’s No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford started toward the back in 27th, but the 26-year-old found the front of the field when it mattered most for his second top-10 finish of 2025 by helping the outside line edge forward and ultimately finishing in the sixth position (fourth after the DQs).
What’s next: Gragson will aim to improve his mile-and-a-half performance at Texas. He has struggled so far this year, finishing outside the top 15 at both Las Vegas and Homestead-Miami since joining FRM. Perhaps this momentum can continue to propel him to the front.
3. Chase Elliott
Started: 30th
Finished: 5th
What happened: Despite qualifying down the order, Chase Elliott managed to quickly navigate his way to the front, securing stage points with a fourth-place finish in Stage 1 and joining his Hendrick Motorsports cohorts in the top 10 at the end of the 500-mile event, slotting in at sixth (fifth after the DQs).
What’s next: Elliott and his No. 9 team head to the site of their only win in his 2024 season, Texas Motor Speedway. Scoring his sixth top-10 finish of 2025 at Talladega could be the push of momentum that the 2020 Cup Series champion needs to return to Victory Lane next weekend.
THREE DOWN ⬇️
1. Christopher Bell
Started: 11th
Finished: 35th (DNF)
What happened: A promising day for Bell quickly turned sour after spinning from the lead off the bumper of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, sending the No. 20 into the inside wall during Stage 1. The incident also collected RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher in the process, ending the day for both drivers.
What’s next: Bell, who has three wins in a row on three different style race tracks in 2025, will look to return to his winning form at Texas Motor Speedway to claim his second win on a 1.5-mile surface. In six starts at Texas, Bell has three top fives but finished 17th there last spring.
2. Ryan Blaney
Started: 9th
Finished: 37th (DNF)
What happened: Blaney’s No. 12 Ford was involved in the first incident of the afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway as Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch crashed getting onto pit road in Stage 1, leaving Blaney with nowhere to go and ending the day before it could ultimately get started. Blaney was credited with a 37th-place finish, marking his fourth DNF in the last seven races.
What’s next: Blaney’s two previous races at Texas Motor Speedway have ended with finishes outside of the top 20, a stat that the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion will look to change as the premier series heads southwest next weekend. He’s recorded top 10s in eight of his 16 starts there, meaning the odds of a change likely fall in his favor.
3. Kyle Busch
Started: 2nd
Finished: 27th
What happened: Busch’s Talladega Superspeedway race showed promise late in the 188-lap high-speed chess match. After starting on the outside front row, he overcame damage suffered from the first caution of the race. However, it was ultimately the money stop that ended up bankrupting the No. 8 Chevrolet’s chances at victory as a speeding penalty at Lap 172 resulted in a 27th-place finish.
What’s next: Busch rolls into the weekend at Texas with four career victories at the mile-and-a-half race track. A top-10 finish from a year ago and a less-than-ideal Talladega race could motivate Busch to Victory Lane for his first win in nearly two years.
