Posted on by Holly Cain

TALLADEGA, Ala. —  As Sammy Smith walked away from the interviews and Victory Lane celebrations following an overtime win in Friday night’s NASCAR truck race at Talladega Superspeedway, he smiled and promised there would be no post-race party because he had a race to win Saturday.

And he did just that.

The 22-year-old JR Motorsports driver snapped a 53-race winless streak in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Saturday afternoon with a dramatic last-lap pass in his No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to claim a 0.084-second win over the day’s most dominant driver, his teammate Carson Kvapil in The Progress Group 250, which served as the seventh race of The Chase presented by Mobil 1.

MORE: Race results | At-track photos: Talladega

The checkered flag lap was the only one Smith led all day as he became the first driver to win multiple series races at the famous 2.66-mile high banks since his team owner NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. did it back in April 2003.

And Smith becomes the first non-NASCAR Cup Series driver to sweep both the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and O’Reilly Series races at the same track since the late Greg Biffle at Phoenix Raceway in 2001.

“Man, that was mentally draining, just thank you to everybody,”  Smith said. “It was a great executed race by JRM and we did a good job sticking to our plan with getting those guys [Kvapil’s team] stage points. I’m sure they wanted them to win, but I had a good run there to take it and [spotter] Tyler Green did a great job up top to help me get backed up. Thanks to Jesse [Love] for pushing me.

“Really, I’m just happy for everyone on this No. 8 Chevrolet, it’s been a tough year this year and I’m looking forward to Martinsville next week,” said Smith, who announced this weekend he will be moving to the Truck Series full time in 2027 with Tricon Garage.

Kvapil, whose No. 1 JRM Chevy led a race-best 67 of the 94 laps — including 31 of the last 32 laps — was obviously disappointed in the outcome after such a strong day at the front of the field. He remains fifth in the championship run, however, and cut 20 points out of his deficit to Love, but still trails by 59 points.

“First things first, [crew chief] Rodney [Childers] and all the guys on this entire No. 1 team brought a fast race car and we’ve been if not the best car, one of the best cars at all the speedways this year,” Kvapil said. “So I knew this weekend would be a big opportunity for us to have a big points day and really eat away at that gap. We did our jobs in Stage 1 and 2 and got 19 stage points and put ourselves in position at the end, leading the race.

“You can always sit back, and hindsight is 20-20, but I don’t know. It’s hard to tell who’s going to have the momentum. … I thought overall our organization did a great job of working together better this year.”

Significant to the championship standings, Kvapil outpaced Richard Childress Racing’s Love, who started from pole position for a record fifth consecutive Talladega O’Reilly Series race and rallied to a third-place showing after a challenging afternoon that cut his lead atop the standings. With only a pair of races now remaining in the championship battle, Love’s gap to second-place Justin Allgaier closed from 36 points before the green flag to only 19 points after the checkered flag.

“I was the ‘help,’ which is fine. I realize I was a little stubborn in Stage 1 and 2,” Love said. “… Hats off to JRM and all the Hendrick engine shop cars, they knew what they were doing and executed it very well the whole race. I had zero chance really to do anything.

“You still try, still give it the ole’ college try, but I just realized there probably wasn’t one car out there that was going to push the 2, so I was like, all right, I’ll just play ball and push whoever’s in front of me and see where that puts us at the end. It was definitely a little bit frustrating for sure, but in the middle part of that race if you had told me I was going to finish third, I’d have been jumping up and down in joy.

“Happy to leave here with the [points] lead.”

Allgaier finished fourth on the day, won Stage 2 and cut his deficit to Love heading to next Saturday’s race at Martinsville Speedway — a victory of sorts for the weekend.

“I feel like this is the pace we’ve had all year,” Allgaier said. “We’ve run out front. We’ve just had things out of our control happen and honestly, that’s what makes it weird. I love this [new championship] format even though it’s kinda going against us at the moment. We just haven’t — not by our own accord — had the races go the way we wanted to. We’ve been behind, but days like today are what we need. And we’ve got to go do that next week at Martinsville and the next week at Homestead [season finale]. I’m pumped.”

Haas Factory Team driver Sheldon Creed rounded out the top five with Hendrick Motorsports rookie Corey Day finishing sixth — the top-six drivers among the 12-driver championship field.

Blaine Perkins, Dean Thompson, Chase-eligible Brandon Jones and Anthony Alfredo rounded out the top 10.

The first caution flag for an incident waved on Lap 57 for trouble at the front of the field. Harrison Burton was leading the inside lane when his No. 24 Toyota drifted high on exit. Kvapil dove to his left while Taylor Gray moved down to side draft, leading to contact between Burton and Gray. Gray spun and collected fellow Chase drivers Austin Hill and Jones, but all three remained on track and continued.

Chase contender Parker Retzlaff worked his way well inside the top 10 during Stage 1 after starting 26th. However, his No. 99 Viking Motorsports Chevrolet spun through the Turn 3 grass with five laps remaining in Stage 1, dropping Retzlaff to last place at the stage end, two laps down, as the caution flag was not displayed, his car remaining beneath the racing surface. Retzlaff did earn the free pass to recover one of his laps under the first stage break, then rejoined the lead lap at the conclusion of Stage 2 before ultimately finishing 31st.

Five Chase drivers were eliminated from championship contention on Saturday: Gray, Hill, Jones, Retzlaff and Rajah Caruth. Each of those drivers trail Love by 155 points or more following Saturday’s race, a margin too tall to erase with just two races remaining.

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series returns to action next week in the National Debt Relief 250 at Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 31 (4 p.m. ET, The CW, ESPN Unlimited, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Taylor Gray is the defending fall race winner.

NOTE: Post-race inspection concluded without issue, confirming Smith as the race winner. Points leader Jesse Love and the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing team will lose pit selection at Martinsville Speedway due to multiple pre-race inspection failures. The Nos. 27 and 43 teams will also lose pit selection at Martinsville.

Contributing: Staff report

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR’s largest oval awaits the Cup Series with just three races to go as Sunday’s Chase race at Talladega Superspeedway (2 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) could produce many surprises from who heads to Victory Lane and who will see their championship hopes dashed.

Five of the last six winners at the 2.66-mile behemoth are currently in the 16-driver Chase presented by Mobil 1 and for Cup, there’s a current pattern of winners by manufacturer. In the last seven races, it’s been: Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota, Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota and Chevrolet. With the superspeedway strength of Team Penske and RFK Racing, can Ford keep the trend going this weekend?

RELATED: Starting lineup | At-track photos: Talladega

Kyle Larson heads to Talladega with just a five-point advantage over Christopher Bell, and seven drivers are within 56 points of each other for the championship. A big swing is bound to happen and both the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports driver and No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing driver are seeking their first Talladega victories. Meanwhile, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick are all past winners at the Alabama track.

Read on to see drivers worth monitoring over 188 laps at Talladega, as well as Racing Insights’ full projected results for the YellaWood 500.

DRIVERS TO WATCH

TYLER REDDICK: Not many Sharpie’d the No. 45 23XI Racing driver to triumph at Phoenix Raceway entering The Chase, but that’s what Reddick did and his championship hopes are still alive after scoring his sixth win of 2026. Reddick won the 2024 spring race at Talladega and has been an animal on superspeedways in 2026 — winning the first two races of the year at the Daytona 500 and EchoPark Speedway, and finishing no worse than 14th in five superspeedway races this season. He’s tallied 233 points at such tracks this year, the most among all Cup drivers. With teammate Bubba Wallace not within 100 points of the title battle, Reddick could get the help needed to push him another step closer to a miracle championship rally.

CARSON HOCEVAR: By way of most drivers unlikely to work with the fiery, assertive young phenom, it will be an uphill battle for the No. 77 Spire Motorsports driver to sweep the season at Talladega. Despite crashing twice at Daytona this season, Hocevar has scored the second most superspeedway points this season among Cup drivers with 169. Highlighted by his memorable ‘Dega win, Hocevar placed inside the top five in both EchoPark events — showcasing his skill to race through the pack to the front. With the updated rules package this weekend, Hocevar could transfer over what makes him good at the Georgia track to the state bordering west.

RYAN PREECE: The No. 60 RFK Racing driver is entering the weekend with house money. He’s last in points among Chase drivers ahead of Sunday so expect the RFK trio to be aggressive in playing spoiler (no pun intended) with a good crop of superspeedway drivers in Preece, Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski. Preece hit the walk-off of the 2026 season — overcoming a 31-point deficit in the Daytona regular-season finale to take his first career Cup checkered flag and punch his ticket to The Chase. Preece is tied with Blaney for third in most points scored on superspeedways this year (163), and while The Chase hasn’t provided eye-popping results for the No. 60 team, Sunday could mark another massive upset for Preece to garner momentum heading into the offseason.

FULL PROJECTED RESULTS FOR YELLAWOOD 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC)

POSITIONNUMBER DRIVER
15Kyle Larson
245Tyler Reddick
320Christopher Bell
419Chase Briscoe
577Carson Hocevar
654Ty Gibbs
79Chase Elliott
823Bubba Wallace
97Daniel Suárez
1022Joey Logano
111Ross Chastain
1211Denny Hamlin
1348Alex Bowman
1424William Byron
1517Chris Buescher
162Austin Cindric
1797Shane van Gisbergen
1860Ryan Preece
1912Ryan Blaney
206Brad Keselowski
213Austin Dillon
2247Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2338Zane Smith
2434Todd Gilliland
2521Josh Berry
2671Michael McDowell
2733Austin Hill
2843Erik Jones
2941Cole Custer
3010Ty Dillon
3188Connor Zilisch
324Noah Gragson
3342John Hunter Nemechek
3416AJ Allmendinger
3551Cody Ware
3635Riley Herbst
3778Daniel Dye
3844Joey Gase
3962Casey Mears
4066Gray Gaulding
Posted on by Mike Hembree

TALLADEGA, Ala. — As if trying to win races and score piles of points at Talladega Superspeedway isn’t dizzying enough, the potential drama associated with swapping positions in the crowded draft should rise a level in Sunday’s YellaWood 500.

The battle for the NASCAR Cup Series championship is realistically down to seven drivers, with Kyle Larson holding only a five-point lead in first place and Tyler Reddick, the seventh-place driver, only 56 points behind. In between are Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano.

The grand theater can be found in the mix: four Toyotas, two Fords, one Chevrolet. The scramble for top positions at the end of the first two stages and, of course, at the checkered flag could be epic, and the concept of “risk versus reward” could take on a new dynamic.

RELATED: Weekend schedule | At-track photos: Talladega

Larson is the loner in this scenario. While the four Toyota drivers — Bell, Briscoe, Hamlin and Reddick — and Ford’s Logano and Blaney will be in the somewhat uncomfortable position of both trying to help each other in the draft and also beating each other for stage points and the race win, Larson potentially could benefit from unrestricted help from fellow Chevrolet drivers who aren’t in the championship mix.

“That’s a real thing,” said Adam Stevens, Bell’s crew chief. “That’s something that we’re going to have to battle against, and it’s a one-horse race over there (with Chevrolet). And they have the resources to put toward it. So, if it comes down to group decision-making, we’re at a disadvantage, for sure.”

Larson could use the help. In 58 races on drafting tracks, he is 0-for-forever in the win column. He approaches Sunday saying being aware of the situation lap by lap is a key, for himself and potential drafting partners.

“I’m not asking for people to go out of their way, move over, anything like that,” he said. “I think just the awareness is always good, which I feel like there’s been that throughout The Chase already. It’s been going on for a handful of weeks where I feel like I’ve been cut a lot of breaks from other Chevy cars, which has been much appreciated.

“But then, on the Talladega side of things, it’s always easy to have a plan, but it’s always difficult to replicate your plan on the race track. So, again, just the awareness is all for me.”

Drafting in the modern era at Talladega is always a potentially divisive subject. Teammates are supposed to help each other. Manufacturer mates are supposed to play well together. You block for me, I’ll block for you. Often it works; sometimes it doesn’t, and in spectacular ways. Pre-race plans usually dissolve in the final lap or two, when it’s everyone for himself.

Add in the tightness of The Chase presented by Mobil 1, and there could be issues.

“Blaney and us need to score as many points as possible, right?” said Paul Wolfe, Logano’s crew chief. “I think everyone’s mindful of that and trying to work toward that goal. At this point in the season, everyone’s in a little different situation depending on where they are in the point standings and what they’re trying to accomplish.

“I think everyone has typically done a good job from the Ford side to try to help out the guys that are in The Chase, and we’re expecting that’s how it will look Sunday, as well. The Toyotas always seem like they don’t always look super-aligned, but they have a lot more cars up in the top five.”

For Chasers who, like Logano and Blaney, are somewhat down the list, use of the “go” button near the end of stages might change, particularly if crashes trim the field.

“If something happens early that collects a bunch of cars, then that may look different,” Wolfe said. “We’ll be fairly aggressive trying to score those points because that’s a must if we’re going to have a realistic shot at this. You have to be up there and willing to take that risk versus riding around and trying to stay out of trouble. That’s not really an option for us.”

There’s yet another factor for this Talladega visit with NASCAR’s decision to trim the cars’ rear spoiler from 4 inches to 3.5 inches in an attempt to spice competition. Across the garage, expectations are limited.

“We’ll adjust our balance a little for it, but, in the grand scheme of things, we’re not expecting a big impact,” Wolfe said. “I don’t know that the difference is going to be night and day. But it’s not a negative.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe will start from the same position he finished last year’s Talladega Superspeedway fall classic – in front.

The 31-year-old driver of the No. 19 JGR Toyota earned the pole position for Sunday’s YellaWood 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with a fast lap of 186.065 mph around the famed 2.66-mile high banks during Saturday time trials. The mark is the fastest NASCAR Cup Series pole speed at the track – by a significant 3 mph – since 2021.

MORE: Starting lineup | At-track photos: Talladega

It is Briscoe’s first pole of 2026 and comes at a crucial point in the season for the Indiana native, who sits third in the championship standings, only 24 points behind leader Kyle Larson, with three races remaining in The Chase presented by Mobil 1 to decide the season trophy.

Briscoe was next-to-last to take the track among the 10 second-round qualifiers – and he ultimately bested Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill’s No. 33 Chevrolet by a slight 0.032 seconds.

“Obviously have a great starting spot tomorrow for our Toyota, but who knows what to expect with the handling and obviously that first run is all about fuel saving, so we’ll probably have our blinker on pretty early to not have the lead, but we’ll see how it plays out,” said Briscoe, who has three victories this season, including two of the last three races coming to Talladega (at Las Vegas and Charlotte).

It’s Briscoe’s fourth straight top-four starting position, and claiming pole position this weekend is particularly important for his team’s morale.

“Definitely from a pride standpoint there’s a lot that goes into just all the little tiny details that add up,” said Briscoe, who earned seven poles last year and now has 10 in his career. “Stack enough of those together and just the pride that comes from that from the guys goes a long way, the confidence.”

Trackhouse Racing teammates Connor Zilisch and Shane Van Gisbergen will share the second row – third and fourth fastest in time trials. Championship-eligible drivers Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher and JGR’s Christopher Bell will start sixth and seventh.

Hendrick’s Alex Bowman and Chase drivers JGR teammates Ty Gibbs and Denny Hamlin and Hendrick’s Larson rounded out the top 10.

Ten of the 16 Chase drivers will start outside the top 10, with some faring fine and others slated for an uphill climb. The best of those was Spire Motorsports’ Daniel Suárez, wo will start 13th. Three-time Cup champion and three-time Talladega winner Joey Logano will start 16th, ahead of fellow Chase competitors William Byron (17th), Chase Elliott (18th) and Ryan Preece (19th).

Bubba Wallace will start 25th ahead of Carson Hocevar (26th), Ryan Blaney (27th) and Austin Cindric (28th).

Tyler Reddick, winner of last week’s race at Phoenix Raceway, was the slowest qualifier of those in The Chase and will start 33rd in the 40-car field on Sunday.

Larson enters with a five-point lead in The Chase over Bell. Briscoe (minus-24), Hamlin (minus-31), Blaney (minus-40), Logano (minus-44) and Reddick (minus-56) each enter in the thick of the championship hunt with three races remaining.

There have been 12 different race winners in the last 12 Talladega races. Hamlin is the last polesitter to win the race – doing so in October 2020.  Since 2008, the pole winner has gone on to win in the NASCAR Cup Series at the track only twice.

Contributing: Staff report

Posted on by Mike Hembree

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Chase Elliott’s decision to remove his name from the National Motorsports Press Association’s NASCAR Most Popular Driver voting was spurred by a choice made a quarter-century ago by his father, Bill.

Bill Elliott, one of the most popular drivers in the history of the sport, removed his name from the most popular voting in 2001 after the February death of Dale Earnhardt. Elliott won the award 16 times. Earnhardt, clearly another driver at the top of fan lists across the years, perhaps surprisingly, had not won the official award. He won in 2001.

Chase Elliott has won the award eight consecutive times. He announced this week his decision to remove his name from the ballot and said Saturday he encourages fans to vote for the late Kyle Busch, who died unexpectedly May 21 after a sudden illness.

Voting opened this week.

RELATED: Cast Most Popular Driver votes now!

Chase was six years old in 2001 when his father decided to end his long MPD streak.

“Looking back on that, I just always thought that was a really cool and admirable nod to, frankly, one of his biggest rivals,” Chase said.

Busch won two Cup championships, 63 Cup races and 234 races across NASCAR’s three national series. He enjoyed playing the “villain” role through much of his career but attracted a huge fan base with dynamic driving and repeated successes. He is recognized by many as one of the top wheelmen in stock car racing history.

“He kind of embraced that villain role, and maybe people totally didn’t like him, but they sure did make a lot of noise for him,” Elliott said. “I felt like because of that, and because of a lot of things that I’ve got the chance to see behind the scenes of things that he did for his fans and how much he cared about the sport and his supporters that he deserved to win that vote.”

Elliott stressed that his decision wasn’t based on thinking that Busch might not win the award unless he removed his name from consideration.

“That’s not me saying he wasn’t going to win by any stretch,” Elliott said. “But I do think it’s an opportunity for me to encourage the great supporters that I have and the people that have supported my family over the years and to show that love and that energy to Kyle and his family. He has my vote, and I encourage those out there who want to get involved to show him that same love. It would be a really cool honor for him and his family.”

Elliott called Busch a “game changer” with his racing style and his drive to win at almost all costs.

Chris Buescher said he expects other drivers to get behind the push to honor Busch.

“It just seems like it could be the last little bit of tribute in this season to be able to do that,” he said. “I sense that a lot of our guys will be in for it. Chase stepping up and doing that is probably the biggest start to it to see that unfold.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR national series head to Talladega Superspeedway for a pivotal weekend as The Chase presented by Mobil 1 enters its final three races across all three divisions. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series opens the action Friday, followed by the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series on Saturday and the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday. Talladega marks the third of five straight tripleheader weekends to close the 2026 season. At 2.66 miles, NASCAR’s longest oval adds an unpredictable wrinkle to the championship picture, with seven Cup drivers separated by just 56 points atop The Chase standings. Bookmark this page and return often for your race-week essentials, from qualifying orders and starting lineups to pit stalls, stage results and more.

RELATED: Weekend schedule | TV listings | Goodyear tire setup

NASCAR Cup Series

Race day: Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC. The categories listed below will be updated with results as the information becomes available.

Tires: Seven total sets – six new sets for the race and one for qualifying that transfers to the race.

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Starting Lineup
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Unofficial Race Results

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series

Race day: Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on The CW. The categories listed below will be updated with results as the information becomes available.

Tires: Four total sets – three new sets for the race and one for qualifying that transfers to the race.

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Starting Lineup
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

Race day: Friday at 4 p.m. ET on FS1. The categories listed below will be updated with results as the information becomes available.

Tires: Four total sets – three new sets for the race and one for qualifying that transfers to the race.

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Starting Lineup
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

Posted on by Staff Report

See where your favorite NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers will pit this weekend in a Chase tripleheader at Talladega Superspeedway.

NASCAR Cup Series

A graphic depicting Cup Series pit stalls for Talladega Superspeedway.

NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday (2 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Talladega weekend schedule | How to watch NASCAR on NBC

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series

View of pit road selection map.

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series The Progress Group 250 at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, The CW, ESPN Unlimited, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: How to watch NASCAR on The CW

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pit stalls for Talladega.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Love’s RV Stop 225 at Talladega Superspeedway on Friday (4 p.m. ET, FS1, FOX One, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: How to watch NASCAR on FS1

Posted on by Zack Albert

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Carson Hocevar opened up about last week’s post-race altercation with rival Zane Smith, saying that he had little interest in ironing out the differences with his rival moving forward.

“No, it seems pretty one-sided to me a little bit,” Hocevar said. “So I don’t really care. I mean, yeah, I don’t care.”

Hocevar’s remarks came Saturday morning on the eve of Sunday’s YellaWood 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Talladega Superspeedway, where the 23-year-old driver scored an emotional first NASCAR Cup Series victory last April. That win and his unique celebration from the window of his car helped raise his profile, and his season-long performance has carried him into The Chase presented by Mobil 1 field.

RELATED: Weekend schedule | At-track photos: Talladega

Hocevar placed 12th last weekend at Phoenix, but his late-race drive was marked by contact between his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet and Smith’s No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford as they battled on the fringes of the top 10. Contact from Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Trackhouse Chevy appeared to knock Hocevar’s car into Smith’s, and though his team attempted to relay that message, Smith was undeterred in exacting revenge after taking 15th at the checkered flag.

Smith rammed into the back of Hocevar’s No. 77 shortly after the race ended, using enough force to bow the hood of his No. 38 Ford. Competition officials, who had spoken to the two drivers in the NASCAR hauler in an attempt to calm the friction from a run-in this summer at Chicagoland, fined Smith $50,000 on Tuesday for his Phoenix actions.

MORE: Full recap of Hocevar, Smith contact

Hocevar said the jarring nature of Smith’s post-race bump took him by surprise.

“For me, it was just unexpected,” Hocevar said. “I was looking around, and I think I was like looking down, and like I hit, and I mean, my mindset was like, ‘Oh [expletive], who did I just run into?’ because I thought somebody stopped in front of me, and then I looked around in front of me, and there was nobody in front of me. I was like, OK, and I looked behind me, and I was like, ‘Oh, I got hit.’ ”

Front Row Motorsports representatives declined an interview request for Smith to offer his version of events this weekend. The team did not appeal the penalty and released no statement, other than posting “lol 77 is gonna 77” on its social media accounts during last Sunday’s race.

Though that feud lingers, Hocevar said no such ill will persists in his connection to Ryan Blaney, five weeks after the two exchanged fisticuffs post-race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The two drivers were shown all smiles and sharing friendly banter in last weekend’s pre-race ceremonies at Phoenix, and both reiterated Saturday that their Bristol Night Race conflict was a blip — albeit a large, headline-grabbing one — in their overall relationship, and that Hocevar had tried to use his automotive connections to help facilitate the possible sale of a Ferrari to Blaney, an interested buyer. “I mean, we were cool before,” Hocevar says.

WATCH: Hocevar explains growing relationship with Blaney since Bristol

Blaney noted how their on-track encounters have actually improved in the weeks since the squabble.

“I mean, I don’t walk around with a grudge on my shoulder,” Blaney said. “Like, I get over that stuff and go out. And the funny thing is, we had our little mix-up at Bristol, and we’ve raced each other even better than when we were before, which we really didn’t have any problems before. So yeah, I mean it really hasn’t changed at all.”

What has changed is Hocevar’s status from a contender to the ranks of Cup Series winners. The memories from that spring day have since come rushing back, he said, and he’s bringing reinforcements for his cheering section in the return trip.

“My life hasn’t been the same, but it’s just more fun because a lot of it is very visual memories,” Hocevar said. “I remember what everything looks like and what we experienced and all. A lot of my friends … I’m glad I won here, of all places. My agent was like, ‘Man, with Carson winning, everybody wants to come here, all his friends want VIP passes.’ I was like, ‘Dude, it’s Talladega. They were gonna come anyways.’ … It’s by far the most fun track you could play your first one at.”

Posted on by Mike Hembree

TALLADEGA, Ala. — In the split-second that drivers often are given to make a big decision near the end of races at Talladega Superspeedway, Kaden Honeycutt made the wrong one.

Wrestling with a dozen other drivers for the win in Friday’s Love’s RV Stop 225, Honeycutt, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point leader, dropped a spot at the front to a fifth-place finish in the mad rush at the end as Sammy Smith galloped to the victory. Honeycutt said he didn’t time his move correctly.

“I should have stayed around and made my move a little bit later,” Honeycutt said. “I thought the bottom was formed up better than what it was, and then once I looked back, the line was separating. It pulled me back pretty hard. I made the move too quick. I did the same thing at Daytona (where he finished eighth despite leading the next-to-last lap).

“I just didn’t execute the way I needed to finish the race off. I was in the perfect position to do so. I’m so disappointed in myself.”

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Talladega

The good news for Honeycutt is that he leaves Talladega still atop the standings of The Chase presented by Mobil 1 — and with a bit bigger cushion. He added four markers to his lead over second-place Layne Riggs and owns a 43-point buffer entering next Friday at Martinsville Speedway (6 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The season ends a week later on Nov. 6 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“I never say over until it’s over, for sure,” Honeycutt said. “I’ve seen people make up 90 points in two races. So anything’s possible. We’ll just look forward to Martinsville and bring the same speed that we have been. I want to get a clock (Martinsville’s famous grandfather clock trophy) to make Homestead easier.”

Ty Majeski, like Honeycutt, had a shot at Friday’s race win. He led the next-to-last lap but came home fourth, missing a chance to make a serious gain in the point standings, moving up two spots to third but now trailing Honeycutt by 141 markers.

“We knew the points situation,” Majeski said. “We knew the guys that were around us had bad days. We really wanted to finish today to take advantage of it. Could have been a little bit more aggressive on my blocks there with the 7 (Smith) coming to the line, but probably executed everything pretty well up until that point.

“He gave me a pretty good hit in the tri-oval, and I was knocked free, and I was trying to save it and block him at the same time, and I realized I probably wasn’t going to be able to save it and block him. So yeah, decided to take the finish.”

WATCH: Majeski: ‘I was looking out for myself’

Majeski also finished fourth last week at Phoenix after challenging for the victory.

“Two weeks in a row, right?” Majeski said. “I mean, I could have easily won Phoenix, had the best truck for over half the race, and here (Talladega) was leading with the white flag. If we win these two races, we’re way in it. So, unfortunately, didn’t go that way, so just have to keep executing, do the best of our ability these next two races, and yeah, try and get the best points finish we can.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Only a few hours after announcing he’ll be competing full time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series next year, Sammy Smith went out and delivered a strong message to the competition — leading the final lap of NASCAR Overtime to claim the win in Friday afternoon’s Love’s RV Stop 225 on the famed Talladega Superspeedway high banks.

Smith’s No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet crossed the finish line a mere 0.091 seconds ahead of a four-wide battle for second place, which ultimately went to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s Tyler Ankrum, a scant 0.002 seconds ahead of Smith’s teammate Austin Green, who turned in a tremendous day in his only start of the year. ThorSport’s Ty Majeski and championship leader Kaden Honeycutt joined the dramatic door-to-door rush to the checkered flag.

MORE: Race results | At-track photos: Talladega

It marks Smith’s first career win in the series in his 11th start and sends a strong message to the competition that the 22-year-old Iowa native will be a force for the title when he moves from his current full-time job competing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for JR Motorsports.

“Just a great team, [crew chief] Brian Pattie and this whole Spire crew,” Smith said, congratulating his team after leading the most laps (21 of 86) and hoisting his first Truck trophy.

“The truck was fast, and I feel like we did a good job putting ourselves in a good spot. Obviously, lost track position (earlier), but thanks to everyone for this opportunity. I’m looking forward to racing trucks next year, I just want to win races. Thank you to everybody.”

Asked what message the victory sends to his competition next year, Smith smiled and replied, “That I am a winner, and I know I can win, and I got another shot tomorrow [in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series] with my [No. 8] boys.”

It was a fittingly dramatic ending to a race that included five caution periods and a pair of the Talladega “Big Ones” that have so often characterized racing on this track.

The two Truck Series championship leaders, Tricon Garage’s Honeycutt and Front Row Motorsports’ Layne Riggs, both survived the predictably unpredictable action. Riggs, who lined up alongside Smith on the front row for the overtime restart, finished eighth and now trails Honeycutt by 43 points with two races remaining to settle the 2026 championship. It’s likely a two-man race to the title now, with third-place Ty Majeski now 141 points behind Honeycutt.

“I don’t know if I really can [be satisfied] to be honest with you,” said Honeycutt, who steers the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota and led eight laps. “Just didn’t make the right move [on the final restart].

“I thought the bottom was formed up better than it was. … I wanted to finish the race and get there where we needed to. Had a great run on the 34 [Riggs] and was able to shuffle him out. Felt like he left the gap open pretty far when he was trying to get outside of Ty [Majeski]. Just second plate race in a row I’ve been in a great position to win the race and just didn’t capitalize on it.”

As for the points?

“Never say ‘over’ till it’s over, until after [season finale at] Homestead. I’ve seen it in O’Reilly and in Cup, people can make up 90 points in two races. I’m sure it will be the same guys racing for the clock next week [at Martinsville], so winning means a lot, and if we can go and win a clock, it makes it a lot easier for Homestead for sure.”

RELATED: Honeycutt, Majeski lament late decisions

While the championship leaders were able to keep the title run suspenseful, many of the other eight title contenders suffered various problems throughout the day — from 2025 Talladega winner Gio Ruggiero’s truck getting stuck in reverse on pit road immediately after he won Stage 1 to another former Talladega winner Grant Enfinger having a tire go down early and then being collected in a crash later.

McAnally-Hilgemann’s Christian Eckes, who came into the race ranked third in the points, was the first to suffer an issue and leaves Alabama now fifth, 144 points off the championship pace. His teammate, Daniel Hemric, another Chase driver, was eliminated in a crash.

Landen Lewis, Brenden Queen, Riggs, Spencer Boyd, and 2025 series champion Corey Heim rounded out the top 10. It marks Boyd’s first top 10 in two years.

The first large multitruck crash was early and intense – and it involved two of the race’s biggest names — NASCAR Hall of Famer and former multi-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart, as well as media personality and NASCAR newcomer Cleetus McFarland, who was hoping to collect laps in only his third series start.

Both were collected in the melee that started mid-pack on Lap 17 when Stewart Friesen’s Toyota wiggled in Turns 1 and 2 and received contact from Andrés Pérez, triggering a chain-reaction wreck. Eight trucks were involved, including championship-eligible driver Hemric.

Stewart, who was making his second start of the season in the No. 25 Ram truck, was understandably frustrated to only get 16 laps of racing in.

“Definitely wanted to make it a lot further in the race today than that,” Stewart said. “Everyone started wrecking and they came across the track and got me. That’s just hard restrictor plate racing at Talladega.

“I wanted to get a chance to race, because I really enjoy working with Kaulig Racing and Ram. Kaulig is making progress and Ram is doing a good job marketing this sport.”

McFarland, making his third truck start of the season (and his career), was equally as frustrated. He said earlier Friday he was trying to get some track time in hopes of NASCAR granting him permission for more races in other series. His No. 4 Niece Motorsports Chevy was officially scored last in the 36-truck field.

“It just sucks,” McFarland said. “I just honestly saw the wreck and started slowing down heavily and was getting called down, was trying to get down out of the way, and I don’t know how or where, but I just lightly got tapped in the back left and it sent me on a trajectory that bent up the front of my hot rod, and I was just so pissed. It sucked.

“I felt like my truck was really tight, so I got out of the way, and I was riding, having a great race. I was learning. It was phenomenal. Saw the wreck and got on the brakes and was totally good, and then I just got spun and wrecked. It sucks.”

Chandler Smith entered Friday’s race fourth in the Chase standings but wound up with multiple issues, including a flat right-rear tire, a speeding penalty and getting collected in a Lap 57 crash with Jake Garcia and Conner Jones. Smith ultimately rebounded to finish 14th. Majeski overtook Smith and Eckes for third in points, sitting 141 points behind Honeycutt while Smith remains fourth, 142 points out.

MORE: Truck Series standings | Truck Series schedule

Sitting sixth in points and trailing Honeycutt by 177 points, Ruggiero is officially eliminated from championship contention, as are Hemric (minus-194), two-time champion Ben Rhodes (minus-203), Ankrum (minus-214) and Enfinger (minus-219).

Two races remain in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship run. Next up is Friday’s Black’s Tire 200 at Martinsville Speedway at 6 p.m. ET (FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NOTE: Post-race technical inspection concluded without issue, confirming Smith as the race winner.