Qualifying orders for 2026 Talladega Superspeedway spring races

Posted on April 22, 2026 by Staff Report

The NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series head to Talladega Superspeedway for their first of two visits to the 2.66-mile drafting tracks this year. See the qualifying orders for the weekend below.

MORE: Weekend schedule | How to watch NASCAR on TV

Cup Series
Single-car qualifying will occur at 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday (Prime Video).

POSITION	NUMBER	DRIVER	METRIC
1	62	* Casey Mears	41.9
2	78	* Daniel Dye(i)	41.0
3	44	* Joey Gase(i)	40.7
4	66	* Chad Finchum(i)	40.4
5	33	* Jesse Love(i)	40.1
6	51	Cody Ware	36.7
7	10	Ty Dillon	32.7
8	8	Kyle Busch	32.6
9	97	Shane Van Gisbergen	30.6
10	88	Connor Zilisch #	30.2
11	71	Michael McDowell	29.5
12	38	Zane Smith	29.0
13	4	Noah Gragson	28.9
14	16	AJ Allmenedinger	28.0
15	41	Cole Custer	27.7
16	21	Josh Berry	26.7
17	22	Joey Logano	25.2
18	1	Ross Chastain	24.2
19	42	John Hunter Nemechek	24.1
20	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	23.7
21	43	Erik Jones	23.3
22	48	Alex Bowman	23.1
23	34	Todd Gilliland	18.8
24	3	Austin Dillon	18.7
25	35	Riley Herbst	18.2
26	7	Daniel Suárez	18.1
27	12	Ryan Blaney	17.7
28	20	Christopher Bell	17.0
29	2	Austin Cindric	13.5
30	77	Carson Hocevar	12.7
31	60	Ryan Preece	11.6
32	17	Chris Buescher	10.3
33	54	Ty Gibbs	7.5
34	9	Chase Elliott	7.4
35	24	William Byron	7.0
36	6	Brad Keselowski	6.9
37	19	Chase Briscoe	6.6
38	23	Bubba Wallace	5.9
39	11	Denny Hamlin	3.4
40	5	Kyle Larson	2.9
41	45	Tyler Reddick	1.0

O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
Single-car qualifying will occur at 5:30 p.m. ET on Friday (The CW App).

POSITION	NUMBER	DRIVER	METRIC
1	38	Patrick Emerling(i)	41.0
2	5	JJ Yeley	35.0
3	35	Natalie Decker	34.3
4	87	Austin Green	32.6
5	91	Mason Maggio	31.8
6	274	Dawson Cram	31.7
7	55	Joey Gase	29.7
8	99	Parker Retzlaff	29.1
9	96	Anthony Alfredo	27.9
10	1	Carson Kvapil	27.7
11	07	Josh Bilicki	27.2
12	24	Harrison Burton	27.1
13	28	Kyle Sieg	26.8
14	21	Austin Hill	26.8
15	42	David Starr	25.2
16	02	Ryan Ellis	25.0
17	31	Blaine Perkins	22.7
18	92	Josh Williams	21.8
19	45	Lavar Scott #	20.7
20	32	Tyler Ankrum(i)	19.5
21	44	Brennan Poole	18.4
22	51	Jeremy Clements	17.7
23	18	William Sawalich	17.6
24	48	Patrick Staropoli #	16.1
25	27	Jeb Burton	14.5
26	26	Dean Thompson	13.7
27	8	Sammy Smith	13.6
28	0	Garrett Smithley	12.7
29	39	Ryan Sieg	11.2
30	41	Sam Mayer	10.8
31	17	Corey Day	9.9
32	20	Brandon Jones	7.7
33	19	Brent Crews	6.2
34	88	Rajah Caruth	4.8
35	54	Taylor Gray	4.0
36	2	Jesse Love	4.0
37	7	Justin Allgaier	2.4
38	00	Sheldon Creed	2.3

* Required to qualify on time
# denotes series rookie
(i) denotes ineligible for driver points

Posted on April 22, 2026 by Dustin Albino

Being compared to a goldfish is something Sam Mayer never thought he’d hear. But a directive by No. 41 Haas Factory Team crew chief Jason Trinchere reminded Mayer that goldfish — thanks to a 10-second memory — are the happiest animal on Earth.

Trinchere is a fan of “Ted Lasso,” a sports-comedy drama about an American football coach hired to manage a British soccer team despite having no prior experience. Initially, Lasso was hired to sabotage the club, but ultimately, the players rallied around the optimistic coach and succeeded.

“He is a really big motivator. He is a fantastic leader,” Mayer told NASCAR.com of Trinchere. “He does a great job in the shop, at the race track, everything that he does. The ‘Ted Lasso’ thing is something you can lean into and relate to when you’re in this scenario. You have to believe, roll and have to be like a goldfish.”

RELATED: Sam Mayer driver page

Mayer’s 2026 season has been one of change after a successful debut campaign with HFT in 2025. The No. 41 team swapped from Ford to Chevrolet, reuniting with Hendrick Motorsports horsepower. The speed has been apparent, with a pair of Kennametal Pole Awards.

The results tell a different story. Through 10 races, Mayer has a quartet of top-10 finishes, with a best effort of fifth at Phoenix Raceway. Due in part to a collection of crashes and mechanical woes, Mayer currently has a 19.2 average finish, on pace to be the worst of his five years as a full-time NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver. By contrast, teammate Sheldon Creed — who ranks second in the driver standings — has the second-best average finish (6.8) among all full-timers. (Justin Allgaier ranks first with a 6.0 average finish.)

“Tough. Painful. Rough. Long,” Mayer said, giving a laundry list of adjectives to describe the 2026 season. “We have two poles, a bunch of laps led and it’s been awesome on the frontside of things. But finishing races has been challenging. It’s one of those things where you can’t point fingers at anybody. No one is not doing their job, and everyone is executing how we need to. We just have to get the monkey off our back a little bit and make sure everything is buttoned down.

“It’s one of those things that is tough, but it will make you stronger on the backside.”

Throughout Trinchere’s career as a crew chief, positivity has been a core theme. While that is being tested early in 2026, the fact that the sheer speed is visible doesn’t make him concerned as the season progresses.

“The finishes are frustrating,” Trinchere said. “We have the speed; we just need to have a complete race. I feel like once we have one, it will start clicking off. That’s how it was last year. Last year, Connor (Zilisch) went on that run that was so impressive, but we were in the top five in pretty much all of those races. If we can build that momentum back again like we had last year, points will take care of themselves.”

David Jensen | Getty Images

Early issues have taken Mayer out of the running most weeks in 2026. He’s missed out on ample stage points, totaling 44 through 10 races. He’s banked stage points in six out of 20 stages.

The pairing doesn’t believe their strategy will change heavily throughout the remainder of the regular season. But if there is a chance to be creative and secure stage points, the No. 41 team will adopt that philosophy.

Trinchere noted: “Right now, I think we’re back so far that if I can put him in the top three and let him do his thing on a restart, that’s what I’m going to do.”

Sitting 14th in the regular-season championship battle and 29 points below the cutline currently held by Rajah Caruth, Mayer recognizes his championship aspirations are running thin. Mayer and the O’Reilly Series will next do battle at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway (The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

MORE: O’Reilly Auto Parts Series standings | O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule

“I’m at a spot now where I’m going to go trophy hunting every week and let the points take care of themselves because I know this team is capable of it,” Mayer said. “It’s just about having everything go your way. It’s never over until it’s over.

“It’s going to be tough, and that’s why I’m focusing on wins because that is the most short-term success that you can look for, and a championship at the end of the year is going to be a bonus on top of that. If we can bust off six wins this year, there’s a chance, you never know.”

Before competing at Bristol Motor Speedway, Mayer got a new hairdo — a complete buzzcut — to hopefully provide a spark in the No. 41 team’s performance.

“It was another thing I could do, like, I’m trying everything,” Mayer said. “We’re going to go to battle every week and do our absolute best, and we’re going to do whatever we can to get our mojo back.”

From contending to wins to trying new things, Trinchere additionally believes there is a chance for the No. 41 team to grind into the upper echelon of the championship table, especially if huge points performances can be achieved.

“I would be happy at the end of [the regular season] if we’re top six in points,” Trinchere said. “When you look at the fact that you have a maximum day is 76 points, it can make a big swing quickly, which we saw in the opposite direction. We had two races where we barely scored two or three points.

“A lot of things that have happened outside of our hands. We try not to dwell on and mope around and be ‘Why us?’ We just keep our heads down, be a goldfish and forget about it.”

Posted on April 21, 2026April 22, 2026 by Nate Ryan

NASCAR officials don’t meddle in teams’ strategic decisions, but they will judge the merits if a questionable tactical call affects the outcome of a race.

That was the case Sunday at Kansas Speedway, where a late caution sent the race into overtime after Denny Hamlin had been barely a lap away from victory.

Hamlin lost the lead on the final restart and then noted the yellow flag had flown for a spin by Cody Ware, who was multiple laps down and stretching a set of tires to the max when he lost control.

On the latest episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast, NASCAR vice president of race communications Mike Forde explained how teams outside of contention are warned about impacting the fortunes of front-running cars. NASCAR uses a blue flag to make slower cars aware when lead-lap cars are approaching, and officials also use a Microsoft Teams chat system to communicate with teams during the race.

“In so many words, it’s ‘Don’t be part of this outcome, be aware that there are leaders battling for the win here, so don’t be part of the story,’ ” Forde said. “If they do become part of the story, nothing will happen to them. We’re not going to lay down any penalties unless they do something intentional, in our opinion. But as far as what Cody did, it’s kind of a racing deal, as they say.”

But Forde said NASCAR will meet with teams when a race’s dynamics are affected by a team outside contention.

“There are times where we have called people to the hauler — spotters, crew chiefs, drivers — if they’ve done something that we consider unintelligent,” Forde said. “There’s been examples of guys who have stayed out on a crazy amount of tires and are in the lead, and then the restart is a disaster area. Sometimes we’d call them into the hauler and say, ‘Hey, next time, let’s be a little bit smarter here.’ You’re just not going to win a race with that strategy that you just tried to employ. All you’re going to do is really piss off everyone else in the garage. And that’s just not something you want to do if you want to have any success in the sport.”

NASCAR senior director of racing communications Amanda Ellis explained how the virtual chat system is used to communicate with team members during a race.

“It was used a couple of times this past weekend at Kansas just to send a note,” Ellis said. “Friendly reminders that we’re watching and what the expectation is.”

Forde noted race director Tim Bermann sometimes relays the message via NASCAR’s public radio channel.

“That’s Tim using his 40 years of race directing experience and having a gut feeling that something bad may happen, so let me just say something so something bad doesn’t happen,” Forde said. “If it’s pretty tight and there’s a lot of lapped traffic, he’ll just remind everyone to mind their P’s and Q’s.”

Other topics covered by Forde and Ellis during the 50th episode of “Hauler Talk,” which explores competition issues in NASCAR:

— The possibility of racing Crossover Utility Vehicles, which won’t be coming to any NASCAR national series in the near future.

— Why no driver was penalized for the incident in the pits between Ryan Blaney and AJ Allmendinger.

— The review of Carson Kvapil’s airborne crash and flip in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Kansas Speedway.

— NASCAR’s evaluation of the racing on 1.5-mile speedways this season.

— A report on Day 1 of tire testing at Chicagoland Speedway, which drew a crowd of about 1,000 fans to the track in Joliet, Illinois.

Nate Ryan has written about NASCAR since 1996 while working at the San Bernardino Sun, Richmond Times-Dispatch, USA TODAY and for the past 10 years at NBC Sports Digital. He is a contributor to the “Hauler Talk” show on the NASCAR Podcast Network. He has also covered various other motorsports, including the IndyCar and IMSA series.

Posted on April 21, 2026 by Staff Report

Talladega Superspeedway hosts a doubleheader of NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series action this weekend with well-known Goodyear treads hitting the asphalt.

Cup teams return for the Jack Link’s 500 on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) on the same Goodyear Racing Eagle tires utilized in both trips to the 2.66-mile superspeedway in 2025. Additionally, Cup teams raced on this rubber compound during Daytona Speedweeks in February, including the 68th annual Daytona 500.

MORE: Talladega schedule | Cup standings

“We have seen tire wear increase at Talladega in recent visits, but the tire setups we’ve selected for this weekend provide teams with a familiar base,” Rick Heinrich, Goodyear NASCAR product manager, said. “Strategy here is often dictated by drafting position, but it’s common to see teams add two-tire and fuel-only stops into the mix throughout the race.”

Teams will have seven total sets of tires to complete the scheduled 500-mile distance Sunday — one set for qualifying and six fresh sets for the race.

In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, teams will use the same left-side tire compounds used at Daytona earlier this season as well as the same right-side compound as EchoPark Speedway. Four sets of tires will be available for their 300-mile contest — one to transfer from qualifying and three fresh sets for their scheduled 113 laps.

Posted on April 21, 2026 by Zach Sturniolo

NASCAR.com’s Zach Sturniolo ranks the top 20 Cup Series drivers competing for the 2026 championship after Tyler Reddick’s win at Kansas Speedway and before Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (3 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Austin Cindric enters as the defending winner.

Power Rankings graphic for Tyler Reddick.

Analysis: Another week, another historic victory for Reddick. The No. 45 team keeps on rolling with its fifth win in nine races, continuing a simply staggering start for Reddick. Surely, the magic will run out at some point, right? Maybe, but maybe not. Reddick is 2-for-2 on drafting tracks in 2026 after winning the Daytona 500 and at EchoPark Speedway, plus he won Talladega in the spring of 2024. Power Rankings graphic for Denny Hamlin.

Analysis: So close to another Kansas win for Hamlin, and yet still so far. For the second Kansas race in a row, Hamlin battled a 23XI Racing car for a victory, and for the second time, came up short. This time, Hamlin had to settle for fourth place after leading a race-high 131 of 274 laps. Hamlin may be frustrated he didn’t earn career win No. 62, but there are plenty of positives to take away: He’s up to second in the standings after winning a stage on Sunday and has led 130 or more laps in three of the last five Cup races.

Analysis: Larson was one lap away from snapping that 32-race winless drought … until Reddick did what Reddick does. But Larson walks away with his first runner-up finish of 2026 instead, with a second consecutive week earning 54 points. He’s still looking for his first Talladega Superspeedway win, but he did finish second in last spring’s race to the checkers. Power Rankings graphic for Ryan Blaney.

Analysis: Blaney was a distant 24th-place finisher in Sunday’s race at Kansas, marking his first truly miserable day of the season and earning a season-low 13 points. His day appeared to be on the right track until contact on pit road with AJ Allmendinger damaged his right-front fender, and Blaney never recovered. Now he turns toward ‘Dega, where he’s a three-time winner, most recently in the fall of 2023. Power Rankings graphic for Chase Elliott.

Analysis: That’s more like it. Elliott returned to form at Kansas, where he was in contention late for a top-five finish but ultimately finished eighth, squarely where he averaged all day, per NASCAR loop data. That was a needed rebound for Elliott, who slid to a 22nd-place finish at Bristol after a spin in overtime. Building momentum is a tall task at Talladega, but perhaps that’s what the No. 9 team can do after a season full of peaks and valleys early on. Power Rankings graphic for Ty Gibbs.

Analysis: Gibbs keeps riding this wave of top 10s since COTA, now extending his streak to seven races after a ninth-place showing at Kansas. His one Achilles’ heel this year, though, has been superspeedways, finishing 23rd at Daytona and 37th at EchoPark after crashing out. His resume at Talladega isn’t stellar, but a third-place finish there last fall should be encouraging to the No. 54 camp. Power Rankings graphic for Bubba Wallace.

Analysis: And just like that, Wallace looks like he’s back on track. That two-race skid at Darlington and Martinsville certainly tanked some momentum, but a strong fifth-place run at Kansas has Wallace back in his groove. Those two anomalies are Wallace’s only races with fewer than 30 points scored this season. Now he returns to the site of his first career win back in 2021, and has top 10s in each of his last three Talladega trips. Power Rankings graphic for William Byron.

Analysis: It’s been a weird start to the year for Byron, who averaged a 13.54 running position Sunday at Kansas, but he capitalized on an overtime restart to walk away seventh and put his Bristol nightmare in the past. Talladega may not have given him a victory yet, but his recent finishes are notable, racking up five top 10s in his last six visits. Power Rankings graphic for Christopher Bell.

Analysis: What could have been, huh? Bell lined up behind Reddick on the final restart in Sunday’s race and rocketed to the outside with hopes of fighting Larson for the win. Instead, contact from Reddick put Bell into the wall and broke a toe link on the No. 20 Toyota, dropping Bell out of contention and into a 20th-place finish, one lap down after leading 47 laps. After finishing inside the top five in three straight races, Bell has one top 10 in the four races since. Talladega hasn’t quite been his friend either, with two DNFs in the past four races – both in the spring. Power Rankings graphic for Chase Briscoe.

Analysis: What a finish for Briscoe, who earned his second straight top-five finish after an insane restart on four fresh tires launched him from 11th to third in two laps. Briscoe has finally entered The Chase territory, fittingly, and returns to the site of his most recent victory at Talladega. These are the kinds of finishes expected from Briscoe and the No. 19 team. The question is whether they’ve truly found some steady ground.

Analysis: Keselowski capitalized on the late-race restart to score a sixth-place finish at Kansas, earning his third top 10 in the last five races. Now he heads to Talladega, where his six wins are the most among active drivers and tied with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon for the second-most all-time. Keselowski has led in 26 of his 34 Talladega starts, so expect the No. 6 Ford up front again Sunday as the 2012 champ seeks his first ‘Dega win since 2021. Power Rankings graphic for Chris Buescher.

Analysis: A steady showing for Buescher at Kansas produced his fourth top-10 finish of the season, snapping a two-race stretch in the teens. The RFK Racing Fords are always fast on superspeedways, as evidenced by laps led in 10 of his last 13 Talladega trips. But so far, Buescher has just one top-five finish to show for it after finishing third in the 2023 spring race. After two DNFs there in 2025, Buescher may just be glad to see the checkered flag Sunday. Power Rankings graphic for Ryan Preece.

Analysis: Preece has been the model of consistency lately. His 11th-place showing at Kansas continued a six-race span of finishes between eighth and 13th, planting him 13th both in our rankings and the Cup Series standings. Talladega hasn’t given him much to write home about with one top five and three top 10s in 12 starts, but only one DNF here in his last five starts is encouraging, considering the calamity that abounds. Power Rankings graphic for Joey Logano.

Analysis: Well, that was an ugly run. Logano finished 30th at Kansas, two laps down and earning just seven points, marking his second run of 30th or worse in the past four weeks after a dismal Darlington day in March. It’s been feast or famine lately for the No. 22 team, which earned finishes of third (Martinsville) and seventh (Bristol) in between these recent gut punches. If it’s any consolation, Logano is a three-time Talladega winner with 19 or more laps led in each of his last five races there. His last top five at Talladega came in 2021, though. Power Rankings graphic for Austin Cindric.

Analysis: For as poorly as Kansas went for his teammates, Cindric had a fine day, taking home a 12th-place finish for his third top 15 in four races. Cindric returns to Talladega as the defending winner of the spring race, but he’s another driver that has seen checkers or wreckers here: He has one win, two top fives and three finishes of 23rd or worse in his last five ‘Dega appearances. Power Rankings graphic for Carson Hocevar.

Analysis: A strong day for Hocevar was thwarted by a crummy day on pit road. NASCAR Insights ranked the No. 77 crew 31st of 37 entrants in Sunday’s race, dropping Hocevar from an average running position of 9.87 to a 13th-place finish. Talladega treated the Spire driver well last year with dual sixth-place finishes. He was also fighting for the lead late at Daytona and EchoPark earlier this year, so don’t be surprised if Hocevar is in the mix for his first win Sunday afternoon. Power Rankings graphic for Daniel Suárez.

Analysis: Kansas was pretty average for Suárez, who finished 19th on Sunday and averaged an 18.56 running position. Suárez isn’t a spectacular superspeedway racer, but he sure isn’t bad. The No. 7 driver has four top 10s in his last seven Talladega starts, including a ninth-place showing last spring. He does, however, have a drafting-track victory at EchoPark Speedway in 2024. Power Rankings graphic for Todd Gilliland.

Analysis: For the first time since 2024, welcome back to the Power Rankings, Todd. This has been a decent stretch for Gilliland, netting a strong sixth-place finish at Bristol before earning a respectable 17th-place result at Kansas. It’s a good time to have some positive momentum, too: he finished second at Talladega last fall and has an average finish of 13.1 in eight starts here – his best at any track with three or more starts.

Analysis: A season that started so well has gone so sour. Van Gisbergen’s 36th-place finish at Kansas is his third showing of 34th or worse in the last five races, earning a combined five points in those three events. He’s been perfectly respectable at Talladega in four starts, though, finishing 11th last fall and 15th in the 2024 fall race. Power Rankings graphic for Ross Chastain.

Analysis: Hard to find a bright spot for Trackhouse Racing as a whole when its premier driver, Chastain, is 26th, two laps down at Kansas – a track he won at a year and a half ago. Nonetheless, there should be far fewer concerns heading to Talladega, another track he won at back in 2022.

Posted on April 21, 2026April 21, 2026 by Cara Cooper

Racing alongside his son and grandson is a huge joy for Dale Sherman.

Well, for the most part.

“It’s fine until the kids beat me,” Dale said with a laugh.

“Pretty fun for the kids though,” Dale’s grandson, Hayden Sherman, added.

The Sherman family includes three generations of drivers, and they all compete in the Anderson Automotive Hobby Stocks division at Hawkeye Downs Speedway, a NASCAR Local Racing Series Powered by O’Reilly Auto Parts track in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Dale’s son, and Hayden’s dad, Jason, also competes in the class. Last year, Hayden finished second in the final points standings. Jason finished third.

Dale began racing at Hawkeye Downs more than five decades ago after initially going to the track with a friend.

“My best friend raced there back when I was in high school, he was a couple years older than me, so then I just went with him when he started,” Dale said. “I started racing then, that was 51 years ago.”

Dale raced just once last year because he had a knee replacement surgery, but he plans to compete in every race this season.

Jason got into racing simply because he enjoyed going to the track and watching his dad.

“Growing up, watching my dad race and going to the racetrack the whole time growing up, eventually I got to a point where I was able to get my own car and go out later on in life. And then it just kind of drew dad back in,” he said.

Hayden, a sophomore in high school, followed in his family’s footsteps and began racing last year.

“Watching it my whole life, it made me want to try it,” he said. “And I’ve always grown up with cars and liking cars, so thought I’d go out too, if I could.”

“With my son, Hayden, coming to the track with me, watching me race and helping me out, it was just like back when I was going with my dad,” Jason said. “And now Hayden’s to the point where he’s old enough and can get his own car and now he’s out there… The hardest part was convincing his mom to let him go out and race.”

The trio all work on the cars together in the garage during the week leading up to the races, and they admit they aren’t that competitive with each other … until they are.

“It’s not that competitive until somebody makes a mistake and then you get to pass them,” Dale said. “Then, it’s on.”

The first time they all raced together was last June. They finished first, second and third in the heat race. After battling with each other in the feature, Hayden came away with not only the family win, but also the overall victory. It was his first win at Hawkeye Downs.

“That was pretty exciting,” Hayden said. “Honestly, I was lost for words. When the announcer was talking to me after the race, I couldn’t say anything. He asked so many questions and I couldn’t answer any of them. I couldn’t talk. I was so excited.”

Ultimately, even though they were defeated, the elder Shermans were happy to see the youngest generation find success.

“On the one hand, it’s great,” Dale said. “On the other hand, he’s beaten me, so…”

“We can be competitive. Our cars are all pretty even, so actually it’s just a lot of fun,” Jason said. “I’m just there to have fun, and it’s fun having my dad and my kid both there at the same time. I couldn’t be happier, no matter what the outcome. No matter who wins, no matter who finishes ahead of who, as long as everybody had a good race and everybody had fun, it’s a joy. If somebody had troubles during the race or their car broke down or whatever, everybody gets to participate in the fun and everybody gets to participate in the work if something doesn’t go right.”

Hawkeye Downs will kick off the season on Saturday with NASCAR Opening Night.

This week, the Shermans are focusing on getting the cars ready for the season. They’re de-winterizing, changing the fluids, getting the setups right, and replacing any broken parts from last year.

When asked what he’s most looking forward to this season, Dale said simply, “To finish the race.”

They all have different goals when they hit the track. Hayden said he’s just looking forward to seeing what every other driver has done with their cars.

Jason just wants to keep having fun and spending time together.

“I’m looking forward to just getting the season started,” Jason said. “There’s always a lot of unknowns until you get out there on the track, not knowing what the car is going to do. So, I’m just anxious to see how it does and to get it right.

“As long as everybody’s still having a good time doing it. As far as working on the car during the week, getting it ready for the race, everybody has fun during the race, we get to load it on the trailer and take it all home in one piece and everybody has a good night, that’s all that matters.”

For all three Shermans, racing is about more than what happens on the track. It’s about the opportunity to be together while they’re there.

“If there wasn’t any family, it wouldn’t be much fun going,” Hayden said.

Posted on April 20, 2026April 20, 2026 by Staff Report

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series next travels to Talladega Superspeedway for a contest at the Alabama venue on Saturday (4 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Austin Hill is the defending race winner, and while the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing driver will look to clinch three consecutive wins at the superspeedway, four other drivers — Taylor Gray, Sheldon Creed, Justin Allgaier and Jesse Love — will contend for the win and also do battle for $100,000 in the third of four Dash 4 Cash races this season.

ENTRY LISTS: Cup Series | O’Reilly Auto Parts Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular Tyler Ankrum will make his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut as driver of the No. 32 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet. Rajah Caruth returns behind the wheel of the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet this weekend.

Thirty-eight cars are entered into this weekend’s event.

MORE: Weekend schedule | How to watch NASCAR on The CW

View the full entry list here:

Posted on April 20, 2026April 20, 2026 by Staff Report

The NASCAR Cup Series shifts from Kansas Speedway to the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway this Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Austin Cindric is the defending spring winner. Tyler Reddick, meanwhile, continues to be red-hot in 2026, collecting his fifth win in nine races at Kansas and will aim to back it up again at the Alabama track.

ENTRY LISTS: Cup Series | O’Reilly Auto Parts Series

Jesse Love is making his second start for Richard Childress Racing this season, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet. Part-time drivers Chad Finchum and Joey Gase are also entered for Sunday’s race.

Forty-one cars are entered into this weekend’s event.

MORE: Weekend schedule | How to watch NASCAR on FOX

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Posted on April 20, 2026 by John Crane

There’s no place like Kansas Speedway, with the 1.5-mile Midwest track again delivering in thrilling fashion, culminating with Tyler Reddick making history via his fifth win in nine NASCAR Cup Series races, the first pilot to do so since Dale Earnhardt in 1987.

Though the spotlight again shone brightest on Reddick, other drivers — and teams — had illuminating performances that could very well be the dose of momentum needed to begin a hot stretch. On the flip side, other performances will look to be forgotten as soon as possible. Let’s see who is on the upswing and who is on the downturn following the AdventHealth 400 and before Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (3 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Kansas

THREE UP ⬆️

1. RFK Racing

Started: 7th (Chris Buescher); 12th (Ryan Preece); 21st (Brad Keselowski)

Finished: 6th (Brad Keselowski); 10th (Chris Buescher); 11th (Ryan Preece)

What happened: Steady would best describe RFK Racing’s Kansas performance. All three drivers improved or maintained their positions through Stages 1 and 2, and the trio additionally finished the race inside the top 11 for the first time since Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. Team co-owner Keselowski stood out the most, collecting his sixth consecutive top-15 finish and best result since a Darlington Raceway runner-up last month.

What’s next: It’s been a mixed bag at Talladega for RFK Racing. Keselowski is a six-time winner there, and while he hasn’t found Victory Lane at the track since joining the organization, he does have two runner-ups to his ledger since 2022. Buescher and Preece, meanwhile, will have more work cut out for them; the pair have combined for only two top fives and six top 10s in 33 Talladega Cup starts.

David Jensen | Getty Images

2. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

Started: 10th

Finished: 5th

What happened: Reddick might’ve stolen the show, but his 23XI teammate sure stood out, too. After starting 10th, Wallace finished Stages 1 and 2 in ninth and sixth, respectively, with the 32-year-old pilot eventually clinching his first top-five finish of the 2026 campaign. Wallace now has two consecutive top-five finishes at Kansas dating back to the fall 2025 contest.

What’s next: Such a momentum boost from Kansas couldn’t come at a better time, with Talladega the site of Wallace’s first career Cup Series victory, finding Victory Lane there in 2021. More recently, Wallace’s success at Talladega has continued, with three straight top-10 finishes dating back to the 2024 fall race.

Patrick Vallely | For NASCAR Digital Media

3. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

Started: 34th

Finished: 12th

What happened: The 27-year-old driver quickly put his 34th-place starting position in the rearview, working his way into the top 25 five laps into the race and into the top 20 not long after. Adjustments to the No. 2 Ford during ensuing pit stops eventually culminated with Cindric battling within the top 10 following a two-tire call entering NASCAR Overtime, with the No. 2 Ford crossing the start/finish line in 12th.

What’s next: Like Wallace, Cindric is finding positive headway at the right time. Cindric is the defending Talladega spring winner, and though he logged a 34th-place result there last fall, there is still much to look forward to for the No. 2 Team Penske camp.

Sean Gardner | Getty Images

THREE DOWN ⬇️

1. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Started: 11th

Finished: 20th

What happened: This one is going to sting. Bell’s No. 20 Toyota looked to be a Victory Lane contender, and after finishing fifth in Stages 1 and 2, the 31-year-old Oklahoma native made his move, overtaking Denny Hamlin between Turns 1 and 2 for the race lead. Bell led for 47 laps and remained in winning reach as the circuits waned, but trouble ensued in overtime, with contact from Reddick’s No. 45 Toyota resulting in a wall brush and broken toe link.

What’s next: Talladega is a coin flip for Bell and the No. 20 camp, though in the Next Gen era, Bell has finished OK at the Alabama facility. In eight Cup starts at the track since 2022, Bell has started inside the top 15 in seven contests and finished in the top 15 in four races. Bell will look to find similar — if not more — success this weekend.

Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media

2. Trackhouse Racing

Started: 17th (Shane van Gisbergen); 31st (Ross Chastain); 36th (Connor Zilisch)

Finished: 26th (Ross Chastain); 29th (Connor Zilisch); 36th (Shane van Gisbergen)

What happened: Things went poorly for the Trackhouse Racing stable from qualifying to the race itself, with all three drivers mired in the back of the pack for practically the entire race. The trio all finished multiple laps down, and the conclusion was a race weekend in need of forgetting, and fast.

What’s next: To a degree, Talladega is still uncharted waters for the organization; while Chastain has logged 14 career Cup starts at the track (and won there with the team in 2022), van Gisbergen only has four career Cup races at the superspeedway. The rookie Zilisch, meanwhile, will get his first Talladega taste in a Cup car this weekend. In other words, the spectrum of potential outcomes is quite wide-reaching.

David Jensen | Getty Images

3. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

Started: 15th

Finished: 30th

What happened: A 15th-place starting position was upended before a lap was even logged Sunday as the No. 22 Ford dropped to the rear for a steering rack change. Unfortunately for Logano, finding top-15 track position once again wouldn’t be achieved, with finishes of 24th and 28th in Stages 1 and 2, respectively. Logano finished two laps down, his second race in the last four in which the No. 22 driver has finished multiple circuits behind the top of the field (Darlington, three laps).

What’s next: Talladega has been good to Logano in the past — thanks to three Cup Series victories — and the 35-year-old Connecticut native will seek to find former glory there once again. That said, those victories occurred in 2015, 2016 and 2018, and since the start of the Next Gen era in 2022, Logano has finished 16th or worse in all eight Talladega races. Tough sledding could continue.

David Jensen | Getty Images

Posted on April 20, 2026April 20, 2026 by Zack Albert

Kyle Busch said on the eve of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway that there were ways he could respond to Denny Hamlin’s recent critiques by making “his life hell.”

Busch’s on-track actions in the late going of Sunday’s event might have been more heck than hell, but the torment was there.

Busch made his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet a more difficult pass for Hamlin in Sunday’s AdventHealth 400, holding up his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota as he led eventual race winner Tyler Reddick down the stretch. Reddick eventually passed Hamlin, then surrendered the lead back to Hamlin before gaining the upper hand in NASCAR Overtime.

Busch appeared to make good on his promise with 27 laps to go in regulation as he rode last in the 37-car field, four laps down. With Hamlin approaching to place him another lap in arrears, Busch fought hard in a side-by-side battle for nearly a full lap instead of giving way to the race leader, costing him precious time as Reddick closed in.

No. 8 spotter Derek Kneeland seemed to acknowledge his driver’s intent and attempted to pacify Busch over the radio. “I hear it, but let’s be smart here,” Kneeland said as Hamlin’s faster car gradually drove by on the way to a fourth-place result.

Busch eventually finished four laps down in a season-worst 35th, prolonging his free fall to 27th in the Cup Series standings. Hamlin’s assessment of that decline in last week’s “Actions Detrimental” podcast was the crux of their Kansas disagreement.

“Things are not going well in the Kyle Busch camp,” Hamlin began before touching on Busch’s future with the Richard Childress-owned organization, his performance relative to teammate Austin Dillon, and how his struggles have dated back the last five years. “So we just have to be honest about our expectations,” Hamlin said, “and if you’re expecting Kyle Busch to just go back to Victory Lane on a regular basis, you are kidding yourselves, and you’re going to be very disappointed. I just think that until we change cars or something changes, something has to change. I don’t know what.”

Hamlin couched his remarks by lauding Busch as a “Hall of Fame Mount Rushmore driver” and saying, “Man, I hate seeing it, because Kyle is a competitor who hates losing.” He doubled down on that notion in Sunday’s FOX Sports pre-race broadcast, adding that he was rooting for him to turn it around.

Busch, however, responded to the podcast commentary before Saturday’s practice at Kansas: “If Denny wants to switch cars, I’ll switch cars with him any day of the week, anytime. I would love for him to show me that he can carry it better than I can.”