- Talladega will bring a new challenge for drivers with the change in stage lengths.
- Tyler Reddick has won at the track, but there’s a major twist to it.
- Could be the track where Busch snaps his winless streak, given his past success there.
NASCAR heads to Talladega this weekend for the second superspeedway stop on the schedule. Last year, Zane Smith, then driving for Front Row Motorsports, secured his first Busch Light Pole Award, while Austin Cindric turned a late pit call into gold, edging Ryan Preece in a photo finish to claim the Jack Link’s 500. But this time, the race may not follow the same path.
NASCAR has opted to shake up procedure at Talladega, introducing a shift aimed at curbing the fuel-saving pattern that has crept into superspeedway racing.
NASCAR has shortened the stages at Talladega
The familiar “short-short-long” stage format has been flipped on its head to ensure the final two stages can run without a fuel stop.
Under the revised layout, Stage 1 will end on lap 98, Stage 2 on lap 143, and the final stage on lap 188. John Probst, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer, outlined the thinking during last week’s episode of the Hauler Talk podcast.
According to Probst, after Daytona, NASCAR met with teams and weighed two options to address the fuel-saving issue. One path involved altering the cars, including changes to elements such as horsepower and spoilers. The other route focused on tweaking the rules, including stage lengths and pit strategy windows.
With teams wary of midseason changes to the cars, NASCAR chose the path of least resistance. Adjust the format, leave the machinery alone. It limits backlash and, in theory, reduces the number of laps drivers spend lifting off the throttle.
The extended opening stage will now create more room for strategy calls that could split the field. Some teams may attempt to stretch fuel with one stop, while others may opt for two. Once a group commits, the draft can pull others into the same plan. This way, instead of coasting, the field would be pushed toward decisions that carry risk.
NASCAR is trying to inject urgency without tearing up the rulebook midseason, nudging teams toward scenarios in which easing off no longer pays in the race’s closing stretch.
Who will be the favorites for the weekend?
As for contenders, Talladega has long served as a proving ground for Chevrolet, with Hendrick Motorsports often setting the pace. Among drivers with more than 10 starts at the track, William Byron holds the edge, posting an average finish of 14.4 across 16 starts, along with five top-five and seven top-10 results.
The 2.66-mile tri-oval has delivered five of the 13 closest finishes in NASCAR history. Among them, Jimmie Johnson’s 0.002-second win over Clint Bowyer in 2011 stands as the third-closest finish all-time and the closest recorded at Talladega. That victory is just one part of Hendrick Motorsports’ tally of 14 wins at the track, the highest for any team in Cup Series history.
Chase Elliott accounts for two of those wins, reaching victory lane in the spring of 2019 and again in the fall of 2022. Across 20 starts, he holds an average finish of 15.4, ranking fifth among active drivers.
Brad Keselowski leads all active Cup drivers in wins at Talladega with six, and the track has served as a launchpad for first-time winners, including Bubba Wallace on October 4, 2021, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on May 7, 2017, and Keselowski himself on April 26, 2009.
Keselowski also tops active drivers in runner-up finishes with three, including a sweep in 2021 and another in 2024, and leads in top-five finishes with 12. For Ford, Talladega may offer a chance to turn the tide. So, he will be the clear veteran favorite at the superspeedway.
Among Toyota drivers, who have led so far this season, Tyler Reddick remains in the spotlight. He is unbeaten on drafting tracks in 2026, with wins at the Daytona 500 and EchoPark Speedway, and won at Talladega in the spring of 2024.
That result, however, stands as his only top-five finish at the track. He has recorded four top-10 finishes overall and carries an average finish of 17.8. Even so, Reddick arrives with momentum from Kansas, and Talladega presents another chance to rewrite his record at the venue.
Denny Hamlin enters the weekend after leading 131 of 274 laps at Kansas without closing the deal. While that result may still sting, Talladega offers another chance. He has two wins at the track, though none in the Next Gen era. In 40 starts, Hamlin has posted 11 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes, with an average finish of 16.9. His most recent top-five result at Talladega came in the fall of 2023, when he climbed from a starting spot of P12 to finish P3.
With stage lengths reshuffled, the uncertainty could hand him an opening to convert pace into a result.
Kyle Busch, meanwhile, brings experience in bulk, with 41 starts at Talladega, more than any active driver. He is also in the midst of a winless run that has crossed the 100-race mark. Still, one of his three wins with Richard Childress Racing came at this track in 2023. With questions swirling and pride on the line, Talladega will be the track where he can attempt to settle the score the only way that counts, by reaching victory lane.
