The 2026 Jack Link's 500 was an NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on April 26, 2026, at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Contested over 188 laps on the 2.66 mile (4.28 km) superspeedway, it was the 10th race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
That was the final superspeedway race of 2008 & 2023 winner Kyle Busch as well his #8 car before his sudden passing about 1 month later.
Carson Hocevar won the race for his first career Cup Series win. Chris Buescher finished 2nd, and Alex Bowman finished 3rd. Chase Elliott and Zane Smith rounded out the top five, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Noah Gragson, and Kyle Busch rounded out the top ten.
Report
Background
Talladega Superspeedway, formerly known as Alabama International Motor Speedway, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. A tri-oval, the track was constructed in 1969 by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking. The track currently hosts NASCAR's Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which is 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km).
On October 4, 2024, Jack Link's was announced as the title sponsor for the race, ending an 11-year run by its predecessor, GEICO.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Noah Gragson Front Row Motorsports Ford 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Ty Dillon Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 19 Chase Briscoe Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Josh Berry Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 33 Jesse Love (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 34 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 35 Riley Herbst 23XI Racing Toyota 38 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Cole Custer Haas Factory Team Chevrolet 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 44 Joey Gase (i) NY Racing Team Chevrolet 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 Ryan Preece RFK Racing Ford 62 Casey Mears Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 66 Chad Finchum (i) MBM Motorsports Ford 71 Michael McDowell Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 77 Carson Hocevar Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Daniel Dye (i) Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 88 Connor Zilisch (R) Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 97 Shane van Gisbergen Trackhouse Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
Qualifying Qualifying for the race was canceled due to inclement weather. Tyler Reddick was awarded the pole for the race as a result of NASCAR's pandemic formula with a score of 1.000.
Starting lineup Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 2 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 4 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 5 19 Chase Briscoe Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 6 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 7 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 8 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 9 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 10 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 11 60 Ryan Preece RFK Racing Ford 12 77 Carson Hocevar Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 13 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 14 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 15 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 16 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 17 35 Riley Herbst 23XI Racing Toyota 18 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 19 34 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 20 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 21 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 22 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet 23 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 24 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 25 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 26 21 Josh Berry Wood Brothers Racing Ford 27 41 Cole Custer Haas Factory Team Chevrolet 28 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 29 4 Noah Gragson Front Row Motorsports Ford 30 38 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports Ford 31 71 Michael McDowell Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 32 88 Connor Zilisch (R) Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 33 97 Shane van Gisbergen Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 34 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 35 10 Ty Dillon Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 36 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 37 33 Jesse Love (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 38 66 Chad Finchum (i) Garage 66 Ford 39 44 Joey Gase (i) NY Racing Team Chevrolet 40 78 Daniel Dye (i) Live Fast Motorsports ChevroletDid not qualify 41 62 Casey Mears Beard Motorsports ChevroletOfficial starting lineup
Race
The race was red-flagged on lap 116 as a result of a 27-car crash that occurred on the backstretch into turn 3.
Race results
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 98
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 60 Ryan Preece RFK Racing Ford 102 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 93 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 84 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 75 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 66 21 Josh Berry Wood Brothers Racing Ford 57 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 48 4 Noah Gragson Front Row Motorsports Ford 39 34 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 210 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 1
Stage Two Laps: 45
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 102 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 93 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 84 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet 75 34 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 66 60 Ryan Preece RFK Racing Ford 57 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 48 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 210 38 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports Ford 1
Final Stage Results Stage Three Laps: 45
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 12 77 Carson Hocevar Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 188 552 10 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 188 50 3 20 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 37 4 8 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 35 5 30 38 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports Ford 188 34 6 22 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet 188 38 7 24 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 188 41 8 13 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 188 29 9 29 4 Noah Gragson Front Row Motorsports Ford 188 31 10 34 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 188 27 11 19 34 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 188 34 12 16 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 188 25 13 35 10 Ty Dillon Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 188 24 14 1 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 188 27 15 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 188 22 16 28 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 188 21 17 14 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 188 29 18 11 60 Ryan Preece RFK Racing Ford 188 34 19 18 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 188 18 20 33 97 Shane van Gisbergen Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 188 17 21 36 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 188 20 22 23 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 187 15 23 21 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 187 14 24 40 78 Daniel Dye (i) Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 186 025 17 35 Riley Herbst 23XI Racing Toyota 186 12 26 32 88 Connor Zilisch (R) Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 185 11 27 37 33 Jesse Love (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 185 0 28 38 66 Chad Finchum (i) Garage 66 Ford 182 0 29 5 19 Chase Briscoe Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 180 8 30 39 44 Joey Gase (i) NY Racing Team Chevrolet 177 0 31 6 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 166 15 32 31 71 Michael McDowell Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 149 5 33 26 21 Josh Berry Wood Brothers Racing Ford 124 934 9 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 122 335 7 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 119 236 4 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 114 137 15 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 114 738 27 41 Cole Custer Haas Factory Team Chevrolet 114 139 25 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 114 9 40 2 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 114 1 Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 52 among 16 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 6 for 30 laps Red flags: 1 for wreck clean up (9 minutes, 58 seconds) Time of race: 3 hours, 23 minutes and 25 seconds Average speed: Margin of victory: 0.114 seconds
Media
Television Fox Sports covered their 26th race at the Talladega Superspeedway. Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and 2010 spring Talladega winner Kevin Harvick called the race from the broadcast booth. Jamie Little, Regan Smith, and Josh Sims handled pit road for the television side, and Larry McReynolds provided insight on-site during the race.
FoxBooth announcersPit reportersIn-race analyst Lap-by-lap: Mike JoyColor-commentator: Clint BowyerColor-commentator: Kevin Harvick Jamie LittleRegan SmithJosh Sims Larry McReynolds
Radio MRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley, and former championship winning crew chief Todd Gordon called the race in the booth when the field raced through the tri-oval. Dave Moody called the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 2 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2. Tim Catalfamo will call the race from a platform inside the backstretch when the field raced down the backstretch and Dan Hubbard called the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 4 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4. Steve Post, Chris Wilner, Jason Toy, and Jacklyn Drake worked pit road for the radio side for MRN.
MRN RadioBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Mike BagleyAnnouncer: Todd Gordon Turns 1 & 2: Dave MoodyBackstretch: Tim CatalfamoTurns 3 & 4: Dan Hubbard Steve PostChris WilnerJason ToyJacklyn Drake
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Tyler Reddick 484 2 Denny Hamlin 374 (–110) 3 Ryan Blaney 344 (–140) 2 4 Chase Elliott 340 (–144) 1 5 Ty Gibbs 322 (–162) 1 6 Kyle Larson 315 (–169) 4 7 Chris Buescher 309 (–175) 4 8 Carson Hocevar 292 (–192) 1 9 Christopher Bell 286 (–198) 1 10 Brad Keselowski 279 (–205) 4 11 William Byron 277 (–207) 4 12 Bubba Wallace 276 (–208) 13 Ryan Preece 270 (–214) 2 14 Daniel Suárez 235 (–249) 1 15 Joey Logano 234 (–250) 1 16 Austin Cindric 226 (–258)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Toyota 478 2 Chevrolet 385 (–93) 3 Ford 349 (–129)
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
References