NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: YellaWood 500
The Place: Talladega Superspeedway
Track Length: 2.66 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Sunday, October 19
The Time: 2 p.m. ET
The Purse: $9,797,935
TV: NBC, 1:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 500.08 miles (188 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 60),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 120), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 188)
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: United Rentals 250
The Place: Talladega Superspeedway
Track Length: 2.66 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Saturday, October 18
The Time: 4 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,651,939
TV: CW, 3:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 250.04 miles (94 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 25),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 50), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 94)
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Next Race: Love’s RV Stop 225
The Place: Talladega Superspeedway
Track Length: 2.66 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Friday. October 17
The Time: 4 p.m. ET
The Purse: $782,900
TV: FOX, 4 p.m. ET
Radio: NRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 226.1 miles (85 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 85)
Where To Watch NASCAR This Week:
Friday, Oct. 17
NCTS Practice & Kennametal Pole Qualifying (FS2 at 12:30 p.m. ET)
NCTS Race: Love’s RV Stop 225 (FOX, NRN, SiriusXM at 4 p.m. ET)
Saturday, Oct. 18
NXS Practice & Kennametal Pole Qualifying (CW App at 11:30 p.m. ET)
NCS Practice & Busch Light Pole Qualifying (truTV, PRN, SiriusXM at 1:30 p.m. ET)
NXS Race: United Rentals 250 (CW, MRN, SiriusXM at 4 p.m. ET)
Sunday, Oct. 19
NCS Race: YellaWood 500 (NBC, MRN, SiriusXM at 2 p.m. ET)
NASCAR Cup Series
Talladega Superspeedway Storylines and Insights:
· This weekend marks the 113th running of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, the 34th of 2025 and the second of the three races in the Round of 8.
· Talladega hosted a Playoff race in all 22 years of the Playoffs, but this is the first season it was in the Round of 8.
· The April Talladega race started a 28 straight week (189 days) stretch of races to end the season (includes the All-Star race); the longest stretch of consecutive weeks raced in series history.
· Qualifying at Talladega consists of two rounds with the fastest 10 from Round 1 moving to Round 2 to compete for the top-10 starting positions.
· Ford drivers won the pole for the last four races at Talladega; Front Row Motorsports won the pole for the last three.
· Ford drivers account for 63% of the top-10 starting positions at Talladega in the last four races.
· Each of the last 10 Talladega races was won by a different driver, the longest streak of races there without a repeat winner.
· Only two of the last nine races at Talladega was won by a current Playoff driver: Ryan Blaney (10/23), Chase Elliott (10/22).
· The eventual winner led 19 laps or less in each of the last nine Talladega races.
· The driver leading the most laps failed to win each of the last 10 Talladega races.
· The final green flag stretch at Talladega in April was 62 laps, the second longest green flag stretch to end a race there in the last 45 races.
· Each of the last four races at Talladega had only four cautions.
· Four of the 12 races with the most lead changes in Cup all-time came in the last four Talladega races.
· Only twice has the Stage 1 winner at Talladega gone on to win the race, only three times has the Stage 2 winner won.
· The Talladega pole winner finished 17th or worse in each of the seven races there in the Next Gen car.
· Austin Cindric won at Talladega in April after starting seventh, the best starting position of a Talladega race winner in the last nine races.
· 14 drivers earned their final Cup Series win at Talladega, the most among all tracks.
· Stage 2 was caution free in each of the last six Talladega races.
· Brad Keselowski leads all active drivers with six Talladega wins; he finished runner-up there three times since his last win in April 2021.
· Four of the five drafting track races in 2025 were won by active playoff drivers.
· The last 10 drafting track races were each won by a different driver.
· Joey Logano leads all drivers with 228 laps led on drafting tracks in 2025 but has a best finish of 12th.
· Since 2017, two of the six previous drivers that DNF in the opening race of the Round of 8 moved on to the Championship Four (Bell 2022, Reddick 2024).
· 11 of the 12 Playoff drivers had an issue at Talladega in the 2024 Playoff race.
· Seven of the last 11 Talladega races ended with a last lap pass, 33 total in 112 races.
· The seven last lap passes for the win in 2025 is the most in a single season, second most was 6 in 2024.
· Kyle Larson gained 31 points to the cutline at Las Vegas – the largest gain ever by any driver in the opening race of the Round of 8.
· Ryan Blaney lost 37 points to the cutline at Las Vegas – he also lost 43 points in that race in 2024 but went on to win at Martinsville to advance the Championship 4 Round.
· Ryan Blaney was 47 points below the cutline when he won at Martinsville to advance to the Championship last season – the largest deficit ever overcome in the Round of 8.
· The four drivers below the cutline have a combined 17 wins at Talladega and Martinsville, including 3 of the last 4 at Martinsville.
· The Talladega playoff race was won by a playoff driver in nine of 11 seasons of the elimination format.
· Seven of the nine playoff winners of the Talladega playoff race were at or below the cutline entering the race.
· Kyle Larson won three of the last seven drafting track stages, his only drafting track stage wins.
· Kyle Larson is making his 400th Cup start this weekend at Talladega.
· Denny Hamlin (two) and Ryan Blaney (two) combined won four of the last eight races of 2025.
· Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske have combined to win 13 races at drafting tracks in the Next Gen car, more than all other teams combined.
· Team Penske/Wood Brothers have spent 249 laps running together in first and second place at drafting tracks this year – more than double the laps of all other teams combined.
· Denny Hamlin made the Championship Four for the fifth time and the first since 2021, his crew chief Chris Gayle is making his first appearance in the Championship 4.
· Joe Gibbs Racing won four of the last seven races of 2025 with three different drivers: Denny Hamlin-2, Christopher Bell-1, Chase Briscoe-1.
· Kyle Larson leads all drivers with 1100 laps led, it’s his third straight season leading over 1,000 laps and his fourth in five seasons with Hendrick Motorsports.
NCS Clinch Scenarios for Talladega Superspeedway (Playoff Race #8):
Already Clinched
· The following driver has clinched a spot in the 4-driver field of the next round: Denny Hamlin.
Can Clinch Via Points
· If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being 57 points above the 3rd winless driver in the standings. The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from among Kyle Larson or Christopher Bell.
• Kyle Larson: Could only clinch with help
• Christopher Bell: Could only clinch with help
· If there is a new winner from Chase Briscoe or another winless driver lower in the standings but still eligible to advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being 57 points above the 2nd winless driver in the standings.
• Kyle Larson: Could only clinch with help
Can Clinch Via Win
· The following drivers would clinch on their win alone: Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Talladega Superspeedway Storylines and Insights:
· This weekend marks the 38th running of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.
· Talladega was on the Xfinity Series schedule every year since inaugural race in 1992.
· Talladega hosted four Playoff races, in 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2024.
· All four previous Talladega Playoff races were in Round of 12.
· Round of 8 races are Las Vegas, Talladega and Martinsville.
· The lowest four drivers in points will be eliminated after Martinsville.
· No drivers clinched into Championship 4 at Las Vegas.
· Any win in the Round of 8 by a Playoff driver will advance them to Championship 4.
· At least two drivers will advance to Championship 4 on points.
· Any driver who leaves Talladega 57 points above 4th place will clinch a spot in the Championship 4 on points.
· Connor Zilisch enters Talladega 74 points above 4th place after runner-up finish at Las Vegas.
· Justin Allgaier enters Talladega 36 points above 4th place after third-place finish at Las Vegas.
· Sam Mayer in 4th and Brandon Jones in 5th are separated by eight points, all other drivers are at least 20 points above or below the Playoff cutoff.
· Justin Allgaier and Sam Mayer are the only remaining Playoff drivers to make Championship 4.
· Two rookies remain in the Playoffs: Connor Zilisch and Carson Kvapil.
· No driver has won race #2 in Round of 8 and gone on to win championship.
· No driver has won the Talladega Playoff race and gone on to win championship.
· Four teams are represented in driver’s Round of 8: JR Motorsports (4), Haas Factory Team (2), Joe Gibbs Racing (1) and Richard Childress Racing (1).
· Joe Gibbs Racing #19 advanced to owner’s Championship 4 with Aric Almirola’s Las Vegas win; Almirola will be in #19 for remainder of season.
· Joe Gibbs Racing’s #19 and Richard Childress Racing’s #21 are still alive in owner’s Playoffs, while JR Motorsports #1 and #8 were eliminated after Round of 12.
· Aric Almirola’s Las Vegas win was his third of 2025, matching his win total from last year.
· Aric Almirola won four of last eleven Playoff races as non-Playoff drivers.
· Joe Gibbs Racing won three of four Playoff races after only winning two races in regular season.
· Talladega is the sixth and final drafting track race this season.
· Austin Hill won at Talladega in April, his series record ninth career drafting track win, but first at Talladega.
· Austin Hill is the only driver in series history to win at all three drafting tracks: Atlanta (5), Daytona (3) and Talladega (1).
· The last seven Talladega races were won by seven different drivers.
· Sheldon Creed and Jeb Burton each finished Top 10 in last four Talladega races, one away from tying the Talladega record.
· Two of eight Playoff drivers finished in Top 10 at Talladega in April: Love 3rd, Allgaier 4th & Creed 9th.
· Richard Childress Racing won three of five drafting track races this season.
· Three of last five Talladega races had a last-lap pass for the win.
· Fifteen Talladega races had last-lap passes for the win; Daytona has the most with 16.
· Three of last six drafting track races featured a last-lap pass for the win.
· Five active drivers won in the Xfinity Series at Talladega, led by Jeb Burton with two wins.
· Austin Hill and Jesse Love combined to lead 340 laps on drafting tracks this season; 49 other drivers combined to lead 329.
· Richard Childress Racing won 11 of last 22 drafting track races.
· Connor Zilisch returns to the track where he broke his back in a last-lap crash in April.
· Connor Zilisch got his tenth win of season at the Charlotte Roval. He is the sixth driver in series history to win ten races in a season and the first since Kyle Busch in 2016.
· After winning the Charlotte Roval, Connor Zilisch holds the track record as the youngest winner on 10 different tracks.
· Connor Zilisch’s ten wins this season is the record for most wins by a rookie.
· Connor Zilisch extended his all-time top-5 finish record streak to 18 after runner-up finish at Las Vegas.
· Connor Zilisch’s 2.1 average finish in last 18 races is the best in series history in an 18-race span.
· Connor Zilisch finished first or second in half of the 30 races this season.
· Connor Zilisch won eight of last 12 races this season, the most in any 12-race span in series history.
· Connor Zilisch won 33% of his starts, the best win percentage all-time.
· Connor Zilisch led in his last 19 NXS starts, the record for most consecutive starts leading is 22 by Brad Keselowski.
· Randall Burnett was announced as Connor Zilisch’s crew chief next season when he moves to Trackhouse Racing in the Cup Series.
· JR Motorsports won 17 races this season with a series-record six different drivers (does not include Parker Kligerman who won in relief role at Daytona).
· JR Motorsports had at least one car finish Top 5 in a record 32 straight races.
· Justin Allgaier earned his 300th career Top 10 at Las Vegas, the first driver in series history to reach 300 Top 10s.
· Connor Zilisch leads the series with 10 wins, 19 Top 5s, 21 Top 10s, 985 laps led, a 7.7 average finish and eight poles this season.
· Connor Zilisch won Fastest Lap Award seven times this season, Justin Allgaier is second with five.
· Justin Allgaier leads the series with 13 stage wins this season.
· Justin Allgaier’s 28 career wins are 9th on the all-time wins list and one away from tying Matt Kenseth.
· Chevrolet led 3,583 of 4,770 laps this season (77%).
· Chevrolet won 24 of 30 races, tied for the most all time by a manufacturer through 30 races in series history.
· Five crew chiefs got their first NXS win in 2025: Chad Haney at Atlanta, Sam McAulay at Darlington, Adam Wall at Bristol, Cory Shea at Mexico City & Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Pocono.
· Five races this year ended with a last lap pass.
NXS Clinch Scenarios for Talladega Superspeedway (Playoff Race #5)
Already Clinched
· No drivers have clinched a spot in the 4-driver field of the next round.
Can Clinch Via Points
· If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being 57 points above the 4th winless driver in the standings. The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from among Connor Zilisch, Justin Allgaier or Jesse Love.
• Connor Zilisch: Would clinch with 39 points
• Justin Allgaier: Could only clinch with help
• Jesse Love: Could only clinch with help
· If there is a new winner from Sam Mayer or another winless driver lower in the standings but still eligible to advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being 57 points above the 3rd winless driver in the standings.
• Connor Zilisch: Would clinch with 51 points
• Justin Allgaier: Could only clinch with help
Can Clinch Via Win
· The following drivers would clinch on their win alone: Connor Zilisch, Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love, Sam Mayer, Brandon Jones, Sheldon Creed, Carson Kvapil, Sammy Smith
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Talladega Superspeedway Storylines and Insights:
· This week marks the 20th running of a NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.
· This is the 10th Playoff race at Talladega, making it one of just two tracks to host a NTS Playoff race every year since Playoffs began in 2016 (Phoenix).
· Second to eighth in Playoff standings are separated by five points.
· Only three of the drivers in the Round of 8 have previously made the Championship 4 (Heim, Enfinger, Majeski), at least one driver will make the Championship 4 for the first time.
· Corey Heim and Layne Riggs won the last nine races, the last race not won by either driver was Michigan on June 7th (Stewart Friesen).
· This is the first time in series history that two drivers combined to win nine straight races.
· Corey Heim’s 10 wins in 2025 is now the most all-time for a single season.
· Corey Heim finished top 3 in the last eight races, he is the only driver to finish top 3 in eight consecutive races.
· Corey Heim is 89 laps led away from tying the all-time single season laps led record (Mike Skinner, 1533 laps – 1996).
· Corey Heim (317) and Layne Riggs (181) led 498 of the 642 laps in the Playoffs.
· Corey Heim led 23 consecutive races, the longest streak in Truck Series history. Heim failed to lead in this race last year.
· Corey Heim led a lap in every race in 2025 and could become the first driver to lead in every race of a season.
· Corey Heim finished top-5 in all four Playoff races in 2025, no driver finished top-5 in every race of the playoffs in a season.
· Three drivers won six times in eight races (Hornaday ‘97, Biffle ‘99, Heim ‘25), no driver has won seven times in nine races.
· 18 races this season were won by drivers aged 25 or younger, the most ever in a single Truck Series season.
· ThorSport Racing remains winless after 22 races in 2025, the deepest into a season the organization has gone without a win.
· Chevrolet has not won in 10 races (Rajah Caruth – Nashville in May), after winning six of the first 12 races of 2025, the makes longest winless streak in the Truck Series since 2014-15.
· Talladega is the third drafting track race of 2025 and the first since Atlanta in February.
· Six of the last seven Talladega races were won with a last lap pass and all but four Talladega races were won in the final two laps.
· Four of the last six Talladega races were won by drivers getting their first NCTS win.
· Three drivers finished top-10 in the two drafting track races in 2025: Grant Enfinger, Ty Majeski, Chandler Smith.
NCTS Clinch Scenarios For Talladega Superspeedway (Playoff Race #5):
Already Clinched
· The following driver has clinched a spot in the 4-driver field of the next round: Corey Heim.
Can Clinch Via Points
· If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being 57 points above the 3rd winless driver in the standings. The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from among Tyler Ankrum or Daniel Hemric.
• Tyler Ankrum: Could only clinch with help
• Daniel Hemric: Could only clinch with help
• Rajah Caruth: Could only clinch with help
• Layne Riggs: Could only clinch with help
· If there is a new winner from Rajah Caruth or another winless driver lower in the standings but still eligible to advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being 57 points above the 2nd winless driver in the standings.
• Tyler Ankrum: Could only clinch with help
Can Clinch Via Win
· The following drivers would clinch on their win alone: Tyler Ankrum, Daniel Hemric, Rajah Caruth, Layne Riggs, Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, Kaden Honeycutt
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