Following the huge success of NASCAR’s Easter weekend at Rockingham Speedway, NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell has teased a possible Cup Series return to the North Carolina track.

The doubleheader saw both the Xfinity and Truck Series return to the iconic track, ‘The Rock,’ after several years, and this saw tremendous ticket sales and a fanfare response. With this, questions were of course being asked about a Cup Series return.

O’Donnell, only recently promoted to the role of NASCAR president, is enthusiastic about the sport’s return after “an unbelievable turnout.” He however confirmed to The Charlotte Observer that he’d like to keep it to just Xfinity and Trucks for now while bringing in more Cup Series drivers, but “you never know what the future holds beyond that.”

These comments are carefully worded, hinting at a potential Cup Series return if the hype around the 0.94-mile track is sustained. It hasn’t been since 2004 that the track has hosted the series.

Easter weekend saw a sellout crowd of 25,000 fans on the Saturday and 16,000 on the Friday. Tyler Ankrum won the Truck Series race, but drama surrounding Jesse Love saw his car being disqualified following the Xfinity Series race, making Sammy Smith the eventual winner of the North Carolina Education Lottery 250. The race saw 17 lead changes between eight drivers.

Talking to the media following the race, Ankrum said the following to the media:

“It’s really, really cool. When we get to bring back these old tracks, it’s really, really cool. You can tell the fans are really excited. Even on pit road, the fans are going crazy all the time, and they’re talking so loudly you can hear ’em from pit road.”

“You kind of get the feeling of what I imagine as a kid what Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon felt like. They’re here for us – they’re not here for the Cup guys. It’s really, really cool to see racing like this come back to North Carolina…”

Kasey Kahne added: “I think a Cup event would be fantastic here. I used to enjoy watching it and being a part of it the one year I was.

“It could make a great race.”

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) — Austin Cindric celebrated his first win of the season by wearing Talladega’s Superspeedway traditional victory wreath all around the track.

A wreath like he just won the Indianapolis 500.

He thought so, too.

“Feels like I just won the Indy 500,” he said of Sunday’s NASCAR race. “I’m trying to walk on the plane with this.”

Cindric wasn’t even concerned how such a gesture might be received by Team Penske teammate Joey Logano, who raged on his radio after the second stage when Cindric didn’t push him and it allowed Bubba Wallace in a Toyota to win the segment and its valuable bonus points.

“Way to go Austin,” seethed Logano, who used multiple expletives in his anger over his Penske radio. “You just gave it to him. Gave a Toyota a stage win. Nice job. Way to go … put that in the book.”

Cindric was unconcerned by the idea Logano might take issue with the wreath on the Penske plane.

“I think that would be very immature,” Cindric said. “I don’t see him doing that. We’ll see.”

It was a celebratory day for Cindric, who gave Team Penske its first NASCAR victory of the season by holding off a huge pack of challengers over the closing lap in a rare drama-free day at Talladega Superspeedway.

“Rock on, guys,” Cindric said over his radio. “Rock and roll. Let’s go!”

Ford drivers went 1-2, with Ryan Preece finishing second. But Preece and Logano were disqualified following postrace inspections because of spoiler infractions. Logano had crossed the finish line in fifth.

After the DQ’s, Kyle Larson moved up to second and William Byron third for Hendrick Motorsports. The two Chevrolet drivers pushed Cindric and Preece from the second row rather than pull out of line on the final lap and make a third lane in an attempt to win.

It was Larson’s best career finish at Talladega, where drafting and pack racing is required and neither suits his style. He said he wanted to make a move to try to take the win from Cindric but there was never any room.

“I wanted to take it, but I felt like the gap was too big,” Larson said. “I was just stuck inside and just doing everything I could to advance our lane and maybe open it up to where I then could get to the outside. But we were all just pushing so equally that it kept the lanes jammed up.”

Noah Gragson ended up fourth in a Ford, while Hendrick driver Chase Elliott was fifth — two spots ahead of teammate Alex Bowman, with Carson Hocevar of Spire Motorsports sandwiched in between them. Wallace was the highest-finishing Toyota driver in eighth.

Cindric led five times but for only seven of the 188 laps in an unusually calm race for chaotic Talladega. The track last fall recorded the largest crash in the NASCAR history when 28 cars were collected in a demolition derby with four laps remaining.

On Sunday, there were only four cautions — two for stage breaks — totaling 22 laps. It was the fourth consecutive Talladega race with only four cautions, the two for stage breaks and the two for natural cautions.

But, Sunday featured season-highs in lead changes (67) among different drivers (23). Only five cars failed to finish from the 40-car field, and a whopping 30 drivers finished on the lead lap.

Cindric marked the 10th consecutive different winner at Talladega, extending the track record of no repeat winners. And, by the time it was over, Logano seemed to have calmed down.

“About time one of us wins these things,” Logano said of the Penske trio. “When you think about the amount of laps led by Team Penske and Ford in general, just haven’t been able to close. To see a couple of Fords on the front row duking it out, I wish one of them was me, in a selfish way. But it’s good to see those guys running up there and being able to click one off.”

Larson sets NASCAR record for stage wins

When he won the first stage at Talladega, it was the 67th of Larson’s career and made him NASCAR’s all-time stage winner. He broke a tie with Martin Truex Jr. with the stage win.

Stages were introduced in 2017 as a way to ensure natural breaks during races that allowed fans to rush to the bathroom or concession stand without missing any action. Cars typically make a pit stop during a stage break.

Teammate-on-teammate collision

Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin, who combined to win five of the first nine races this season, had a collision on a restart that ensured Bell would not win his fourth race of the season.

It happened in the first stage of the race with Bell on the front row next to Chris Buescher on his inside, and with Hamlin behind him. As the cars revved to get up to speed at the green flag, Hamlin ran into the back of Bell, which caused him to turn into Buescher and create the second caution of the race.

Bell went to the garage, where he joined Ryan Blaney, Buescher and Brad Keselowski, all betting favorites who were done for the day before the end of the first stage.

“What in the hell? Man, apologies if that’s on me,” Hamlin radioed. “We weren’t even up to speed yet. I don’t know why that would have wrecked him. When he shot down to the bottom, I wasn’t even sure I was actually on him.”

Up Next

NASCAR races next week at Texas Motor Speedway, where Elliott scored his only win of the 2024 season last April.

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Michael Nelson, president of NASCAR operations for Team Penske, and Brian Wilson, race-winning crew chief.

We’ll open it up for questions.

Q. Brian, yesterday Austin admitted could have, should have won the Daytona 500, should have won Atlanta. To have these fast race cars and not have the results is a little frustrating. To win today, to do it on a superspeedway, finally check that box after how strong you’ve been, how much of a relief is that?

BRIAN WILSON: Yeah, I feel like it’s rewarding. I think ‘rewarding’ is the right word. Austin, our spotter Doug, put in a whole lot of work. Everyone at Team Penske puts in a lot of work to the superspeedway program, everybody at Roush-Yates.

Rewarding to get a win. As you said, we felt like we were in contention, had cars we thought should potentially win those first two races.

To get it done today is definitely rewarding.

Q. Mike, the IMSA side has been winning. NASCAR and INDYCAR sides have not gotten a win. What was the aura in the shop just as far as was there frustration, or were you feeling good about performance, just not results?

MICHAEL NELSON: Yeah, I think you’re always frustrated about not getting the results. I think the INDYCAR season is underway. I think those guys, I feel like they’re pretty strong going into Indianapolis here in a few weeks.

But no, we’ve had fast cars on the NASCAR side. I felt like almost every weekend just something ends up happening, costing us a win.

We weren’t down, but there’s definitely a level of frustration that builds when it just doesn’t come through, doesn’t happen at the end.

Happy to get the 2 car in Victory Lane today.

Q. Could you speak to Austin and what he’s done to make himself better, to put in the type of work that you talked about. How rewarding is it to see that pay off?

MICHAEL NELSON: I’ve known Austin for a really long time, since he was a kid. Watched him grow and develop over time. The amount of work he’s put in, in multiple series.

Once getting into the Cup Series, the amount of effort that he’s put in and everything that he’s gone through. I know he was really frustrated to not have won a couple of these races so far.

Yeah, it’s really rewarding to see people go through, put the work in and achieve something that they set out to do.

Q. (No microphone.)

BRIAN WILSON: Yeah, absolutely. Austin has a great work ethic. I think the first time I crew chiefed him was about 10 years ago. I’ve seen him grow quite a bit.

I think he’s the type of guy that he takes all information in, he really retains it, he wants to study it. I think the type of driver he is really fits the way that Team Penske operates.

We’re data-driven really. We love to provide things for him to be able to study. I think he’s really done a great job applying it.

Q. Mike, at the end of the second stage, Joey was livid on his radio at Austin about not helping him. He said it allowed Bubba to win the stage. By the time the race was over, Joey was like, It’s good to see a Team Penske guy. How long does that stuff last? Do you ever have to address it internally?

MICHAEL NELSON: I think our team has done a really good job of working together as a team over the years, especially at these races.

But when you see that, you realize how difficult it is behind the scenes. I guess it again proves these guys that we have, they want to win the races, right? They want to win for their team.

At the end of the day it’s just like a normal family. We have to go in and close the door when we’re not in front of everybody else and work through the issues that we have.

There was obviously some frustration there. Heat-of-the-moment situation, for sure. No, I think we’ve done a better job than most. It just shows you that there’s still more work to do, that it’s something you have to continually work on race after race.

Q. Brian, on the Toyota said, someone said you essentially saw what they did by short pitting early in stage two. Did the opposite. That was the race-winning move. Was there any reaction on the part of the Ford camp to run long or was that a preplanned decision?

BRIAN WILSON: Yeah, I think that’s something we always evaluate. We try to look at what the lap times are. If somebody does short pit, you try to watch and see where they’re going to cycle out.

As a group, there’s a lot of great communication amongst the Ford camp, absolutely. We saw what they were doing. I think we reacted really well to it.

It really comes down to executing on pit road. Every step of that I think we did really well.

Q. Was it odd to see one of these races go green all the way to the end?

BRIAN WILSON: I don’t know if it’s odd or not. I know we were all on the pit box worried that a caution was going to come out.

When you’re in those situations, you always think about those things. Just glad it worked out.

Q. NASCAR talked to the teams about running a run what you brung to the All-Star Race. Good idea? Bad idea?

MICHAEL NELSON: I think for us, obviously I heard about this. Just heard at some point that it wasn’t going to happen.

Really our goal at the end of the day is just to try to win with whatever rules they give us. I think we always give our opinion when we’re asked. Again, if it was going to be that, we’d go do our best at that.

So yeah, we just bring it on. Whatever the rules are, whenever the races are, we just try to take that for what it is. It’s out of our control to a certain extent. We try to be successful at it.

BRIAN WILSON: Absolutely. I echo what Michael said there. If they change the rules, I feel like there’s always opportunity there. Our group does a good job of trying to maximize that early on.

Whatever the rules are, we tend to find ourselves towards the front.

Q. (No microphone.)

MICHAEL NELSON: Well, I mean, look, at the end of the day I’m glad we’re having those conversations. It’s always cool to talk about what’s next. That’s the thing that I’m most excited about really, is that we’re always talking about how to make the sport better, some new ideas. Definitely appreciate those ideas.

As far as where we stand, I think the opinion is different depending on which crew chief you ask (laughter).

We support having the conversation. Yeah, we just want to go race, so… We’re happy to take whatever the rules are and try to figure it out.

Q. Mike, earlier this year Austin had the big penalty. It seemed like, Who is this guy? Seems to run well some weeks, but tends to have that issue that he had at COTA. Has he done anything differently over the last six weeks since then?

MICHAEL NELSON: No, I mean, I feel like he gained a lot of momentum towards the latter stages of last year, and really has continued to carry that on.

We’ve had some bumps in the road. There’s been a few races where our cars haven’t been contenders to win. All in all, I feel like he’s really started to take another step towards the last part of last year into this year. I think you’re seeing some of that like today.

Q. Brian, I know everybody is equal in the organization. With Joey winning the championship, Ryan… Do you ever feel you have something to prove or you’re the third team, not as regarded as the other two?

BRIAN WILSON: Yeah, I mean, we’ve got a young team, whether it’s my driver or a lot of my pit crew guys, my mechanics.

I think it’s very motivating when you see your teammates and you know what they do day to day, week in, week out, you see the success that they have. Obviously you want to get to that point.

I think for Austin, it’s a very high measuring stick when you have the back-to-back-to-back champions in-house. It’s a great situation where you know what they do, you can emulate them, try to take some of the things they do in.

As team, we try to do that as well. Whether it’s the 12 or the 22, what are they doing to their cars or setups to make speed.

It’s really a great situation to be in. It’s very motivating.

Q. (No microphone.)

BRIAN WILSON: Yeah, absolutely. It definitely motivates Austin. Top down on my team, we want to prove that he with can contend at that level.

THE MODERATOR: This is the 200th points-paying race for Roush-Yates. What does that mean for your organization?

MICHAEL NELSON: It’s really great. It’s really cool to look Doug Yates in the eyes out there in Victory Lane at a superspeedway, of all places, Talladega. I think if there’s a couple tracks he would pick to achieve this goal, I think this was probably one of them.

We got a chance to celebrate with him a little bit out there. We appreciate the partnership, what they’ve contributed with strong engines and the great mileage to be able to come here and win today.

We’re looking forward to some celebrations to come for that one.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations.

NASCAR PR

Here are the updated NASCAR Cup Series standings after big penalties were issued following the checkered flag at Talladega Superspeedway

On Sunday, Talladega Superspeedway hosted the NASCAR Cup Series. In post-race inspection, two cars have been disqualified.

View the updated NASCAR standings following the penalties below.

Ryan Preece (No. 60) and Joey Logano (No. 22) crossed the finish line in the top 5. However, each of them have been disqualified after NASCAR officials discovered spoiler violations.

The drivers have been relegated to a 38th and 39th place finish. All stage points earned throughout the day have also been removed. That has shaken up the standings from what they were just a few hours ago.

Both teams have the option to appeal the penalties.

Joey Logano, Ryan Preece disqualified by NASCAR after Talladega

NASCAR Cup Series
Point Standings
(After Talladega Penalty)

Pos | Driver | Wins | Points

1. Christopher Bell
3 Wins

2. Kyle Larson
2 Wins

3. Denny Hamlin
2 Wins

4. William Byron
1 Win

5. Austin Cindric
1 Win

6. Josh Berry
1 Win

7. Chase Elliott
+102

8. Tyler Reddick
+93

9. Bubba Wallace
+86

10. Ryan Blaney
+66

11. Alex Bowman
+64

12. Ross Chastain
+36

13. Joey Logano
+36

14. Chase Briscoe
+25

15. Chris Buescher
+20

16. AJ Allmendinger
+6

— Playoff Cutline —

17. Kyle Busch
-6

18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
-7

19. Ryan Preece
-14

NASCAR Cup Series
Point Standings
(Before Talladega Penalty)

Pos | Driver | Wins | Points

1. Christopher Bell
3 Wins

2. Kyle Larson
2 Wins

3. Denny Hamlin
2 Wins

4. William Byron
1 Win

5. Austin Cindric
1 Win

6. Josh Berry
1 Win

7. Chase Elliott
+102

8. Tyler Reddick
+86

9. Bubba Wallace
+81

10. Joey Logano
+73

11. Ryan Blaney
+63

12. Alex Bowman
+59

13. Ross Chastain
+31

14. Ryan Preece
+28

15. Chase Briscoe
+20

16. Chris Buescher
+15

— Playoff Cutline —

17. AJ Allmendinger
-15

18. Kyle Busch
-20

Talladega Results: April 27, 2025 (NASCAR Cup Series)

Links

Talladega SuperSpeedway | NASCAR

Austin Cindric gave Team Penske its first NASCAR victory of the season by holding off a huge pack of challengers over the closing lap in a rare drama-free day at Talladega Superspeedway.

Well, there was a tiny bit of drama: Penske teammate Joey Logano was livid following the end of Sunday’s second stage when Cindric didn’t push him and it allowed Toyota driver Bubba Wallace to win the stage.

Didn’t matter to Cindric as he celebrated the third win of his Cup Series career and snapped a 30-race losing streak. The victory makes him the first Penske driver locked into the playoffs.

Cindric was followed by Ryan Preece as Ford drivers went 1-2. Kyle Larson and William Byron finished third and fourth for Hendrick Motorsports, but the two Chevrolet drivers pushed Cindric and Preece from the second row rather than pull out of line on the final lap and make a third lane in an attempt to win.

Logano was fifth and followed by Noah Gragson for two more Ford cars, while Hendrick driver Chase Elliott was seventh — two spots ahead of teammate Alex Bowman, with Carson Hocevar of Spire Motorsports sandwiched in between at eighth. Wallace at 10th was the highest-finishing Toyota driver.

Cindric led five times but for only seven of the 188 laps in an unusually calm race for chaotic Talladega. The track last fall recorded the largest crash in the NASCAR history when 28 cars were collected in a demolition derby with four laps remaining.

On Sunday, there were only four cautions — two for stage breaks — totaling 22 laps. But, the race featured 67 lead changes among 23 different drivers. Only five cars failed to finish from the 40-car field, and a whopping 30 drivers finished on the lead lap.

Cindric marked the 10th consecutive different winner at Talladega, extending the track record of no repeat winners.

Larson sets NASCAR record for stage wins

When he won the first stage at Talladega, it was the 67th of Kyle Larson’s career and made him NASCAR’s all-time stage winner. He broke a tie with Martin Truex Jr. with the victory.

Stages were introduced in 2017 as a way to ensure natural breaks during races that allowed fans to rush to the bathroom or concession stand without missing any action. Cars typically make a pit stop during a stage break.

When Larson set the NASCAR record and headed to pit road as the leader, he was penalized for speeding and dropped to 17th in the running order for the restart.

Teammate-on-teammate collision

Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin, who combined to win five of the first nine races this season, had a collision on a restart that ensured Bell would not win his fourth race of the season.

It happened on a restart in the first stage of the race with Bell on the front row next to Chris Buescher on his inside, with Hamlin behind him. As the cars revved to get up to speed at the green flag, Hamlin ran into the back of Bell, which caused him to turn into Bell and create the second caution of the race.

Bell went to the garage, where he joined Ryan Blaney, Buescher and Brad Keselowski, all betting favorites who were done for the day before the end of the first stage.

“What in the hell? Man, apologies if that’s on me,” Hamlin radioed. “We weren’t even up to speed yet. I don’t know why that would have wrecked him. When he shot down to the bottom, I wasn’t even sure I was actually on him.”

On the earlier incident that collected Blaney, Keselowski, Kyle Busch and ended Buescher’s race, it was the fourth DNF in 10 races for Blaney.

Up Next

NASCAR races next week at Texas Motor Speedway, where Elliott scored his only win of the 2024 season last April.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing