2026 Jack Link's 500
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 10 of 36 in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | April 26, 2026 | ||
| Location | Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 2.66 miles (4.28 km) | ||
| Distance | 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.64 km) | ||
| Weather | Partly cloudy 81 °F (27 °C) | ||
| Average speed | 147.504 miles per hour (237.385 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | 23XI Racing | ||
| Grid positions set by competition-based formula | |||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 31 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | |
| Time | 48.263 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Kevin Harvick | ||
| Nielsen ratings | 2.11 (3.967 million) | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley, and Todd Gordon | ||
| Turn announcers | Dave Moody (1 & 2), Tim Catalfamo (Backstretch), and Dan Hubbard (3 & 4) | ||
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.[7][8][9]
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.[10]
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
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.[11]
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 | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage Two Laps: 45
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 1 |
Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 45
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 188 | 55 |
| 2 | 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 | 0 |
| 25 | 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 | 9 |
| 34 | 9 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 122 | 3 |
| 35 | 7 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 119 | 2 |
| 36 | 4 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 114 | 1 |
| 37 | 15 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 114 | 7 |
| 38 | 27 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team | Chevrolet | 114 | 1 |
| 39 | 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: 147.504 miles per hour (237.385 km/h)
- 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.
| Fox | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | In-race analyst |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Clint Bowyer Color-commentator: Kevin Harvick | Jamie Little Regan Smith Josh 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 Radio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Mike Bagley Announcer: Todd Gordon | Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody Backstretch: Tim Catalfamo Turns 3 & 4: Dan Hubbard | Steve Post Chris Wilner Jason Toy Jacklyn Drake |
Standings after the race
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References
- ↑ "2026 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ↑ "Talladega Superspeedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ↑ "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover". NASCAR. August 20, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
- ↑ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. April 20, 2026. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
- ↑ "Jack Link's 500 Results". Racing-Reference. April 26, 2026. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
- ↑ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. April 26, 2026. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
- ↑ Holleran, Andrew (May 21, 2026). "NASCAR driver Kyle Busch dead at 41". MSN. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
- ↑ Reed, Steve (May 21, 2026). "2-time NASCAR champ Kyle Busch dies at 41 after being hospitalized with a 'severe illness'". Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 21, 2026. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
- ↑ "MSN". www.msn.com. Retrieved May 26, 2026.
- ↑ "Jack Link's named spring NASCAR Cup Series race entitlement partner at Talladega Superspeedway". October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
- ↑ DeGroot, Nick (April 25, 2026). "NASCAR Cup Talladega qualifying rained out, Tyler Reddick on pole". Motorsport.com. Lincoln, Alabama: Motorsport Network. Retrieved April 25, 2026.