Last lap pass captures a NASCAR Cup Series victory for Austin Cindric at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday afternoon in the Jack Link’s 500.
TALLADEGA, Ala. – Austin Cindric’s dramatic last-lap pass provided exactly the sort of superspeedway thrill that NASCAR fans expect. Cindric gave Team Penske their first trophy of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season at the sport’s biggest track.
Victory for Austin Cindric at Talladega
Cindric’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford pulled ahead of Roush Fenway Keselowski driver Ryan Preece’s No. 60 Ford by the length of a front hood to claim a 0.022-second victory in Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500. The two Ford Mustangs exchanged the lead five times in the final six laps.
“I’m just so proud of this team from the [pit] cycles to the fast cars to the fuel-only stops,’’ said the 26-year old Cindric, whose team – with 17 laps remaining – turned in the fastest final pit stop putting him back out front and able to contend for the win in a race that featured 67 lead changes among 23 drivers.
“It definitely wasn’t easy,’’ Cindric said of holding off the Hendrick teammates for the checkered flag. “I give a lot of credit, Kyle [Larson] did a lot to take care of me, pushing me at the right times in the tri-oval and as mad as I was at him after Atlanta [race], I feel like we’re good now. That was great and having a photo-finish at Talladega and get in the Playoffs in front of this amazing crowd, beautiful day in Alabama.’’
Austin Cindric’s Talladega win is his third NASCAR Cup Series victory. He won the Daytona 500 as a rookie, then at WWTR last year.
Fords Disqualifed
However, the Fords driven by fifth-place finisher, Preece, and Cindric’s Penske teammate, Joey Logano, were subsequently disqualified following post-race inspection for technical violations. NASCAR officials found an illegal spoiler on Preece’s Mustang. The spoiler on Logano’s No. 22 Mustang also violated Overall Assembled Vehicle Rules.
The disqualifications moved Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron into second and third place.
The Ag Pro 300 Race Results
With the two disqualifications, Front Row Motorsports’ Noah Gragson and Hendrick’s Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Chevrolet drivers, Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar and Hendrick’s Alex Bowman, finished sixth and seventh. Former Talladega winner, and Sunday’s Stage 2 winner, Bubba Wallace, is eighth in the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota. Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suárez and Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon completed the updated top ten.
Larson One Spot Short; Happy with Improvement in Talladega Race
The Hendrick teammates Larson and Byron acknowledged that looming just beyond the finish line, lapped traffic in front of the lead pack certainly created an extra consideration. Yet the runner-up showing for Larson, who won Stage 1 and led three laps on the day, was a career-best effort at Talladega. It was a major move forward for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion at drafting tracks such as Talladega, Daytona, and Atlanta. These are venues where the 31-race winner has yet to earn a trophy.
“I wanted to take it, but just felt like the gap was too big,’’ said Larson, who ran directly behind Cindric in the closing laps, adding. “I was just second row inside and just going to do everything I could to try and advance our lane and maybe open it up so maybe then I could get to the outside, but we were all pushing so equally that it kept the lanes kind of jammed up.
“I needed something else to kinda happen, maybe them to get blocking each other or something, but still a great day. A stage win, P3 in the second stage and P3 in the final, so great points day and best career finish on a superspeedway so happy with the performance in the Hendricks.com Chevy.”
Victory for Austin Cindric is a NASCAR Cup Series Record Streak for Talladega
Cindric is the tenth different winner in the last ten Talladega races. This is a record streak at the iconic 2.66-mile high-banked track. Yet Sunday’s race was relatively calm compared to some previous editions at the high-action drafting track. It marked the fourth time a Talladega race had only four caution flags. Two of those cautions were scheduled stage caution breaks.
Two Ford Drivers Find Frustration
Although their teammates ran well and earned stage points, it was a frustrating afternoon for Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Brad Keselowski.
The two former champions and past multi-time Talladega winners were in an accident on lap 43 during a pit stop cycle before the first Stage break. Keselowski and Chevy’s Kyle Busch collided on track as Keselowski was moving to pit road for a stop. Their contact collected Blaney, spinning him out as well.
The owner-driver of the No. 6 Ford, Keselowski, who was already mired in a disappointing early season, finished 36th and is now ranked 32nd in the championship standings.
“It was just a stack of guys trying to come to pit road as fast as they could and we were kind of the ham in the sandwich that got squeezed.’’ said Keselowski, who leads all active drivers with six Talladega wins. “I waved down the backstretch to let everybody know I was gonna pit and I came off of four and everybody was so tight behind me that I didn’t even have a chance to turn left. I hate that it ruined not just our day, but several other people’s day. I don’t think I could do anything different.”
Blaney, who drives the No. 12 Team Penske Ford, was scored as 37th. That spot is ahead of the two disqualified drivers. It marked his fourth DNF in the ten-race season, but the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion has led 198 laps on the season and is still ranked eighth in the standings.
“Another DNF – it just sucks,’’ Blaney said. Just when we were kind of getting our momentum and didn’t even get to race today. We’ll just move on to Texas.”,
The NASCAR Cup Series Point Standings
Finishing the race in third, Byron continues his lead in the championship point standings. He is now 31 points ahead of his teammate Larson. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, who had been second in points going into Talladega, is now ranked third, 52 points behind Byron. Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell hold the fourth and fifth spots.
Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, and Ross Chastain hold the sixth through tenth spots.
Up Next
The NASCAR Cup Series heads West to Texas Motor Speedway for next Sunday’s Wurth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott is the defending race winner.