In a dramatic final-lap showdown at Talladega Superspeedway, Austin Cindric executed a thrilling pass, securing his and Team Penske‘s first victory of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season in the Jack Link’s 500.
The 2022 Daytona 500 winner edged out Ryan Preece in the No. 60 Roush Fenway Keselowski Ford by a mere .022 seconds, with the two Ford Mustangs exchanging the lead five times in the final six laps.
However, post-race inspection revealed technical infractions on the Fords of both Preece and Cindric’s Penske teammate, Joey Logano, who had finished fifth. NASCAR officials subsequently disqualified both drivers, citing an illegal spoiler on Preece’s No. 60 Mustang and a spoiler violation on Logano’s No. 22 Mustang that also breached Overall Assembled Vehicle Rules.
These disqualifications elevated Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron to second and third place, respectively.
“I’m just so proud of this team,” exclaimed the 26-year-old Cindric, highlighting their pit strategy and fast car. His team’s rapid final pit stop with 17 laps remaining propelled him back into the lead contention in a race marked by an impressive 67 lead changes among 23 drivers.
Reflecting on the intense finish, Cindric acknowledged the challenge of holding off the Hendrick teammates. “It definitely wasn’t easy,” he said, expressing gratitude towards Larson for strategic pushes. “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.”
Larson and Byron both noted the presence of lapped traffic near the finish line as an added factor. For Larson, the runner-up finish marked a career-best at the Talladega Superspeedway, a significant achievement at a drafting track where the 31-time Cup Series winner is still seeking his first victory.
“I wanted to take it, but just felt like the gap was too big,” explained Larson, who had closely followed Cindric in the final laps. Despite the close finish, Larson celebrated a strong points day, including a Stage 1 win and a third-place finish in the second stage.
Cindric’s victory marks the 10th consecutive Talladega race with a different winner, a record for the track. Interestingly, Sunday’s event was relatively tame, with only four caution flags, two of which were scheduled stage breaks.
Following the disqualifications, Noah Gragson of Front Row Motorsports and Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports rounded out the revised top five. Chevrolet drivers Carson Hocevar (Spire Motorsports) and Alex Bowman (Hendrick Motorsports) finished sixth and seventh, respectively. Bubba Wallace in the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota, who won Stage 2, ultimately finished eighth. Rounding out the updated top 10 were Daniel Suárez (Trackhouse Racing) and Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing).
The day proved frustrating for Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Brad Keselowski, both former champions and past Talladega winners. The two were involved in a Lap 43 incident in the pit lane before the first stage break. Contact between Keselowski and Chevrolet’s Kyle Busch triggered a spin for Blaney.
Keselowski, the owner-driver of the No. 6 Ford and a six-time Talladega winner, finished 36th and now sits 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,” Keselowski explained.
Blaney in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford was scored 37th. Despite his fourth DNF in 10 races this season, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion has led 198 laps and remains eighth in the standings. “Another DNF – it just sucks,” Blaney lamented. “Just when we were kind of getting our momentum and didn’t even get to race today. We’ll just move on to Texas.”
Byron’s third-place finish allowed him to extend his championship lead to 31 points over his teammate Larson. Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing, who entered Talladega second in points, now ranks third, 52 points behind Byron.
The NASCAR Cup Series now heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the Wurth 400 next Sunday. Chase Elliott is the defending race winner.
Share
