By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service

Tyler Reddick’s five wins echo Earnhardt as Talladega awaits

TALLADEGA, Ala. – After hoisting his series’ best fifth NASCAR Cup Series race trophy last week in just this young nine-race old season, Tyler Reddick and his No. 45 23XI Racing team have decidedly established themselves the team “to beat” with every stop of the schedule.

A general view of racing during the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 19, 2025 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

And even as unpredictable as the big drafting tracks may be there is every reason to believe the 30-year-old Californian is still a favorite yet again this week heading to the sport’s largest venue, the 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway for Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 (3 p.m. ET on FOX, FOX Deportes, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) – a race he won in 2024.

There have been only five winners in the opening nine races – including a first-timer Ty Gibbs at Bristol, Tenn. – with Reddick’s five trophies the largest haul through this part of the season since similar work completed by the late NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt in 1987. The excellence has propelled Reddick’s championship lead over his team co-owner and fellow Toyota driver, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin to a massive 105 points.

Even the few races Reddick hasn’t won, he’s still proven to be on-game, posting a series-best average finish this season of 5.0. And he’s been perfect on drafting tracks so far with wins in the season-opening Daytona 500 and then at Atlanta’s EchoPark Speedway the next week.

Yet if there is any speedway where the rest of the field perpetually feels competitive in the always-unpredictable run-up to the checkered flag, Talladega is unquestionably “that” place.

Team Penske’s Austin Cindric won last year’s spring race in the ninth closest margin of victory (.022-second) in track history.  And last fall’s Talladega Playoff race featured the most lead changes (77) since 2011 and the most race leaders (23) since 2010.

This weekend NASCAR has proactively made a major competitive adjustment at Talladega by changing the stage lengths. The first stage will run 98 laps and the final two are scheduled for 45 laps each. The aim in shortening the second and third stages is to curtail fuel-saving in the final portion of the race eliminating the need to stop for fuel and instead allow the cars to run “full throttle” to the checkered flag. And the reception has been positive, if cautious.

“Just curious to see how that’s kind of going to affect the fuel conservation and stuff throughout the race,” conceded two-time and reigning series champion, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson.

“I still think you’re going to be saving quite a bit of fuel, but we’ll see when we get there. And then, I think you just study that and see what kind of scenarios might pop up and how to best adapt for it. You’re always trying to position yourself for that final run to the end, so we’ll see if we can do that.

“We’ve done that well in the past at Talladega, especially, and I think it could just look a little different now with stage lengths.”

Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing owner-driver Brad Keselowski is among those expecting a strong showing this weekend. The 2012 series champion’s six wins here are most among active drivers and he has three runner-up finishes since his most recent trip to Victory Lane in April 2021.

Joining him on the list of Talladega multi-time winners are Team Penske’s championship teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney, who each own three Talladega trophies. Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch – who is looking for his first race win since June 2024 – Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, Hyak Motorsports’ Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Hamlin all have two wins.

23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, Reddick, Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, JGR’s Chase Briscoe join Cindric as the other active former winners.

Of note, more drivers have scored their first NASCAR Cup Series victory at Talladega than any other track in the sport.

Busch Light Pole Qualifying is Saturday at 10:30 a.m. (Prime, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Talladega’s AG-PRO 300 sets stage for Dash 4 Cash showdown

Saturday afternoon’s AG-PRO 300 at Talladega (4 p.m. ET on CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is the third of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series’ four Dash 4 Cash races with the highest finisher among the four qualified drivers claiming a $100,000 bonus check.

Haas Factory Team’s Sheldon Creed (No. 00 Chevrolet), Richard Childress Racing’s Jesse Love (No. 2 Chevrolet), JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier (No. 7 Chevrolet) and last week’s Kansas winner Taylor Gray (No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) will compete for the big money this weekend.

It is Allgaier’s record 26th time being eligible for the Dash 4 Cash bonus and conversely, Gray’s first. The 2024 series champ Allgaier leads all drivers having captured the award eight times in his career.

It’s been a stellar start for the veteran, whose three victories and eight top-five showings through the opening 10 races are tops in the field. He’s on a streak of seven straight top-five finishes and is the only driver in the series to earn stage points in every single race stage this season.

And for the effort. … Allgaier holds a staggering 131-point lead over Creed atop the championship standings. He’s nearly 200 points up on fifth place – 196 points ahead of JGR’s Brandon Jones.

Love, who sits third in the championship, 149 off Allgaier’s blistering pace, holds the mark for most laps led this season (224) and has proven himself especially good on the big tracks, such as Talladega, where in 2024 he scored his first series victory.

He’s started from the front row in all four of his Talladega starts – winning pole position the last three races – and he’s 4-for-4 in top-10 finishes at the sport’s biggest track leading an impressive 125 laps in that span.

Both Allgaier and Love know they will have to beat Love’s RCR teammate, Austin Hill for a trophy shot. Hill has won the last two NOAPS races at ‘Dega holding off another two-time Talladega winner Jeb Burton in last spring’s race.

“Anything can happen at Talladega,” said Allgaier, whose best Talladega finish is runner-up (2016).  “It’s such an unpredictable style of racing. Thankfully, JR Motorsports has always brought great cars to the superspeedways and I know that we will have another one on Saturday.

“Hopefully we can keep our nose clean all race long, work well with our teammates, and be in position to fight for both the win and the Dash 4 Cash bonus.”

Kennametal Pole Qualifying is set for Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET (CW App).