The NASCAR Truck Series is on a two week break. They will rejoin the CUP and Xfinity teams at Darlington Raceway for the May 6-8 Throwback weekend where most teams will feature vintage paint schemes that pay homage to past NASCAR drivers and teams. This past weekend, Talladega Superspeedway hosted the Cup and Xfinity races. Both events were full of expected high-speed close racing with occasional multi-car wrecks. It took three over-time restarts in Saturday’s NXS race for Noah Gragson to score his first career victory at the superspeedway. On Sunday, Ross Chastain made a last lap pass to win the GEICO 500 for his second Cup Series career victory.
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Sun, Apr 24, GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway - 188 laps
- Christopher Bell (#20 Toyota Camry) won the Pole Award for Sunday’s race with a lap of 180.928 mph. This is his 2nd pole in 82 NCS races. It is his 7th top-10 start in 2022 and his 1st pole in five Talladega races. Martin Truex Jr. (2nd) posted his 2nd top-10 start of 2022 and his 12th in 35 races at ’Dega. Xfinity Series regular Daniel Hemric (3rd) earned his 2nd top-10 start at ’Dega and his 2nd in four CUP races this season. Austin Cindric (18th) was the fastest qualifying Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contender. Did not qualify: No one. Only 39 teams entered for the 40-car lineup.
- Ross Chastain (#1 Chevrolet Camaro) scored his 2nd victory in 125 NCS races. This is his 2nd victory and 6th top-10 finish in 2022 and his 1st top-10 finish in seven races at Talladega. Austin Dillon (2nd) posted his 5th top-10 finish in 18 ’Dega races and his 5th top-10 finish in 2022. Kyle Busch (3rd) earned his 9th top-10 finish in 34 races at Talladega. Austin Cindric (21st) was the highest finishing ROTY. Polesitter Christopher Bell led 7 laps and finished in 22nd place.
- NCS points leader: Chase Elliott leads the point standings by 21 points over Ryan Blaney.
- Next: Sun, May 1, DuraMAX Drydene 400 at Dover Motor Speedway - 400 laps
Top-16 NCS Playoff Contenders (G/L):
1. Chase Elliott 0
2. Ryan Blaney 0
3. William Byron 1
4. Kyle Busch 2
5. Alex Bowman 0
6. Joey Logano -3
7. Kyle Larson 2
8. Martin Truex Jr. -1
9. Ross Chastain -1
10. Aric Almirola 2
11. Kevin Harvick 2
12. Chase Briscoe -2
13. Austin Dillon 4
14. Christopher Bell 1
15. Tyler Reddick -4
16. Austin Cindric -2
NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS)
Sat, Apr 23, Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway - 113 laps +14 OT
- Jeffrey Earnhardt (#3 Chevrolet Camaro) won the Pole Award for Saturday’s race with a lap of 182.560 mph. This is his 1st pole in 136 NXS races. It is his 1st pole in ten races at Talladega. Austin Hill (2nd), the fastest qualifying ROTY, posted his 5th top-10 start of 2022 and his 1st in two ’Dega races. Ty Gibbs (3rd) earned his 1st top-10 start at Talladega and his 6th in nine races this season. 41 cars entered for the 38-car lineup. Did Not Qualify: #13 Natalie Decker, #34 Jesse Iwuji and #28 CJ McLaughlin.
- Noah Gragson (#9 Chevrolet Camaro) scored his 7th victory in 111 NXS races. This is his 2nd win and 6th top-10 finish in 2022. It is his 1st victory and 5th top-10 finish in seven races at Talladega. Polesitter Jeffrey Earnhardt (2nd) led 10 laps and posted his 1st top-10 finish in ten ’Dega races. AJ Allmendinger (3rd) earned his 3rd top-10 finish in five Talladega races. Allmendinger also won the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus as the highest finisher of the four eligible drivers. Kyle Sieg (18th) was the highest finishing ROTY.
- NXS points leader: AJ Allmendinger by 40 points over Noah Gragson.
- Next: Sat, Apr 30, A-GAME 200 at Dover Motor Speedway - 200 laps
Top-12 NXS Playoff Contenders (G/L):
1. AJ Allmendinger 0
2. Noah Gragson 1
3. Ty Gibbs -1
4. Josh Berry 1
5. Brandon Jones -1
6. Justin Allgaier 1
7. Ryan Sieg 2
8. Sam Mayer -2
9. Austin Hill 1
10. Riley Herbst 1
11. Landon Cassill 1
12. Daniel Hemric -4
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NTS)
- NTS points leader: Ben Rhodes leads the standings by 38 points over Chandler Smith.
- Next: Fri, May 6, Dead On Tools 200 at Darlington Raceway - 147 laps
Top-10 NTS Playoff Contenders (G/L):
1. Ben Rhodes 0
2. Chandler Smith 0
3. Stewart Friesen 1
4. Zane Smith -1
5. John Hunter Nemechek 0
6. Christian Eckes 0
7. Ty Majeski 1
8. Tanner Gray -1
9. Carson Hocevar 3
NASCAR Feeder Series
ARCA Menards Series:
Sat, Apr 23, General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway - 68 laps
Winner: Nick Sanchez - P1: Drew Dollar - Points Leader: Rajah Caruth
Next: Sat, May 14, Dutch Boy 150 at Kansas Speedway - 100 laps
ARCA Menards East:
Sat, Mar 19, Pensacola 200 at Five Flags Speedway - 200 laps
Winner: Sammy Smith - P1: Leland Honeyman Jr. - Points Leader: Sammy Smith
Next: Fri, Apr 29, General Tire 125 at Dover Motor Speedway - 125 laps
ARCA Menards West:
Sat, Apr 23, NAPA Auto Parts 150 at Kern County Raceway Park - 150 laps
Winner: Landen Lewis - P1: P.J. Pedroncelli - Points Leader: Jake Drew
Next: Sat, Jun 4, Portland 100 - Portland International Raceway - 51 laps
Whelen Modified Tour:
Fri, Apr 1, Virginia is for Racing Lovers 150 at Richmond Raceway - 150 laps
Winner: Justin Bonsignore - P1: Justin Bonsignore - Points Leader: Eric Goodale
Next: Sat, May 14, TBA - Riverhead Raceway - 200 laps
NASCAR Pinty’s Series:
Season Opener: Sat, May 14, NTN Ultimate Bearing 250 at Sunset Speedway
NASCAR Mexico Series:
Sun, Apr 10, NASCAR Mexico Race #1 at Super Ovalo Chiapas - 170 laps
Winner: Rogelio Lopez - P1: Jose Luis Ramirez - Points Leader: Rogelio Lopez
Next: Sun, May 8, Gran Premio Queretaro at Autodromo del Ecocentro de la Union Ganadera
Track Details
Autodromo del Ecocentro de la Union Ganadera - 0.79-mile oval - Queretaro
Darlington Raceway - 1.366-mile oval - Darlington, South Carolina
Dover Motor Speedway - 1-mile concrete oval - Dover, Delaware
Five Flags Speedway - 0.5-mile oval - Pensacola, Florida
Kansas Speedway - 1.5-mile oval - Kansas City, Kansas
Kern County Raceway Park - 0.5-mile oval - Bakersfield, California
Portland International Raceway - 1.967-mile road course - Portland, Oregon
Richmond Raceway - 0.75-mile oval - Richmond, Virginia
Sunset Speedway - 0.333-mile oval - Innisfil, Ontario
Super Ovalo Chiapas - 0.75-mile tri-oval - Tuxtla Gutierrez
Talladega Superspeedway - 2.66-mile tri-oval - Talladega, Alabama