The Post Race Inspection - 2025 Jack Link's 500 at Talladega

By Adam Carabine & Logan Morris

Logan Morris: Hey Adam, after a week off, we’re here after a big one-less race at Talladega. Austin Cindric scored the 3rd win of his career, and there’s been plenty of post-race inspection drama we will have to break down!

Adam Carabine: Yes, it’s good to be back - did you miss me!? It was maybe not the most exciting of Talladega races we’ve seen, but the ending was pretty nifty. I was glad to see the race end under green conditions, rather than with a caution, or multiple overtimes. And yet it was still quite competitive up until the very end.

And yes, you’re right, there has been some post-race drama here to unpack as well. Ryan Preece (originally P2) and Joey Logano (originally P5) both were disqualified. Is it just me, or have we seen a lot more DQs this year than normal? Also, thoughts on these two from Sunday?

LM: It does feel like the DQ rate is a bit higher this year, at least at this point of the season. Still lots of racing to go, of course, so it could even out. Maybe the process has become stricter. Perhaps it’s teams pushing the limits more because they have had an ample amount of time with this car. As far as these DQs go, you have to feel for Logano. In a race where the car is being violently bumped and shaken from the drop of the green flag, it’s hard to accuse the 22 team of really trying to get away with something.

AC: This officially takes away Logano’s first Top 5 of the season, too, which I find wild. He’s clearly had a tough start to the season, and just when things were looking up, he gets a DQ. Team Penske has already announced that they accept the disqualification and they won’t be appealing. To be honest, Ryan Preece had a great look at a win today too, and while I suppose I’m glad he didn’t get his first ever Cup Series win taken away from him with the DQ, it’s got to be pretty painful to go from P2 to P38.

It’s hard to know for sure what’s going on with these disqualifications, but something is definitely different this year. You may be right that there is more pushing of the envelope going on, now that teams are pretty comfortable with this next-gen car. However, I’m also going to challenge you on what you said - there actually isn’t all that much racing left. Talladega was Race 10, which is close to the halfway point of the regular season. If making the playoffs is your goal, you either need to get a win soon, or solidify your points standing, and a DQ is not going to help with either of those.

After the shakeup, Logano is still in the playoff picture for now, but Ryan Preece just fell out of it. If Preece misses by a little bit, he’ll be pretty choked about this DQ.

LM: There’s no question that time is ticking into the future, as the classic song says, but don’t get ahead of yourself, my friend. Think about all the chaos we will likely see ensue between now and the end of the regular season. It’s likely to be a lot. I think this penalty is a much bigger blow to Preece. It feels almost inevitable that Logano will win a race before the regular season is over. I’m not nearly as confident in saying the same about Preece.

AC: I would agree with that, for sure. However, depending on how many other new winners we get, Preece might be able to point his way in if he keeps up the decent runs he’s been having lately.

Anyway, enough about DQs, what did you think of the race itself? We had four-wide trains, we had fuel saving, we had Toyotas taking gambles that didn’t really pay off. What would you say is the biggest story of this race, aside from the post-race drama?

LM: The relative calmness of the race. Yes, a handful of contenders had trouble fairly early, but by Talladega standards, this was as smooth as we’ve ever seen. The last 30 laps or so felt like we were building towards that ever-familiar big one, and it simply never came. The whole field showed why they are the best in the world at what they do. It was a masterclass in walking a tightrope.

AC: Even just the fact that we spent a good chunk of the first stage four-wide - that’s craziness! I know that they were all saving fuel, and so speeds were overall a little lower, but I’m not sure I could hold a wheel any steadier at 180 mph than I could at 195 mph.

Not everyone made it out unscathed, though. Christopher Bell’s hit into the inside wall was terrifying, and I’m shocked that he was able to walk away from it. Props to the safety teams who have been continuously developing more and more safety measures, because that did not look good at first.

LM: I couldn’t agree more. The hit itself looked downright nasty. People (us included) don’t give NASCAR enough credit for just how hard they work in terms of making these cars and tracks safer. I know one injury is one too many. But it’s so easy to forget just how dangerous this sport is.

AC: Connor Zilisch had a similar looking hit in the Xfinity race, and both drivers walked away. I’m sure they’ll be sore over the coming days, but that could have been so much worse.

As for the fuel saving, what did you think of that, and how it impacted the race? I will say that when we first saw this a year ago at the Daytona 500 (fuel saving is obviously not new, but that was the first time I remember seeing some aggressive savings), I was pretty quick to write it off and say I hated it. At this point, I’m maybe coming around to the idea - it adds another level of strategy, as well as some extra levers of control in the driver’s hands. Are you upset with them going a little slower to save fuel?

LM: Absolutely. It’s garbage. I completely agree with Chris Buescher and that it’s not racing. It’s riding around. It’s a Sunday drive. This car has more successes than people would care to admit, but the riding around half throttle routine that these races are turning into is an abject failure on NASCAR’s part. I can’t overstate how much I dislike it. These last two races have not been good for the current image of the sport.

AC: Really, I don’t know if it bothers me as much these days, but maybe I’m just getting used to it. I’m also not sure I’m qualified to come up with a solution to fix it. Though, I suppose at a certain point in that first stage, the Toyotas attempted to do it on their own.

You had a good group of Toyotas that came together and decided they were going all out, which forced everyone to either continue half-throttle and get left behind, or to follow along, but it wound up forcing a pit stop in that first stage. What do you make of the Toyota strategy, and what was it that bit them in the end?

LM: I thought that they had a pretty solid strategy. I believe it would have paid off had Ross Chastain not slowed them up(and nearly caused calamity). Had that not happened I think a Toyota would have found its way to victory lane. At the very least, they would have been a part of the equation at the end. In these superspeedway races, we both know that having momentum with your line is everything. Chastain took all the energy from them. I’m sure it’s something that made for a late night for a lot of folks at TRD.

AC: I think you mean TGR! Remember, Toyota transitioned a bunch of their North American racing properties to the Toyota Gazoo Racing brand this year.

Anyway, let’s move on and discuss our weekly awards!

Best Performer

LM: My best performer has to be Ryan Preece. I know he got that post-race DQ. But, he put on a clinic Sunday and showed himself to be very capable of winning one of these Superspeedway races.

AC: He’s a hard guy to not root for, I will admit. I’m sad that he didn’t get to keep his P2, because it was a great performance. I’m going to go with someone else, though. He didn’t get a ton of TV time, but after the DQs, Noah Gragson brought his car home P4, which is a great result for a driver still looking to find his Cup Series footing.

Biggest Move of the Race

LM: The biggest move of the race for me was Ross Chastain slowing up the Toyota momentum. I stand by that, without it, we’re likely talking about a different winner.

AC: I was going to go with the Chastain move as well. I know there were many who didn’t like it, and thought it was too gutsy, but I think it was a race saver for quite a few drivers, including Chastain himself. The Toyota camp is likely to be annoyed, but technically it wasn’t a dirty move, or anything that they might not have tried either. That’s racing. But that changed the dynamic of the finish, as Chastain single-handedly destroyed multiple Toyota days.

Biggest Disappointment

LM: I have to go with Ryan Blaney. He suffered his 4th DNF of the season. That’s 40 percent! How’s that for numbers, Adam? He was bitten by being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but the 12 team has to find a way to start finishing races if they want a legit shot at a second championship.

AC: I’m impressed, Logan - look at you go with those stats! And I’ll give you one back here too. Stats or no, I was sad to see Brad Keselowski crash out the way he did. His stats haven’t been great this year, but just from an eye-test perspective, you know he’s bound to be a threat at the super speedways. So for him to have another DNF was disappointing.

What to Watch for Next Weekend

LM: NASCAR heads to the Lone Star State next weekend, and the way-too-early forecast looks a little dicey. Remember the Jet Dryer 500 from a few years ago? Oh, those precious memories. It’s a track that you have to wonder if Kyle Busch could get some luck on his side, could he break his 67-race winless streak?

AC: Texas Motor Speedway has been dogged on by fans for a few years (and rightfully so, the product hasn’t always been super desirable), but I believe the Next-Gen Intermediate package has helped racing at Texas as of late. Kyle Busch is the winningest current full-time driver in the field for next week, so he’s not a bad pick. We’ve had a few streak-busters this year already. I’d say watch out for Chase Briscoe. He doesn’t have a ton of starts there in the Cup Series, but he’s got the best average finish of anyone. I look forward to watching it, and we’ll meet up again next week - same time, same place, hey Logan?

LM: Absolutely. I’ll bring my cowboy hat!