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Talladega Throttle Points (Spring 2025)

5-Sentence Race Recap (Did you take a Sunday nap but still want to discuss the race around the water cooler? Here is a 5-sentence race recap to help you out.)

Austin Cindric edged Ryan Preece at the line by 0.022 seconds in a final-lap Ford duel. However, post-race disqualifications for Preece and Joey Logano due to spoiler violations reshuffled the finishing order. Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron moved up to second and third, with Larson securing his best-ever superspeedway finish. The race, featuring 67 lead changes among 23 drivers, stayed unusually calm with only two non-stage-break cautions. Cindric becomes the 10th different winner in the last 10 Talladega races, locking himself into the playoffs.

Midpack Movers: A closer look at positions 11-20 (But we're at Talladega, so do the numbers really matter?)

• Ricky Stenhouse finished in 12th place, advancing 23 positions from his starting position. He also scored early stage points in Stage 1 with an 8^th place finish.
• Tyler Reddick finished in 14th place, advancing 12 positions from his starting position. He also scored 5 stage points in Stage 2 with a 6^th place finish.
• Erik Jones finished in 18th place, advancing 16 positions from his starting position.

Laps Led by a Midpack Drivers: 17^th place finisher Ty Gibbs led 32 laps, showing his ability to challenge the leaders during key portions of the race.

Stage King:

• Bubba Wallace scored 16 stage points including a Stage 2 win to go along with his 8^th place finish. However, he was overshadowed by King Kyle Larson, who won Stage 1 and finished 2^nd in Stage 2.
• Despite finishing 4^th, Noah Gragson failed to score any stage points.

A Closer Look at the Top 10: Who Made the Biggest Moves?

• After starting in 30th, Chase Elliott finished 5th, advancing 25 spots throughout the event.

Rookie Watch: How Road Racer Shane Van Gisbergen Performed at Talladega

• SVG qualified in 36^th place and finished the day 29^th.

Battle of the Trackhouse Veterans: Daniel Suarez vs. Ross Chastain

• Suarez outpaced teammate Chastain in qualifying 24^th to 32^nd. Suarez also grabbed a Top Ten finish (9^th) while Chastain finished in 20^th.  Neither driver captured any stage points.

High-Speed Failures: The Impact of Mechanical Issues on the Race

• Despite the fun sponser, BJ Mcleod’s Pigeon Forge Racing Coaster Chevrolet didn’t make it to the halfway point and retired at lap 71 due to overheating.

Navigating the Numbers

• Lead Changes: The race saw 67 lead changes among 23 drivers – over half the field leading at some point in the day.
• Cautions: 4 cautions for 22 laps; 2 stage breaks, 1 frontstretch incident occured a collection of Fords tried to pit, and 1 backstretch incident involving Christopher Bell spinning off the frontend of teammate Denny Hamin.