NASCAR

NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 Entry List: Dates, Event Times At Talladega Superspeedway

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Jeff Hawkins
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Jeff Hawkins Sports Editor

Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He joined the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on NASCAR's increasing corporate influences, particularly in northern racetracks — commentary which you might find Jeff building on as part of the Motorsports writing team at Sportscasting now.  

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Published21 Apr 2025

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cup talladega entry list (1)

With more than a quarter of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season complete, a few trends are developing as the circuit emerges from its Easter weekend vacation for Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway:

  • Two organizations are positioning a pair of pilots for championship runs. Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron, the points leader with 346, and Kyle Larson and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell 
  • Hamlin ranks second in points, trailing Byron by 30 points, and Bell remains third with 305 points, one more than Larson. The four have collected eight wins and 10 stage triumphs in nine events. 
  • With one win and six top-10 finishes, Byron continues dominating the series, ranking first in three key metrics (defense, speed and restarts), according to NASCAR Insights. 
  • Is Chase Elliott remaining patient? Since the fall 2022 Talladega outing, the 2020 Cup champion has just one win. During that span, Byron and Larson have collected 22 race titles. Elliott, who returned to the playoffs last season after missing out in 2023, has performed well at the four upcoming points-race venues (Talladega, Texas Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway). Elliott ranks fifth in the driver standings. 
  • Despite its three drivers leading a combined 617 laps this season, Team Penske’s Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric have yet to visit Victory Lane. Logano and Blaney earned consecutive Cup championships. Blaney nearly won at Darlington and appears close to qualifying for the playoffs. Logano, the reigning titleholder, registered just one top-10, but compiled 70 stage points to remain ninth in the driver standings.   

NASCAR National Series Weekend Schedule   

Here is a list of NASCAR National Series events this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway (All Times ET):

Friday

  • 4 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series practice  
  • 5:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series qualifying

Saturday

  • 10:30 a.m.: Cup Series qualifying
  • 12:30 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series General Tire 200 race  
  • 4 p.m.: Xfinity Series Ag-Pro 300 race

Sunday

  • 3 p.m.: Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 race 

NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 Entry List  

NASCAR Cup Series officials released the entry list for Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway:

Entry, Driver, Car No.

  • 1, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet   
  • 2, Austin Cindric No. 2 Ford   
  • 3, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet   
  • 4, Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford   
  • 5, Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet   
  • 6, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford   
  • 7, Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet   
  • 8, Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet   
  • 9, Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet   
  • 10, Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet   
  • 11, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota   
  • 12, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford   
  • 13, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet   
  • 14, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford   
  • 15, Chase Briscoe, No. 19, Toyota   
  • 16, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota   
  • 17, Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford   
  • 18, Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford   
  • 19, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota   
  • 20, William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet   
  • 21, Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford   
  • 22, Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota   
  • 23, Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford   
  • 24, Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford   
  • 25, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota   
  • 26, Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota   
  • 27, JJ Yeley, No. 44 Chevrolet 
  • 28, Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota   
  • 29, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Ford   
  • 30, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet   
  • 31, Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford   
  • 32, Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota   
  • 33, Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford   
  • 34, Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Chevrolet 
  • 35, Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet   
  • 36, Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet   
  • 37, BJ McLeod, No. 78 Chevrolet 
  • 38, Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet   
  • 39, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet