Race number 10 on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, which is the third superspeedway race of the year. Talladega is also the seventh consecutive track which is also on the “Chase” playoff schedule.
23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick has been the points leader for the entire season thus far, having opened up the year by becoming the first driver in Cup Series history to start a season with three consecutive victories. He has won five of nine races so far in 2026, and no other driver has won more than one.
He entered Sunday’s 188-lap Jack Link’s 500 around the four-turn, 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer) high-banked Lincoln, Alabama oval with a 105-point lead over Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin in the point standings, meaning that there is no way for him to lose the points lead this weekend with only 75 points up for grabs.
Here’s a look at the top 10 in the standings heading into Talladega.
NASCAR Cup Series standings before Talladega
Rank
Driver
Points
Gap
1
Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
457
0
2
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
352
-105
3
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
337
-120
4
Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
319
-138
5
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
314
-143
6
Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
305
-152
7
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
275
-182
8
Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
275
-182
9
Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
264
-193
10
Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
261
-196
A full starting lineup for Sunday’s race can be found here and was determined by the qualifying metric after Saturday’s single-car qualifying session was rained out.
Follow along with our standings updates from Talladega as the Jack Link’s 500 unfolds.
NOTE: Only the top 10 drivers are included after the first two stages.
NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega: Standings updatesNASCAR Cup Series at Talladega: Standings after Stage 1
1 – Tyler Reddick – 461 (0)
2 – Denny Hamlin – 352 (-109)
3 – Ryan Blaney – 343 (-118)
4 – Ty Gibbs – 319 (-142)
5 – Kyle Larson – 314 (-147)
6 – Chase Elliott – 305 (-156)
7 – William Byron – 275 (-186)
7 – Bubba Wallace – 275 (-186)
9 – Brad Keselowski – 273 (-188)
10 – Chris Buescher – 266 (-195)
NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega: Standings after Stage 2
1 – Tyler Reddick – 461 (0)
2 – Denny Hamlin – 352 (-109)
3 – Ryan Blaney – 343 (-118)
4 – Ty Gibbs – 319 (-142)
5 – Kyle Larson – 314 (-147)
6 – Chase Elliott – 307 (-154)
7 – William Byron – 275 (-186)
7 – Bubba Wallace – 275 (-186)
9 – Chris Buescher – 274 (-187)
10 – Brad Keselowski – 273 (-188)
NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega: Full standings after Jack Link’s 500
Rank
Name
Points
Gap
Playoff
1
Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
484
0
262
2
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
374
-110
152
3
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
344
-140
122
4
Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
340
-144
118
5
Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
322
-162
100
6
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
315
-169
93
7
Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
309
-175
87
8
Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
292
-192
70
9
Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
290
-194
68
10
Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
279
-205
57
11
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
277
-207
55
12
Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
276
-208
54
13
Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
269
-215
47
14
Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
235
-249
13
15
Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
234
-250
12
16
Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
226
-258
4
17
Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
222
-262
-4
18
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
205
-279
-21
19
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
195
-289
-31
20
A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
183
-301
-43
21
Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
183
-301
-43
22
Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
181
-303
-45
23
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
179
-305
-47
24
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
163
-321
-63
25
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
161
-323
-65
26
Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
161
-323
-65
27
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
160
-324
-66
28
Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
147
-337
-79
29
Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
144
-340
-82
30
Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota
144
-340
-82
31
John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
141
-343
-85
32
Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
123
-361
-103
33
Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
103
-381
-123
34
Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet
89
-395
-137
35
Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet
85
-399
-141
36
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
80
-404
-146
Full race results can be found here.
The Wurth 400 is the 11th race on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, and it is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 from Texas Motor Speedway beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 3. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss any of the action!
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