Carson Hocevar won the Jack Link’s 500 for his 1st NASCAR Cup Series win at Talladega

Starting from 12th place Car 77 Carson Hocevar Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente Chevrolet won the Jack Link’s 500, his 1st win in 91 NASCAR Cup Series races. This is his 4th Top 10 finish in 2026. This is his 1st win & 3rd Top 10 finish in 6 races at Talladega Superspeedway. 2nd Place Car 17 Chris Buescher Kroger/Jack Link’s Ford, started from 10th place posted his 4th Top 10 finish in 22 races at Talladega Superspeedway. It is his 5th Top 10 finish in 2026. 3rd Place Car 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet, started from 20th place posted his 7th Top 10 finish in 21 races at Talladega Superspeedway.

TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – APRIL 26: Carson Hocevar, driver of the #77 Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

4th Place Car 9 Chase Elliott Amazon Prime Chevrolet, started from 8th place followed by 5th place Car 38 Zane Smith Aaron’s/Boys & Girls Clubs of America Ford, started from 30th place. 6th Place Car 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Chef Boyardee Chevrolet, started from 22nd place followed by 7th place Car 1 Ross Chastain Jockey VentraCool Air Chevrolet, started from 24th place. 8th Place Car 2 Austin Cindric Menards/FrogTape Ford, started from 13th place followed by 9th place Car 4 Noah Gragson Grillo’s Pickles/Pabst Blue Ribbon Ford, started from 29th place. Lastlty in the Top 10 was Car 8 Kyle Busch Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet, in 10th place, started from 34th place. Connor Zilisch (26th) was the highest finishing rookie. Tyler Reddick leads the point standings by 110 points over Denny Hamlin.

TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – APRIL 26: Carson Hocevar, driver of the #77 Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente Chevrolet, celebrates with Miss Alabama Emma Terry in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)

The race had 6 Cautions for 30 Laps: 1st Caution on lap 100 for Stage 1 Conclusion. 2nd Caution on lap 116 for #2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 33, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 51, 54, 66, 71, 77, 88, 97 Big Crash in turn 3 [Red Flag: Lap 115, 9:58]. 3rd Caution on lap 125 for #54, 71 Crash in turn 4. 4th Caution on lap 145 for Stage 2 Conclusion. 5th Caution on lap 162 for Debris. 6th Caution on lap 183 for #43 stalled on track.

TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – APRIL 26: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Rockstar Energy Drink Toyota, Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford, Josh Berry, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, Austin Cindric, driver of the #2 Menards/FrogTape Ford, Connor Zilisch, driver of the #88 Red Bull Chevrolet, and Bubba Wallace, driver of the #23 Xfinity Toyota, spin after an on-track incident during the NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

The race had 52 Lead Changes among 16 drivers; T. Reddick 0; D. Hamlin 1-2; A. Dillon 3; C. Briscoe 4-5; D. Hamlin 6-7; C. Briscoe 8; D. Hamlin 9; *. Finchum(i) 10-17; D. Hamlin 18-40; R. Preece 41-46; T. Reddick 47-48; T. Gibbs 49-60; M. McDowell 61; T. Gibbs 62-63; A. Dillon 64; T. Gibbs 65-67; A. Dillon 68-69; C. Bell 70-87; R. Preece 88-100; R. Stenhouse Jr. 101-102; B. Wallace 103; R. Chastain 104-105; B. Wallace 106; R. Chastain 107-110; J. Logano 111-113; B. Wallace 114; R. Preece 115-116; C. Bell 117-121; R. Chastain 122-131; C. Bell 132-135; R. Chastain 136-137; C. Bell 138; R. Chastain 139; C. Bell 140-142; R. Chastain 143-145; N. Gragson 146-147; C. Buescher 148-150; C. Hocevar 151-155; C. Buescher 156; C. Hocevar 157-160; C. Buescher 161-165; C. Hocevar 166; C. Buescher 167-172; C. Hocevar 173-174; C. Buescher 175; C. Hocevar 176-177; C. Buescher 178; C. Hocevar 179-180; C. Buescher 181-184; C. Hocevar 185-186; C. Buescher 187; C. Hocevar 188.

TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – APRIL 26: Austin Dillon, driver of the #3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Long Beard XR Chevrolet, Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, and Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 King’s Hawaiian UBE Coconut Rolls Toyota, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Stages:
Stage 1 Top 10: 60, 6, 22, 17, 12, 21, 45, 4, 34, 1
Stage 2 Top 10: 1, 20, 17, 47, 34, 60, 51, 48, 9, 38

TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – APRIL 26: Chris Buescher, driver of the #17 Kroger/Jack Link’s Ford, Carson Hocevar, driver of the #77 Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente Chevrolet, and Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)
TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – APRIL 26: A general view of racing during the NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

NASCAR Cup Series Race Number 10
Race Results for the Jack Link’s 500 – Sunday, April 26, 2026
Talladega Superspeedway – Talladega, AL – 2.66 – Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 188 Laps – 500.08 Miles
Provided by NASCAR Statistics – Sunday, 4/26/2026 @ 07:12 PM Eastern

Finish Start Car Team Laps Status

1. 12. Car 77 Carson Hocevar Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente Chevrolet 188 Running

2. 10. Car 17 Chris Buescher Kroger/Jack Link’s Ford 188 Running

3. 20. Car 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 188 Running

4. 8. Car 9 Chase Elliott Amazon Prime Chevrolet 188 Running

5. 30. Car 38 Zane Smith Aaron’s/Boys & Girls Clubs of America Ford 188 Running

6. 22. Car 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Chef Boyardee Chevrolet 188 Running

7. 24. Car 1 Ross Chastain Jockey VentraCool Air Chevrolet 188 Running

8. 13. Car 2 Austin Cindric Menards/FrogTape Ford 188 Running

9. 29. Car 4 Noah Gragson Grillo’s Pickles/Pabst Blue Ribbon Ford 188 Running

10. 34. Car 8 Kyle Busch Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet 188 Running

11. 19. Car 34 Todd Gilliland Love’s Travel Stops/Fleetguard Ford 188 Running

12. 16. Car 7 Daniel Suarez Freeway Insurance Chevrolet 188 Running

13. 35. Car 10 Ty Dillon Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet 188 Running

14. 1. Car 45 Tyler Reddick ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK Toyota 188 Running

15. 3. Car 11 Denny Hamlin King’s Hawaiian UBE Coconut Rolls Toyota 188 Running

16. 28. Car 16 AJ Allmendinger Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet 188 Running

17. 14. Car 20 Christopher Bell Rheem Toyota 188 Running

18. 11. Car 60 Ryan Preece BuildSubmarines.com Ford 188 Running

19. 18. Car 3 Austin Dillon 18 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Long Beard XR 188 Running

20. 33. Car 97 Shane Van Gisbergen WeatherTech Chevrolet 188 Running

21. 36. Car 51 Cody Ware Super.com Chevrolet 188 Running

22. 23. Car 42 John Hunter Nemechek Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota 187 Running

23. 21. Car 43 Erik Jones Dollar Tree Toyota 187 Running

24. 40. Car 78 * Daniel Dye(i) Champion Container Corporation Chevrolet 186 Running

25. 17. Car 35 Riley Herbst BEATBOX Toyota 186 Running

26. 32. Car 88 Connor Zilisch # Red Bull Chevrolet 185 Running

27. 37. Car 33 * Jesse Love(i) 1-800-Pack-Rat Chevrolet 185 Running

28. 38. Car 66 * Chad Finchum(i) Knox Hydrate Ford 182 Running

29. 5. Car 19 Chase Briscoe Bass Pro Shops Toyota 180 Running

30. 39. Car 44 * Joey Gase(i) National Fire Prevention Association Chevrolet 177 Running

31. 6. Car 6 Brad Keselowski Castrol Ford 166 Running

32. 31. Car 71 Michael McDowell Gunk Chevrolet 149 Running

33. 26. Car 21 Josh Berry Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 124 Accident

34. 9. Car 54 Ty Gibbs Saia Freight + Logistics Toyota 122 Accident

35. 7. Car 24 William Byron Phorm Energy Chevrolet 119 Accident

36. 4. Car 23 Bubba Wallace Xfinity Toyota 114 Accident

37. 15. Car 12 Ryan Blaney Wurth Ford 114 Accident

38. 27. Car 41 Cole Custer Haas/Autodesk Chevrolet 114 Accident

39. 25. Car 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 114 Accident

40. 2. Car 5 Kyle Larson Valvoline Chevrolet 114 Accident

Race Comments: Prior to the start of the race, no cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty. Failed to Qualify: (1) 62 Casey Mears. Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 23 Mins, 25 Secs. Average Speed: 147.504 MPH. Margin of Victory: 0.114 Seconds. Fastest Lap Bonus: # 38 lap 45/48.263. Caution Flags: 6 for 30 laps. Lead Changes: 52 among 16 drivers.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Next Race: May 3, 2026 – Texas Motor Speedway

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Photos & Graphics Courtesy of NASCAR

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