Austin Cindric Holds Off Ryan Preece for Talladega Triumph

Austin Cindric held off Ryan Preece in a drag race to the checkered flag to win the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.

Cindric and Preece swapped the lead four times over the final seven laps, leading their respective lines in the pack while battling for the victory. At the end of 188 laps, Cindric crossed the line 0.022 seconds ahead of Preece for his third career NASCAR Cup Series victory.

Race Results: NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link's 500 at Talladega

The win also marked Team Penske's first win of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. Despite the team's trio of drivers of Cindric, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano combining for 648 laps led through the first 10 races of the year, it took Cindric's victory on Sunday for the team to reach victory lane.

The final stage of Sunday's race went caution-free, putting emphasis on pit strategy to gain track position. The Ford and Chevrolet teams were the biggest benefactors of the final round of pit stops, with the Fords of Cindric and Preece ultimately leading the field.

Cindric found Kyle Larson behind him entering the closing laps, while Preece was pushed by Larson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate and Daytona 500 winner William Byron. Between the pushes from Larson and a draft from Kyle Busch and Josh Berry nearly going a lap down, Cindric narrowly edged Preece to the line on the final lap.

"I'm just so proud of this team," said Cindric. "From the cycles to the fast cars to the fuel-only stops, Doug, my spotter, everybody. I've been trying for three or four years now to get a Cup win for John Menard and Menards. That bright yellow car looks great up front. I'm just so thankful for everyone's support."

Preece crossed the finish line second, but was disqualified in post-race technical inspection for a spoiler shim violation on the No. 60 entry. Fifth-place finisher Joey Logano was also disqualified for a missing spoiler bolt.

There was no "big one" in Sunday's race, but a couple of contenders were collected during the first half of the race.

First, there was an incident on lap 44 as Ford teams worked their way to pit road. Brad Keselowski and Busch collided, collecting Ryan Blaney as well. Keselowski and Blaney retired from the race following the incident, finishing 38th and 39th respectively.

On lap 52, Christopher Bell's race ended with a hard impact to the inside wall after a bump-draft gone wrong from teammate Denny Hamlin. Chris Buescher was also collected in that incident, ending his day.

Next up for the NASCAR Cup Series is the Wurth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. That race is scheduled for Sunday, May 4 at 3:30 p.m. ET, and will be televised by FS1.

-Photo credit: Josh Calloni, Racing America