Carson Hocevar triumphs at Talladega for first NASCAR win: Results, highlights

Talladega Superspeedway has become known for two things: first-time NASCAR winners and massive multicar crashes, known as “The Big One.”

The NASCAR Cup Series produced both Sunday, April 26 in the Jack Link’s 500.

Carson Hocevar scored his first career Cup win and just the second series win for Spire Motorsports on a day when numerous favorites were knocked out of the race early. Hocevar, 23, became the 13th first-time NASCAR Cup Series winner at Talladega and the second driver this season to triumph for the first time, following Ty Gibbs’ victory at Bristol Motor Speedway two weeks ago.

Hocevar outdueled Chris Buescher by 0.114 for his first win in 91 Cup starts after making his series debut on June 4, 2023, at World Wide Technology Raceway.

"I’m so thankful. This is the biggest dream I’ve ever thought of,” an emotional Hocevar said after an innovative celebration on the front stretch in his No. 77 Chevrolet. “Thank you, everybody. I couldn’t have done it in any better way.

“Hopefully, my grandpa’s watching. My grandma died last year, so I’m so thankful that I can give my grandpa a trophy now. Wish my parents were here. (It’s) unbelievable. I’m just so thankful, thank you.”

Spire Motorsports collected its only other NASCAR Cup Series victory when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the rain-shortened summer race at Daytona International Speedway in 2019.

Hocevar’s win at Talladega marked the 12th different winner at the Alabama track since Ryan Blaney won back-to-back in the fall of 2019 and spring of 2020.

His creative victory celebration on NASCAR’s largest track got the crowd pumped as Hocevar sat on the driver’s side windowsill while steering the car around the track before doing a burnout after he turned the car to bump up against the oustside wall.

“I’ve had this thought up for a while. I’ve messed it up every which way to not be able to do it. I don’t care if it took 20 minutes or whatever, I was going to figure it out how to do it. It took me a while.”

Only 23 cars finished on the lead lap of Sunday’s race after “The Big One” erupted in the middle of Stage 2 with Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain leading the field. Wallace eventually got turned and that set off a chain reaction that nearly wiped out the whole field. While some teams were eventually able to make repairs, the wreck took out reigning series champion Kyle Larson along with former champions Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney. Wallace was also done for the day, but Chastain was able to recover to finish seventh.

Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott and Zane Smith followed Hocevar and Buscher in the top five.

Scroll below for results, highlights from the Jack Link's 500 NASCAR Cup Series race:

NASCAR at Talladega results

Here are the top 10 finishers in the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway:

1. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
2. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
3. Alex Bowman, No. 88 Chevrolet
4. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
5. Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
6. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., No. 47 Chervrolet
7. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
8. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford
9. Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
10. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet

➤ Click here for full results from the Jack Link's 500

NASCAR at Talladega highlights

Watch extended highlights from Sunday's Jack Link's 500:

Carson Hocevar wins NASCAR Cup race at Talladega

Carson Hocevar, driving the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Cheverolet, took the checkered flag in the Jack Link's 500 to score his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory. Hocevar edged Chris Buescher of RFK Racing by 0.114 at the line. Hocevar is 12th different driver to win at Talladega in the past 12 races.

Chastain wins Stage 2 of NASCAR Talladega race

Ross Chastain earned his second stage win of the season and his first at Talladega after edging Christopher Bell at the line to win Stage 2 of the Jack Link's 500.

Only 20 of 49 cars finished the second segment on the lead lap following a massive crash in the middle of the stage that sent numerous drivers home early. The list of drivers knocked out by "The Big One" included reigning series champion Kyle Larson and former champions Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski.

The third and stage is scheduled for 45 laps.

Here are the top 10 finishers in Stage 2 of the Jack Link's 500:

1. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
2. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
3. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
4. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., No. 47 Chervrolet
5. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
6. Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
7. Cody Ware, No. 51 Chevrolet
8. Alex Bowman, No. 88 Chevrolet
9. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
10. Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford

'The Big One' breaks out at Talladega in Stage 2

A massive multicar crash erupted at Talladega Superspeedway on Lap 116 of 18 of the Jack Link's 500. Bubba Wallace was leading the field from the bottom row when Ross Chastain, who was directly behind, made a move to the middle to try to take the lead. Wallace moved over to block and picked up Chastain, but the moves by both slowed up the line and the freight train coming from behind them plowed into Chastain, who knocked into Wallace and sent him spinning. That set off a chain reaction that collected numerous cars in all three rows.

Some cars were totaled, some suffered damages that could not be repaired, while other drivers were able to get their vehicles to pit road in the hopes their crew could get the cars in shape to return to the race track. The race was red-flagged briefly so safety crews could attend to drivers and tow trucks could remove the totaled cars.

No driver was hurt in the collision, but nearly every driver was caught up the mayhem.

Preece wins Stage 1 of NASCAR Talladega race

RFK Racing led the charge to the checkered flag in the first segment of the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, with three drivers finishing in the top six. Ryan Preece won Stage 1, followed by teammate and co-owner Brad Keselowksi. Chris Buescher, the third RFK Racing driver, finished fourth.

Eight of the top 10 finishers in Stage 1 were Ford drivers, with Team Penske's Joey Logano taking third and teammate Ryan Blaney finishing fifth. Preece, who started 11th, led 18 laps across two different stints

Here are the top 10 finishers in Stage 1 of the Jack Link's 500:

1. Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
2. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
3. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
4. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
5. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
6. Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
7. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
8. Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
9. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
10. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet

What time does the NASCAR race at Talladega start?

The Jack Link's 500 starts at 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. local) at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama.

What TV channel is the NASCAR race at Talladega on?

The Jack Link's 500 will be broadcast on FOX at 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. local). Fox will also air a pre-race show at 1:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. local).

Is there live stream of the NASCAR race at Talladega?

The Jack Link's 500 can be live streamed on the Fox Sports website (by signing in with your TV or satellite provider), Fox One (free seven day trial) and the Fox Sports app. Viewers can also stream the race on HBO Max and Fubo.

How many laps is the NASCAR race at Talladega?

The Jack Link's 500 features 188 laps around a 2.66-mile oval track for a total of 500.8 miles. The race will be broken up into three stages (laps per stage) — Stage 1: Lap 98 (98 laps); Stage 2: Lap 143 (45 laps); Stage 3: Lap 188 (45 laps).

What is the lineup for the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega?

Car number in parentheses

1. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota
2. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
3. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota
4. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota
5. (19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota
6. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford
7. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet
8. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
9. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota
10. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford
11. (60) Ryan Preece, Ford
12. (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet
13. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford
14. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota
15. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford
16. (7) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet
17. (35) Riley Herbst, Toyota
18. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
19. (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford
20. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet
21. (43) Erik Jones, Toyota
22. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet
23. (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota
24. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet
25. (22) Joey Logano, Ford
26. (21) Josh Berry, Ford
27. (41) Cole Custer, Chevrolet
28. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet
29. (4) Noah Gragson, Ford
30. (38) Zane Smith, Ford
31. (71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet
32. (88) Connor Zilisch, Chevrolet
33. (97) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet
34. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet
35. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet
36. (51) Cody Ware, Chevrolet
37. (33) Jesse Love, Chevrolet
38. (66) Chad Finchum, Ford
39. (44) Joey Gase, Chevrolet
40. (78) Daniel Dye, Chevrolet