Winners and losers from NASCAR at Talladega

As expected, Talladega delivered close finishes, big hits and a little bit of controversy. NASCAR’s biggest superspeedway was action-packed from start to finish and a YouTuber-turned-racer stole the spotlight. There was heartbreak for Jeb Burton and Ryan Preece, elation for Austin Hill and Austin Cindric, and plenty to discuss.

Here are the biggest winners and losers from Talladega Superspeedway:

WINNER: Austin Cindric carries the baton for a battered Team Penske

It’s strange to think that Austin Cindric and Josh Berry in the allied Wood Brothers car have both reached Victory Lane before Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano this year, but that’s exactly what happened. And Cindric now holds the distinction of securing a spot in the playoffs before either of his championship-winning teammates in three of the last four seasons. On Sunday, he was all Penske had to be proud of as Blaney wrecked early and Logano was later disqualified. Cindric is always a solid driver in these drafting races and could have easily won all three this year. However, he got wrecked while battling for the lead in both the Daytona 500 and Atlanta events, but he was not going to be denied this time. And fences were even mended as Kyle Larson — the driver who wrecked him out of the lead at Atlanta — pushed him across the finish line.

LOSER: RFK leaves Talladega with nothing to show for their efforts

Watch: Race Rewind: Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway

Five championship points. That is the combined total for all three RFK drivers at Talladega. Brad Keselowski, who desperately needed a good weekend with how deep in the standings he is, was taken out in the first wreck of the race while simply trying to get to pit road. Chris Buescher fell soon after, crashing moments into a restart while battling for the race lead. Neither saw the end of Stage 1. The one bright spot was Ryan Preece, who soldiered on, showing speed all day and nearly winning the race! He finished a career-best second after losing by just 0.022s in a photo finish, but he did not get to keep it. Preece’s car failed post-race inspection and so, he became the worst of the three RFK drivers in the final order. Officially, Buescher finished 34th, Keselowski 36th, and Preece 38th. Now that is a rough day at the office.

WINNER: Cleetus McFarland for bringing new eyes to the sport

Cleetus McFarland

Photo by: Getty Images

Focusing on ARCA for a moment, popular YouTuber Cleetus McFarland absolutely stole the show once again. Crediting cut-off sleeves and the power of Talladega Blvd, the internet entertainer turned professional race car driver put on a show on Saturday as he wheeled his wounded car to a 10th-place finish. But more importantly, he brought a ton of eyes to the sport with 70,000 people watching a livestream of his in-car camera … in an ARCA race. NASCAR even gained tens of thousands of new subscribers on their YouTube channel as a result. And while it’s clearly a persona, it’s far more entertaining than the carefully crafted driver personas we see every weekend who rattle off sponsor mentions and offer overused phrases to describe their day.

LOSER: Logano for keying the mic when he really shouldn’t have

Drivers are known to be impulsive and sometimes they open the radio channel when they really shouldn’t. But Logano was guilty of that following Stage 2 at Talladega. Frustrated with his teammate Cindric for not sticking with him in the final run to the flag, he radioed the following message to his Penske team: “Way to go Austin. Way to go, you dumbf***. Way to f****** go. What a stupid s*** He just gave it to him. Gave a Toyota the stage win. Nice job. Way to go. What a dumbf***.”

I believe that’s what we call a ‘crash out’ in 2025. But what makes it worse is that the replay clear shows Cindric getting a little loose in the treacherous tri-oval. He lifts and there is a stack-up that forces him out of line. Had he remained stuck to the back of Logano, he probably would have wrecked him. The radio rant raised eyebrows and even led to MLB legend and self-described NASCAR fan Chipper Jones slamming Logano on social media. And while things said in the heat of the moment over radio comms shouldn’t be taken seriously, there are times when you really shouldn’t push the button. This was one of them.

WINNER: Most of the drivers for a shockingly clean Talladega races

Crash involving Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing Ford; Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Photo by: Logan Riely / Getty Images

So, how about the drivers this weekend? The NASCAR Cup and Xfinity races were fairly clean from green flag to checkered flag. The Cup race saw just two cautions for cause and only four drivers wrecked out of the race. The Xfinity race had three, but no wreck was bigger than the four-car incident that eliminated Katherine Legge, Brandon Jones, and Aric Almirola. In that race, only a total of seven cars failed to finish due to crash damage, which is fairly low for a superspeedway. There were some small incidents that ended with big hits, but even ARCA was calmer than what we’ve come to expect out of that series, despite an awkward multi-car restart crash that abruptly ended the race.

LOSER: Hendrick had all the cards but couldn’t make a winning hand

Watch: Larson earns career-best finish on a superspeedway

The good news for Hendrick Motorsports is that all four of the HMS cars finished inside the top ten at Talladega — something they haven’t done there since 2011. However, despite all those cards to play, they never put together a winning hand. And there were several opportunities to do so. Kyle Larson never moved high when he cleared his teammates, choosing to sit behind Cindric and push instead. Ryan Preece  — who was behind Larson — did take that opportunity and nearly won. William Byron and Alex Bowman were in control of the top but became disconnected at the very end. It just never seemed like they had a clear plan to control the race. It’s a far cry from the organization we saw from just two Richard Childress Racing cars on Saturday as Jesse Love and Austin Hill firmly controlled the pack for the majority of the Xfinity race.

WINNER: Austin Hill for becoming inevitable at all superspeedways

Watch: Hill wins at Talladega after end-of-race review following Zilisch wreck

Without a mechanical issue at Daytona, Austin Hill probably would have won all three drafting races so far this year in the Xfinity Series. He’s already won five of the last six races at Atlanta and three of the last four season-openers at Daytona, but the one refuge from whatever superspeedway magic he possesses was Talladega … until now. Hill had (surprisingly) never won at Talladega until this weekend, but when NASCAR reviewed the three-wide battle for the lead at the time of the race-ending caution, it was none other than Hill out front. It’s bewildering to see him navigate these chaotic races with such ease and now, he’s even conquered the mighty ‘Dega, which should frighten the entire field.

LOSER: Jeb Burton deals with a heartbreaking loss

Watch: Jeb Burton gets emotional after Talladega runner-up finish

Burton drove like a winner all day, but this sport has no mercy, especially for the underdog teams just trying to scratch out a living on the track. It was hard not to sympathize with Jeb Burton after Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity race at Talladega. The fate of his entire season rested in the split-second decision over when to push the caution button. He thought he had won the race, but NASCAR reviewed the still images they had available and ascertained that he had instead finished a very close second. It was heart-wrenching to watch the post-race interview as Burton showcased a rollercoaster of emotions that resembled the five stages of grief in some ways. And then he broke down, wiping tears away as he said, “We don’t have a lot of chances to win.” While it was just another superspeedway win for Hill, that victory would have completely changed things for Burton, and everyone watching felt his pain as he dealt with the reality of the finish.

WINNER: The crew guy unfazed by his close encounter with a 3,400lb stock car

Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

During a mid-race pit stop, Carson Hocevar’s crew came around the right-side of the car to go through the usual routine. But things didn’t go as planned this time as tire carrier Darius Morehead found himself in an unexpected meeting with a 3,400lb stock car, driven by Josh Berry. Trying to navigate around Hocevar into his own stall directly ahead of him, Berry clipped the tire Morehead was carrying, knocking him over the hood. Thankfully, he was okay and able to continue on working. FOX interviewed him later and he didn’t seem to be rattled at all, even comparing it to his football days and saying, “You get used to it.” Now that’s a winning mentality right there.

LOSER: Bell who probably hates superspeedway racing even more now

Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota; Chris Buescher, RFK Racing Ford

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

It’s no secret that Christopher Bell isn’t a big fan of superspeedway racing, and that opinion was likely only strengthened on Sunday. Yes, he won a drafting race at Atlanta earlier this year, but Daytona and Talladega have not been very kind to him. Earlier this year, he served as a launching pad for Preece’s unsanctioned flight in the Daytona 500 after getting turned from the lead. At Talladega, he was leading once again when he got turned near the end of Stage 1, slamming the inside wall head-on and destroying the front of his car.