Cup: Ryan Preece Wins a Long First Stage: Talladega Mid-Race Report

What’s Happening?

Just past halfway, and we have one stage down, two more to go. It was a mixed bag early in this race with Toyotas pacing the field early. But it was the Fords, using speed and pit strategy, who paced the field at the time of the green and white checkered flag. As we gear up for two more considerably shorter stages, here’s where everything stands heading into the conclusion of the 2026 Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega.

Fast Notes:

• Nobody really knew what to expect going into the first stage of the race as NASCAR made the executive decision to flip the stage order to limit fuel saving. This resulted in the opening stage to be 98-laps in length. Because of that, we saw a number of different strategies. Some teams wanted to try to stretch it to halfway, making only one stop in the stage. Other teams opted to split the stage into thirds with two pit cycles. And, if there were no cautions, this would make for some hairy pit entries under green as well.
• Ultimately, there were no cautions for cause in the opening stage of the race. They ran from flag to flag, making two green flag pit stop cycles, which came with a lot of costly mistakes on pit road. Once the dust settled, the Fords had control of the field with the three RFK cars leading the way, despite a concern over fuel. Ryan Preece went on to win the stage, earning 10 stage points over his teammate and team co-owner, Brad Keselowski. In fact, Fords held the first 8 of the top 10 positions.
• Earning points in Stage 1 are: Ryan Preece (10), Brad Keselowski (9), Joey Logano (8), Ryan Blaney (7), Josh Berry (6), Chris Buescher (5), Noah Gragson (4), Todd Gilliland (3), Ross Chastain (2), and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (1).
• There were a number of drivers who made some costly mistakes on pit road during this long 98-lap stage. Austin Cindric was first, missing his pit stall entirely. Then a number of heavy-hitters got nabbed for speeding penalties, including Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Daniel Dye, Riley Herbst, and Chad Finchum.
• Due to green flag pit stops, there were nine different leaders in the opening stage. Leading the most laps was Denny Hamlin at 28. Ryan Preece (19), Christopher Bell (18), and Ty Gibbs (17) also led a healthy portion of the opening stage.

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