NASCAR Barometer: Austin Cindric Wins at Talladega

Austin Cindric kept his nose clean and used the fastest final pit stop to get out front of the field, leading the drafting trains to the finish and winning his and Team Penske's first race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway. While it was a relatively clean race for Talladega, there were plenty of mistakes that left some contenders floundering instead of paving their way at the front. Issues on pit road, along with a few on-track accidents, enabled those who went the distance mistake-free, to claim the top spots. Among those mistakes were two disqualifications from post-race inspection, including Ryan Preece and Cindric's Penske teammate Joey Logano. The two Fords, who both crossed the finish line inside the top five, were disqualified for different issues pertaining to the cars' rear spoilers. The runner-up finish for Preece would have been his best, and the fifth-place result for Logano would have been his best of the season so far. Instead, while Cindric topped the field with a trip to Victory Lane, his teammates, and fellow Ford compatriot Preece, formed the caboose at the back of the finishing order. 

Two 1.5-mile ovals are next on the schedule as the series races toward the All-Star Race weekend at  North Wilkesboro. First of those outings is Texas Motor Speedway, which has hosted one race each season since since 2021. Chevrolet has won five of the last six races at the track with Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Chase Elliott, both top-five finishers at Talladega, winning the last two. With Ford not winning there since 2019, Cindric's Talladega triumph may have come at the perfect moment.

UPGRADE

Austin Cindric - A quick final pit stop put Cindric at the front of the field for the final miles Sunday at Talladega, and the Team Penske driver used that advantage to claim the team's first race victory of the 2025 season. Sunday's race win offered some redemption after Cindric and his teammates dominated February's Daytona 500 but failed to come away with the win. Cindric started inside the top 10 and was a fixture among the leaders throughout the day, including playing a role in the outcome of the second stage, which he was heavily criticized by Logano over the radio over when Bubba Wallace snatched the win. Still, it was Cindric's first superspeedway win since he won the Daytona 500 in his first full-time season in the series. The organization as a whole will be hoping to use the success as a springboard to turn around the fortunes of Cindric's teammates, too. At Texas, Cindric has no top-10s from three series starts and a best finish of 15th in 2022.

Kyle Larson - After a history of underperformance on superspeedways, Larson is finally starting to turn things around. The year started with another disappointment from the former series champion at Daytona when he finished 20th while teammate William Byron won. The more successful Larson the fans know showed up at Atlanta with a third-place finish, though. That same Larson was present Sunday at Talladega. The Hendrick Motorsports driver cast his superspeedway hauntings aside, moving forward from a 25th-place starting spot to win the first stage of the day. Larson stayed in the mix the rest of the day, too. He finished second in the second stage and then was promoted to the second-place spot following the disqualification of Ryan Preece. The important thing is that Larson is now showing some consistent finishes at the front at superspeedways. 

William Byron - He hasn't been flashy, but Byron continues to deliver the goods this season with another top-five finish. His third-place result from Talladega is his fifth of the season and it was also his seventh top-10. That is a series high matched only by teammate Larson. Through that consistency, Byron heads to Texas still in command in the points with a 31-point margin over second. Byron's consistency is making him a championship favorite, but the season is still young and his challenge will be keeping that form to and through the playoffs. It does look likely to keep going at least one more week, though. At Texas, Byron won in 2023 and has a streak of four straight finishes of seventh or better at the track heading into this weekend. The No. 24 has been one of the easiest fantasy selections each week, and that doesn't seem to be changing any time soon.

Bubba Wallace - As is often the case at Talladega, Wallace delivered a fruitful afternoon. The 23XI Racing driver focused on race setup and swiftly moved forward from his 20th starting spot. He finished fifth in the first stage and then out-drafted the Team Penske teammates to win the second. Wallace kept his car in the mix all afternoon and made no mistakes while many of those around him did. That clean and quick afternoon earned him an eighth-place finish and a valuable points haul that moved him to ninth in the championship standings. It was a productive afternoon that could set the stage for more success this week at Texas. That 1.5-mile oval hadn't been Wallace's best until 2023 when he started on pole and finished third to pick up his first top-five at the track. The following year he finished seventh. That recent Texas success, along with confidence from Talladega, could spell more good things to come for the No. 23.

Chase Elliott - Despite a 30th-place starting spot, Elliott was able to score stage points and walk away with his sixth top-10 of the season and third from the last four races. Elliott has been quietly delivering top finishes regularly this season, and he avoided the pitfalls of Talladega to extend that run. The former champion holds seventh position in the championship standings, which is best among winless drivers. A win is the current goal, though. At Texas, that achievement could be within reach. Elliott won there last season despite starting 24th. In fact, he started outside of the top 20 there in the last two races but finished 11th and first despite that. With 84 laps led in his last three Texas starts, Elliott should be a driver to watch this week, especially after he was able to navigate the tricky Talladega race to continue his current run of consistency.

DOWNGRADE

Ryan Blaney - As one of the best superspeedway racers in the series, Blaney entered the Talladega race weekend as one of the favorites to win. His time in the lead at Daytona in February and his ninth-place qualifying effort for Sunday's race all pointed to the potential he had to score his first 2025 victory. All that promise evaporated less than 50 laps into the race, though. As the field approached the first pit stops of the afternoon, contact among cars slowing to enter pit road collected Blaney's car as he was attempting to speed through the scene. Heavy contact to the right-rear corner of his machine left Blaney stranded in the infield and looking for a tow before limping to the garage and retiring from the race. Despite sitting 10th in points, Blaney still needs a victory and Texas is firmly in his crosshairs to regain some success. He has never won at the track but does have eight top-10s from 16 series starts.

Brad Keselowski - Another veteran on the wrong end of the success spectrum so far this season is Keselowski. Like Blaney, Sunday's visit to Talladega should have been an opportunity to get the monkey off his back, but fate had other plans. When coming to pit road for his first pit stop, Keselowski was one of the cars caught up in the accordion effect as cars slowed, causing him to make contact with Kyle Busch, losing control and tagging Blaney, who was attempting to thread his way through. Both cars suffered significant damage and Keselowski joined Blaney in the garage as the first two cars out of Sunday's race. The result was Keselowski's seventh finish outside of the top 20 so far this season, which leaves him languishing outside of the top 30 in the championship standings. Texas should be a chance to right the ship, though. He has six straight top-10s at the track leading up to this week's race, but fantasy players will have to be wary of his current slump.

Christopher Bell - Superspeedway racing can be treacherous, and Bell experienced that first hand Sunday afternoon. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver started the race in 11th, but lost control from a push off of turn 2 by teammate Denny Hamlin. Bell spun to the inside, collecting Chris Buescher with him, and slammed head-first into the inside wall. The impact immediately ended the No. 20's afternoon, but thankfully Bell walked away unhurt. The 35th-place finish Bell was credited with was his worst of the season and nearly replicates his 31st-place finish from the Daytona 500 in February. While Bell has three victories so far this season, the big superspeedways appear to be a hurdle. Fantasy players should expect Bell and his No. 20 team to bounce back to form quickly, though. At Texas, Bell has three top-fives from six series starts and a third-place start in last year's race.

Joey Logano - After what looked to be his his first top-10 finish since Martinsville, Logano was disqualified from Sunday's Talladega finish following post-race inspection. The day was shaping up to be a good one for the defending series champion after starting third, leading 24 laps, nearly winning the second stage, and crossing the finish line fifth. However, a loose bolt found on the No. 22's rear spoiler in post-race inspection led to the car's disqualification and relegating Logano to a 39th-place finish, his second finish in a row outside of the top 20 and fourth of the season. Circumstances have led to a frustrating start to Logano's championship defense and he and the team will be growing desperate to turn things around. Texas is their next chance at doing so, and Logano is a former winner there. He won the spring race in 2017 and led 14 laps at the track last season on his way to an 11th-place finish after starting 20th.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Ryan Preece - It all seemed like a perfect day for Preece with a runner-up finish after a hard-fought day at Talladega. The finish would have been Preece's best, but post-race inspection found too many shims on his rear spoiler. NASCAR disqualified the No. 60 as a result and with it went Preece's celebrations. It had been a remarkable day for him as he continues to make the most of his new surroundings with RFK Racing, and had the finish stood, it would have been his second top-five of the season. Instead, Preece now heads to Texas looking to break a string of three consecutive finishes of 20th or worse. The good news is that Preece has been quick at 1.5-mile ovals so far. With finishes of third and ninth at Miami and Las Vegas, the Texas configuration could offer a way out of his current slump. Preece's best finish at the track came last season when he finished 12th.