The 2026 YellaWood 500 is an upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race that will be held on October 25, 2026, at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Contested over 188 laps on the 2.66 mile (4.28 km) superspeedway, it will be the 34th race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, and eighth race of the NASCAR Chase.
Report
Background
Talladega Superspeedway, formerly known as Alabama International Motor Speedway, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. A tri-oval, the track was constructed in 1969 by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking. The track currently hosts NASCAR's Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which is 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km).
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points. (CC) denotes chase contender.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 2 Austin Cindric (CC) Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Noah Gragson Front Row Motorsports Ford 5 Kyle Larson (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 7 Daniel Suárez (CC) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Ty Dillon Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 11 Denny Hamlin (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney (CC) Team Penske Ford 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher (CC) RFK Racing Ford 19 Chase Briscoe (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Josh Berry Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano (CC) Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace (CC) 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 33 Austin Hill (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 34 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 35 Riley Herbst 23XI Racing Toyota 38 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Cole Custer Haas Factory Team Chevrolet 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 45 Tyler Reddick (CC) 23XI Racing Toyota 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 54 Ty Gibbs (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 Ryan Preece (CC) RFK Racing Ford 62 Casey Mears Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 66 TBA MBM Motorsports Ford 71 Michael McDowell Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 77 Carson Hocevar (CC) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Daniel Dye (i) Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 88 Connor Zilisch (R) Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 97 Shane van Gisbergen Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Media
Television NBC will cover the race on the television side. Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte will call the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Kim Coon, and Marty Snider will handle pit road, while Trevor Bayne provided analysis from the pace car for the television side.
NBCBooth announcersPit reportersPace car Lap-by-lap: Leigh DiffeyColor-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Steve Letarte Dave BurnsKim CoonMarty Snider Trevor Bayne
Radio MRN will have the radio call for the race which will also be simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley, & former championship winning crew chief Todd Gordon will call the race in the booth when the field raced through the tri-oval. Dave Moody will call the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 2 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2. Tim Catalfamo will call the race from a platform inside the backstretch when the field raced down the backstretch and Dan Hubbard will call the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 4 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4. Steve Post, Chris Wilner, Jason Toy, and Jacklyn Drake will work pit road for the radio side for MRN.
MRN RadioBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Mike BagleyAnnouncer: Todd Gordon Turns 1 & 2: Dave MoodyBackstretch: Tim CatalfamoTurns 3 & 4: Dan Hubbard Steve PostChris WilnerJason ToyJacklyn Drake
References