Austin Cindric claimed his first victory of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season Sunday in a heart-stopping finish at Talladega Superspeedway, beating Ryan Preece by a mere 0.022 seconds in the Jack Link’s 500. The No. 2 Team Penske Ford surged ahead on the final lap, capping a side-by-side duel that saw five lead changes in the last six laps
Key Race Highlights
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Historic Margin: The 0.022-second victory marks one of the closest finishes in Talladega history, with Cindric’s hood-length advantage securing Team Penske’s first win of the year
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Pit Stop Prowess: A lightning-fast final pit stop with 17 laps remaining positioned Cindric to battle for the win in a race featuring 67 lead changes among 23 drivers
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Disqualifications Shake Results: Post-race inspections disqualified Preece (originally second) and Joey Logano (fifth) for spoiler violations, promoting Kyle Larson and William Byron to second and third
Standings Impact
Cindric, who entered the race 22nd in points, locks into the playoffs with his third career Cup win William Byron retains the points lead, while Larson’s runner-up finish strengthens his top-five position
Preece’s Career Moment
Despite the disqualification, Preece’s on-track performance marked a career-best finish for the RFK Racing driver, who remains winless in nearly 200 Cup starts
Relive the final-lap drama below:
iframe: YouTube embed of the last-lap battle
Updated NASCAR standings and full Talladega results available on NASCAR.com.
