By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service

TALLADEGA, AL (April 26, 2026) – Fitting for his first career NASCAR Cup Series win, Carson Hocevar turned in an ultra-original victory celebration sitting on the window ledge of his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet while driving around the massive 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway soaking up the emotions that will forever define and reward his first victory lap.

The huge crowd loved the unique celebration and the 23-year old Michigan native deservedly soaked it all in after earning a .114-second victory over Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing veteran Chris Buescher in Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at the iconic Talladega track completing a solid, no-holds-barred three-lap run to the checkered flag for his first trophy in NASCAR’s premier series.

It marks the second time in the last three races a driver earned his first career victory – matching the work of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs two weeks ago at Bristol, Tenn.

“I’ve had this thought up for a while,’’ Hocevar said of his winning salute. “And I’ve messed it up every which way to not be able to do it. And I don’t care if I took me 20 minutes or whatever I was going to figure out how to do it.

“I’m just so thankful,’’ he said, the grandstand crowd roaring in approval. “This is the biggest dream I’ve ever thought of. Thank you everybody. I couldn’t have done it any better way. Hopefully my grandfather is watching. My grandmother died last year and I’m just so thankful I can give my grandfather a trophy now.’’

“Just unbelievable, I’m just so thankful,’’ he added. “I knew we were going to win. I really did.’’

Over the three years he’s competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, Hocevar has taken some criticism for his bold – at times imprudent – driving style. But on Sunday, Hocevar proved his metal in the big leagues leading 19 of the final 37 laps in the 188-lap classic and holding the field off on three late race restarts.

“He deserved it for sure and this is a perfect place for him to get it,’’ third place finisher, Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman said of Hocevar.

Buescher, who also scored his career-best finish at Talladega said, “That was a fun race all the way until the end.

“Man, it was close. … awesome day and it was a good race.”

Hendrick’s Chase Elliott, a two-time Talladega winner, finished fourth in the No. 9 Chevrolet with Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith rallying to an impressive fifth place finish in the No. 38 Ford, also setting the fastest lap of the race.

Another former Talladega winner, Hyak Motorsports’ Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished sixth, followed by Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, Team Penske’s Austin Cindric, Front Row’s Noah Gragson and two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, whose 10th place showing Sunday was the first top-10 of the season for the venerable Richard Childress Racing team.

There were 16 leaders and 52 lead changes on the day, with JGR’s Christopher Bell leading a race-high 31 laps despite finishing 17th. RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece and Ross Chastain were the race’s two stage winners.

Half the field – literally – was eliminated from legitimate winning contention in a wild 26-car melee in Turn 3 on lap 115 that included championship leader Tyler Reddick among the two-dozen collected. And it all started up front.

Contact between the front cars of leader Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain triggered the chain reaction incident and brought out a 10-minute red flag stoppage. A handful of those involved – including 23XI Racing’s Wallace and fellow past Talladega winners and Team Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano – were no longer able to continue but a sizable number of those involved were able to return to the track.

“Got wrecked there, unfortunately,’’ Wallace offered in an understatement after leading three times on the day. “Our Xfinity Toyota Camry was a little unstable getting pushed, but manageable. Maybe that hard of a hit was too much, so unfortunately, we wiped out a bunch of cars.

“Got to debrief, got to be better. Just kind of riding around, not doing much in the first stage – nothing to show for it at Talladega. Unfortunate, it is a place we come to with a lot of confidence, and it is what it is. We will put this one behind us and go on to Texas and have some fun.”

Blaney was equally as frustrated, but like so many of those caught up in the incident, also philosophical about the close-quarter brand of speedway racing that has so often produced NASCAR’s version of the “the big one.’’

“I feel like we all just got pinballing off each other there,’’ Blaney said, adding, “It’s not like there’s any blame on anybody. It’s what this thing is. We see each other. We all just kind of get bumping and banging and one guy eventually gets turned with the car being as unstable as it is. It definitely stinks to be out early.”

A five-time race winner this season, Reddick was also among those whose cars suffered damage in the massive mid-race incident. Hoping to win his fifth race from pole position this season, instead the Californian had to recover from damage in both the big accidents and then again after his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota clipped the wall with 27 to go.

He stayed on the lead lap and managed a 14th place finish in the 40-car field and maintains a commanding lead atop the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings, 110 points over Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin – one of Reddick’s 23XI Racing team owners.

The NASCAR Cup Series moves west for its annual stop at Texas Motor Speedway for next Sunday’s Würth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Joey Logano is the defending race winner.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (April 25, 2026) – NASCAR today announced pivotal leadership changes with its Board of Directors naming Steve O’Donnell as Chief Executive Officer and Ben Kennedy as Chief Operating Officer, positioning the sport for its next phase of growth and innovation. These planned transitions follow a period of sustained momentum and business strength for NASCAR, driven by multi-year media rights agreements, long-term charter extensions and robust partner relationships.

Effective immediately, O’Donnell becomes the first non-France family member to serve as CEO in NASCAR’s 78-year history. He assumes all strategic and operational leadership for NASCAR, its affiliated racing series and businesses. Kennedy, in his expanded role as Chief Operating Officer, will oversee several core business functions, including the addition of NASCAR’s competition department, alongside his current leadership of track and event operations, racing innovation, hospitality, and venue strategy. Jim France, who served as NASCAR Chairman and CEO since 2018 where he oversaw nearly a decade of innovation and steady growth, will remain as Chairman of NASCAR’s Board of Directors. Lesa France Kennedy also continues as Executive Vice Chair and NASCAR’s Board of Directors remains unchanged.

“I am incredibly proud of the strength and stability we’ve achieved across the sport, which gives me tremendous confidence in our plan to transition leadership to Steve as NASCAR’s next CEO and Ben as COO,” said NASCAR Chairman Jim France. “Together, they represent the future of the sport, and along with our world-class executive team and race team partners in the garage, they will guide NASCAR into its exciting next era.”

As CEO, O’Donnell will focus on advancing NASCAR’s vision as one of the world’s premier sports and entertainment brands. Previously serving as NASCAR’s sixth President, O’Donnell is one of the sport’s longest tenured and respected executives with more than 30 years of service across competition, operations, marketing and business functions – from grassroots racing through the NASCAR Cup Series. He will also lead the development and execution of multi year strategic plans, financial and performance benchmarks, succession planning, as well as NASCAR’s next media rights and evolving content distribution strategies.

“It is an honor to step into the role of CEO working alongside Ben and our leadership team at such an important time for our sport,” said NASCAR Chief Executive Officer Steve O’Donnell. “I have devoted nearly my entire l career to NASCAR, this garage and our fans, guided by the France family’s commitment to deliver the best racing in the world. I am grateful and energized to continue to collaborate with our colleagues across our sport, while listening to our race fans to realize that vision each and every week.”

With Ben Kennedy’s elevation to NASCAR’s Chief Operating Officer, he will oversee a range of business- and competition-critical functions, including the addition of Competition led by John Probst. Probst will report to Kennedy, who began his NASCAR career on the Competition team as General Manager of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. Kennedy will also continue to oversee the creation of NASCAR’s highly anticipated annual schedule, a key driver of marquee events that expand NASCAR’s reach and introduce the sport to new audiences while honoring its most beloved racing traditions that have delivered many iconic sports moments.

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

KANSAS CITY, KS (April 19, 2024) – Tyler Reddick scraped the outside wall in the closing laps. His fuel system stumbled at a critical moment. He collided with fellow Toyota driver Christopher Bell in overtime. He fell behind defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson on the final restart.

Yet, in a magical season for the driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota, Reddick won Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway in spite of all the adversity.

The catalyst was Cody Ware’s spin on Lap 266, the penultimate circuit of the scheduled regulation distance. That incident caused the third caution of the race one lap after Denny Hamlin had retaken the lead from Reddick, who switched to pump 2 in his Camry after the car sputtered with two laps left.

Ware’s spin sent the race to overtime, and all 16 cars on the lead lap came to pit road for tires, with Hamlin, Reddick, Larson, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace and five cars behind them taking right-side tires only.

Moments after the overtime restart on Lap 273, Larson steered to the inside of Hamlin on the bottom row and charged into the lead. Reddick fell back after his contact with Bell’s Toyota forced Bell into the outside wall.

But the outside lane opened up for Reddick, whose handling was superior to Larson’s in the overtime. Reddick mustered a huge run in the top lane, then drove to the inside of Larson’s Chevrolet, which tightened up on corner entry.

Reddick cleared Larson through the final two corners and crossed the finish line 0.118 seconds ahead of the reigning champion.

“Just really blessed with the late caution,” said Reddick, who won for the fifth time this season, the second time at Kansas and the 13th time in his career. “Was that nuts or what? I couldn’t believe it.

“I mean, first off, I feel like I have to say obviously just for how I feel. I never like being on the inside of it—really hate that for Christopher Bell. Good, hard racing. The 11 (Hamlin) came up. I mean, I took off tight. Not thrilled I got Christopher there. I hate that for him because he was having a good, solid day.

“Man, these late race restarts get crazy. I obviously had a run on the 5 (Larson). I was shocked I was able to get to his inside there. An incredible SupplyHouse Toyota Camry all day long.”

Reddick is the first driver since Dale Earnhardt in 1987—and fourth all-time—to win five of the first nine races of a season in NASCAR’s top division. His series lead increased to 105 points over second-place Hamlin, who won the first stage.

NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, who co-owns 23XI Racing with Hamlin, was elated with the victory.

“This kid is on fire,” said Jordan, who has witnessed all five of Reddick’s victories this season in person. “I don’t know how I can ever cool him down. He is unbelievable. Unbelievable last couple laps. I’m proud of the whole team.”

Larson, who led 78 laps and won the second stage, executed the overtime restart to perfection but couldn’t hold the lead.

“I got to the lead, and I thought I could cruise right there to the checkered flag, but my balance on two tires was just super, super tight,” said Larson, whose winless streak grew to 33 races. “I didn’t get through (Turns) 3 and 4 fast enough, and then the No. 45 (Reddick) had such a big run on me from behind.

“I thought I could go to the top to get some load into my front tires, but it still didn’t turn there. That was a bummer, but just overall happy with the day we had.”

Chase Briscoe finished third on four new tires, with Hamlin and Wallace running fourth and fifth, respectively. Brad Keselowski, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs and Chris Buescher completed the top 10.

Bell, who led 47 laps, spun coming to the white flag in overtime and finished 20th.

Hamlin led a race-high 131 laps and was positioned for the victory until Ware’s spin.

“I mean, obviously it’s not winning,” Hamlin said of the way the race played out. “It’s Cody Ware, six laps down, wrecking. I don’t know. It just added up.

“I fell for the same move that the 5 (Larson) got me a couple years ago when I was on the inside. I got to learn from those mistakes that I make, not executing those last few laps.”

The NASCAR Cup Series races next in the Jack Link’s 500 next Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway (3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, HBO Max and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Reddick won the spring race at Talladega in 2024.