UPDATE: Qualifying has been canceled due to rain
Provided rain doesn't wash out the session, Saturday's Jack Link's 500 qualifying session at Talladega Superspeedway is set to be the first true traditional superspeedway qualifying session of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Qualifying for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway utilizes this format, but it goes a step further with the Duel races, and qualifying for the season's second race at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway) was rained out.
Each of the 41 drivers on the entry list is set to make one single-lap qualifying attempt around the four-turn, 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer) high-banked Lincoln, Alabama oval, and the top 10 drivers are set to advance to the second round shootout for the pole position. Each of those 10 drivers is set to make another single-lap qualifying attempt, in reverse order, to solidify the starting grid.
With only 40 cars allowed to compete in the race, there are five non-chartered (open) cars going for four spots, meaning one will fail to qualify.
The round one qualifying order was determined by NASCAR's two-variable qualifying formula, a formula which was introduced in 2025 and is much easier to understand that then four-variable metric which was used from 2020 to 2024.
A full breakdown of this formula can be found here.
Follow along with our Jack Link's 500 qualifying updates from Talladega.
NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup at Talladega
UPDATE: Due to inclement weather, the starting lineup was set by the reverse metric order.
Order | Driver |
|---|---|
1 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
2 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
3 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
4 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
5 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
6 | Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
7 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
8 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
9 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
10 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
11 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
12 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
13 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
14 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
15 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
16 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
17 | Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota |
18 | Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
19 | Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
20 | Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
21 | Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
22 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
23 | John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
24 | Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
25 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
26 | Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
27 | Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet |
28 | A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
29 | Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
30 | Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
31 | Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
32 | Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
33 | Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
34 | Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
35 | Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
36 | Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet |
37 | Jesse Love, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
38 | Chad Finchum, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford |
39 | Joey Gase, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet |
40 | Daniel Dye, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet |
Tune in to Fox at 3:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, April 26 for live coverage of the Jack Link's 500 from Talladega Superspeedway. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss the 2026 season's 10th race!
Add us as a preferred source on Google