PREVIEW: Newcomers look to mix it up with superspeedway specialists in Talladega
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Garage 66 and MBM Motorsports, @MBMMotorsports
LASTCAR TRACKSIDE COVERAGE
My trackside coverage continues this weekend with my first trip to a superspeedway, covering the action for ARCA, the XFINITY Series, and Cup at Talladega! For more updates, be sure to stay tuned to my Twitter feed at @LASTCARonBROCK.
Saturday, April 26, 2025 (Green Flag 4:10 P.M. ET, CW)
XFINITY Race 11 of 33
Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega
2024 Last-Place Finisher: Justin Allgaier
ENTRY LIST
There are 41 drivers entered for 38 spots, meaning three will fail to qualify.
DRIVER CHANGE: #19-Joe Gibbs Racing
This weekend sees Aric Almirola return to the XFINITY Series for the fifth time this season, his first since a 13th-place finish in Martinsville. He takes the place of Justin Bonsignore, who was classified last at Rockingham for more than three loose lug nuts found on a car that had wrecked in the middle stages. Almirola won this XFINITY race in 2017.
RETURNING: #24-Sam Hunt Racing
Jeffrey Earnhardt continues to fly the flag for his family at Talladega, again with longtime sponsor ForeverLawn. This time, he pilots Sam Hunt’s returning part-time #24 entry, which two races ago at Bristol saw Corey Heim finished a strong 8th. This will be Earnhardt’s 14th career XFINITY start at Talladega, and competes in the same event where he finished 2nd for Richard Childress Racing three years ago.
RETURNING: #29-RSS Racing
Jake Garcia seeks his XFINITY Series debut after 57 career starts across four seasons in the Truck Series, most recently a runner-up finish to Tyler Ankrum last Friday in Rockingham. Quanta Services, Garcia’s sponsor, follows him to the returning part-time third entry at RSS Racing, which is expected to join the Sieg brothers on Saturday.
TEAM UPDATE: #32-Jordan Anderson Racing
DRIVER CHANGE: #53-Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen
Last week’s race at Rockingham saw Katherine Legge miss the show in Jordan Anderson’s #32 entry, then despite switching rides with J.J. Yeley at Joey Gase Motorsports managed to stay on the lead lap until contact from William Sawalich cut short her afternoon. This week, Legge rejoins the Anderson team for another run, again sponsored by e.l.f. Cosmetics. This will be her first XFINITY start on a superspeedway, though she did qualify 9th in this year’s ARCA opener at Daytona, where a crash on Lap 4 left her 39th. Joey Gase himself is entered in the #53 with Stripes TV as sponsor.
DRIVER CHANGE: #45-Alpha Prime Racing
Following last week’s race, where Vicente Salas rebounded from a early crash to finish 24th at Rockingham, Caesar Bacarella climbs back behind the wheel of the #45, this time with backing from Simcraft. Bacarella seeks his third consecutive top-ten finish in this race following a track-best 6th in 2023 and a 7th last year, both in Alpha Prime’s Chevrolets.
RETURNING: #66-MBM Motorsports
Mason Maggio returns to the XFINITY Series for the first time since his frustrating weekend in Bristol, and this time drives for Carl Long, who was instrumental in building his Truck Series team at Floridian Motorsports. Denssi Energy Pouches sponsors Maggio’s pink-and-white Chevrolet in what would be his 13th career start and first at Talladega since his 18th-place run in last fall’s Truck Series race.
DRIVER CHANGE: #70-Cope Family Racing
Mazrano Alabama Injury Lawyers joins as sponsor of a returning Leland Honeyman, Jr., who returns to the XFINITY Series for the first time since his late-crash crash at Darlington driving a “throwback” scheme honoring Jeff Green. Honeyman takes the place of Thomas Annunziata, who finished 29th at Rockingham after late-race suspension issues.
MISSING: #74-Mike Harmon Racing
Not among this week’s entrants is Mike Harmon’s team, which at Rockingham was handed its fourth DNQ in the last five races in the hands of driver Dawson Cram.
DRIVER CHANGE: #91-DGM Racing x JIM
Making his first series start of 2025 is Jesse Iwuji, whose Jesse Iwuji Motorsports (JIM) team joined forces with Mario Gosselin’s multi-car organization last offseason. Iwuji takes the place of 17th-place Rockingham finisher Josh Bilicki and carries sponsorship from Chevrolet Accessories. This would be only Iwuji’s second XFINITY Series start at Talladega, following a 28th-place run in the fall race three years ago.
CUP INVADERS: None
Sunday, April 27, 2025 (Green Flag 3:20 P.M. ET, FS1)
CUP Race 10 of 36
Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega
2024 Last-Place Finisher: Christopher Bell
ENTRY LIST
The Cup Series returns to action after their week off. Despite the promise of another competitive superspeedway race, just 39 drivers will attempt the field of 40, marking the ninth consecutive short field to start the year.
MISSING: #33-Richard Childress Racing
Jesse Love will focus on the XFINITY Series exclusively this weekend, days after his win at Rockingham was stripped due to a suspension issue in post-race inspection, then an unsuccessful appeal of his disqualification. Love finished 31st at Bristol two weeks ago.
RETURNING: #44-NY Racing Team
First of the three “open” teams to return to action this weekend is that of J.J. Yeley, whose NY Racing Team was revealed to have a licensed diecast transporter release from NASCAR Authentics later this year. Ultimate Tailgating is the sponsor for Yeley, who will make his 390th career Cup start and fourth of the year, his first since brake issues stemming from an accident at Darlington left him in last place.
RETURNING: #62-Beard Motorsports
Anthony Alfredo pulls double-duty with Saturday’s XFINITY Series race as Beard Motorsports continues its near-exclusive superspeedway schedule. For Alfredo and sponsor Fortify Building Solutions, it’s their first Cup start together since Daytona this past February, where they failed to qualify for the Daytona 500. Alfredo has finished 12th or better in three of his four Cup starts at Talladega, including a track-best 6th in this race last season.
MISSING: #66-Garage 66
Not among the entrants this week is Josh Bilicki, the last-place finisher at Bristol, who is competing in a sports car race at Road America. Carl Long has also not entered his Cup Series car, and is instead focusing on Mason Maggio’s effort in Saturday’s XFINITY Series race.
RETURNING: #78-Live Fast Motorsports
B.J. McLeod boasts a wild new paint scheme for his familiar #78 as he promotes the new Pigeon Forge Racing Coaster on his Chevrolet. Like Alfredo, McLeod failed to qualify for this February’s 500, but then made the following race in Atlanta and finished a respectable 22nd, leading a lap and finishing on the lead lap. This will be McLeod’s 10th series start at Talladega, where his track-best finish of 18th came in this race two years ago.
MISSING: #01-Rick Ware Racing
After such a strong run through both the Duels and the Daytona 500 itself, it’s interesting to see Corey LaJoie not among this week’s entrants at Talladega, two weeks after he finished a distant 34th in his series return at Bristol. LaJoie has made 14 career Cup starts at Talladega with a best finish of 4th in the fall of 2023. He led five laps here last fall.
Friday, May 2, 2025
TRUCKS Race 8 of 25
SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas
2024 Last-Place Finisher: Tyler Ankrum
The Truck Series returns next week in Texas.
TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (April 25, 1999): Brett Bodine picked up the 6th last-place finish of his NASCAR Winston Cup Series career in the DieHard 500 when his #11 Paychex Ford was collected in a multi-car crash down the backstretch after 48 laps.
