NASCAR News: Stage lengths adjusted for Cup Series spring race at Talladega
NASCAR officials have adjusted the stage lengths for the 2026 Cup Series spring race at Talladega Superspeedway, the sanctioning body announced on Monday afternoon.
The Jack Link’s 500, scheduled for April 26 at the 2.66-mile Alabama track (3 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), will have changes across all three stages. Stage 1 will now end on Lap 98 (98 laps), with Stage 2 set to end on Lap 143 (45 laps). The final stage will conclude 45 laps later on Lap 188, the end of regulation for the 10th points-paying race of the 2026 Cup campaign. Original stage-length specifications were set at 60-120-188.
Related Article: NASCAR shortening Talladega stages to combat fuel-saving strategy concerns
John Probst, NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief racing development officer, discussed the change during the latest episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast last week, detailing that these modified stage lengths will help address fuel-saving concerns, where drivers would run at less than full throttle at the longest tracks on the circuit.
These changes, to Probst, should create newer, more unique strategies as the race unfolds.
“If you look at generally how a lot of our speedways were laid out, it was a short stage, a short stage and then a long stage to the end,” Probst said. “Going into Talladega, we’re going to flip that and adjust the lengths of the final two stages such that we’re confident that the last two stages are short enough to be made without a fuel stop.
“It could be interesting, as well, in that first stage, the length of it, if there’s some that try to do it on one stop versus some that try to do it on two. We think that if there are some that try to do it on two, they may drag the group that tried to do it on one along with them to where they won’t be able to do it in one, so it’s got the potential there for some pretty interesting strategies.”
Per the NASCAR Rule Book, the race is considered official at the end of Stage 2 or at the halfway point. With these new stage lengths, the halfway point will now be following Lap 94. NASCAR PR