Winners: Carson Hocevar (Cup); Corey Day (O'Reilly); plus Andy Jankowiak (ARCA)
NASCAR Cup
Carson Hocevar Earns First Career Cup Win in Talladega Thriller
Carson Hocevar earned the first victory of his NASCAR Cup Series career, outdueling Chris Buescher with a last-lap pass at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.
Hocevar, who drives the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports, joined Ty Gibbs (who won two weeks ago at Bristol Motor Speedway), as the second first-time winner this season.
“I’m so thankful. This is the biggest dream I’ve ever thought of,” Hocevar said after a thrilling celebration. “Thank you, everybody. I couldn’t have done it in any better way. Hopefully my grandpa’s watching. My grandma died last year, so I’m so thankful that I can give my grandpa a trophy now. Wish my parents were here. All thanks to (team co-owner) Jeff Dickerson. Heat Wave (sponsor). Everybody is here. Unbelievable. I’m just so thankful, thank you.”
Hocevar, who has made headlines for angering veterans with aggressive moves, won in his 91st start in NASCAR’s premier series. The 23-year-old from Portage, Michigan, used a drafting push from Alex Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet to edge past Buescher’s No. 17 Ford by 0.114 seconds.
Chase Elliott and Zane Smith unofficially completed the top five after a crash coming to the checkered flag unfolded in the tri-oval. Contact between Ryan Preece, Austin Dillon, Christopher Bell and Shane van Gisbergen ended the event after a three-lap dash to the finish.
HE IS DRIVING THE CAR AND CELEBRATING WITH THE FANS ... AT THE SAME TIME!!! pic.twitter.com/8DaQUd6pbl
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 26, 2026
Pole: Tyler Reddick (Lineup Set By Rulebook Metric)
Click Here for Unofficial Race Results
NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series
Corey Day Wins First Career O’Reilly Race
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| Hendrick Motorsports drivers Corey Day (left) and Kyle Larson (middle) celebrate with spotter Tyler Monn (right). |
Corey Day claimed the first NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory of his career Saturday afternoon, driving to the yellow and checkered flags in the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway — his No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet leading only the last lap to earn his first trophy in his first full-time season.
The 20-year-old Californian sprint car driver delivered the multi-time Cup Series championship-winning Hendrick team its first O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory at Talladega and this weekend earned a win for a special “guest” crew member, former NFL great Jason Kelce, who dressed out in Hendrick blue and helped transport tires for the team on pit road Saturday.
“I sure as heck didn’t think it [first win] would be at a superspeedway,” said a grinning Day, who also won a sprint car race in Nebraska earlier this week. “My 17 guys just built a rocket ship.
“I feel like we’ve been close, had a good day at Rockingham and had a couple other good days and just didn’t finish it off, so this is super cool.”
We hope this is the first of many for @corey_day_. pic.twitter.com/AZAW9AdBlX
— NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts (@NASCAROReillyAP) April 25, 2026
Pole: Jesse Love
Click Here for Race Results
Next Race: The NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series will return on Saturday, May 2, 2026 at 3:30 pm ET for the ‘Andy's Frozen Custard 340’ at Texas Motor Speedway.
NASCAR Trucks
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series did not race this weekend
We're happy to have you back in a truck, @CBellRacing. pic.twitter.com/nSSzjj1ISn
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) April 11, 2026
Next Race: The Truck Series will return on Friday, May 1, 2026 at 8:00 pm ET for the ‘SpeedyCash.com 250’ at Texas Motor Speedway.
ARCA
Andy Jankowiak Wins His First ARCA Menards Series Race
A bold move from Andy Jankowiak around the outside of Cleetus McFarland and Gus Dean at Talladega Superspeedway propelled him to his first career ARCA Menards Series victory on Saturday afternoon.
Amidst the chaos of the situation, Jankowiak stayed in the throttle, not knowing the overtime attempt was just one lap.
When reality did set in, the emotions quickly overwhelmed Jankowiak, who has worked tirelessly during the 2020s to find sustainability on the ARCA Menards Series platform. Jankowiak initially did this through his own program before becoming the primary driver for KLAS Motorsports after they purchased the operation.
“I thought there was one more lap,” Jankowiak said. “The radio was super staticky. I’m still waiting to wake up here. Everything that got me to ARCA and everything that’s come after with [co-owners] Kevin Lapierre, Andy Seuss and Mike Dayton, there’s never been more of a team effort standing in Victory Lane at Talladega.
“What an adventure.”
WHAT A FINSH AT ‘DEGA! 🤯
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) April 25, 2026
📺 @FS1 pic.twitter.com/SSMgs5MSAg
Pole: Gio Ruggiero (Field Set by 2026 Owner Points)
Click Here for Race Results
Next Race: The ARCA Menard Series East will return on Saturday, May 2, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. CT for the ‘Cook Out Music City 150’ at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
Next Race: The ARCA Menard Series West will return on Saturday, May 2, 2026 at 8:30 p.m. PT for the ‘Bill Schmitt Memorial 173 presented by the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame’ at Shasta Speedway.
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