5 NASCAR drivers who lost big in the 2025 Talladega race ft. Joey Logano

The 2025 NASCAR Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway had all the ingredients of a classic, which ended in a dramatic photo finish. While Austin Cindric celebrated a crucial win, several big names saw their hopes crumble either due to crashes, technical violations, or sheer misfortune.

The race saw 67 lead changes among 21 drivers, and four cautions in what turned out to be a largely green-flag affair across the 188 laps. As the dust settled, a few drivers stood out for all the wrong reasons. Below are five drivers who lost big in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega.

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#5 Brad Keselowski – RFK Racing (#6)

Talladega's most successful modern-day driver, Brad Keselowski, was hoping for respite at the NASCAR Jack Link's 500 after a slow start to the season. Standing 32nd in the NASCAR standings, the 2012 Cup Series Champion saw his race unravel before the halfway mark.

A pit road incident on lap 43, sparked by contact between Keselowski and Kyle Busch, triggered a multi-car crash that wrecked the front end of his #6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. The impact ended any serious hopes for the RFK Racing veteran, building pressure on his 2025 campaign.

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#4 Ryan Blaney – Team Penske (#12)

Ryan Blaney (12) at Darlington. Source: Imagn

Ryan Blaney's strong superspeedway reputation took a hit this weekend. Blaney was one of the innocent victims in the lap 43 pileup involving Keselowski and Kyle Busch. Forced to retire early, he was left with a disappointing 37th-place finish — his fourth DNF of the year. While he drops two places down to eighth in the NASCAR Cup standings, Blaney needs to string together consistent top-10s over the coming weeks to secure a playoff berth.

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#3 Kyle Busch – Richard Childress Racing (#8)

Kyle Busch has not won in the NASCAR Cup Series in over two years but was poised to change that at Jack Link's 500 with a front-row start. Instead, a pit road miscue turned into a disaster. He was first caught up in the Keselowski incident that damaged his #8 RCR Chevrolet.

Kyle Busch before the Jack Link's 500. Source: Imagn

Busch sustained through the incident and even led briefly for three laps until his race took a turn late on Lap 172. He received speeding penalties for going over the 55 mph mark on the Talladega pit road. This pushed the RCR veteran back to the end of the field, and he eventually finished 27th.

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#2 Joey Logano – Team Penske (#22)

Joey Logano crossed the finish line, thinking he had salvaged a solid fifth-place result. However, after a post-race inspection, NASCAR officials disqualified the No. 22 Ford for a rear spoiler violation under Section 14.5.8.E. One of 18 bolts on the spoiler surface of his #22 Ford was loose, and the rule states that all fasteners must be tightly fixed throughout the race.

Joey Logano (22) leads the pack at Talladega. Source: Imagn

This wiped out Logano's points and relegated him to a 39th-place finish. For Team Penske, who have decided to accept the penalty, it was a tough way to end an otherwise strong day.

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#1 Ryan Preece – RFK Racing (#60)

No one felt the heartbreak of Talladega more than Ryan Preece. After a phenomenal drive that saw him finish second, 0.022 seconds behind Cindric, Preece seemed on the verge of a breakthrough moment.

Hours later, NASCAR inspectors found a rear spoiler violation on his #60 Ford under 14.5.8.F, leading to Preece's disqualification. The RFK driver had three real spoiler shims instead of the two permitted ones. What should have been a season-defining podium became a bitter 38th-place result and a brutal reminder of how quickly fortunes can flip at Talladega.