Truck Series Preview Friday, October 23, 2026

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff Race at Talladega

Talladega Superspeedway

Laps 85 Distance 226 mi Type superspeedway Coverage FS1 · 4:00 PM ET

2.66

asphalt

Surface

Race Date

Friday, October 23, 2026

4:00 PM ET

Pre-Race Race Day Post-Race

Band A · The Hook

Your watchlist, historical context, and race-week curiosities.

Your Drivers' Outlook

Historical Context

Tyler Reddick has 20 starts at Talladega Superspeedway with 2 wins and a 16.1 average finish.
Chase Elliott has 22 starts at Talladega Superspeedway with 2 wins and a 14.3 average finish.
Chris Buescher has 20 starts at Talladega Superspeedway with a 16.3 average finish.

Based on Truck Series results at Talladega Superspeedway from 1995-2026.

DID YOU KNOW?

The wildest race at Talladega Superspeedway was the 1985 Talladega 500 with a chaos score of 100.0.

See track history

LAST TIME HERE

Kyle Busch won the 2023 GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

See Kyle Busch's results

Band B · The Story

The narrative arc, drivers to watch, and race-weekend color.

Band C · The Data

Schedule, predictions, entry list, track history, fantasy, and betting angles.

TV & Start Time

What channel is the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff Race at Talladega on?

The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff Race at Talladega airs on FS1 on Friday, October 23, 2026 at 4:00 PM ET, broadcast from Talladega Superspeedway. Every 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race airs on FS1, available through cable, satellite, and live-TV streaming services like YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, and fuboTV.

What time does the NASCAR Craftsman Truck race start today?

The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff Race at Talladega green flag is set for 4:00 PM ET on Friday, October 23, 2026, airing on FS1. All NASCAR start times are listed in Eastern Time.

NR-Rating Track Rankings

#	Driver	Badge	Elo Rating	Starts	Wins	Last Finish
1	Chase Elliott	Prev Winner	1517	19	2	P4(2026)
2	Daniel Suarez		1497	11	0	P12(2026)
3	Kyle Busch	Prev Winner	1496	27	1	P10(2026)
4	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Prev Winner	1495	23	2	P6(2026)
5	Chris Buescher		1493	18	0	P2(2026)
6	William Byron		1493	16	0	P35(2026)
7	Tyler Reddick	Prev Winner	1488	14	1	P14(2026)
8	Alex Bowman		1486	18	0	P3(2026)
9	Ryan Blaney	Prev Winner	1485	23	3	P37(2026)
10	Bubba Wallace	Prev Winner	1483	17	1	P36(2026)

NR-Rating: Elo-based rating from the NR-Rating prediction model. Higher = stronger at this track type. = Previous winner at this track

NR-Rating Predictions

Last updated: Wed, May 13, 2026, 07:50 AM ET

#	Driver	Tier	Exp. Finish	Win %	Top 5 %	Top 10 %
1	Tyler Reddick Best in Field	Favorite	13.6	11.2%	39.9%	56.7%
2	Chase Elliott	Favorite	10.4	11.0%	40.0%	57.2%
3	Chris Buescher	Favorite	13.6	10.4%	38.7%	55.9%
4	Ryan Blaney	Favorite	13.9	9.9%	37.8%	54.8%
5	William Byron	Favorite	13.9	8.9%	35.2%	51.4%
6	Daniel Suarez	Favorite	15.1	7.8%	33.7%	51.2%
7	Kyle Busch	Contender	15.1	7.0%	33.2%	49.8%
8	Alex Bowman	Contender	15.1	6.2%	30.4%	48.6%
9	Bubba Wallace	Contender	16.0	5.7%	28.8%	47.4%
10	Brad Keselowski	Contender	16.0	5.3%	26.8%	45.6%
11	Denny Hamlin	Contender	16.0	4.5%	24.8%	43.8%
12	Christopher Bell	Contender	17.4	3.9%	22.7%	41.0%
13	Ross Chastain	Contender	17.4	3.8%	20.2%	39.3%
14	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Contender	18.5	3.3%	18.0%	36.2%
15	Casey Mears	Mid-Pack	18.5	3.2%	16.0%	33.6%
16	Erik Jones	Mid-Pack	18.5	3.1%	17.0%	34.8%
17	Kyle Larson	Mid-Pack	18.5	2.9%	17.3%	35.8%
18	Carson Hocevar	Mid-Pack	19.4	2.8%	15.1%	30.5%
19	Michael McDowell	Mid-Pack	20.0	2.5%	13.7%	29.4%
20	Austin Cindric	Mid-Pack	20.1	1.8%	12.3%	28.3%
21	A.J. Allmendinger	Mid-Pack	20.1	1.7%	11.2%	26.9%
22	Joey Logano	Mid-Pack	20.5	1.4%	10.6%	26.6%
23	John Hunter Nemechek	Mid-Pack	20.5	1.2%	9.7%	25.6%
24	Ryan Preece	Mid-Pack	21.1	1.0%	8.9%	24.8%
25	Ty Gibbs	Mid-Pack	22.9	0.9%	5.3%	17.1%
26	Ty Dillon	Mid-Pack	21.1	0.9%	8.3%	22.9%
27	Chase Briscoe	Dark Horse	21.7	0.9%	6.6%	19.8%
28	Katherine Legge	Dark Horse	22.8	0.9%	5.8%	18.3%
29	Zane Smith	Dark Horse	22.9	0.9%	5.1%	16.4%
30	Todd Gilliland	Dark Horse	22.9	0.8%	4.8%	15.7%
31	Riley Herbst	Dark Horse	23.7	0.7%	4.0%	13.2%
32	Austin Dillon	Dark Horse	23.4	0.6%	5.0%	16.0%
33	Shane van Gisbergen	Dark Horse	23.4	0.5%	4.8%	14.8%
34	Cole Custer	Dark Horse	23.4	0.4%	4.3%	15.3%
35	Connor Zilisch	Dark Horse	23.4	0.4%	4.9%	15.9%
36	B.J. McLeod	Dark Horse	25.5	0.3%	2.0%	7.8%
37	Noah Gragson	Dark Horse	24.0	0.3%	3.0%	10.3%
38	Josh Berry	Dark Horse	24.0	0.3%	3.0%	10.3%
39	Cody Ware	Dark Horse	27.9	0.2%	1.5%	6.1%

Win probabilities reflect full-field Monte Carlo simulations. A 10% pWin means roughly 1-in-10 chance of winning — higher than most bettors realize for a 36-car field where the average driver has ~2.8% odds. Top 5 and Top 10 percentages similarly reflect simulated outcomes, not historical averages. Learn how the model works.

Predictions powered by NR-Rating model (MAE: 8.5 positions)

Prediction Scorecard

Go Bowling at The Glen: Model picked Chase Elliott at P1 → Actual P24

(1/5 top-5 hits)

38% top-5 hit rate across 11 races

History at Talladega Superspeedway

Truck Series data from 1995-2026 (14 races)

Recent Results

Year	Race	Winner	Margin	Laps Led
2025	NASCAR Truck Series at Talladega	Giovanni Ruggiero	—	37
2024	NASCAR Truck Series at Talladega	Grant Enfinger	—	34
2023	NASCAR Truck Series at Talladega	Brett Moffitt	—	22
2022	NASCAR Truck Series at Talladega	Matt DiBenedetto	—	—
2021	NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Talladega	Tate Fogleman	—	1

All Results at This Track

2025 Ruggiero 2024 Enfinger 2023 Moffitt 2022 DiBenedetto 2021 Fogleman 2020 Lessard 2019 Boyd 2018 Peters 2017 Kligerman 2016 Enfinger 2015 Peters 2014 Peters 2013 Sauter 2012 Kligerman

Laps Led Leaders

Driver	Total Laps Led
Grant Enfinger	130
Johnny Sauter	95
Matt Crafton	60
Ty Dillon	51
Christian Eckes	47

Track Type Tendencies

superspeedway

Superspeedway races at Talladega Superspeedway are defined by pack racing and drafting. Results are less predictable than any other track type — the field stays tight and late-race wrecks reshape the outcome.

Manufacturer strategy and drafting alliances matter as much as raw speed. Longshot winners are more common here than anywhere on the schedule.