O'Reilly Series Preview Saturday, October 24, 2026

The Progress Group 250

Talladega Superspeedway

Laps 94 Distance 250 mi Type superspeedway Coverage CW · 3:30 PM ET

2.66

asphalt

Surface

Race Date

Saturday, October 24, 2026

3:30 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 O'Reilly Series results at Talladega Superspeedway from 1982-2026.

DID YOU KNOW?

Brad Keselowski has won 6 times at Talladega Superspeedway with a 16.2 average finish.

See Brad Keselowski's full stats

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 The Progress Group 250 on?

The The Progress Group 250 airs on CW on Saturday, October 24, 2026 at 3:30 PM ET, broadcast from Talladega Superspeedway. All 2026 NASCAR Xfinity (O'Reilly Auto Parts) Series races air exclusively on The CW, which is free over-the-air with a digital antenna.

What time does the NASCAR Xfinity race start today?

The The Progress Group 250 green flag is set for 3:30 PM ET on Saturday, October 24, 2026, airing on CW. 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

O'Reilly Series data from 1982-2026 (20 races)

Recent Results

Year	Race	Winner	Margin	Team	Laps Led
2026	Ag-Pro 300	Corey Day	+0.154	Hendrick Motorsports	1
2025	NASCAR Xfinity Series at Talladega	Austin Hill	—		48
2025	NASCAR Xfinity Series at Talladega	Austin Hill	—		19
2024	NASCAR Xfinity Series at Talladega	Sammy Smith	—		5
2024	NASCAR Xfinity Series at Talladega	Jesse Love	—		28

Laps Led Leaders

Driver	Total Laps Led
Austin Hill	259
Jesse Love	162
Justin Allgaier	136
Chase Briscoe	97
Daniel Hemric	72

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.