NASCAR Jack Link's 500 Preview: Favorite, underdog, top storylines

On Sunday, the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series will take on the treacherous 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway in the Jack Link's 500 (3 p.m. ET, Fox, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Here's what you need to know ahead of the 10th race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. 

Favorite: Ryan Blaney (+1000, per DraftKings) 

It's difficult to pick a winner at a track as chaotic as Talladega, but Blaney's a pretty good bet. The 2023 Cup Series champion drives for Team Penske — which historically has been one of the best teams at superspeedways — and is one of the best superspeedway racers in the field. Blaney is a three-time Talladega winner, with his last win coming in the fall of 2023. If Blaney's in contention late, he'll throw his hat in the ring for a fourth Talladega triumph. 

Underdog: AJ Allmendinger (+5500, per DraftKings) 

Allmendinger is off to a solid start this season, sitting 16th in points with three top-10 finishes. Talladega hasn't been a great track for Allmendinger — he only has three top-10 finishes in 21 Cup Series starts at the track — but the recent speed Kaulig has shown is a very encouraging sign. Allmendinger is an underrated superspeedway racer, and should he survive the inevitable Talladega carnage, a win isn't out of the question. 

How hard will drivers push? 

Fuel conservation has become a huge part of superspeedway racing with NASCAR's Next-Gen car. This creates racing that may look good on TV, but in reality, it's drivers saving fuel and not running close to full throttle. The first driver to push the envelope on Sunday afternoon will be the guinea pig for the field to decide if racing hard is worth the extra time in the pits. 

When will the "Big One" strike? 

Everyone knows a major pile-up is almost guaranteed at Talladega, but predicting the timing of the race-changing wreck is nearly impossible. Plenty of drivers have the intuition to get out of the pack when they think a crash is imminent early in the race, but when the pay window opens, no driver will be willing to back down. The timing of the infamous "Big One" is the unspoken key of the race that will, in all likelihood, play a big hand in determining the winner.