A NASCAR Cup Series driver celebrated their debut victory in style last weekend, but it didn't go entirely to plan.
NASCAR was in Talladega for the Jack's Link 500 race, which was the 10th round of the 2026 season.
And it was a controversial 23-year-old who claimed victory, with Carson Hocevar securing a first career Cup Series victory having been turning heads in the series since 2023.
Hocevar's driving style has come in for a lot of criticism over the past couple of seasons, most famously from two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, who has placed Hocevar on his 'hate list'.
Hocevar's aggressive driving might have rubbed some of his rivals up the wrong way, but it was the 23-year-old from Michigan who had the last laugh in Talladega, winning the race from Chris Buescher.
And Hocevar celebrated in unusual fashion, hanging out of the window of his No.77 Chevrolet during a victory lap, waving at fans around the circuit.
It was a show of incredible car control from the 23-year-old. That was until he crashed into the wall.
Hocevar slammed into the Talladega Speedway wall at low speed, before styling it out by continuing to rev his car to create tyre smoke right in front of his adoring fans.
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NASCAR Cup Series points standings after Talladega
While Hocevar may have looked a little silly in his celebrations, the Michigan-born racer did leap up into eighth in the Cup Series standings following his first ever race win in the series, and now has a 70-point cushion in the hunt for his first ever spot in the postseason.
Elsewhere in the race, a 26-car wreck caused chaos for many big names, with three-time champion Joey Logano completely wiped out in the huge wreck, dropping him to 15th in the standings, while William Byron and Bubba Wallace both lost four places apiece to drop out of the top ten.
| Pos | Driver | Manufacturer | Points (Stage) | Wins | Top 5s | Top 10s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyler Reddick | Toyota | 484 (78) | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 374 (83) | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 3 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 344 (87) | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet | 340 (48) | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 5 | Ty Gibbs | Toyota | 322 (59) | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| 6 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 315 (91) | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 7 | Chris Buescher | Ford | 309 (58) | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 8 | Carson Hocevar | Chevrolet | 292 (42) | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 9 | Christopher Bell | Toyota | 290 (73) | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 10 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 279 (42) | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 11 | William Byron | Chevrolet | 277 (55) | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 12 | Bubba Wallace | Toyota | 276 (71) | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 13 | Ryan Preece | Ford | 269 (37) | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 14 | Daniel Suárez | Chevrolet | 235 (26) | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 | Joey Logano | Ford | 234 (54) | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 16 | Austin Cindric | Ford | 226 (49) | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 17 | Chase Briscoe | Toyota | 222 (32) | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 18 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet | 205 (22) | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 19 | Shane van Gisbergen | Chevrolet | 195 (24) | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 20 | Zane Smith | Ford | 183 (11) | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 21 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 183 (15) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | Todd Gilliland | Ford | 181 (19) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 23 | Michael McDowell | Chevrolet | 179 (19) | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 24 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 163 (8) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Chevrolet | 161 (11) | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 26 | Erik Jones | Toyota | 161 (0) | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 27 | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet | 160 (11) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 28 | Josh Berry | Ford | 147 (30) | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 29 | Riley Herbst | Toyota | 144 (9) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 30 | Noah Gragson | Ford | 144 (4) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 31 | John H. Nemechek | Toyota | 141 (14) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | 123 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Connor Zilisch | Chevrolet | 103 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Cole Custer | Chevrolet | 89 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Cody Ware | Chevrolet | 85 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | 80 (10) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 37 | Casey Mears | Ford | 9 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | BJ McLeod | Chevrolet | 3 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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Iconic. Carson Hocevar celebrates at Talladega hanging out the window. pic.twitter.com/Na2Qf3EPuE
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 26, 2026


