The upcoming NASCAR Cup Series Chase race at Talladega Superspeedway will feature a rules package change as the sanctioning body continues to address fuel saving.
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According to a Thursday announcement, the updated areo package from the summer race at Daytona International Speedway will return. Although it will feature a slight change. The smaller spoiler will now be 3.5 inches.
The spoilers used at Daytona were only 4 inches, marking a decrease from the previously used 7-inch spoilers. This paired with the reduced horsepower (465) to provide more maneuverability in the pack.
Additionally, NASCAR announced that the Talladega Chase race will have the updated stage lengths from the spring race. Stage 1 will end at Lap 98, stage 2 will end at Lap 143, and the final stage will end at Lap 188 if there isn't overtime.
The previous Talladega races had a 60-lap opening stage. Stage 2 then ended at Lap 120. The checkered flag still flew at Lap 188.
The drivers entered the summer race at Daytona expressing excitement about the aero change. They hoped that it would make the racing more like Atlanta, where they have more opportunities to make moves and build runs.
Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney both said that nothing had "been scienced out." The drivers just had to go out on the track and figure it out, which created some excitement.
The drivers provided their thoughts after the race, and they expressed significantly differing opinions. Brad Keselowski, in particular, did not believe the aero package changed how the cars performed.
"Honestly, I could not tell a difference," he said after the race. "I couldn't tell they changed the rules at all. My car drove almost identical to what it did.
"I was really shocked by that. I thought it would drive poorly, particularly here in the summer - I still call this a summer race. I was a bit caught off guard by that. I don't expect it to look much differently at Talladega."
#NASCAR - A "greedy" Daniel Suarez said that he is happy with the second-place finish at Daytona and being the 11th seed entering the Chase. But he wants even more for his team.
He is also giving NASCAR props for gambling with this new package. pic.twitter.com/04i8bEs3gu— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) August 30, 2026
Other drivers expressed optimism after testing out the package. Daniel Suarez praised NASCAR for gambling with the package change while Elliott just viewed it as some progress. He said it seemed like a better race.
"It seemed like the runs were... you could do more with runs when you had them," Elliott told FanBuzz after the Daytona race. "The cars were definitely edgier as the runs would go on. Like, really, really easy to get out of shape.
"But I thought just the overall ability to kind of get momentum and like (have) it last for a longer period of time (was) better to me. I think."
