NASCAR confirms new stage lengths for Talladega after fuel saving complaints

NASCAR has confirmed some major changes made to racing at Talladega Superspeedway ahead of this month's Cup Series race at the track.

Last week, it was revealed that NASCAR would be altering the stage lengths for the race following complaints about fuel saving at the Daytona 500. Now, they have confirmed exactly what those stage lengths are going to be.

The stages had previously been set the same as last year for 2026, at 60 laps, 60 laps, and 68 laps, but the laps will now be front-loaded, with stages of 98 laps, followed by 45 laps, and 45 laps.

That should mean that teams don't need to make fuel stops or save fuel during the second and final stages, with officials hoping that teams will race more aggressively in response.

NASCAR rules mean that races become official either at halfway or at the end of Stage 2, which means that the Talladega race will become official before the end of the first stage, an unusual look for the Cup Series.

It's unclear whether the changes will stick for the fall race at the track, or for other superspeedway races this year. That, presumably, will depend on how the racing looks at the end of the month.

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Speaking on the Hauler Talk podcast, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer John Probst explained: “If you look at generally how a lot of our speedways were laid out, it was a short stage, a short stage and then a long stage to the end.

“Going into Talladega, we’re going to flip that and adjust the lengths of the final two stages such that we’re confident that the last two stages are short enough to be made without a fuel stop.

“It could be interesting, as well, in that first stage, the length of it, if there’s some that try to do it on one stop versus some that try to do it on two.

"We think that if there are some that try to do it on two, they may drag the group that tried to do it on one along with them to where they won’t be able to do it in one, so it’s got the potential there for some pretty interesting strategies.”