5 Points to Ponder: Should Cleetus McFarland Have Run More Intermediate Tracks Before Talladega?

1. Should NASCAR Add Additional Safety Features for Medical Response Teams at Talladega?

Big Ones at Talladega Superspeedway can be pretty scary, and Sunday’s (Oct. 25) NASCAR Cup Series race was no different. Joey Logano got turned near the front of the pack in the top lane, hit and flipped upside down, skidding on his roof on the frontstretch.

Multiple cars were caught up in the mayhem as well, including the No. 35 of Riley Herbst. He was tagged and shot hard right at an angle into the outside wall, then careened across the track all the way to the inside wall at a high rate of speed. Both impacts were severe, but the latter pushed the SAFER barrier in a little, as shown on camera during the post-race show on USA Network.

NASCAR’s safety enhancements have come a long way, but there’s always room for improvement. For both drivers to walk away from these crashes is miraculous, with Logano noting after his flip how the roll cage held up (compared to his other flip at ‘Dega in 2021). Herbst, meanwhile, said he was OK, but there was a cast on his arm.

It seemed like it took a while for crews to get to Herbst (as many were understandably tending to Logano’s upside-down car), but per Steven Taranto, it was only about 50 seconds. That still felt like a good chunk of time for me, especially while watching the onboard of the crash.

NASCAR could borrow an idea from Formula 1 and use accelerometer data to measure G forces in a crash to determine whether a driver needed more medical examination. But regarding getting to a driver faster, perhaps an additional team or two is needed to dispatch to one of the cars that had a really hard hit like Herbst. It’s especially needed at a track as large as Talladega, where damaged cars from accidents could spread out in several areas.

2. Here’s What NASCAR Should Do to Lessen Fuel Saving at Superspeedways

Seems like no matter what NASCAR does to try to change up the same slower pace at superspeedways, teams still will fuel save. The stage lengths were different, with stage one being 98 laps and stages two and three 45 laps each.

But stage one was pretty much RFK Racing leaving the pack out to dust at ‘Dega. So what should NASCAR do to amp up the speeds drivers run?

One thing they could do is award a bonus point for most laps led during a race. When the fastest lap point first came out, teams were willing to make repairs to damaged cars to not only gain a spot or two on the track, but also to try to get that bonus point.

NASCAR changed that ahead of this season, disallowing those who return from the garage from earning the reward for making the fastest lap.

Every driver wants as many points as they can earn; just look at how they act at the end of stages. So if they can get to the front and lead the most laps at Talladega, they’d want to do that if they were rewarded for it.

Also, while TV partners probably influence this, eliminating the cautions at the end of stages could throw a wrench in each team’s strategy. Arguably at a track like Talladega, TV wouldn’t have to worry about needing a break for commercials, as there’d probably be a crash resulting in a caution anyway, especially since cars would be racing more.

3. Kyle Larson’s 3rd Title Bid Saw Some Halloween Magic at Talladega

Where did he come from on Sunday? Somehow, Kyle Larson avoided all of the carnage throughout the Cup race, even while running in the front of the pack. It was almost mystical the way the No. 5 car maneuvered through the field.

But nothing was more magical than Larson appearing out of the blue at the finish to take home his first superspeedway win. Even Cole Custer said, “The No. 5 car seemed like he came out of nowhere almost.”

Larson was ahead of the field when a tap from Austin Hill got the No. 5 a bit squirrelly and stuck in the middle on the backstretch on the last lap. Ironically, Hill appeared to get his left-side tires below the line in this move as well.

Larson dropped way back before getting behind Custer and pushing him to the front. Once Custer reached William Byron, Larson dipped to the bottom lane below Todd Gilliland and edged out Byron and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at the line.

Prior to Sunday’s race, Larson had just three top fives since 2022 and four finishes worse than 20th at Talladega. His Daytona International Speedway stats are worse: In the same time span, Larson has one top 10, a sixth coming in last year’s summer race.

Many likely thought that ‘Dega would be the wild card that put The Chase title contenders closer to the California native. Instead, it put them further behind the eight ball. With Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano all crashing out (as well as Denny Hamlin receiving the opposite of Larson’s fortune on the final lap), Larson’s points lead was extended, with Hamlin now out 73 points.

4. Christopher Bell’s Mistake Entering Pit Road Was Overshadowed by Kyle Larson’s Win

Speaking of further behind the eight ball, as much as Reddick’s, Blaney’s and Logano’s points deficits were extended by crashes not completely of their own doing (though Blaney did play a part in his), Bell’s was just a mistake.

With no practice, this was the first time drivers had to pit with the slightly smaller spoiler at full speed under green. So I don’t exactly fault him for the mistake entirely.

But the No. 20 entered the race just five points out of first place in the standings. Now, he’s 74 points back in third with just two races left after his 35th-place finish at Talladega.

Bell commented ahead of Sunday’s race about how much winning matters under this new format: “With the amount of points that you have for a win, I don’t think you need to be any certain seeding going into The Chase. I think everyone has a shot at it if they perform well in The Chase.”

So with Larson ultimately winning, it may not have mattered to Bell if he hung around until the end, even if he had earned some stage points. It might’ve made the distance to first a bit shorter though.

5. Should Cleetus McFarland Have Run More Intermediate Tracks Before Talladega?

Cleetus McFarland qualified for his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race since Michigan International Speedway in June. For a track that doesn’t have any practice, he might’ve bitten off more than he could chew.

Around lap 16, The Big One happened well in front of McFarland, with Kris Wright, Stewart Friesen and Tony Stewart all taking big hits.

McFarland was further back, and per his on-board, his spotter told him “check up, check up, check up,” very quickly. The spotter then briefly said “inside,” before the No. 4 got tagged and spun hard into the inside wall.

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— abby (@daleyearnhardt) October 23, 2026

After crashing, McFarland said on the radio, “Yeah, I’m fine, I’m just pissed off. Thought I had a lane and cut down, and the guy didn’t cut down and it’s my fault.”

McFarland appeared to drift down a lane as he was slowing, and while his spotter could’ve let him know sooner about the truck on the inside, the spotter probably wasn’t expecting him to go down right away.

The lack of practice just adds to the lack of experience McFarland has racing at these bigger racetracks. This was only his third Truck race, and his last race was four months ago. McFarland should’ve tried to qualify for Kansas Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway to get some more track time in.

Not saying that would’ve helped him entirely at Talladega, but he could’ve gotten used to hearing his spotter guide him on the racetrack, as well as some extra seat time to get the feel of tracks with higher speeds.

NASCAR has some pretty strict standards for which races drivers can attempt, but perhaps it should’ve had McFarland run those intermediates after approving him for ‘Dega.