LINCOLN, Ala. -- The Cup Series season continues Sunday afternoon with a 500-mile race at Talladega Superspeedway.
This is the third drafting-style track of the season and the first of two trips to Talladega. William Byron won the Daytona 500 and then Christopher Bell won at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February. The Cup Series drivers will also compete at Talladega Superspeedway during the Round of 8 of the playoffs.
Sunday's race will mark the 112th time that the Cup Series has competed at the 2.66-mile Alabama track since Richard Brickhouse won the inaugural event in 1969.
Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway information
Weather: The WeatherUnderground forecast calls for partly cloudy skies throughout the day and the chance of a stray thunderstorm early in the day. A high of 82 degrees and a 15% chance of rain at the start of the Cup Series race.
Green flag time: The command to fire engines will be at 3:08 p.m. ET. The starter will wave the green flag at 3:20 p.m. ET.
Starting lineup: Zane Smith won the pole for the first time in his Cup Series career.
Pre-race: The garage opens at 12 p.m. ET. Driver introductions will take place at 2:30 p.m. ET. Pre-race coverage begins with "NASCAR RaceDay" on FS1 at 1:30 p.m. ET before moving to Fox at 2 p.m. ET. Race coverage continues on Fox at 3 p.m. ET.
The invocation will be at 3 p.m. ET. The national anthem will be performed at 3:01 p.m. ET.
Stages: The race will consist of three stages. The first stage ends at Lap 60. The second stage ends at Lap 120. The scheduled end of the race is Lap 188.
Playoff picture: The Cup Series drivers have completed nine points-paying races, but only five drivers have locked up spots in the playoffs.
Christopher Bell leads the series with three wins. Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin each have two wins. Josh Berry and William Byron are the only other drivers with a trip to victory lane this season.
Kyle Busch (200 points) and AJ Allmendinger (198 points) are the two drivers battling at the playoff cutline. Both are ahead of Berry in points, but neither has the all-important win.