US NATIONAL NEWS

Jimmy Carter: White House rise depended on twists before ’76

Published

3 years ago

February 24, 2023

PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Jimmy Carter’s path to the presidency is an oft-told story, especially by aspiring presidents trying to be the next politician to defy Washington expectations.

As a little-known Georgia governor, Carter announced in late 1974 that he’d seek the presidency. Atlanta’s largest newspaper answered with a mocking headline: “Jimmy Who?” National media mostly yawned.

Undeterred, the peanut farmer took his family and friends to Iowa and New Hampshire, where “the Peanut Brigade” set the modern standard for a retail campaign and helped elect Carter as the 39th president.

But the long odds weren’t just about 1976 for Carter, who is 98 and now receiving end-of-life care at his home in Plains, Georgia. Carter’s early life and career were replete with dominoes that could have blocked his White House road before he knew he was on it.

Here are some “What Ifs?” that, had they played out differently, may have made it impossible for Americans ever to answer that mocking question from Atlanta newspaper editors.

THE ARCHERY FARM

Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, now 95, were born in Plains. But Carter’s parents, Lillian and Earl Carter, moved their family in 1927 to a farm in the mostly Black community of Archery, just outside Plains. Thus began Carter’s exposure to divisions of race and class in the segregated, Depression-era South.

Young Jimmy had Black playmates with whom he hunted, fished and fashioned homemade toys. Like their neighbors, the Carters had “no running water, electricity or insulation” and depended on open fireplaces for heat. “We relieved ourselves in slop jars during the night,” Carter wrote in a memoir.

Yet despite the lack of luxury, the future president was still secure in relative privilege, because he was the child of the white, land-owning family at the center of a community where many impoverished Black residents worked for his parents.

One of his earliest influencers was “Miss Rachel” Clark, a Black neighbor and caregiver who was married to the unofficial foreman of the Carter farm. Carter, who spent considerable time at the Clarks’ home, would later say he “knew Rachel Clark in many ways better than my mother.”

Those experiences — seeing the humanity of his Black friends but still living under the white supremacist order of the era — undergirded his public life as a Southern Democrat. He learned early how to navigate an evolving country and party that was stacked with segregationists in Carter’s formative political years before coming to embrace civil rights. Carter did not fight for civil rights legislation in the 1950s and 1960s. He campaigned carefully for Georgia governor in 1970, avoiding explicit mentions of race. He won with a small-town, rural coalition of Black voters and white conservatives – then used it to govern more progressively on race than he had campaigned. It was a political tightrope he may never have managed if he’d grown up in the heart of Plains rather than Archery.

‘MR. EARL’

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter married in 1946 and left Plains to launch his promising career with the U.S. Navy – with no notions of returning except as visitors. But Carter’s father, who had become a prominent merchant and state lawmaker, died in 1953. Carter made the decision, without consulting Rosalynn, to move the young family back home, where the pair built the family farm operations into an impressive peanut agribusiness. Carter joined the local school board and within a decade would run for the Georgia Assembly, further replicating his father’s path. If “Mr. Earl” had lived longer, his namesake might have become an admiral in some far-flung naval post, but never commander in chief.

ELECTION FRAUD

Carter sought elected office for the first time in 1962, “somewhat quixotically,” he recalled. His Democratic opponent in the state Senate primary was a peanut buyer named Homer Moore. But, the real barrier was Joe Hurst, a neighboring county’s political boss. On Election Day, Carter and his allies caught Hurst pressuring voters and discarding ballots cast for Carter. Quitman County results showed Moore with more votes than registration rolls recorded altogether. Carter challenged the results with the party. After court tussles, Carter ended up on the general election ballot and prevailed. It took a subsequent Senate floor dispute before he was finally sworn in.

THE 1966 CHOICE

Carter wasn’t much for the legislature’s back-slapping ways. By 1966, he decided to run for Congress against a heavyweight incumbent, Bo Callaway. Then Ernest Vandiver, a former Georgia governor, dropped out of the governor’s race, allowing Callaway to step into his place against arch-segregationist Lester Maddox. With Callaway’s switch, Carter was on his way to Washington. But the young state senator was bothered by Georgians having to choose between Callaway and Maddox. (In this era, the Democratic nominee was virtually assured a November victory.) Carter tried to recruit a moderate Democrat to run against them but was unsuccessful. So, he recalled, “I decided to relinquish my assured seat in the U.S. Congress and run for governor.”

He lost to Maddox. But the decision was the start of a four-year campaign that resulted in his 1970 gubernatorial win.

NO GRAND PLANS

History often reveals happenstance in the lives of every president. Carter even chose “Turning Point” as the title of his book about the 1962 state Senate election that changed his career trajectory. Lyndon Baines Johnson won a disputed early congressional race. Bill Clinton lost his first reelection bid as a young Arkansas governor and required a rehabilitation follow-up victory before he reached the national stage a decade later in 1992. George W. Bush narrowly won the Texas governor’s race in 1994, the same night his brother Jeb lost the Florida governor’s race as a favorite. The Texan would be president six years later. Floridian Jeb, once thought of as the political darling in that generation of the Bush dynasty, likely will never be.

Yet the Bushes were a blue-blooded political family already anchored in the national establishment. Johnson and Clinton had no political birthrights but set out from young ages to reach the nation’s highest office. As a young congressman, Johnson even dubbed himself “LBJ,” patterned after Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s moniker, “FDR.”

For Carter, ambition was a driving force generally. But it was not singularly focused.

Carter would serve just one term. His struggles to corral inflation, ease energy shortages and quickly free American hostages in Iran overshadowed achievements at home and abroad. He signed notable legislation on the environment, education and mental health care, and started deregulation of key industries, including airlines. Abroad, he struck a peace deal between Egypt and Israel, normalized relations with China and negotiated treaties turning over control of the Panama Canal.

Carter would say later that he never focused on winning a second term — to his political peril — just as he had no grand design to win his first.

Those four years in the White House “were the pinnacle of my political life,” he recalled around his 90th birthday, but “there was never an orderly or planned path to get there during my early life.”

Central Florida News

ActBlue Managers Samuel Vilchez Santiago, Jose Gamboa Hold Key Roles in Florida House Race Amid Federal Investigations

Published

3 days ago

August 7, 2026

FNN NEWS

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN NEWS) — ActBlue, one of the Democratic Party’s most influential online fundraising platforms, remains under federal and congressional investigations over its donor-verification, fraud-prevention and compliance practices as two ActBlue employees — Florida House District 43 candidate Samuel Vilchez Santiago and campaign treasurer Jose Gamboa — hold key political and campaign-finance roles in the same Central Florida race.

Vilchez Santiago publicly identifies ActBlue as his employer while seeking the Democratic nomination for Florida House District 43. Gamboa, who is publicly identified as an ActBlue employee, serves as Vilchez Santiago’s campaign treasurer and also holds a leadership role with Central Floridians for Change, a Florida political committee associated with Vilchez Santiago.

The overlap places two ActBlue employees at the center of a competitive Orlando-area legislative contest while congressional investigators and federal authorities continue examining allegations involving straw donors, potentially prohibited foreign contributions, donor verification, payment safeguards and ActBlue’s internal compliance procedures.

There is no public evidence identified by Florida National News that Samuel Vilchez Santiago or Jose Gamboa has been named as a subject or target of any federal investigation involving ActBlue.

Their employment with ActBlue does not establish that either participated in, knew about or was responsible for any conduct being examined by federal authorities.

The federal scrutiny concerns ActBlue’s broader fundraising and compliance practices and should be distinguished from the activities of individual employees unless evidence establishes a connection.

ActBlue Faces Continuing Federal Scrutiny

ActBlue has faced congressional and federal scrutiny involving its online political fundraising practices.

Congressional inquiries have examined issues including donor identity verification, fraud prevention, potentially prohibited foreign contributions, prepaid-card transactions, suspicious contribution patterns and ActBlue’s internal compliance procedures.

The scrutiny has involved the U.S. House Committee on House Administration, House Committee on the Judiciary and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Federal scrutiny expanded following President Donald Trump’s April 24, 2025 presidential memorandum, which directed the attorney general, in consultation with the Treasury secretary, to investigate allegations involving online political fundraising platforms.

The memorandum addressed allegations involving straw or “dummy” contributions, prohibited foreign contributions, identity-related fraud and other potential violations of federal campaign-finance law.

The presidential memorandum ordered federal officials to investigate the allegations. It did not establish that ActBlue or any individual committed a crime.

Straw and “Dummy” Donor Allegations

One focus of the federal scrutiny involves allegations of straw donations, generally referring to political contributions made in another person’s name to conceal the true source of the funds.

Federal law prohibits making a political contribution in the name of another person or knowingly permitting one’s name to be used to disguise the actual source of a contribution.

Investigators have examined whether vulnerabilities in online fundraising systems could potentially allow political money to be divided into smaller transactions and attributed to other individuals.

Trump’s April 2025 memorandum specifically directed federal officials to investigate allegations involving “straw” or “dummy” contributions and potentially prohibited foreign contributions made through online fundraising platforms.

Federal scrutiny has also included questions about whether prepaid cards, gift cards, false identities, unauthorized payment information or other methods could be used to conceal the actual source of political contributions or circumvent fraud-detection systems.

The directive ordered an investigation into allegations; it did not establish that those allegations were proven.

Foreign Contributions and Online Fundraising

Another focus has been whether prohibited foreign money could enter U.S. elections through online fundraising platforms.

Federal law generally prohibits foreign nationals from directly or indirectly making contributions or donations in connection with federal, state or local elections.

Congressional investigators have examined whether foreign individuals or organizations could exploit weaknesses in online donation systems to route political contributions into American campaigns while obscuring the original source.

The April 2025 presidential memorandum cited congressional investigative findings stating that ActBlue had detected at least 22 “significant fraud campaigns,” nearly half of which reportedly had a foreign nexus.

The memorandum also cited findings that during one 30-day period in the 2024 election cycle, ActBlue detected 237 donations originating from foreign IP addresses and involving domestic prepaid cards.

Those figures were cited as reasons for further investigation.

They do not establish that all 237 transactions were illegal foreign contributions or that the individuals involved violated federal law.

Donor Identity and Payment Verification

Congressional scrutiny has also focused on how ActBlue verifies donor identities and determines whether the person making a contribution is the individual identified in the transaction.

Investigators have examined issues involving donor identity verification, suspicious-transaction detection, prepaid cards, foreign IP addresses, potentially unauthorized payment information and repeated or unusual contribution patterns.

Another area of inquiry has involved ActBlue’s historical policies concerning card verification value, or CVV, the security code commonly associated with credit- and debit-card transactions.

Investigators have questioned whether stronger identity and payment-verification requirements could help prevent fraudulent transactions, contributions made in another person’s name or attempts by prohibited foreign sources to participate financially in U.S. elections.

Congressional Investigation Reaches ActBlue Personnel

Congressional scrutiny has expanded beyond ActBlue’s fundraising technology to include current and former employees, executives and personnel involved in legal and compliance operations.

House investigators have sought documents and testimony concerning ActBlue’s handling of potentially fraudulent or prohibited contributions and what employees and executives knew about suspicious fundraising activity.

Congressional investigators reported that five current or former ActBlue employees invoked their Fifth Amendment rights in response to substantive questions during depositions, according to a 2026 joint congressional staff report.

Invoking the Fifth Amendment is a constitutional right and does not establish guilt or prove that an individual committed a crime.

Investigators have also examined personnel changes within ActBlue’s legal and compliance operations following the 2024 election and sought information about how senior officials responded to internal concerns.

Scrutiny Expands to ActBlue Leadership

Congressional investigators have also sought information from individuals within ActBlue’s leadership structure, including members of its board.

Investigators have requested documents, communications and testimony concerning what senior leadership knew about fraud concerns, potentially prohibited foreign contributions, internal compliance procedures and ActBlue’s responses to congressional inquiries.

Congressional committees have additionally examined whether requested information was fully provided and whether representations made to lawmakers accurately reflected ActBlue’s internal fraud-prevention and compliance practices.

Those allegations remain disputed and do not constitute findings of criminal wrongdoing by a court.

Justice Department and FBI Scrutiny

The scrutiny has extended beyond Congress.

Trump’s April 24, 2025 memorandum directed the attorney general, in consultation with the Treasury secretary, to investigate allegations involving unlawful straw or dummy contributions, prohibited foreign contributions and other potential violations involving online fundraising platforms.

Congressional investigators have also referred or provided information from their ActBlue investigation to federal law-enforcement authorities.

House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil said in 2025 that he received a classified briefing at FBI headquarters concerning active campaign-finance investigations following congressional concerns about potential foreign participation in U.S. elections through online fundraising platforms.

Because portions of federal investigative activity are not public, the full scope and current status of any Justice Department or FBI investigation cannot necessarily be determined from publicly available information.

The existence of an investigation does not establish that ActBlue, its employees or campaigns using its platform committed a crime.

ActBlue Denies Wrongdoing

ActBlue has denied allegations of wrongdoing and has maintained that it complies with federal campaign-finance laws and maintains systems designed to detect and prevent fraudulent or prohibited contributions.

Evidence that ActBlue detected suspicious transactions does not necessarily mean those transactions were completed, accepted as lawful political contributions or ultimately determined to violate federal law.

Congressional subpoenas, investigative reports, federal inquiries and employee testimony likewise do not, by themselves, establish criminal or civil liability.

Against that national backdrop, the involvement of ActBlue employees Samuel Vilchez Santiago and Jose Gamboa in Florida House District 43 gives the federal scrutiny a direct Central Florida political connection.

Samuel Vilchez Santiago, Jose Gamboa Hold Key HD 43 Roles

Public campaign records identify Samuel Vilchez Santiago as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Florida House District 43.

Publicly available professional information identifies Vilchez Santiago as holding a management position with ActBlue. His employment with the organization is separate from his candidacy for public office.

Vilchez Santiago’s campaign website states that, as a Senior Nonprofit Manager at ActBlue, he helps thousands of nonprofits and grassroots movements across the country build people-powered fundraising programs aimed at shifting political influence away from corporations and toward communities.

Jose Gamboa is publicly identified as an Account Management Specialist at ActBlue and serves as treasurer of Vilchez Santiago’s campaign.

Florida campaign-finance records also identify Gamboa as an officer of Central Floridians for Change, a Florida political committee associated with Vilchez Santiago.

The arrangement places Vilchez Santiago and Gamboa — both publicly identified ActBlue employees — in significant campaign and campaign-finance positions surrounding the same Florida legislative contest.

Vilchez Santiago is the candidate.

Gamboa is responsible for campaign treasury operations while also holding leadership roles (chairman and treasurer) with an associated political committee.

Their employment and campaign roles do not, by themselves, establish a violation of state or federal law.

They do, however, create a public-interest question about what safeguards ActBlue maintains when its employees simultaneously become candidates, campaign treasurers or political committee officials.

Political Relationship Between Vilchez Santiago and Gamboa Dates to 2020

The political relationship between Samuel Vilchez Santiago and Jose Gamboa predates the current House District 43 campaign.

When Vilchez Santiago sought the Democratic nomination for the Florida House in 2020, then-Orange County School Board member Johanna López served as his campaign manager.

Gamboa served as deputy campaign manager, while Diana Joaquin served as campaign treasurer.

Vilchez Santiago ultimately lost the 2020 Democratic primary to Daisy Morales, who went on to win the general election and serve in the Florida House.

The political relationships continued to overlap in later election cycles.

According to campaign-finance reports from López’s 2024 Florida House campaign, the campaign reported $2,250 in expenditures to Joaquin and $1,440 in expenditures to Gamboa.

López has endorsed Vilchez Santiago’s 2026 House District 43 campaign, while Central Floridians for Change reported contributing $1,000 to López’s 2026 Orange County Commission District 4 campaign on or about March 20.

The contribution and endorsement do not establish an exchange, agreement or improper relationship.

However, together with the documented campaign relationships dating to 2020, they provide additional context for examining the financial, professional and political relationships surrounding the House District 43 race.

Overall, those expenditures do not indicate wrongdoing. They provide historical context showing that several individuals involved in the current political network have worked together across multiple Central Florida Democratic campaigns.

Gamboa’s involvement with Vilchez Santiago therefore dates at least to the 2020 election cycle, progressing from deputy campaign manager to campaign treasurer while he also holds a leadership position with Central Floridians for Change.

Credit: Samuel Vilchez Santaiago Campaign

Vilchez Santiago Campaign, Associated Committee Report About $217,000 Combined

Campaign-finance reports show substantial fundraising surrounding Vilchez Santiago’s campaign and Central Floridians for Change.

According to publicly reported figures:

Samuel Vilchez Santiago campaign: approximately $155,000 raised
Central Floridians for Change: approximately $62,000 raised
Combined reported fundraising: approximately $217,000

The campaign and political committee are legally separate entities and report their finances independently.

One transaction has drawn particular attention during the closing weeks of the Democratic primary.

Central Floridians for Change contributed $50,000 to the Florida House Democratic Campaign Committee in July 27, 2026, through three separate contributions of $25,000, $15,000 and $10,000, according to Florida campaign-finance reports.

Based on approximately $62,000 in reported committee fundraising, the $50,000 contribution represents roughly 81% of the committee’s reported receipts.

The contribution came weeks before the Aug. 18 Democratic primary.

The Florida House Democratic Campaign Committee is an affiliated party committee that raises and spends political funds in connection with Democratic efforts involving Florida House races.

The contribution itself does not establish wrongdoing.

Its size and timing, however, add another campaign-finance dimension to a primary in which an ActBlue employee is the candidate and another ActBlue employee serves as campaign treasurer and a political committee official.

Credit: Samuel Vilchez Santaiago Campaign

Vilchez Santiago Draws Major Democratic Support

Vilchez Santiago has announced endorsements from numerous elected officials, labor organizations and political groups.

His publicly announced supporters include U.S. Reps. Darren Soto and Maxwell Frost, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, State Attorney Monique Worrell and State Rep. Johanna López, along with other current and former elected officials.

Organizational endorsements announced by the campaign include the Florida Education Association, Orange County Classroom Teachers Association and Orange County Fire Fighters Association, among other labor and advocacy organizations.

The endorsements demonstrate substantial institutional and political support for Vilchez Santiago.

However, an endorsement should not be interpreted as evidence that an elected official or organization independently investigated, reviewed or cleared Vilchez Santiago, Gamboa or ActBlue regarding matters under federal scrutiny unless that official or organization specifically states that such a review occurred. (vetting a candidate for endorsement)

The endorsements represent support for Vilchez Santiago’s candidacy.

No Public Evidence Vilchez Santiago or Gamboa Are Federal Targets

The distinction between federal scrutiny of ActBlue and the status of Samuel Vilchez Santiago and Jose Gamboa is critical.

Florida National News has identified no public evidence naming either Vilchez Santiago or Gamboa as a subject or target of the congressional or federal investigations involving ActBlue.

Their employment with the organization should therefore not be interpreted as evidence that either participated in, knew about or was responsible for conduct under investigation.

FNN has also identified no public announcement by federal authorities alleging that Vilchez Santiago’s House campaign or Central Floridians for Change is part of the federal inquiries into ActBlue.

Credit: Samuel Vilchez Santiago Campaign

ActBlue Employee Political Activity Raises Policy Questions

While there is no public indication that Vilchez Santiago or Gamboa is individually under federal investigation, their simultaneous professional and political roles raise broader policy, transparency and compliance questions.

Among them:

What policies does ActBlue maintain when an employee becomes a candidate for public office?

Are ActBlue employees permitted to serve simultaneously as campaign treasurers or officers of political committees?

What safeguards separate an employee’s ActBlue responsibilities from outside campaign or PAC activities?

Are employees with access to political fundraising systems subject to additional compliance requirements when they become candidates or campaign-finance officers?

Have congressional investigators sought information concerning ActBlue employees who simultaneously serve as candidates, campaign treasurers, political committee officials or political consultants?

The existence of these questions does not establish misconduct.

Answers could provide voters with a clearer understanding of how ActBlue manages employee political activity and potential conflicts involving outside campaigns..

ActBlue Connection Adds National Dimension to Central Florida Primary

The House District 43 Democratic primary is fundamentally a Central Florida legislative contest.

But the employment of candidate Samuel Vilchez Santiago and campaign treasurer Jose Gamboa by ActBlue adds a national dimension as the fundraising organization continues to face congressional and federal scrutiny.

Vilchez Santiago has assembled significant financial, labor and political support as he seeks the Democratic nomination.

Morales is seeking to return to the Legislature after representing Florida House District 48 from 2020 to 2022.

The candidates previously faced each other in the 2020 Democratic primary for House District 48, when Morales defeated Vilchez Santiago and two other candidates before winning the general election.

Redistricting later changed the legislative boundaries, with portions of the former House District 48 now located within House District 43.

FNN Continuing Coverage

Florida National News will continue examining the ActBlue federal investigations and their broader implications while separately monitoring the political and campaign-finance activities of ActBlue employees Samuel Vilchez Santiago and Jose Gamboa in Florida House District 43.

FNN will seek responses from ActBlue, Vilchez Santiago, Gamboa and other individuals or organizations identified in this report when their comments materially contribute to the public’s understanding of the issues.

FNN will also monitor campaign-finance disclosures, congressional developments and any publicly released information from the Justice Department or other federal authorities.

Florida National News will update, correct or clarify this reporting when new verified information warrants doing so.

Election Day Aug. 18

The Democratic primary for Florida House District 43 will be held Aug. 18, 2026, with early voting underway.

The Democratic nominee will advance to the Nov. 3 general election to face the Republican nominee and any qualified write-in candidate.

Profile

Trump Targets Birthright Citizenship, ‘Birth Tourism’ in New Immigration Actions

Published

3 days ago

August 7, 2026

FNN NEWS

WASHINGTON (FNN NEWS) — President Donald Trump announced new executive actions Thursday aimed at restricting birthright citizenship and curbing so-called “birth tourism,” renewing his administration’s effort to narrow who automatically becomes a U.S. citizen at birth.

Trump said he was signing two immigration-related actions, including one seeking to limit automatic U.S. citizenship for certain people born in the United States and another targeting foreign visitors who travel to the country for the purpose of giving birth.

The latest move represents another attempt by the Trump administration to reshape the application of birthright citizenship, a contentious constitutional issue that has generated extensive litigation.

New Order Takes Narrower Approach

The executive order released Thursday appears narrower than Trump’s previous attempt to restrict birthright citizenship.

The new action focuses on specific categories, including children born to certain people connected to foreign embassies or international organizations and those considered “alien enemies” of the United States.

The order also seeks to restrict automatic citizenship in cases involving parents who the administration determines “engaged in fraudulent activity to obtain citizenship.”

Trump said he believes the new approach is constitutional.

The latest action is expected to face close legal scrutiny over how far presidential authority extends in determining citizenship rights under the Constitution and federal law.

Trump Targets ‘Birth Tourism’

A separate executive action seeks to tighten restrictions on foreign visitors who obtain visas with the intention of traveling to the United States to give birth.

Trump described the practice as “birth tourism.”

The administration’s action seeks additional restrictions aimed at preventing visitors from using temporary entry into the United States primarily to secure U.S. citizenship for a child born while they are in the country.

Constitutional Fight Could Continue

Birthright citizenship is rooted in the 14th Amendment, which states that people born or naturalized in the United States “and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” are citizens of the United States and the state where they reside.

The meaning and reach of that provision are central to the continuing legal debate over whether a president can restrict birthright citizenship through executive action without congressional legislation or a constitutional amendment.

It remains uncertain whether Trump’s latest approach will survive expected legal challenges.

The administration’s renewed effort signals that birthright citizenship will remain a significant part of Trump’s broader immigration agenda as the White House seeks to change how federal immigration and citizenship laws are applied.

Sports

Talladega Superspeedway Announces 2027 NASCAR Race Dates as The Chase Returns

Published

3 days ago

August 7, 2026

FNN SPORTS

TALLADEGA, Ala. (FNN SPORTS) — Talladega Superspeedway will once again play a pivotal role in NASCAR’s championship battle, with two race weekends scheduled for April and October 2027 at the legendary Alabama track.

NASCAR will return to Talladega April 24-25 and Oct. 29-31, 2027, giving fans two opportunities to experience racing on the superspeedway’s iconic high banks.

The October weekend will carry major championship implications as all three NASCAR national series compete at Talladega during The Chase.

Talladega’s Spring 2027 Weekend

Talladega’s traditional spring race weekend returns April 24-25, featuring the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Cup Series.

The weekend will provide drivers with an early-season opportunity to secure valuable points in one of NASCAR’s most unpredictable superspeedway races.

The schedule includes:

Saturday, April 24: NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and ARCA Menards Series races

Sunday, April 25: NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500

The Chase Returns to Talladega in October

The stakes will increase significantly when NASCAR returns to Talladega from Oct. 29-31, 2027, with championship contenders battling for position late in the season.

All three NASCAR national series will compete during the weekend, which is expected to play an important role in determining the drivers who remain in contention for their respective championships.

The October schedule includes:

Friday, Oct. 29: NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Love’s RV Stop 225

Saturday, Oct. 30: NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series The Progress Group 250

Sunday, Oct. 31: NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500

“It’s an honor for Talladega Superspeedway to continue to have two race weekends giving our fans multiple opportunities to experience high-stakes action at this incredible venue,” said Josh Harris, region president of Talladega Superspeedway and Darlington Raceway.

“Looking up into the grandstands and seeing the passion the fans have for NASCAR in the heart of Alabama is extremely rewarding and we look forward to seeing action-packed racing return next spring and fall.”

Carson Hocevar Earned Breakthrough Talladega Victory

Earlier this year, Spire Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar captured his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory at Talladega, edging Chris Buescher in a dramatic finish.

The 23-year-old Michigan native celebrated the milestone by sitting on the window ledge of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet during a victory pass in front of the Talladega grandstands.

2026 YellaWood 500 Weekend Still Ahead

Before attention turns to 2027, Talladega will host another major weekend of racing this fall as part of The Chase.

The action begins Friday, Oct. 23, with the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Love’s RV Stop 225.

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series follows with The Progress Group 250 on Saturday, Oct. 24, before NASCAR Cup Series drivers take on Talladega’s famous 33-degree banking in the YellaWood 500 on Sunday, Oct. 25.