Conservative strategy pays off for Denny Hamlin at Talladega: For the second time in as many seasons, Denny Hamlin broke Matt DiBenedetto’s heart, before NASCAR removed the pathos from the situation with a post-race ruling. At the end of a third overtime at Talladega Superspeedway, Hamlin beat DiBenedetto to the finish line to win by .023 seconds—roughly two feet—in Sunday’s YellaWood 500 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at the 2.66-mile track. But NASCAR erased the close call by penalizing DiBenedetto for forcing William Byron below the yellow line separating the racing surface from the apron in Turn 4 on the final lap. That made a runner-up of Erik Jones and dropped DiBenedetto to 21st at the finish.[Read More](10-4-2020)

Paint Schemes

#11-Denny Hamlin won the YellaWood 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. The win is his 7th win of the year, 2nd at Talladega, and 44th career win.
#20-Jones finished 2nd followed by #13-Dillon, #24-Byron, #9-Elliott, #6-Newman, #8-Reddick, #38-Nemechek, #15-Poole, and #37-Preece.
#11-Hamlin started from the pole and led 4 times for 26 laps, but had to come from 6th place on the white flag lap to grab the win. He initially crossed the finish line .023 seconds ahead of #21-DiBenedetto. However, NASCAR reviewed video of the finish and determined that #17-Buescher forced #9-Elliott below the yellow line, as did #21-DiBenedetto to #24-Byron.  DiBenedetto and Buescher were moved to the end of the lead lap…21st and 22nd place.
The race had three Overtime attempts and tied the April 2010 race for the longest ever at 200 laps, 532 miles.
Among the Playoff drivers having trouble:
An accident on lap 58 involved #18-Busch, #10-Almirola and #14-Bowyer. Almirola could not continue and finished 36th. Kyle Busch continued and was running in the top 15 before being caught in an accident under the first Overtime attempt in finishing 27th.
A big accident on lap 110 collected a number of cars including #14-Bowyer, #1-Busch, #2-Keselowski, and #3-Dillon. Busch and Bowyer could not continue and finished 31st & 32nd, respectively. #3-Dillon was forced to go behind the wall later in the race to make repairs and lost a couple laps but came back for a 12th place finish. Keselowski was able to continue.
Also caught in the lap 110 accident was #62-Brendan Gaughan, making his final Cup Series start. He finished 35th.
Under the first attempt at NASCAR Overtime, #22-Logano was the leader on the restart.  A wreck just before the leader took the white flag brought the caution out again.  The accident caught #4-Harvick, #18-Busch, #19-Truex, Jr. and #22-Logano. Logano could not continue and finished 26th.
Stage 1 was won by #17-Buescher. Stage 2 was won by #19-Truex, Jr.
There were 58 lead changes among 18 drivers and a record 13 cautions for 54 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 129.774mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Drivers Points Standings, Owners Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.

Where the 2020 Cup Series Playoff drivers finished at Talladega:
#11-Denny Hamlin, 1st
#3-Austin Dillon, 12th
#88-Alex Bowman, 14th
#2-Brad Keselowski, 18th
#4-Kevin Harvick, 20th
#9-Chase Elliott, 22nd
#19-Martin Truex, Jr., 23rd
#22-Joey Logano, 26th
#18-Kyle Busch, 27th
#1-Kurt Busch, 32ns
#14-Clint Bowyer, 33rd
#10-Aric Almirola, 37th

Race Fast Facts – Talladega:
Denny Hamlin (P) won the 52nd Annual YellaWood 500, his 44th victory in 538 Cup Series races.
This is his seventh victory and 19th top-10 finish in 2020.
This is his second victory and 13th top-10 finish in 31 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Erik Jones (second) posted his third top-10 finish in nine races at Talladega Superspeedway. It is his
12th top-10 finish in 2020.
Ty Dillon (third) posted his second top-10 finish in nine races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Tyler Reddick (seventh) was the highest finishing rookie.
Denny Hamlin (P) leads the point standings by 20 points over Kevin Harvick (P).
(NASCAR)(10-4-2020)

Cup Series Playoff Standings after Talladega (race 31):
(5 races remaining in the season, 1 race left in the Round of 12)

Cars to the rear: #27-Ware (driver change), #15-Poole (multiple inspection failures), #66-Hill (multiple inspection failures)

Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the YellaWood 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway have been made. Selections were made based on the starting lineup process.
Pole sitter #11-Hamlin chose pit stall 1.
2nd place starter #1-Busch took the 6th stall, with an opening in front of it.
See all pit choices on the Pit Stall chart.(10-1-2020)

#11-Denny Hamlin will start from the pole for the YellaWood 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.
#1-Busch will start second, followed by #19-Truex, Jr., #88-Bowman, #4-Harvick, #18-Busch, #2-Keselowski, #22-Logano, #14-Bowyer, and #9-Elliott.
The lineup was set by the new qualifying procedure, based on race finish, points position, and fastest race lap.
See the complete YellaWood 500 Starting Lineup.(9-30-2020)

Crew Rosters

Goodyear Tire Notes

The Entry List for the YellaWood 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway is posted, 39 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
Some of the drivers entered include: #27-Yeley, #53-Davison, #62-Gaughan, #77-Haley.
UPDATE: Cody Ware will drive the #27.
See the full entry list on the Entry List (pdf).

Rules package: Teams will run the 550 hp package with aero ducts.

Fans: Talladega will allow a limited number of fans for the Cup race.