Chase Elliott Grabs Thrilling Talladega Victory, Advances in NASCAR Playoffs: Always the unquestionable fan favorite at NASCAR’s famed Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Georgia-native Chase Elliott made a last-lap pass to claim the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 victory Sunday afternoon – having to better one of his best friends, Ryan Blaney, to earn the first automatic bid into the next round of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. With a lap to go, Elliott pulled his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet from the bottom lane to the top lane and got a huge push from behind by Petty GMS Racing driver Erik Jones – the momentum enough to edge fellow Playoff competitor Blaney by a slight .046-second at the line and give him a chance to hoist his series-best fifth trophy of the season; 18th of his seven-year NASCAR Cup Series career. [Read More](10-2-2022)

#9-Chase Elliott won the YellaWood 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. The win is his 5th win of the year, 2nd at Talladega Superspeedway and 18th career win.
#12-Blaney finished 2nd followed by #34-McDowell, #1-Chastain, #11-Hamlin, #43-Jones, #38-Gilliland, #99-Suareaz, #2-Cindric, and #14-Briscoe.
Elliott took the lead on the final lap to win by .046 second and lock himself into the Round of 8 in the playoffs.
Pole winner #20-Bell recovered from an early spin coming onto pit road and pass through penalty to finished 17th.|
#48-Bowman did not race due to a concussion.  He was replaced by Noah Gragson who was involved in an accident on lap 24, but continued and finished 19th.
Stage 1 was won by #12-Blaney. Stage 2 was won by #9-Elliott.
There were 57 lead changes among 17 drivers and 6 cautions for 25 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 153.569mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Infraction Report.

Race Fast Facts – Talladega Superspeedway:
Chase Elliott (P) won the 54th Annual YellaWood 500, his 18th victory in 252 Cup Series races.
This is his fifth victory and 19th top-10 finish in 2022.
This is his second victory and seventh top-10 finish in 14 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Ryan Blaney (P) (second) posted his sixth top-10 finish in 17 races at Talladega Superspeedway. It is his 15th top-10 finish in 2022.
Michael McDowell (third) posted his fourth top-10 finish in 24 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Todd Gilliland (seventh) was the highest finishing rookie.
Chase Elliott (P) leads the point standings by 2 points over Ryan Blaney (P).
(NASCAR)

Where the 2022 Cup Series Playoff drivers finished at Talladega:
#9-Chase Elliott, 1st
#12-Ryan Blaney, 2nd
#1-Ross Chastain, 4th
#11-Denny Hamlin, 5th
#99-Daniel Suarez, 8th
#2-Austin Cindric, 9th
#14-Chase Briscoe, 10th
#24-William Byron, 12th
#20-Christopher Bell, 17th
#5-Kyle Larson, 18th
#22-Joey Logano, 27th
#48-Alex Bowman, Did Not Race

Cup Series Playoff Standings after Talladega Superspeedway:
(Race 31 of 36 in the season; Race 2 of 3 in the round of 12)
1) #9-Chase Elliott, 3103, +34 (locked into round of 8)
2) #12-Ryan Blaney, 3101, +32
3) #1-Ross Chastain, 3097, +28
4) #11-Denny Hamlin, 3090, +21
5) #22-Joey Logano, 3087, +18
6) #5-Kyle Larson, 3087, +18
7) #99-Daniel Suarez, 3081, +12
8) #2-Austin Cindric, 3069, +0 points ahead of 9th
Below the Round of 8 cutoff:
9) #14-Chase Briscoe, 3069, -0 points behind 8th
10) #24-William Byron, 3058, -11
11) #20-Christopher Bell, 3036, -33
12) #48-Alex Bowman, 3015, -54
See the Driver Points Standings and Owner Points Standings.

Cars to the rear: #8-Reddick (unapproved adjustments), #23-Gibbs (unapproved adjustments), #45-Wallace (engine change), #78-McLeod (unapproved adjustments)

Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the YellaWood 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway have been made.
Pole winner #20-Bell chose pit stall 1.
Outside pole sitter #5-Larson took the 6th stall, with an opening in front of it.
See all pit choices on the Talladega Superspeedway Pit Stall page.

#20-Christopher Bell won the Busch pole for the YellaWood 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway with speed of 180.591mph for his 4th pole of the year, 2nd at Talladega Superspeedway and 4th of his career.
#5-Larson will start second followed by #11-Hamlin, #10-Almriola, #14-Briscoe, #1-Chastain, #48-Gragson, #8-Reddick, #24-Byron, and #23-Gibbs.
37 teams were entered so everyone made the race.
See the complete qualifying results and the YellaWood 500 Starting Lineup.

Talladega Superspeedway – Qualifying Fast Facts:
Christopher Bell (P) won the Pole Award for the 54th Annual YellaWood 500 with a lap of 53.026 seconds, 180.591 mph.
This is his fourth pole in 103 NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his fourth pole and 20th top-10 start in 2022.
This is his second pole in six races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Kyle Larson (P) (second) posted his 24th top-10 start of 2022 and his fourth in 16 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Denny Hamlin (P) (third) posted his 15th top-10 start at Talladega Superspeedway. It is his 16th in 31 races this season.
Harrison Burton (15th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR)

Qualifying Order

Crew Rosters

The entry list for the YellaWood 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway is posted, 37 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
Some of the drivers entered include: #15-Yeley, #16-Hemric, #48-Gragson, #62-Allgaier, & #77-Cassill.
See the full entry list on the YellaWood 500 Entry List page.

TandemDraft Stats: Cup Series Edition – Talladega

Goodyear Fast Facts — Talladega Superspeedway