Ricky Stenhouse Jr. bests Keselowski, Byron in intense Talladega Playoff race: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. held off the field in overtime to claim the victory in a dramatic NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway – edging Brad Keselowski and William Byron by a mere .006-second in a thrilling three-wide finish.[Read More]

#47-Ricky Stenhouse Jr won the YellaWood 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. The win is his 1st of the year, 2nd at Talladega and 4th career win.
#6-Brad Keselowski finished 2nd followed by #24-William Byron, #5-Kyle Larson, #43-Erik Jones, #20-Christopher Bell, #7-Justin Haley, #3-Austin Dillon, #23-Bubba Wallace, and #11-Denny Hamlin.
The race finished after a single overtime attempt caused by ‘The Big One’ on lap 184 unofficially involved 23 cars and took hit a number of playoff drivers with damage, including #99-Daniel Suarez, #9-Chase Elliott, #14-Chase Briscoe, #2-Austin Cindric, and #22-Joe Logano.
Pole sitter #34-Michael McDowell led the most laps on the day, but was caught in the big wreck on lap 184 and finished 37th.
Stage 1 was won by #17-Chris Buescher. Stage 2 was won by #2-Austin Cindric.
There were 66 lead changes among 24 drivers and 4 cautions for 24 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 150.733mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.

Where the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff drivers finished at Talladega:
#24-William Byron, 3rd
#5-Kyle Larson, 4th
#20-Christopher Bell, 6th
#11-Denny Hamlin, 11th
#48-Alex Bowman, 16th
#45-Tyler Reddick, 20th
#99-Daniel Suarez, 26th
#9-Chase Elliott, 29th
#14-Chase Briscoe, 30th
#2-Austin Cindric, 32nd
#22-Joey Logano, 33rd
#12-Ryan Blaney, 39th

Race Fast Facts – Talladega:
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the YellaWood 500, his fourth victory in 431 Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and sixth top-10 finish in 2024.
This is his second victory and 11th top-10 finish in 23 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Brad Keselowski (second) posted his 16th top-10 finish in 32 races at Talladega Superspeedway. It is his 13th top-10 finish in 2024.
William Byron (P) (third) posted his sixth top-10 finish in 14 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Carson Hocevar (14th) was the highest finishing rookie.
William Byron (P) leads the point standings by 17 points over Christopher Bell (P).
(NASCAR)

Cup Series Playoff Standings after Talladega:
Race 31 of 36 in the season
Race 5 of 10 in the Playoffs
Race 2 of 3 in the Round of 12
1) #24-William Byron, 3122, Will advance
3) #20-Christopher Bell, 3105, +57
4) #5-Kyle Larson, 3100, +52
5) #11-Denny Hamlin, 3078, +30
6) #48-Alex Bowman, 3074, +26
2) #12-Ryan Blaney, 3073, +25
9) #45-Tyler Reddick, 3062, +14
7) #9-Chase Elliott, 3061, +13
Below the round of 8 cutoff
8) #22-Joey Logano, 3048, -13
10) #99-Daniel Suarez, 3041, -20
12) #2-Austin Cindric, 3032, -29
11) #14-Chase Briscoe, 3029, -32

Race updates:
Checkered flag for #47-Riky Stenhouse Jr. He beats #6-Keselowski to the finish line by .006 second.
Lap 194 – White flag for #47-Stenhouse.  He has #24-Byron pushing him.
Lap 194 – Green flag for the first overtime attempt.
Lap 192 – About to go back to green. The top 10: #47-Stenhouse, #6-Keselowski, #24-Byron, #5-Larson, #8-Busch, #20-Bell, #43-Jones, #3-Dillon, #7-Haley, and #11-Hamlin.  Many drives could be close on fuel.
Lap 186 – NASCAR continues to clean up after the wreck.  Pits have not opened yet.  #47-Stenhouse is the leader. The following cars were involved, per NASCAR: 45, 48, 34, 17, 9, 13, 2, 21, 22, 42, 14, 23, 10, 99, 51, 4, 38, 62, 71, 19, 16, 20, 43
Lap 185 – Race is back to yellow after a red flag of nearly 9 minutes.
Lap 185 – Red flag is out for track cleanup.
Lap 184 – Caution is out. Wreck on the backstretch.  It’s the big one. There will be an overtime finish. A majority of the field involved. Playoff drivers involved: #2-Cindric, #9-Cindric, #14-Briscoe, #22-Logano, #48-Bowman, #45-Reddick, #99-Suarez.
Lap 184 – Five laps remaining. #2-Cindric and #47-Stenhouse side by side for the field.  The field is still two wide.
Lap 178 – Eleven last remaining. The field is primarily two-by-two. #47-Stenhouse leads #2-Cindric, and #9-Elliott.
Lap 173 – It looks like the rest of the field comes down for fuel.
Lap 171 – About eight Chevy’s are in for fuel.
Lap 170 – Another handful of drivers pit.
Lap 168 – Pit stops are starting. #13-Allmindinger, #31-Hemric, #41-Preece, and #16-Van Gisbergen on in.
Lap 164 – #2-Cindric is the leader over #22-Logano.  The final round of pit stops cold be coming in the next 8-10 laps.
Lap 159 – Just 30 laps remaining.  #13-Allmeninger, #22-Logano, #2-Cindric, #3-Dillon and #14-Briscoe the top 5.  There are 35 drivers still on the lead lap.
Lap 141 – #22-Logano now leads, despite getting damage in the accident at the end of stage 2. #13-Allmendinger now back to second.
Lap 136 – #13-Allmendinger is the leader.  The field is mostly three wide and there seems to be fuel savings underway.
Lap 128 – Green flag for the start of the final stage.  61 laps remaining.  #8-Busch leads.
Lap 124 – Leaders pit.  It’s #8-Busch, #2-Cindric, #23-Wallace, #9-Elliott and #24-Byron first off.
Lap 121 – Caution for the end of stage 2: #2-Cindric, #9-Elliott, #8-Busch, #16-Van Gisbergen, #24-Byron, #48-Bowman, #23-Wallace, #12-Blaney, #5-Larson, and #1-Chastain the top 10. And accident as the stage ends and it collects #12-Blaney and #1-Chastain. #12-Blaney is done for the day. #22-Logano also with some damage.
Lap 110 – Eleven laps left in stage 2.  The field is primarily two-by-two.  #2-Cindric leads. #99-Suarez is still a lap down, but in the free pass position.
Lap 104 – #2-Cindric takes the lead.
Lap 101 – #7-Haley now the leader as pit stops continue.
Lap 100 – Several Chervolets now pit.
Lap 94 – #19-Truex spins coming on to pit road, but continues and there is no caution.  Several of the Toyotas were coming in to pit.
Lap 92 – #1-Chastain leads with #16-Van Gisbergen second.
Lap 84 – Several Fords pit, including #34-McDowell.
Lap 81 – #34-McDowell is back to the front after #51-LaJoie led five laps.
Lap 71 – Three wide through most of the field early in the second stage.  #17-Buecher still leads.
Lap 67 – Back to green for the start of the second stage.
Lap 64 – Lead lap cars pit:  #24-Byron, #17-Buescher, #20-Bell, #45-Reddick, #47-Stenhouse the top five off pit road.
Lap 61 – Caution for the end of stage 1. #17-Buescher wins it. He is followed by #47-Stenhouse, #24-Byron, #5-Larson, #20-Bell, #45-Reddick, #1-Chastain, #14-Briscoe, #2-Cindric, and #12-Blaney. #99-Suarez gets the free pass.
Lap 60 – #47-Stenhouse, Jr the leader with one lap left in stage 1.
Lap 54 – #1-Chastain back to the lead.
Lap 53 – #5-Larson now leads #48-Bowman, #1-Chastain, #2-Cidric and #54-Gibbs.  Eight laps left in stage 1.
Lap 42 – #1-Chastain goes to the lead.
Lap 40 – #7-Haley takes the lead from #34-Gilliland.
Lap 35 – #34-McDowell and #38-Gilliland continue to run first and second.
Lap 18 – #34-McDowell retakes the lead.
Lap 17 – Back to green, #6-Keselowski leads.
Lap 15 – Leaders are on pit road. #6-Keselowski is off first then #34-McDowell, #2-Cindric, #3-Dillon, #10-Gragson.
Lap 14 – #99-Suarez makes it to pit road but is now two laps down.
Lap 12 – Caution on the backstretch. #99-Saurez spins after contact from #78-McLeod.
Lap 6 – Five laps complete: #34-McDowell, #6-Keselowski, #17-Buescher, #2-Cindric, #41-Preece.
Lap 2 – #99-Suarez serves his pass through penalty.
2:33pm/et – Green flag at Talladega. #34-McDowell and #2-Cindric on the front row. First stage is 60 laps.
2:21pm/et – Engines are fired.
2:13pm/et – Pre-race ceremonies are underway.
2:08pm/et – #20-Bell will also drop to the rear for unapproved adjustments.
12:24pm/et – From NASCAR: The No. 99 made an unapproved adjustment to the roof area after yesterday’s inspection period. This will result in an at-track penalty. The No. 99 will drop to the rear, serve a pass-through penalty after taking the green flag and the car chief was ejected. This will be the only penalty for this infraction.
No cars to the rear as of Saturday evening.
No weather issues today.  The National Weather Service says: Sunny, with a high near 86. 7% chance of rain at the start time.

Race details:
Broadcast: NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 188 laps / 500.08 miles
Stages: 60 / 120 / 188
Average time of race: 3:11:24
Pit road speed: 55 mph
Caution vehicle speed: 70 mph
Fuel window: 45 laps

Timing (all times local & subject to change)
Invocation: 1:13:25 p.m.
National Anthem: 1:14:00 p.m.
Command: 1:21:00 p.m.
Green Flag: 1:33:00 p.m.

Paint Schemes

Cars to the rear: #20-Bell (unapproved adjustment), #99-Suarez (unapproved adjustment)

Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the YellaWood 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway have been made.
Pole winner #34-Michael McDowell chose pit stall 1.
Outside pole sitter #2-Austin Cindric took the 6th stall, with an opening in front of it.
See all pit choices on the Talladega Pit Stall page.

#34-Michael McDowell won the Busch pole for the YellaWood 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway with a speed of 183.063mph for his 6th pole of the year, 2nd at Talladega and 6th of his career.
#2-Austin Cindric will start second followed by #38-Todd Gilliland, #8-Kyle Busch, #12-Ryan Blaney, #22-Joey Logano, #7-Austin Dillon, #11-Denny Hamlin, #21-Harrison Burton, and #31-Daniel Hemric.
See the complete qualifying results and the YellaWood 500 Starting Lineup.

Where the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff drivers start at Talladega:
#2-Austin Cindric, 2nd
#12-Ryan Blaney, 5th
#22-Joey Logano, 6th
#11-Denny Hamlin, 8th
#9-Chase Elliott, 11th
#5-Kyle Larson, 12th
#45-Tyler Reddick, 14th
#24-William Byron, 16th
#20-Christopher Bell, 21st
#48-Alex Bowman, 23rd
#99-Daniel Suarez, 31st
#14-Chase Briscoe, 36th

Talladega Superspeedway – Qualifying Fast Facts:
Michael McDowell won the Pole Award for the YellaWood 500 with a lap of 52.31 seconds, 183.063 mph.
This is his sixth pole in 496 NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his sixth pole and 15th top-10 start in 2024.
This is his second pole in 28 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Austin Cindric (P) (second) posted his 13th top-10 start of 2024 and his third in six races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Todd Gilliland (third) posted his second top-10 start at Talladega Superspeedway. It is his sixth in 31 races this season.
Josh Berry (19th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR)

Qualifying Order

Pre-race inspection in the NASCAR Cup Series garage is complete. No multiple failures.

There will be no practice at Talladega.

Crew Rosters

The entry list for the YellaWood 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway is posted, 40 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
Drivers include: #13-A.J. Allmendinger, #15-Cody Ware, #16-Shane Van Gisbergen, #44-J.J. Yeley, #62-Anthony Alfredo, #78-B.J. McLeod.
See the full entry list on the YellaWood 500 Entry List page.

Goodyear Fast Facts — Talladega Superspeedway

Race rules and information:

• Inspection Penalty Protocol
• Pit Road Penalties
• Pit Road Speeds
• Points Explanation
• Qualifying Procedures