It’s safe to say that fans tend to expect the unexpected during a race at Talladega Superspeedway. But there’s one thing that’s not unexpected deep in the heart of Alabama — last-lap passes for the win.
Talladega, the biggest track on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series circuit at 2.66 miles, has long produced exhilarating and exciting races — but the white-flag lap has served up some climactic, edge-of-your-seat, hold-your-breath thrillers through the years.
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Diving into the statistics, 26 of the 99 total races at the superspeedway have ended with a last-ditch pass en route to the checkered flag — or nearly 26% of total races. In fact, three of the last four races have concluded with such an occurrence, including both races in 2018, when Joey Logano won in the spring and Aric Almirola arose victorious in the fall playoff race.
According to Racing Insights, only three times has the eventual winner led only the final lap, including Almirola. Then-teammate Kurt Busch was the leader when the white flag waved in last year’s showdown, but Almirola passed him as the No. 41 sputtered in need of just a few more drops of fuel.
The first occurrence was in October 2007 when Jimmie Johnson was the leader with one more go-around, but Jeff Gordon’s last-lap pass landed the No. 24 in Victory Lane. The same thing happened in April 2009 when Carl Edwards was the leader, but Brad Keselowski’s last-lap pass (or bump) awarded him the win while Edwards was sent crashing into the fence. Keselowski’s one lap led in the race was also his first career lap led.
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Keselowski also holds the most last-lap passes for victory at Talladega. He’s done it a total of three times (2009, 2014, 2017) out of his five career wins at the track. Cale Yarborough is right behind Keselowski with two, along with Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson. Fifteen other drivers have also recorded wins at Talladega with a last-lap pass.
With the track’s 100th Monster Energy Cup Series race set for April 28 with the GEICO 500 at Talladega (2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), we’ll have to wait to see whether the same will happen for the third consecutive time.
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