Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs will go short-track racing this weekend for the penultimate race of the 2025 campaign at Martinsville Speedway on Friday (6 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

ENTRY LISTS: Cup Series | Xfinity Series | Truck Series

The race marks the last shot for playoff drivers to cement their spot in the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway, Corey Heim is the only driver with a punched ticket to the title fight by virtue of his Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval victory.

Brenden “Butterbean” Queen will make his second career Truck start this weekend, piloting the No. 07 Spire Motor Motorsports Chevrolet. Queen made his Truck Series debut in the Spire machine at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in July, finishing 16th.

HOW TO WATCH: NASCAR on FOX, FS1, more

See the full entry list for the event:

Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs Round of 8 continues at Martinsville Speedway in Saturday’s IAA and Richi Bros. 250 (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

ENTRY LISTS: Cup Series | Xfinity Series | Truck Series

Following Austin Hill’s playoff-spoiler win at Talladega Superspeedway, JR Motorsports teammates Connor Zilisch and defending series champion Justin Allgaier puched their tickets to Phoenix on points, leaving two spots open for a Championship 4 berth. Jesse Love (plus-40) and Carson Kvapil (plus-11) hold the final provisional positions above the cutline. Sammy Smith (minus-11), Brandon Jones (minus-20), Sam Mayer (minus-22) and Sheldon Creed (minus-41) will look to advoid playoff elimination at Martinsville.

Thirty-nine cars are entered for Saturday’s race, but only 38 cars can lineup for the starting grid, meaning one team will miss the show after qualifying.

MORE: How to watch NASCAR on The CW

View the full entry list for the event:

Posted on by Staff Report

While the chaos of Talladega Superspeedway might be in the rearview mirror, there is no letting up for the Cup Series Playoffs field, with the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway acting as the Round of 8 finale on Sunday (2 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

ENTRY LISTS: Cup Series | Xfinity Series | Truck Series

Following Chase Briscoe’s Talladega victory, two Cup Series drivers have punched their tickets to the Championship 4, with Denny Hamlin the other after winning the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. As far as the remaining positions go, Christopher Bell (plus-37) and Kyle Larson (plus-36) currently sit above the playoff cutline, while William Byron (minus-36), Joey Logano (minus-38), Ryan Blaney (minus-47) and Chase Elliott (minus-62) face postseason elimination should their fortunes not flip in their favor at the Virginia short track.

Casey Mears will once again pilot the No. 66 Garage 66 Ford. The 47-year-old California native has competed in three Cup races this season, including an 18th-place result at Talladega last weekend. Sunday will mark his 600th NASCAR start, as he eyes his 500th Cup race next season.

HOW TO WATCH: NASCAR on NBC, Peacock | Driver Cams on HBO Max

View the full entry list for the event:

Posted on by Brandon White

With one race remaining on the 2025 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule, Austin Beers holds a 14-point advantage over Justin Bonsignore in the championship standings.

Beers has enjoyed the best Modified Tour season of his young career. None of his finishes have been outside the top 10, with the consistency also yielding him two victories and 11 top fives.

Trailing Beers in the point standings is the four-time Modified Tour champion in Bonsignore, who remains within striking distance of tying Tony Hirschman with his fifth title. Although he only possesses one win to his name in 2025, Bonsignore has shown plenty of speed all year with eight top fives to go along with four poles.

ENTRY LIST: Mods finale at Martinsville

There are 30 cars on the entry list for Thursday’s Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 at Martinsville Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on FloRacing). This means Beers needs to finish eighth or better to earn the Modified Tour championship regardless of what Bonsignore does.

If Beers finishes ninth or worse, the door opens for Bonsignore to claim the title. Should a scenario play out in which Beers and Bonsignore end up tied in the point standings with neither obtaining an additional victory, Beers would be the beneficiary of the tiebreaker with his two wins compared to Bonsignore’s lone triumph.

Justin Bonsignore and Austin Beers
(Photo: Rob Branning/NASCAR)

The tiebreaker shifts to Bonsignore’s favor should he win Thursday and earn maximum points with Beers finishing ninth. Bonsignore gets this distinction since he has two runner-up showings this year, all while Beers only has one.

A driver can earn maximum points on the Modified Tour by winning the race and securing the appropriate bonus points; one for winning the pole, one for leading a lap and another for leading the most laps. Wins automatically grant three additional points, bringing the maximum total to 49 points.

Regarding Martinsville, Bonsignore holds the advantage over Beers with a championship-clinching victory in last year’s race and a runner-up to Ryan Preece in 2023. Beers’ best finish at Martinsville is fourth, which he obtained during 2024 Modified Tour finale.

Below is a complete breakdown of the championship points scenarios between Austin Beers and Justin Bonsignore going into the Modified Tour season finale on Thursday evening.

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship points scenarios for Martinsville

NWMT championship scenarios

Posted on by Adam Fenwick

The battle for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship has reached its crescendo as Austin Beers and Justin Bonsignore settle the battle for the series championship during Thursday evening’s Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 at Martinsville Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on FloRacing).

Beers enters Thursday’s race with a 14-point advantage in the standings and needs only to finish eighth or better to claim the series championship regardless of what Bonsignore does. Bonsignore, however, is the defending winner at Martinsville and could turn the tide in his favor if Beers stumbles at the 0.526-mile oval.

Thursday’s event marks the 40th trip to Martinsville for the modern Modified Tour. Drivers to score wins there include Mike Stefanik, Mike Ewanitsko, Jeff Fuller, Reggie Ruggiero, Charlie Jarzombek, Tom Baldwin, Brett Bodine, Ryan Preece, Ted Christopher, Tony Hirschman, Donny Lia, Mike McLaughlin, Bobby Santos III and Bonsignore, among others.

Tickets to Thursday’s Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 are available here. Below is everything you need to know about the final race of the 2025 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season.

Martinsville Speedway
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour field prior to the 2024 Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 at Martinsville Speedway (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)

Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 at Martinsville Speedway

Dis 17 743631 Coca Cola 250 V6gb 4presAustin Beers and Justin Bonsignore have a lot on the line in Thursday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season finale at Martinsville Speedway.

Both drivers have a chance to leave the track as the 2025 Modified Tour champion, but each has an opportunity to earn a unique distinction should he manage to secure the title.

Should Beers capture the championship, not only would be his first and the first for the KLM Motorsports team owned by Mike Murphy, be he also would become the youngest champion in Modified Tour history.

The record currently belongs to Ryan Preece, who won his championship when he was 22 years, 11 months and 25 days old.

Bonsignore has the chance to further cement his legacy should he capture his fifth Modified Tour championship. In the history of the modern series, only three drivers have won five or more championships. They are Mike Stefanik (seven), Doug Coby (six) and Tony Hirschman (five).

Beers enters the weekend with a 14-point advantage on Bonsignore in the fight for the series championship and needs only to finish eighth or better to clinch the title no matter what Bonsignore does. Beers has three previous Modified Tour starts and has finished eighth or better in two of them. Bonsignore has made five starts at Martinsville and has finished third or better in all but one.

While most of the focus will be on Beers and Bonsignore Thursday night, there are several other notable drivers scheduled to compete in the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200. They include 2000 NASCAR Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte, who will make his second Modified Tour start of the season aboard the No. 38 for Sadler-Stanley Racing.

Also returning to the series is Ryan Newman, who will make his fifth start of the season at Martinsville. He’ll once again pilot the No. 4 Mystic Missile entry for Tim Connolly.

Luke Baldwin returns to the series in the family No. 7 fresh off a big win over the weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Other notable entrants include Jake Lutz, Carson Loftin, Jeremy Gerstner, Eric Goodale, Andy Seuss, Mike Christopher Jr., Conner Jones, Luke Fleming, Danny Bohn and Teddy Hodgdon as well series regulars like Craig Lutz, Patrick Emerling, Matt Hirschman, Stephen Kopcik, Trevor Catalano, Tommy Catalano and Tyler Rypkema.

The full entry list for Thursday’s Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 is available here.

Justin Bonsignore
Justin Bonsignore (51) leads the 2024 Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 at Martinsville Speedway. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)

RACING REFERENCE:

RACE FACTS

Race Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200
Date Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025
Track Martinsville Speedway
Layout 0.526-mile oval
Location Martinsville, Virginia
Start time 7:30 p.m. ET
Laps 200
Posted Awards $137,154
Tickets Here
How to Watch FloRacing

SCHEDULE: Thursday, Oct. 23: Practice from 12:35 – 1:05 p.m. ET … Final Practice from 1:45 – 2:15 p.m. ET … Hoosier Tire Pole Award qualifying at 3:30 p.m. ET … Start of the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 at 7:30 p.m. ET (200 Laps / 105.20 Miles)

QUALIFYING: Two consecutive qualifying laps. Faster lap determines qualifying position. Adjustments or repairs may not be made on the vehicle after the vehicle has taken the green flag at the start/finish line. NASCAR reserves the right to have more than one vehicle engage in qualifying runs at the same time. Starting field for the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 is limited to 32 starters including Provisional Positions.

TIRE ALLOTMENT: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is eleven (11) tires per team. All tires used for qualifying and the race must be purchased at the track and scanned by Hoosier, unless otherwise approved in advance by the Series Director. Four (4) tires must be used for qualifying and to begin the race. All qualifying tires must remain in impound until released by NASCAR Officials. The remaining tire allotment may be used for practice and/or change tires during the event. Maximum of nine (9) tires may be used for the race, not including Emergency Change Tires. Teams will declare to NASCAR Officials at the conclusion of practice the tires they will use during the race. The tire change rule is two (2) tires per stop.

Posted on by Cameron Richardson

For the first time in the Cup Series Playoffs, Talladega Superspeedway hosted the midpoint in the Round of 8 — and it did not disappoint. From the green flag to the checkered flag, intensity to solidify Championship 4 position was on display all 500 miles, and the postseason picture took a big shift on the final lap for a handful of drivers.

Only two races remain in the Cup Series season, but to determine the Championship 4, a short-track affair lies ahead at Martinsville Speedway next Sunday (2 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Before that, let’s see the fates of our remaining playoff drivers after a Talladega thriller.

WINNER

Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. It was a split-second decision by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs to get off the gas and drop behind the No. 19 driver in Turn 3 on the final lap to push Briscoe to his third victory of 2025. It’s Briscoe’s first Championship 4 berth in his fifth Cup season, and he’s a past winner at Phoenix (spring 2022).

Two JGR drivers are going to race for the Bill France Cup in the Arizona desert, as Denny Hamlin won a week prior at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It’s the first time JGR has put multiple cars in the Championship 4 since 2021.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

WHO’S HOT?

Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Bell is the only playoff driver, minus Briscoe, to snag positive momentum going to Martinsville. While not the biggest superspeedway aficionado, the Norman, Oklahoma native placed eighth Sunday afternoon to go to plus-37 above the cutline. The caveat to that is he’s only one point above Kyle Larson, who is the last driver into the provisional Championship 4, and Martinsville is known to produce walk-off winners. Last year, Bell was eliminated at Martinsville on the final lap due to a safety violation.

WHO’S NOT?

Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford. This was the one. If it was going to be a bid to go for championship No. 4 in the Cup Series, Logano needed to get the job done Sunday. While in a perfect spot with teammate Ryan Blaney up front, the pack scrambled into a three- and four-wide fray in the closing laps, washing out the bottom lane as the Nos. 12 and 22 faded to the back of the field. When the checkered flag waved, Logano was 16th. Now, it’s win-or-go-home at Martinsville. Logano has finished in the top 10 in every Martinsville race since the fall of 2019, but his last win at the short track came in 2018.

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. The 2025 regular-season champion was in a spot for a top 10 in the tri-oval, but squirrely, aggressive pushes to the start/finish line ultimately spun Byron around, making 500-plus miles all for naught. Byron parachuted to a 25th-place result and all of a sudden, a disastrous Round of 8 so far now sees him 36 points below his teammate Larson at the cutline. It’s now a virtual must-win for the No. 24 team at Martinsville.

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Trying to grab stage points in the opening 60 laps, Elliott was involved in a multicar incident as Noah Gragson and AJ Allmendinger crashed from the lead. As the two drivers came down the track, along with 2024 Talladega fall winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the No. 9 driver had nowhere to go and was hit by Austin Cindric and Daniel Suárez trying to get to the apron of Turns 3 and 4. Elliott collected a mere point with a 40th-place result and will be in a must-win situation entering Martinsville for the Round of 8 elimination race.

BUBBLE WATCH

RANKDRIVER+/-
1Chase BriscoeADV
2Denny HamlinADV
3Christopher Bell+37
4Kyle Larson+36
CUTLINE
5William Byron-36
6Joey Logano-38
7Ryan Blaney-47
8Chase Elliott-62

QUOTABLE

“It’s pretty apparent the second we lost control of the race. I’m only driving one car, so I couldn’t really control the race. The car behind me was saving gas, that didn’t help us and killed the whole bottom lane. Cars were pulling in front of us, and we were just getting demoted from the first two cars in line to the back of the line. We just can’t be saving gas at the end of the race. Ryan [Blaney] was not, but I was frustrated. You just get demoted in the lane as cars move to the front. You’re helpless. You’re sitting there just driving in circles, knowing the right thing to do, and just can’t do it. I drive one car.” — Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford, on how he and Blaney fell out of the lead late at Talladega.

NEXT RACE

It’s time to set the Championship 4 as Martinsville hosts the penultimate race of the 2025 season next Sunday. Blaney enters as the two-time defending winner of the event. Elliott walked off at the Virginia short track in 2020, which resulted in his lone series championship. Four of the last five winners in the Martinsville playoff race have been won by drivers beneath the cutline.

Posted on by Dustin Albino

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Advancement to the Championship 4 was on the table for Team Penske at Talladega Superspeedway. Now, the team’s title hopes are on life support. 

The bulk of Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway couldn’t have played out any better for Ford’s powerhouse organization, but it all went awry in the closing laps.   

After Cody Ware brought out the caution with 21 laps in regulation for spinning on the apron in Turns 1 and 2, Ryan Blaney exited pit road with the lead. His Team Penske teammate and three-time and defending Cup Series champion Joey Logano slotted in second, choosing the inside lane behind the No. 12 car for the restart.  

MORE: Full race results | Briscoe wins, onto Champ 4

With Todd Gilliland, a satellite Penske teammate at Front Row Motorsports, lining up alongside for the restart, the dynamite duo were poised to control the race. With a shove from Kyle Larson, however, Gilliland dropped low to command the inside line. That began a bottleneck of lost track position for the Nos. 12 and 22 Fords.  

Former Penske driver Brad Keselowski was directly behind Logano on the inside line. The No. 6 car was in fuel-saving mode and couldn’t stay glued to the No. 22 car’s back bumper. The distance between the two cars enabled the top lane to control the race and drop down to the bottom. Before you could blink, Penske’s two cars dropped well outside the top 10.  

“The car behind me was saving gas – that doesn’t help,” a baffled Logano said after the checkered flag. “That kills the whole bottom lane. Cars are pulling down in front of us, and we keep getting demoted. The first two cars to third in line, fourth in line and the next thing you know, we’re all the way in the back. 

“We can’t be saving gas at the end of the race and expect to win, that’s the bottom line. Ryan is not. I wasn’t. It’s just frustrating to see us keep getting demoted in the lane as cars keep pulling down in front of you. You are helpless. You are sitting there driving in circles and know what the right thing to do is, and you can’t do it. I drive one car.” 

Blaney was just as frustrated as Logano. He wasn’t certain why Keselowski was soft on Logano’s bumper, but it ultimately cost the two remaining Ford drivers in the postseason considerably.  

“We got control of the race; me and Joey had control of it,” Blaney added. “What I could tell, [Keselowski] was super soft on Joey and then [Gilliland] got down in front of me, and [Keselowski] was still soft on Joey, and we could never go and just faded. I thought we did a great job of getting the spot that we were in, but it didn’t work out.”  

With a lap-and-a-half remaining, Chris Buescher got bumped by William Byron and clobbered the inside wall on the backstretch. The Penske crew chiefs of Jonathan Hassler and Paul Wolfe attempted a Hail Mary to pit for a splash of gas, knowing their fuel situation was bleak. Blaney restarted in 22nd ahead of the green-white-checkered finish, with Logano one spot behind in 23rd.  

While Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace and Chase Briscoe traded the lead in overtime, Logano gained seven positions to finish 16th. Blaney dropped a spot to 23rd. 

Both Penske teams are in must-win mode entering the Round of 8 elimination race at Martinsville Speedway next weekend. Logano is 38 points below the elimination line, while Blaney is 47 markers back. Blaney has, however, won the last two fall Martinsville races.  

“It’s simple in what to do,” Logano stated. “At this point, it’s all or nothing. Stage points aren’t going to matter; nothing is going to matter — we’re too far back. You just have to go win.”  

Even though Blaney has multiple victories at Martinsville, he knows that it doesn’t guarantee him a spot into this year’s Championship 4 via a victory. 

“So what, we’ve won there twice?” Blaney said. “It’s up and down, you never know what’s going to happen year after year. The people that have been saying, ‘Oh, Blaney is going to win Martinsville.’ It’s [expletive]. It’s hard. I don’t know what speed we’re going to have. It’s nice that we’ve won there a couple of times, but we’ve got to dig down deep for this one.”  

Posted on by Zack Albert

TALLADEGA, Ala. — The late-race situation was about as rosy as could be for Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson after running 500-plus miles at Talladega Superspeedway. The pair ran 1-2 in that order as Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs showdown lurched into overtime, and the two controlled the front row for the fateful final restart — Larson lined up high after lane choice, with Byron low.

“Just play the game,” No. 24 spotter Branden Lines told Byron as the regular-season champ’s Chevrolet got up to speed and inched ahead with the field barreling toward the white flag. Shortly thereafter, that dream 1-2 scenario unraveled.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Talladega

Both Hendrick Motorsports drivers faltered in the final circuit of Sunday’s YellaWood 500, watching their opportunity for a victory and an automatic championship-race berth evaporate. Larson bailed out of the pack with half a lap to go, his No. 5 Chevrolet stumbling with a dry fuel tank and leaving him with a 26th-place finish. That result was one spot below 25th-finishing Byron, who was overcome by a Toyota-led charge in the outside lane and later spun through the trioval as the low-lane shoving grew more intense.

The two now find themselves on opposite sides of the playoff bubble with one chance remaining to clinch a Championship 4 slot in next Sunday’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway. Larson sits 36 points above the elimination line as the provisional final driver in; Byron is the first driver out as it stands, down by the same 36-point margin.

“Looks like we’ve got to win,” said Byron, who placed 36th after a crash in the previous week’s Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas. “It looks like all the guys below the cut have to win, so we’ve just got to go there and do that. So we’ve had two strong weeks but no results, and we’ve just got to go there and try to do the best we can.”

Byron’s hopes looked optimistic throughout the last two-lap dash, and they seemed to strengthen when he hooked up behind Larson’s No. 5 for the last stretch. Once Larson’s car stammered, he was left without a teammate to tandem with, and a Toyota train of Bubba Wallace, Ty Gibbs and eventual winner Chase Briscoe rocketed past him.

“We got linked together really good through (Turns) 1 and 2 and the bottom, I got clear for a minute, and then just couldn’t get linked for whatever reason off of four, and those guys were just pushing really hard on the outside lane and just pushed past us,” Byron said. “So I don’t know. The pushes just didn’t get timed up perfectly, and lost control there of the bottom lane, and then just seemed like the outside had more energy for some reason, and then the 5 ran out of gas, so that hurt us a little bit even more. I mean, overall, I think we gave it our best effort. We were tight there on fuel, so just trying to manage that, but it just didn’t work out, and then we got spun out there coming to the line.”

Larson was just behind Byron on the official rundown, but his hopes for contending expired a half-lap from the end. No. 5 crew chief Cliff Daniels said he knew the team’s final splash of fuel would leave Larson tight on making it to the end, but he still tried to encourage his driver that the tank would hold.

Kyle Larson, right, talks to crew chief Cliff Daniels on pit road at Talladega Superspeedway
Zack Albert | NASCAR Digital Media

“I mean, the numbers we had, we thought we were gonna run out literally at the checkered flag,” Daniels said. “So I would say that was basically a quarter-gallon from where we ran out on the back straightaway to making it back around. In a game of small margins, it was just a small margin that made the difference.”

Said Larson: “We obviously knew it was close, because we got the warning on whatever pump we were on under caution, and it sounded like we would be OK once I went to the other pump, even where I was under yellow, having to flip the switch. So yeah, he had a lot of confidence when he told me, so it gave me confidence. And yeah, it was just hammer down. I mean, there wasn’t really anything I could do otherwise, that last run there. Then I got another warning on the final pump that we have and was just hoping that it would make it to the finish, but it started sputtering shortly after that, so just got out of the way.”

Larson’s spot relative to the playoff bubble is a bit more hopeful, but he said that his chances of reaching his third Championship 4 in the last four years are teetering. Like him, all four drivers below the cutline — Byron, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott — are past Martinsville winners. A victory next week by any of them would make the avenue to the Nov. 2 finale at Phoenix Raceway much more narrow.

“Honestly, it’s a great [place] to be that if nobody below wins, but you’ve got to assume one of them guys is going to win. They’re all really good there,” Larson said. “I mean, every single one of them has a win there. I believe, and multiples at that. So yeah, it’ll be a fight, I think, a point battle between me and Christopher. You know, you don’t want to be a four-spot guy, but yeah, we’ll see. Hopefully, we can go execute again, like we have been, and be up front.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

TALLADEGA, Ala. — In a typically dramatic push to the Talladega Superspeedway checkered flag, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe made a last-lap pass on the frantic field to claim victory in Sunday’s YellaWood 500 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs race and earn his first-ever shot at the season title.

The 30-year-old Indiana native Briscoe will join his JGR teammate Denny Hamlin, who won last week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, leaving the final two positions in the Championship 4 to be decided in next week’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Talladega

Briscoe thanked another JGR teammate, however, 23-year-old Ty Gibbs, for the push forward on the final lap Sunday that resulted in his first-ever superspeedway win, 0.145 seconds over Front Row Motorsports’ driver Todd Gilliland and Gibbs, neither of whom is among the eight-driver playoff field.

The runner-up showing was a career best for Gilliland. 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace and Haas Factory Team’s Cole Custer rounded out the top five.

“Ty Gibbs, just an incredible teammate there,’’ said an emotional Briscoe, who stood on his No. 19 JGR Toyota waving his arms to the cheering crowd. “I honestly would not have won that race without Ty. It was an amazing team effort. I can’t believe I won a superspeedway race. I’ve never done it at any level.”

“It’s not hit me, we’re going to Phoenix,’’ a grinning Briscoe said of the championship opportunity he now has after leading only 16 laps Sunday, but the most important final one.

“Absolutely [a dream come true]. So thankful that the Lord’s blessed me, opening doors and closing doors at times, but certainly opening an incredible door for me here at Joe Gibbs Racing. … Even today, I just had such a ‘peace’ and normally I’m scared to death, nervous around this place, but today, just had such a peace.’’

Another JGR driver, Christopher Bell joined Briscoe as the only other playoff competitor to finish among the top 10 Sunday, crossing the line eighth in the frantic three-wide, four rows deep finish that has long characterized the 2.66-mile Talladega high-banks – NASCAR’s largest track. With Hamlin and Briscoe in the title race thanks to victories, Bell now holds the top remaining points position, 37 points above the cutoff line.

SHOP: Winner’s gear

As good a day as it was for the Gibbs team to claim half the championship race eligibility and position Bell atop the points standings, it was a disappointing afternoon for the other two organizations also racing for a shot at the title: Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske.

Hendrick had two cars running among the top five for the overtime restart only to have Kyle Larson drop back from the lead after running out of fuel. William Byron get spun out from behind only yards in front of the finish line while running inside the top 10. They finished 25th (Byron) and 26th (Larson).

Larson is ranked fourth, a point below Bell in the standings – 36 points above the cutoff line. Byron – the Regular Season Champion – is now fifth, 36 points below the line.

Penske’s two playoff drivers, reigning series champion Joey Logano and 2023 series champ Ryan Blaney, also experienced similar late-race frustration after positioning themselves up front in the waning laps. Logano’s No. 22 Ford actually led the most laps (35) on the day and turned in the longest single stint out front (16 laps) in a race that featured an incredible 77 lead changes among 27 drivers.

Ultimately, neither could move forward in the closing pair of laps, however. Logano finished 16th and Blaney was 23rd, after both had to pit during the overtime caution period to top off on fuel.

“Really, really frustrating because you’re so close and you see in front of you what you’ve got to do and you can’t do anything about it,’’ said Logano. “It’s frustrating, but we know what we’ve got to do now, it’s pretty simple.’’

Sunday’s results leave Logano ranked sixth among the eight playoff drivers, 38 points below the cutoff line. Blaney is seventh, 47 points back. Both now need a victory at Martinsville to return to the championship race. Blaney has won the last two playoff races at the 0.526-mile Martinsville track, and Logano won it in 2018.

RELATED: Clutch in the playoffs: Drivers who win in critical situations

NASCAR’s perennial most popular driver and a huge Talladega crowd favorite, Chase Elliott, was the first playoff driver to have trouble Sunday, collected in a nine-car accident near the front of the field only 51 laps into the 193-lap race, resulting in a last-place finish in the 40-car field.

Elliott had started the race ranked sixth in the playoff standings, only 23 points below the cutoff line, and has now fallen to eighth among the eight drivers, 62 points out of playoff contention and also needing to win next Sunday at Martinsville – something he’s done before, claiming the 2020 playoff finale there en route to his championship.

“I saw somebody get turned sideways just like normal, and you hope you can get slowed down in time, but I got turned sideways there somehow, someway and hit some more stuff after that,’’ Elliott said, adding, “We just did not execute that well as a group and put ourselves in the back of the pack, unfortunately, and got caught up in the mess.

“Stage points are so crucial right now, and I wasn’t super surprised everybody was starting to get super aggressive, and unfortunately, I didn’t make it through.

“Unless we won today, we were already likely in a very similar situation next week. I hate it. I don’t know what you do in those situations. We weren’t back there doing anything wild or crazy. I just got turned sideways and slid up into the wreck. Thinking about it, I wish I could have done something different, but I don’t really know what I would have done. Looking forward to Martinsville. Got one more shot at it.’’

Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, Bell, Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith and RFK Racing owner-driver Brad Keselowski rounded out Sunday’s top 10.

The final round to set the 2025 playoff field is Sunday afternoon’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway (2 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

NOTE: Inspection in the Cup Series garage was completed with no issues, confirming Briscoe as the winner. No cars will return to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina for further inspection.

Posted on by Staff Report

Erik Jones pushed Noah Gragson around and into AJ Allmendinger racing for the lead at Lap 52 of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, also claiming playoff driver Chase Elliott.

Elliott, who entered the middle Round of 8 race at 23 points below the cutline, went low to avoid the Turn 3 wreck from 19th but was contacted by Daniel Suárez from behind and suffered heavy damage. He could not continue in the 188-lap event, finishing 40th.

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“I saw someone get turned sideways, kind of like normal, and just hoping to get slowed down in time,” Elliott told reporters outside the infield care center, recalling the crash just before the Stage 1 end. “I haven’t seen it back, but I got turned sideways there somehow, some way, and yeah, and hit some more stuff after that.

“Stage points are so crucial right now, you know? So I just wasn’t super-surprised everybody was starting to get really aggressive, and unfortunately, yeah, we didn’t make it through.”

In total, nine different drivers were involved in the incident. Allmendinger’s No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet caught on fire after contacting the outside wall, coming to a stop at the exit of Turn 4. The 43-year-old exited his car under his own power and briefly lay on the ground before walking to an ambulance.

“I was just trying to lead both lanes and unfortunately, the outside lane didn’t really have that same plan,” Allmendinger said after being evaluated and released from the infield care center. “Got turned right up there, right up into the fence, and I think when Noah got turned, I think it hit the right-front tire and either knocked it flat or whatever, just turned me directly up in the wall. So disappointing there, but just the way this racing is.

“It hurt. It knocked the breath completely out of me, and then as I was trying to get out, I felt like the car, I couldn’t tell if it was catching on fire, but it definitely started smoking, so got out. Definitely sore on my right side from hitting the wall. So more than anything, it was just trying to get the breath back and just take a moment there, and so I’m fine. I’ll be all right.”

Gragson, Justin Haley, defending race winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Cindric, Jones and Elliott were also checked and released from the care center. Elliott now faces a must-win situation next Sunday at Martinsville Speedway (2 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) after finishing 18th in last weekend’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“I’m excited about it. I mean, unless we won today, we were likely going to be in a very similar position next week,” Elliott said. “I hate it. I don’t know what you do about those situations, right? Like, we weren’t back there doing anything wild or crazy. It just, it turned sideways and slid into the wreck. So I don’t know. Kind of thinking back through it, I wish I could have done something different, but I don’t really know what I would have done. I was just trying to get slowed up.

“I’m looking forward to Martinsville, though. Got one more shot at it.”