Posted on by Holly Cain

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Kyle Larson turned in one of the most dramatic victories of his two-time NASCAR Cup Series championship career going from 11th place to Victory Lane on the final lap of overtime to win Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Larson maneuvered his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet low and passed seven cars in just the final quarter-mile of Talladega’s famed 2.66-mile high banks to claim his first ever win in 59 races on a big drafting-style track.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Talladega

He celebrated the “statement win” with his three children who climbed into the car for the Victory Lap celebration — daughter Audrey, 8, waving to the crowd out of the passenger side window, his youngest son Cooper, 3, sitting inside too and 11-year old son Owen perched from the roof hatch waving the checkered flag to a thrilled crowd who clearly appreciated one of Larson’s most amazing — and overdue — Victory Laps.

The reigning series champion fell from the lead to 11th place with a lap to go and then negotiated his way forward once again, dropping to the bottom lane and roaring to the win by a photo-finish 0.041 seconds over his Hendrick teammate William Byron, Hyak Motorsports Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain who crossed the line door-to-door-to-door directly behind.

Haas Factory Team’s Cole Custer and Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar helped Chevrolet to a top-six sweep on the afternoon.

“I don’t know, I got really lucky with kinda how everything worked out there,” the 34-year old Californian Larson said with a smile, trying to describe the phenomenal winning move.

“I was so edgy in Turns 1 and 2 with the 33 [Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Hill] pushing me, he was helping me.”

Now with only two races remaining, Larson has exponentially expanded his championship lead over his closest challengers: three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota teammates. He now holds a 73-point advantage on regular season champ Denny Hamlin, is 74 points up on Christopher Bell and 77 points up on Chase Briscoe.

“Really gotta thank all my Chevy GM partners for working with me all day,” Larson continued. “I really felt it and definitely the best speedway race I’ve ever had because of it, so thanks to all them.

“I was pissed at myself off of [Turn] 2, my hands off the wheel, just mad. And then all of a sudden everything just opened up and I was able to keep my momentum up,” he said of the last lap. “Unbelievable way to get my first superspeedway win.”

SHOP: Race winner gear

The ending was an exclamation point for a race that had all the typical Talladega trademarks — a photo finish, close-quarter sparring all afternoon, a 13-minute red flag and a pair of massive multicar accidents that have greatly impacted The Chase presented by Mobil 1 with only a pair of races left to settle the 2026 championship.

“I felt like the energy got broken up off [Turn] 2 and I was like, ‘man, I’ve got a shot here,’ ” two-time Daytona 500 winner Byron said of the last-lap dramatics. “Once I got clear going into [Turn] 3 it was a good job keeping the momentum going. … Man, second sucks but it’s good that Kyle won. We worked really well together all day and if I couldn’t win, I wanted him to win.

“Just proud of the fight.”

It was just that. All day throughout the field.

The 98-lap opening stage of the 189-lap race set the stage for the drama. The three Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford Mustangs seemed to stun the competition — lining up bumper-to-bumper-bumper as they roared off to a lead of more than 30 seconds on the entire fuel-saving field en route to RFK’s Chris Buescher’s easy Stage 1 win. He led a race high 53 laps on the day, but was collected in the late-race accident.

The second massive crash — with only five laps remaining in regulation — brought out the red flag and eliminated many strong cars. As with an earlier multicar accident, it happened toward the front of the field. This one — involving 15 cars — appeared to be triggered by spring Talladega winner Hocevar, who hit the rear bumper of three-time series champion Joey Logano in tight-quarter drafting.

Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford led 23 laps on the day and was battling for the top position when Hocevar’s Chevy made contact. It spun Logano’s car into traffic behind and flipped it upside down, his Ford sliding down the track and coming to rest that way at the exit of the tri-oval. After safety crews flipped the car back on its tires, Logano climbed out on his own.

“Just got a little push in the wrong spot there,” Logano said. “It was a very much a ‘Talladega Nights’ moment like, ‘Oh, no. I’m upside down. This is not good moment.’

“But I can’t thank the safety crew enough. They did an amazing job flipping that thing over. The car did a great job. The last time I flipped, it was crushed on my head. This time, I don’t think anything really caved or crushed at all. I appreciate what NASCAR has done. Thank you and the safety team for getting me out of there.”

Joey Logano flips at Talladega.
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media

An earlier multicar incident on the backstretch — involving 12 cars — eliminated another Penske championship contender, 2023 series champion Ryan Blaney, among others. The two Penske drivers are mathematically still in the title hunt but they lost significant ground after looking so strong.

Logano is now fifth in the standings, 100 points off Larson’s total and Blaney is sixth, 107 points back. 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, is the only other driver still technically in the title chase, but he trails Larson by 126 points.

Bell, who went into the race ranked second, only five points behind Larson, spun and hit the wall coming to pit road on the opening pit stop of the race – his No. 20 JGR Toyota suffering significant damage and finishing 35th in the 40-car field. Briscoe, whose Toyota Camry started from pole position, was eliminated in the late race accident and finished 33rd.

Hendrick Motorsports executive and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon said after the race that although things certainly look in the team’s favor toward Larson’s title, “There’s no points lead big enough at this point.”

The NASCAR Cup Series leaves the biggest track on the schedule and returns to action next Sunday at one of the smallest, the half-mile Martinsville Speedway for the Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Byron is the defending race winner. His Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott won there this spring.

Stage 2 recap

Joey Logano beat Kyle Larson for the Stage 2 victory in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega by just 0.012 seconds in the YellaWood 500.

Larson was followed by Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, William Byron and Chris Buescher as the top six spots were swept by drivers competing in The Chase. Connor Zilisch, Shane van Gisbergen, Erik Jones and Austin Hill completed the top 10.

MORE: Stage 2 results | Close finish between Logano, Larson

The first multicar accident of the afternoon occurred at Lap 132 of Sunday’s race, wiping out numerous contenders.

Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney were leading the outside lane when the two became disjointed, shucking Blaney right toward the outside SAFER barrier. His No. 12 Ford lost momentum just in front of Bubba Wallace, who was getting shoved in the outside lane and could not slow to avoid Blaney, triggering a 12-car pileup down the backstretch during the second stage of the YellaWood 500.

Among those 12 were eight competitors in the championship hunt in The Chase: Blaney, Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, Ryan Preece, Chase Elliott and Daniel Suárez.

Blaney was unable to continue, taking a significant hit to his championship hopes; Blaney entered Sunday’s race fifth in the standings, 40 points behind series leader Kyle Larson. Reddick, last week’s winner at Phoenix Raceway, entered seventh in points, 56 points out from the lead. Blaney, Reddick and Elliott were among those whose vehicles were taken to the garage. Also collected in the crash were Ross Chastain, Noah Gragson, John Hunter Nemechek and Gray Gaulding.

Larson was scored as the race leader at the time of caution.

Stage 1 recap

RFK Racing took the opening stage of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway into its own hands as Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski swept the top three spots in Stage 1 of the YellaWood 500.

MORE: Stage 1 results | Watch RFK Racing clinch Stage 1 dub

Points leader Kyle Larson placed fourth in the stage ahead of William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Austin Cindric in the first stage of the eighth race of The Chase.

Heavy fuel saving early slowed the field’s pace to 58-second lap times, down 11 seconds from the fastest lap of the stage set by Chase Elliott on Lap 73 of 47.546 seconds. The RFK Racing trio of Preece, Keselowski and Buescher decided it was time to catch the field sleeping and stood on the throttle, creating a three-car draft of their own to open up a 22-second lead over the rest of the field by Lap 38, running lap times three seconds per lap faster than the rest of the field. Once pit stops cycled through, the trio led by as many as 40 seconds over the fourth-place car.

Christopher Bell’s day quickly turned disastrous when attempting to pit on Lap 56. Bell was leading a pack of Toyotas to pit road when his No. 20 Toyota broke out of control and spun toward the inside wall. Bell slammed the wall with his right-front and right-rear corners and incurred significant damage. Bell’s team changed four tires on the initial stop, but Bell cut a right-front tire due to a fender rub after returning to action. Pitting to repair some damage and get two new right-side tires, the team was then issued a pass-through penalty for too many crewmen over the wall. Insult was added to injury when the car punctured another right-front tire, trapping Bell in 40th place, nine laps down by the end of the stage.

Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith also suffered a flat right-rear tire on Lap 72, but the field avoided the No. 38 Ford, which made it back to pit road.

NOTE: Post-race technical inspection concluded without issue, confirming Larson as the race winner.

Contributing: Staff report

Posted on by Staff Report

Trouble for NASCAR Cup Series Chase driver Christopher Bell came not while racing on the track at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, but while entering pit road.

During a Lap 56 green-flag pit stop in the YellaWood 500, Bell, driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, lost control, making contact with the inside wall and suffering significant right-front damage.

MORE: Race results | At-track photos: Talladega

Bell limped his No. 20 Toyota to pit road for service, and after initially re-entering the race, had to return to the pits after a tire went down, resulting in Bell going multiple laps behind the race leaders. A penalty for too many crew members over the wall immediately followed the tire stop.

A second right-front tire went down on Lap 67, forcing another pit-road visit for Bell.

The sequence of events brings major implications for The Chase presented by Mobil 1. Bell entered Talladega second in the championship table, just five markers behind Chase leader Kyle Larson after a 46-point gain over him at Phoenix Raceway the prior weekend. Bell finished Talladega in 35th, 12 laps down.

Just two Chase races remain following Talladega: Martinsville Speedway on Nov. 1 and Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 8. With Larson’s Talladega victory, Bell sits third in The Chase standings, 74 points behind the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports driver and one point behind Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin.

Posted on by Staff Report

With O’Reilly Auto Parts as the official sponsor of NASCAR’s secondary circuit in 2026, a new season-long financial program will reward race winners across all 33 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races this season.

RELATED: 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule

What is the program? 

Designed to reward drivers financially for winning O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races, the program serves as a platform to highlight driver excellence and reinforce the strong connection between driver performance and the automotive community that supports their endeavors. Such a physical, mental and mechanical passion defines both NASCAR and O’Reilly Auto Parts, and this program is meant to emphasize the passion and grit displayed every weekend.

How does the program work?

O’Reilly Auto Parts will award $5,700 — “57” representing 1957, the year O’Reilly Auto Parts was founded — to the winner of each O’Reilly race this season, meaning $188,100 will go to the 33 race winners in 2026. Additionally, a $26,000 end-of-year bonus will go to the driver with the most per-race bonuses at the end of the season. Finally, a $57,000 bonus will be paid out at the end of the season to the 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion.

Together, $271,100 will be awarded and, when combined with this year’s Dash 4 Cash program, full bonus distribution will amount to $671,100.

All drivers — full-time and part-time — qualify for each race bonus.

MORE: 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victors so far

Check out every O’Reilly race winner so far this season, and keep tabs on this page as more race winners are added.

2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series winners

RankDriverRaces wonBonus earned
1Justin Allgaier6 (Phoenix, Darlington, Martinsville, Nashville, Pocono, EchoPark-2)$34,200
2Corey Day4 (Talladega, Dover, Las Vegas-2, Charlotte-2)$22,800
3Sheldon Creed3 (EchoPark-1, Darlington-2, Bristol-2)$17,100
T-4Jesse Love1 (Gateway)$11,400
T-4Kyle Larson2 (Las Vegas-1, Texas)$11,400
T-4Connor Zilisch2 (Bristol, Watkins Glen)$11,400
T-4Austin Hill2 (Daytona-1, Naval Base Coronado)$11,400
T-4Shane van Gisbergen2 (COTA, Sonoma)$11,400
T-4Carson Kvapil2 (Indianapolis, Iowa)$11,400
T-10William Sawalich1 (Rockingham)$5,700
T-10Taylor Gray1 (Kansas)$5,700
T-10Ross Chastain1 (Charlotte)$5,700
T-10Brandon Jones1 (Chicagoland)$5,700
T-10Ryan Sieg1 (Daytona-2)$5,700
T-10Sammy Smith1 (Talladega-2)$5,700
Posted on by Mike Hembree

TALLADEGA, Ala. — For much of Saturday afternoon, Carson Kvapil led a parade of race cars around Talladega Superspeedway as if he had been named The Progress Group 250 grand marshal.

The rest of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series contenders were satisfied to ride in a long single line behind Kvapil, whose assignment evidently included breaking through the air for everyone on the track. No one presented a challenge to the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.

Then, on the last lap, as on so many last laps at Talladega, chaos took over.

MORE: Race results | At-track photos: Talladega

The straight line of cars broke into branches. Sam Mayer began the march, dropping low in Turn 1 in an attempt to pass Kvapil. That move fizzled, and Mayer eventually finished 13th, a lesson in last-lap strategy — or the lack of it — at Talladega.

From there, the run to the finish was a mixture of surges and blocks. On the backstretch, Sammy Smith got a push from Justin Allgaier and moved side by side with Kvapil into the homestretch. At the line, Smith edged Kvapil, who had led 67 of 94 laps, by 0.084 seconds for the win.

Kvapil was left in second place, losing an excellent chance to make a major gain in the race for the series championship. Kvapil remained fifth in the standings, picking up 20 points on leader Jesse Love, but Kvapil still trails by 59 markers with only two races remaining in The Chase presented by Mobil 1.

Disappointment was written across Kvapil’s face in the immediate aftermath of the race.

“I think I might have left the bottom open, but I don’t know if it really would have made any difference,” Kvapil said. “I felt like there were more (JR Motorsports) teammates and more momentum up top and that the bottom would really get pinned down. I chose to go to the top there, and I guess it was the wrong move.

“I feel like we (JRM drivers) were super-organized all day and stayed with each other and raced it out right to the end. So, I’m just disappointed for this team.”

WATCH: Allgaier talks about Talladega result

Kvapil, in the front all day, had a good look at the drivers who might challenge him at the end.

“I knew the run was going to come,” Kvapil said. “I saw the 41 (Mayer) peek down there into [Turn 1], and I blocked it, and it pushed me out. Then the guys behind me got side by side. Then I was just kind of out there on my own. I had to make a decision in Turn 3 on what lane I was going to stick with to the end. Hindsight’s 20-20, but I picked the wrong one.”

JR Motorsports’ Allgaier was involved in the chess-like finish as he and his teammates battled for positioning and drafting help.

“I think we all had a different kind of vision of what the last few laps were going to look like,” Allgaier said. “They definitely were different than all of us had drawn up on the playbook. I think we did a really good job today of managing the day as a whole as a company.”

Kvapil, who led 31 straight laps before the final one, wound up being a target of too many challengers after leading for so long.

MORE: O’Reilly Auto Parts Series standings | O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule

“I would have told you seven days a week and twice on Sundays that you would want to be leading coming to the white flag,” Allgaier said. “Obviously, that’s not how it worked out. I thought Sammy and I were probably sitting ducks and that Carson was probably going to be in the catbird’s seat.”

Instead, that seat belonged to Smith, who led only the final lap.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Track: Talladega Superspeedway
Location: Talladega, Alabama
Track length: 2.66 miles
When: 2 p.m. ET
Where to tune in: NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Race purse: $11,233,037
Race distance: 188 laps | 500.08 miles
Stages: 98 | 143 | 188

Sunday’s starting lineup | Pit stall assignments

Chase footing gets shakier at Talladega

TALLADEGA, Ala. — The event that’s loomed on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule as one of the most peril-packed, treacherous and calendar-circled races of the season is finally here. A truckload of uncertainty was bound to hitch its weight to Sunday’s showdown at Talladega Superspeedway, but an even tighter Chase postseason field has made the margin for error that much closer.

Sunday’s YellaWood 500 stands as the last track on this year’s schedule where the effect of the aerodynamic draft plays such an omnipresent role, and where the tendency for field-thinning pileups is at its highest. Against the backdrop of The Chase presented by Mobil 1 and a top seven that’s now separated by just 56 points, the championship battle remains as up for grabs as ever in the eighth of 10 postseason races.

RELATED: Weekend schedule | At-track photos: Talladega

Hall of Fame broadcaster Ken Squier often talked alliteratively about “Calamity Corner,” noting the reputation of Daytona International Speedway’s Turn 4 as a notorious crippler of cars. In recent years at Talladega, those trouble spots seem to lurk at every inch of the 2.66-mile layout, grabbing contenders and underdogs alike at nearly every corner, chute and straight. Trying to establish the best late-season footing presents a potential split in strategies: Try to survive and advance with a more defensive safe-bet approach, or go on offense in a riskier bid for as many points as possible.

“Well, I would say it’s ‘let’s not screw it up’ if we were 40 points ahead. Instead, we’re 44 points behind, and you’ve got to attack at that point,” said three-time Cup champion Joey Logano, who sits sixth in the standings. “We’ve got to get points at every stage, and we’ve got to go out there and be in contention to win this thing. That’s just the facts of where we are. Three races left, 44 back, and you’re sixth. It’s one thing if we were second, 44 back, which we have a lot of cars in front of us we’ve got to pass to do that, too, and it’s close, and it’s very achievable. We definitely can do it, but you can’t afford to be much further back than where we are right now and realistically think we can pull this off.”

Logano ranks among a half-dozen drivers all striving to make more gains on points leader Kyle Larson, whose red-hot Chase start cooled significantly after a problem-plagued race for his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team last weekend at Phoenix Raceway. Tyler Reddick jumped back into the title fray with his sixth victory of the season, and Larson’s 34th-place finish in the desert loosened his grip on The Chase’s top spot. What was a 49-point advantage now stands as just five, with Christopher Bell on his heels.

Larson’s Talladega history may not inspire confidence, with just three top-five outings in 23 career starts here. The two-time Cup champ, however, has the belief that a turnaround could be due.

“I mean, as bad as my results are here, I still look at it as opportunity, for sure, to get out here and have a shot to win,” Larson said. “I feel like we all, every single car in the field, maybe aside from a couple, have a shot to win if things go a certain way. … So, yeah, I mean, I look at it as an opportunity, but also opportunity the other way, if you do get caught up in things and get caught up in a crash. You can really lose a lot of ground here. But yeah, I’m more confident here than I am at Phoenix.”

MORE: Saturday qualifying recap

Working with teammates and manufacturer-allied drivers has long been a name of the game at Talladega, with drafting partnerships and pit-stop plans often paralleling those lines. Though Larson drives the only Chevrolet among the top nine and stands to gain the most factory support, he’s followed by four Toyotas (Bell, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin and Reddick) and two Fords (Logano and Ryan Blaney) — all of whom have their own individual goals on top of the collective automaker-aligned push.

“It’s a difficult balance, but yeah, I’d say if we can populate a lot of the stage points, then we’re still gaining ground on those that aren’t a Toyota,” said 23XI Racing’s Reddick. “So, yeah, I mean, in the moment, it’ll be hard to figure out how that goes. But I think we understand working together is more important than against each other, and we all stand to gain more from that.”

Whether it’s gains or losses, expect the complexion of The Chase to get a major shake-up before heading to Martinsville Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway the next two weeks to close it out.

“I mean, I definitely think we‘ve got to be within striking distance when we leave here, and striking distance is a relative term,” Hamlin says. “But you know, you don’t have to count on competition, the outcome of them. As long as you can continue to control your own destiny by winning out, then it’s still in your hands.”

The Cup Series field roars out of Turn 4 onto the main stretch at Talladega Superspeedway
Chris Graythen | Getty Images

Saving best for last

The unpredictable nature of the drafting style of racing — here, at Daytona International Speedway and EchoPark Speedway — typically yields a late-race exchange for the lead. Oftentimes, it goes as late as it can go, after the white flag unfurls.

Carson Hocevar was the most recent last-lap passer at Talladega, sidestepping white-flag leader Chris Buescher and a host of other challengers. Here’s the who’s who of other late-clinching winners at drafting tracks the last two years.

DateTrackRace winnerTook lead fromLaps left
Aug. 26, 2026DaytonaRyan PreeceZane Smith1
July 12, 2026AtlantaRyan BlaneyCarson Hocevar1
April 26, 2026TalladegaCarson HocevarChris Buescher1
Feb. 22, 2026AtlantaTyler ReddickBubba Wallace2
Feb. 15, 2026DaytonaTyler ReddickCarson Hocevar1
Oct. 19, 2025TalladegaChase BriscoeBubba Wallace1
Aug. 23, 2025DaytonaRyan BlaneyCole Custer1
June 28, 2025AtlantaChase ElliottBrad Keselowski1
April 27, 2025TalladegaAustin CindricRyan Preece1
Feb. 23, 2025AtlantaChristopher BellKyle Larson1
Feb. 16, 2025DaytonaWilliam ByronAustin Cindric1

Speed reads

Race-day essentials:

• Talladega hub: Weekend information, pit stalls, additional results | Read more
• Sunday Setup: Alliances, new spoiler in play for Cup Series crew chiefs | Read more
• Paint Scheme Preview: Fresh designs hitting the Alabama high banks | View gallery
• Neil Paine: Bell, others close in as Larson’s title-favorite edge slips | Read more
• NASCAR Classics: Rewind with full-race replays from the Talladega vault | Watch now
• Power Rankings: Reddick stages a late run with Phoenix triumph | This week’s ranks

Posted on by Holly Cain

TALLADEGA, Ala. —  As Sammy Smith walked away from the interviews and Victory Lane celebrations following an overtime win in Friday night’s NASCAR truck race at Talladega Superspeedway, he smiled and promised there would be no post-race party because he had a race to win Saturday.

And he did just that.

The 22-year-old JR Motorsports driver snapped a 53-race winless streak in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Saturday afternoon with a dramatic last-lap pass in his No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to claim a 0.084-second win over the day’s most dominant driver, his teammate Carson Kvapil in The Progress Group 250, which served as the seventh race of The Chase presented by Mobil 1.

MORE: Race results | At-track photos: Talladega

The checkered flag lap was the only one Smith led all day as he became the first driver to win multiple series races at the famous 2.66-mile high banks since his team owner NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. did it back in April 2003.

And Smith becomes the first non-NASCAR Cup Series driver to sweep both the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and O’Reilly Series races at the same track since the late Greg Biffle at Phoenix Raceway in 2001.

“Man, that was mentally draining, just thank you to everybody,”  Smith said. “It was a great executed race by JRM and we did a good job sticking to our plan with getting those guys [Kvapil’s team] stage points. I’m sure they wanted them to win, but I had a good run there to take it and [spotter] Tyler Green did a great job up top to help me get backed up. Thanks to Jesse [Love] for pushing me.

“Really, I’m just happy for everyone on this No. 8 Chevrolet, it’s been a tough year this year and I’m looking forward to Martinsville next week,” said Smith, who announced this weekend he will be moving to the Truck Series full time in 2027 with Tricon Garage.

Kvapil, whose No. 1 JRM Chevy led a race-best 67 of the 94 laps — including 31 of the last 32 laps — was obviously disappointed in the outcome after such a strong day at the front of the field. He remains fifth in the championship run, however, and cut 20 points out of his deficit to Love, but still trails by 59 points.

“First things first, [crew chief] Rodney [Childers] and all the guys on this entire No. 1 team brought a fast race car and we’ve been if not the best car, one of the best cars at all the speedways this year,” Kvapil said. “So I knew this weekend would be a big opportunity for us to have a big points day and really eat away at that gap. We did our jobs in Stage 1 and 2 and got 19 stage points and put ourselves in position at the end, leading the race.

“You can always sit back, and hindsight is 20-20, but I don’t know. It’s hard to tell who’s going to have the momentum. … I thought overall our organization did a great job of working together better this year.”

Significant to the championship standings, Kvapil outpaced Richard Childress Racing’s Love, who started from pole position for a record fifth consecutive Talladega O’Reilly Series race and rallied to a third-place showing after a challenging afternoon that cut his lead atop the standings. With only a pair of races now remaining in the championship battle, Love’s gap to second-place Justin Allgaier closed from 36 points before the green flag to only 19 points after the checkered flag.

“I was the ‘help,’ which is fine. I realize I was a little stubborn in Stage 1 and 2,” Love said. “… Hats off to JRM and all the Hendrick engine shop cars, they knew what they were doing and executed it very well the whole race. I had zero chance really to do anything.

“You still try, still give it the ole’ college try, but I just realized there probably wasn’t one car out there that was going to push the 2, so I was like, all right, I’ll just play ball and push whoever’s in front of me and see where that puts us at the end. It was definitely a little bit frustrating for sure, but in the middle part of that race if you had told me I was going to finish third, I’d have been jumping up and down in joy.

“Happy to leave here with the [points] lead.”

Allgaier finished fourth on the day, won Stage 2 and cut his deficit to Love heading to next Saturday’s race at Martinsville Speedway — a victory of sorts for the weekend.

“I feel like this is the pace we’ve had all year,” Allgaier said. “We’ve run out front. We’ve just had things out of our control happen and honestly, that’s what makes it weird. I love this [new championship] format even though it’s kinda going against us at the moment. We just haven’t — not by our own accord — had the races go the way we wanted to. We’ve been behind, but days like today are what we need. And we’ve got to go do that next week at Martinsville and the next week at Homestead [season finale]. I’m pumped.”

Haas Factory Team driver Sheldon Creed rounded out the top five with Hendrick Motorsports rookie Corey Day finishing sixth — the top-six drivers among the 12-driver championship field.

Blaine Perkins, Dean Thompson, Chase-eligible Brandon Jones and Anthony Alfredo rounded out the top 10.

The first caution flag for an incident waved on Lap 57 for trouble at the front of the field. Harrison Burton was leading the inside lane when his No. 24 Toyota drifted high on exit. Kvapil dove to his left while Taylor Gray moved down to side draft, leading to contact between Burton and Gray. Gray spun and collected fellow Chase drivers Austin Hill and Jones, but all three remained on track and continued.

Chase contender Parker Retzlaff worked his way well inside the top 10 during Stage 1 after starting 26th. However, his No. 99 Viking Motorsports Chevrolet spun through the Turn 3 grass with five laps remaining in Stage 1, dropping Retzlaff to last place at the stage end, two laps down, as the caution flag was not displayed, his car remaining beneath the racing surface. Retzlaff did earn the free pass to recover one of his laps under the first stage break, then rejoined the lead lap at the conclusion of Stage 2 before ultimately finishing 31st.

Five Chase drivers were eliminated from championship contention on Saturday: Gray, Hill, Jones, Retzlaff and Rajah Caruth. Each of those drivers trail Love by 155 points or more following Saturday’s race, a margin too tall to erase with just two races remaining.

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series returns to action next week in the National Debt Relief 250 at Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 31 (4 p.m. ET, The CW, ESPN Unlimited, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Taylor Gray is the defending fall race winner.

NOTE: Post-race inspection concluded without issue, confirming Smith as the race winner. Points leader Jesse Love and the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing team will lose pit selection at Martinsville Speedway due to multiple pre-race inspection failures. The Nos. 27 and 43 teams will also lose pit selection at Martinsville.

Contributing: Staff report

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR’s largest oval awaits the Cup Series with just three races to go as Sunday’s Chase race at Talladega Superspeedway (2 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) could produce many surprises from who heads to Victory Lane and who will see their championship hopes dashed.

Five of the last six winners at the 2.66-mile behemoth are currently in the 16-driver Chase presented by Mobil 1 and for Cup, there’s a current pattern of winners by manufacturer. In the last seven races, it’s been: Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota, Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota and Chevrolet. With the superspeedway strength of Team Penske and RFK Racing, can Ford keep the trend going this weekend?

RELATED: Starting lineup | At-track photos: Talladega

Kyle Larson heads to Talladega with just a five-point advantage over Christopher Bell, and seven drivers are within 56 points of each other for the championship. A big swing is bound to happen and both the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports driver and No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing driver are seeking their first Talladega victories. Meanwhile, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick are all past winners at the Alabama track.

Read on to see drivers worth monitoring over 188 laps at Talladega, as well as Racing Insights’ full projected results for the YellaWood 500.

DRIVERS TO WATCH

TYLER REDDICK: Not many Sharpie’d the No. 45 23XI Racing driver to triumph at Phoenix Raceway entering The Chase, but that’s what Reddick did and his championship hopes are still alive after scoring his sixth win of 2026. Reddick won the 2024 spring race at Talladega and has been an animal on superspeedways in 2026 — winning the first two races of the year at the Daytona 500 and EchoPark Speedway, and finishing no worse than 14th in five superspeedway races this season. He’s tallied 233 points at such tracks this year, the most among all Cup drivers. With teammate Bubba Wallace not within 100 points of the title battle, Reddick could get the help needed to push him another step closer to a miracle championship rally.

CARSON HOCEVAR: By way of most drivers unlikely to work with the fiery, assertive young phenom, it will be an uphill battle for the No. 77 Spire Motorsports driver to sweep the season at Talladega. Despite crashing twice at Daytona this season, Hocevar has scored the second most superspeedway points this season among Cup drivers with 169. Highlighted by his memorable ‘Dega win, Hocevar placed inside the top five in both EchoPark events — showcasing his skill to race through the pack to the front. With the updated rules package this weekend, Hocevar could transfer over what makes him good at the Georgia track to the state bordering west.

RYAN PREECE: The No. 60 RFK Racing driver is entering the weekend with house money. He’s last in points among Chase drivers ahead of Sunday so expect the RFK trio to be aggressive in playing spoiler (no pun intended) with a good crop of superspeedway drivers in Preece, Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski. Preece hit the walk-off of the 2026 season — overcoming a 31-point deficit in the Daytona regular-season finale to take his first career Cup checkered flag and punch his ticket to The Chase. Preece is tied with Blaney for third in most points scored on superspeedways this year (163), and while The Chase hasn’t provided eye-popping results for the No. 60 team, Sunday could mark another massive upset for Preece to garner momentum heading into the offseason.

FULL PROJECTED RESULTS FOR YELLAWOOD 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC)

POSITIONNUMBER DRIVER
15Kyle Larson
245Tyler Reddick
320Christopher Bell
419Chase Briscoe
577Carson Hocevar
654Ty Gibbs
79Chase Elliott
823Bubba Wallace
97Daniel Suárez
1022Joey Logano
111Ross Chastain
1211Denny Hamlin
1348Alex Bowman
1424William Byron
1517Chris Buescher
162Austin Cindric
1797Shane van Gisbergen
1860Ryan Preece
1912Ryan Blaney
206Brad Keselowski
213Austin Dillon
2247Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2338Zane Smith
2434Todd Gilliland
2521Josh Berry
2671Michael McDowell
2733Austin Hill
2843Erik Jones
2941Cole Custer
3010Ty Dillon
3188Connor Zilisch
324Noah Gragson
3342John Hunter Nemechek
3416AJ Allmendinger
3551Cody Ware
3635Riley Herbst
3778Daniel Dye
3844Joey Gase
3962Casey Mears
4066Gray Gaulding
Posted on by Mike Hembree

TALLADEGA, Ala. — As if trying to win races and score piles of points at Talladega Superspeedway isn’t dizzying enough, the potential drama associated with swapping positions in the crowded draft should rise a level in Sunday’s YellaWood 500.

The battle for the NASCAR Cup Series championship is realistically down to seven drivers, with Kyle Larson holding only a five-point lead in first place and Tyler Reddick, the seventh-place driver, only 56 points behind. In between are Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano.

The grand theater can be found in the mix: four Toyotas, two Fords, one Chevrolet. The scramble for top positions at the end of the first two stages and, of course, at the checkered flag could be epic, and the concept of “risk versus reward” could take on a new dynamic.

RELATED: Weekend schedule | At-track photos: Talladega

Larson is the loner in this scenario. While the four Toyota drivers — Bell, Briscoe, Hamlin and Reddick — and Ford’s Logano and Blaney will be in the somewhat uncomfortable position of both trying to help each other in the draft and also beating each other for stage points and the race win, Larson potentially could benefit from unrestricted help from fellow Chevrolet drivers who aren’t in the championship mix.

“That’s a real thing,” said Adam Stevens, Bell’s crew chief. “That’s something that we’re going to have to battle against, and it’s a one-horse race over there (with Chevrolet). And they have the resources to put toward it. So, if it comes down to group decision-making, we’re at a disadvantage, for sure.”

Larson could use the help. In 58 races on drafting tracks, he is 0-for-forever in the win column. He approaches Sunday saying being aware of the situation lap by lap is a key, for himself and potential drafting partners.

“I’m not asking for people to go out of their way, move over, anything like that,” he said. “I think just the awareness is always good, which I feel like there’s been that throughout The Chase already. It’s been going on for a handful of weeks where I feel like I’ve been cut a lot of breaks from other Chevy cars, which has been much appreciated.

“But then, on the Talladega side of things, it’s always easy to have a plan, but it’s always difficult to replicate your plan on the race track. So, again, just the awareness is all for me.”

Drafting in the modern era at Talladega is always a potentially divisive subject. Teammates are supposed to help each other. Manufacturer mates are supposed to play well together. You block for me, I’ll block for you. Often it works; sometimes it doesn’t, and in spectacular ways. Pre-race plans usually dissolve in the final lap or two, when it’s everyone for himself.

Add in the tightness of The Chase presented by Mobil 1, and there could be issues.

“Blaney and us need to score as many points as possible, right?” said Paul Wolfe, Logano’s crew chief. “I think everyone’s mindful of that and trying to work toward that goal. At this point in the season, everyone’s in a little different situation depending on where they are in the point standings and what they’re trying to accomplish.

“I think everyone has typically done a good job from the Ford side to try to help out the guys that are in The Chase, and we’re expecting that’s how it will look Sunday, as well. The Toyotas always seem like they don’t always look super-aligned, but they have a lot more cars up in the top five.”

For Chasers who, like Logano and Blaney, are somewhat down the list, use of the “go” button near the end of stages might change, particularly if crashes trim the field.

“If something happens early that collects a bunch of cars, then that may look different,” Wolfe said. “We’ll be fairly aggressive trying to score those points because that’s a must if we’re going to have a realistic shot at this. You have to be up there and willing to take that risk versus riding around and trying to stay out of trouble. That’s not really an option for us.”

There’s yet another factor for this Talladega visit with NASCAR’s decision to trim the cars’ rear spoiler from 4 inches to 3.5 inches in an attempt to spice competition. Across the garage, expectations are limited.

“We’ll adjust our balance a little for it, but, in the grand scheme of things, we’re not expecting a big impact,” Wolfe said. “I don’t know that the difference is going to be night and day. But it’s not a negative.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe will start from the same position he finished last year’s Talladega Superspeedway fall classic – in front.

The 31-year-old driver of the No. 19 JGR Toyota earned the pole position for Sunday’s YellaWood 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with a fast lap of 186.065 mph around the famed 2.66-mile high banks during Saturday time trials. The mark is the fastest NASCAR Cup Series pole speed at the track – by a significant 3 mph – since 2021.

MORE: Starting lineup | At-track photos: Talladega

It is Briscoe’s first pole of 2026 and comes at a crucial point in the season for the Indiana native, who sits third in the championship standings, only 24 points behind leader Kyle Larson, with three races remaining in The Chase presented by Mobil 1 to decide the season trophy.

Briscoe was next-to-last to take the track among the 10 second-round qualifiers – and he ultimately bested Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill’s No. 33 Chevrolet by a slight 0.032 seconds.

“Obviously have a great starting spot tomorrow for our Toyota, but who knows what to expect with the handling and obviously that first run is all about fuel saving, so we’ll probably have our blinker on pretty early to not have the lead, but we’ll see how it plays out,” said Briscoe, who has three victories this season, including two of the last three races coming to Talladega (at Las Vegas and Charlotte).

It’s Briscoe’s fourth straight top-four starting position, and claiming pole position this weekend is particularly important for his team’s morale.

“Definitely from a pride standpoint there’s a lot that goes into just all the little tiny details that add up,” said Briscoe, who earned seven poles last year and now has 10 in his career. “Stack enough of those together and just the pride that comes from that from the guys goes a long way, the confidence.”

Trackhouse Racing teammates Connor Zilisch and Shane Van Gisbergen will share the second row – third and fourth fastest in time trials. Championship-eligible drivers Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher and JGR’s Christopher Bell will start sixth and seventh.

Hendrick’s Alex Bowman and Chase drivers JGR teammates Ty Gibbs and Denny Hamlin and Hendrick’s Larson rounded out the top 10.

Ten of the 16 Chase drivers will start outside the top 10, with some faring fine and others slated for an uphill climb. The best of those was Spire Motorsports’ Daniel Suárez, wo will start 13th. Three-time Cup champion and three-time Talladega winner Joey Logano will start 16th, ahead of fellow Chase competitors William Byron (17th), Chase Elliott (18th) and Ryan Preece (19th).

Bubba Wallace will start 25th ahead of Carson Hocevar (26th), Ryan Blaney (27th) and Austin Cindric (28th).

Tyler Reddick, winner of last week’s race at Phoenix Raceway, was the slowest qualifier of those in The Chase and will start 33rd in the 40-car field on Sunday.

Larson enters with a five-point lead in The Chase over Bell. Briscoe (minus-24), Hamlin (minus-31), Blaney (minus-40), Logano (minus-44) and Reddick (minus-56) each enter in the thick of the championship hunt with three races remaining.

There have been 12 different race winners in the last 12 Talladega races. Hamlin is the last polesitter to win the race – doing so in October 2020.  Since 2008, the pole winner has gone on to win in the NASCAR Cup Series at the track only twice.

Contributing: Staff report

Posted on by Mike Hembree

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Chase Elliott’s decision to remove his name from the National Motorsports Press Association’s NASCAR Most Popular Driver voting was spurred by a choice made a quarter-century ago by his father, Bill.

Bill Elliott, one of the most popular drivers in the history of the sport, removed his name from the most popular voting in 2001 after the February death of Dale Earnhardt. Elliott won the award 16 times. Earnhardt, clearly another driver at the top of fan lists across the years, perhaps surprisingly, had not won the official award. He won in 2001.

Chase Elliott has won the award eight consecutive times. He announced this week his decision to remove his name from the ballot and said Saturday he encourages fans to vote for the late Kyle Busch, who died unexpectedly May 21 after a sudden illness.

Voting opened this week.

RELATED: Cast Most Popular Driver votes now!

Chase was six years old in 2001 when his father decided to end his long MPD streak.

“Looking back on that, I just always thought that was a really cool and admirable nod to, frankly, one of his biggest rivals,” Chase said.

Busch won two Cup championships, 63 Cup races and 234 races across NASCAR’s three national series. He enjoyed playing the “villain” role through much of his career but attracted a huge fan base with dynamic driving and repeated successes. He is recognized by many as one of the top wheelmen in stock car racing history.

“He kind of embraced that villain role, and maybe people totally didn’t like him, but they sure did make a lot of noise for him,” Elliott said. “I felt like because of that, and because of a lot of things that I’ve got the chance to see behind the scenes of things that he did for his fans and how much he cared about the sport and his supporters that he deserved to win that vote.”

Elliott stressed that his decision wasn’t based on thinking that Busch might not win the award unless he removed his name from consideration.

“That’s not me saying he wasn’t going to win by any stretch,” Elliott said. “But I do think it’s an opportunity for me to encourage the great supporters that I have and the people that have supported my family over the years and to show that love and that energy to Kyle and his family. He has my vote, and I encourage those out there who want to get involved to show him that same love. It would be a really cool honor for him and his family.”

Elliott called Busch a “game changer” with his racing style and his drive to win at almost all costs.

Chris Buescher said he expects other drivers to get behind the push to honor Busch.

“It just seems like it could be the last little bit of tribute in this season to be able to do that,” he said. “I sense that a lot of our guys will be in for it. Chase stepping up and doing that is probably the biggest start to it to see that unfold.”