Ricky Stenhouse Jr. narrowly defeated Brad Keselowski in a dramatic NASCAR overtime finish, winning the Cup Series’ YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday in Lincoln, Ala.
After a lengthy red-flag period, Stenhouse led Keselowski on the restart, but Keselowski managed to pull ahead in Turn 3 on the final lap. However, a strong push from William Byron provided Stenhouse with the momentum he needed in his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing car, allowing him to edge out Keselowski by just 0.006 seconds. This victory marked Stenhouse’s fourth career win and his first since the 2023 Daytona 500.
Byron’s third-place finish secured him a spot in the Round of 8, while Kyle Larson and Erik Jones rounded out the top five.
Following manufacturer-oriented pit stops with 20 laps to go, Austin Cindric and Stenhouse led the pack, but the race took a chaotic turn on Lap 184 when the Big One struck, leading to the fourth caution and a red flag.
Race leader Cindric, who started the day in last place among the dozen title contenders, was bumped by Keselowski’s Ford after being nudged by Joey Logano, triggering a chain reaction that resulted in a massive backstretch crash involving 28 cars. This incident marked the largest accident in Cup history at Talladega and involved several championship hopefuls, including Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, and Daniel Suarez.
Reigning series champion Ryan Blaney faced his own troubles, wrecking at the end of Stage 2 and finishing 39th, marking his seventh DNF of the 2024 season.
In the second race of the postseason Round of 12, Suarez struggled early, losing positions in the draft. The No. 99 driver attempted to move into the high lane but was clipped by BJ McLeod’s No. 78, resulting in a spin on the backstretch.
With 10 laps remaining in the 60-lap Stage 1 on the 2.66-mile superspeedway, Chris Buescher’s No. 17 Ford surged to the front, narrowly edging out Stenhouse, Byron, and Larson for the top bonus points, as the field maintained a clean race.
Cindric’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford secured the 10 bonus points in Stage 2, but a significant incident occurred on Lap 122 involving his teammates Blaney and Logano. After being nudged by Bowman, Blaney’s No. 12 car veered off Shane van Gisbergen’s inside, crashing nose-first into the frontstretch wall.
Blaney’s wreck was terminal and also involved Chastain, whose No. 1 Chevrolet caught fire in Turn 1, while Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Reddick sustained damage in the chaos.
Source: Field Level Media
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