After a wild Saturday of racing, the Cup Series caps off a triple header weekend at Talladega Superspeedway with the Yella Wood 500.
Talladega is home to some of the most unpredictable NASCAR racing on the circuit and one of the spots where drivers look to seek satisfaction for perceived wrongs.
During the Camping World Truck Series race on Saturday, fans saw the number three truck driven by Jordan Anderson explode into flames after the engine blew. Anderson exited the truck as it hit the wall. He was attended to by safety workers on the track before being taken to the infield care center by ambulance and then airlifted to a hospital in Birmingham with burns. Anderson later updated his health status saying that he sustained second degree burns to his neck, face, right arm, hands and knees. He was treated and later released from the hospital to travel home.
On Thursday it was announced that after his crash into the wall at Texas Motor Speedway, Alex Bowman was suffering from a concussion and would not be driving the number 48 car in the Talladega race. JR Motorsports driver Noah Gragson has been tapped to take over the driving duties for Bowman. A part time Cup Series driver before he goes full time with Petty GMS Racing next season, Gragson was set to drive the number 62 car at Talladega; as a result of his driving the 48 car, JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier will take over driving duties of the number 62 car.
After making his qualifying run on Saturday morning, Tyler Reddick was heading down pit road toward his pit stall. He initially missed the entry spot and entered his pit stall at a 45 degree angle. A NASCAR official was in the pit stall and when Reddick went to push the brakes they went to the floor…no brakes. He ended up hitting the official and sending her over the pit wall. Fortunately the official suffered only minor injuries.
It has been a rough week for the Hendrick Motorsports number 24 and William Byron. After receiving a penalty for bumping Denny Hamlin during a caution flag; the 24 car failed the inspection process twice on Friday and has lost a crew member for the weekend and the opportunity to select their pit stall. Kaulig Racing’s number 16 car driven by Daniel Hemric and the number 31 car driven by Justin Haley also failed inspection twice and have also lost a crew member and their pit stall selection.
With a qualifying time of 53.026 seconds around the 2.66 mile track, Christopher Bell put his number 20 car on the pole with Kyle Larson starting alongside on the front row.
The starting lineup for the Yella Wood 500:
Christopher Bell
Kyle Larson
Denny Hamlin
Aric Almirola
Chase Briscoe
Ross Chastain
Noah Gragson
Tyler Reddick
William Byron
Ty Gibbs
Joey Logano
Erik Jones
Daniel Hemric
Daniel Suarez
Harrison Burton
Chase Elliott
Austin Cindric
Brad Keselowski
Ryan Blaney
Austin Dillon
Justin Haley
Martin Truex Jr
Chris Buescher
Kevin Harvick
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Kyle Busch
Bubba Wallace
Cole Custer
Michael McDowell
Ty Dillon
Justin Allgaier
Corey LaJoie
Landon Cassill
Todd Gilliland
BJ McLeod
JJ Yeley
Cody Ware
Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, and BJ McLeod will all have to start the race from the back of the field after crews made some unapproved adjustments to the cars. Bubba Wallace will start the race form the back of the field after the crew made an engine change.
Stages one and two of the race are 60 laps each with stage three lasting 68 laps for a total of 188 laps around the 2.66 mile track. The drivers will have to make pit stops during all three stages with a fuel window of 40 to 45 laps.
Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag start of the race on a windy afternoon from the inside lane and jumps out in front but Kyle Larson comes up to make it a side by side battle for the lead before Larson takes the lead.
Aric Almirola takes the lead from the outside lane.
Ross Chastain battles Aric Almirola for the lead but Almirola holds him off…for now.
Lap two, Aric Almirola leads the race with Ross Chastain in second; Kyle Larson, Erik Jones, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.
Lap three, Ross Chastain takes the lead after a battle with Aric Almirola.
Lap four, the battle for the lead continues between Ross Chastain and Aric Almirola with the two swapping back and forth.
Lap six, Ross Chastain has the lead with Aric Almirola and Erik Jones battling for second; Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell round out the top five.
Lap seven, Aric Almirola retakes the lead with Kyle Larson in second; Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
The first caution flag of the race comes out on lap seven for debris. The right side window on Ty Dillon’s car blows out.
Several drivers come down pit road for service. They cannot finish the stage on a single fuel load but will make the time required to fuel the car shorter on the next stop.
After staying out on the track, Ross Chastain brings the field down for the green flag restart of the race on lap 12 with Erik Jones alongside. Chastain takes the lead with Daniel Suarez in second; Christopher Bell, Erik Jones, and Aric Almirola round out the top five.
Lap 13, Ross Chastain and Erik Jones battle for the lead; Aric Almirola, Daniel Suarez, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Lap 14, after starting the race back in the pack, Kyle Busch has entered the top 10.
Erik Jones leads the race with Ross Chastain in second; Aric Almirola, Daniel Suarez, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Lap 16, Ross Chastain and Erik Jones continue to battle for the lead; swapping it back and forth; Aric Almirola, Daniel Suarez, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Lap 18, Erik Jones is the leader with Ross Chastain in second; Aric Almirola, Daniel Suarez, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Lap 19, Bubba Wallace had to start the race from the back of the field after the crew made an engine change. He is now up to 22nd place.
Lap 23, the caution flag comes out for a crash involving Harrison Burton, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Ty Gibbs, Justin Haley, Noah Gragson, and Justin Allgaier.
Drivers come down pit road for fuel and adjustments. Kyle Busch wins the race off of pit road after taking fuel only. He was one of several drivers to take only fuel.
Noah Gragson has made multiple trips down pit road for repairs.
Kyle Busch brings the field down for the green flag restart with Daniel Suarez alongside on lap 31. Getting a push from Ryan Blaney Kyle Busch edges out for the lead but Chase Elliott is pushing Daniel Suarez to put Suarez in the lead.
Lap 32, Daniel Suarez leads the race with Chase Elliott in second.
Chase Elliott moves down to the inside lane and gets a push from Kyle Busch to take the lead.
Lap 32, Chase Elliott leads the race with Kyle Busch in second; Ryan Blaney, Daniel Suarez, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.
Harrison Burton and Ty Gibbs are out of the race with Justin Allgaier one lap down. The remainder of the field are on the lead lap.
Lap 34, Chase Elliott leads the race with Kyle Busch in second; Daniel Suarez, Ryan Blaney, and Aric Almirola round out the top five.
Lap 35, Daniel Suarez takes the lead with Aric Almirola in second; Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five. A group of drivers have dropped back from the lead pack.
Lap 36, Aric Almirola takes the lead with Denny Hamlin in second.
Denny Hamlin takes the lead on the outside lane with Aric Almirola in second.
Lap 37, Aric Almirola retakes the lead but Denny Hamlin moves up on the outside to retake the lead.
William Byron is behind Denny Hamlin and giving him a push.
Lap 38, Aric Almirola retakes the lead.
Lap 41, Denny Hamlin is back out in front with the lead; William Byron, Aric Almirola, Daniel Suarez, and Cole Custer round out the top five.
Lap 43, Aric Almirola comes up on the inside to battle with Denny Hamlin for the lead.
Lap 44, the top five are Aric Almirola, Daniel Suarez, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, and William Byron.
The third caution flag comes out when Corey LaJoie gets into a single car crash with a flat tire. The right side of his car has significant damage after brushing along the wall. LaJoie is out of the race.
Justin Allgaier is the “luck dog” and is back on the lead lap.
Some of the drivers come down pit road for service; while others stay out on the track.
Harrison Burton has been released from the infield care center and said that he is fine.
Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag restart from the outside stage with William Byron alongside on lap 50. Hamlin comes down and takes the lead and is getting a push from William Byron; Cole Custer, Aric Almirola, and Daniel Suarez round out the top five.
Ten laps remain in stage one; Cole Custer leads the race with Denny Hamlin in second; Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
Lap 52, Cole Custer and Denny Hamlin battle for the lead. Hamlin edges out for the lead with William Byron in second.
With seven laps remaining in stage one, the outside lane has reformed and trying to move toward the front with Chase Elliott leading the lane with Kyle Busch pushing.
Five laps remain in stage one, William Byron jumped out in front of Chase Elliott and passed Denny Hamlin for the lead.
Denny Hamlin passes William Byron to retake the lead with Chase Elliott in second.
Three laps to go in stage one, Denny Hamlin leads the pack from the outside lane with Chase Elliott in second; Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, and Joey Logano round out the top five.
In a three wide battle, Ryan Blaney wins stage one by less than two feet.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Ryan Blaney
Denny Hamlin
Chase Elliott
Austin Cindric
Joey Logano
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Kyle Busch
Kyle Larson
Noah Gragson
Erik Jones
Drivers come down pit road for service. Ryan Blaney is having window net issues again and will have the issue fixed on pit road. Taking only two tires, Kyle Larson wins the race off of pit road.
Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 66 with Erik Jones alongside. Getting a push from Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones battle with Kyle Larson for the lead; Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.
Lap 67 Ryan Blaney takes the lead from Erik Jones; Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, and Michael McDowell round out the top five.
Lap 68 Ryan Blaney is the leader with Kevin Harvick pushing; Michael McDowell, Erik Jones, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
Lap 69, Ryan Blaney holds on to the lead and getting a good push from Kevin Harvick, Erik Jones, Kyle Busch, and Brad Keselowski round out the top five.
Lap 71, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney battle for the lead. Ryan Blaney leads the race with Erik Jones in second pushing; Brad Keselowski is in third.
Lap 73, drivers are beginning to bail out of the pack; saying that things are getting too wild.
Lap 73, Erik Jones leads the race with Kyle Busch in second; Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick, and Michael McDowell round out the top five.
Lap 74, Aric Almirola takes the lead with Kevin Harvick in second; Erik Jones, Todd Gilliland, and Cole Custer round out the top five.
Lap 76, Aric Almirola leads the race with Kevin Harvick in second; Todd Gilliland, Cole Custer, and Erik Jones round out the top five.
Lap 77, Todd Gilliland takes the lead.
Lap 80, Aric Almirola leads the race with Erik Jones in second; Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Michael McDowell round out the top five.
Lap 82, all 33 cars on the track are on the lead lap.
Aric Almirola leads the race with Kevin Harvick in second; Todd Gilliland, Kyle Larson, and Erik Jones round out the top five.
BJ McLeod goes one lap down.
Lap 85, leaders have gotten single file with Aric Almirola leading the race; Kevin Harvick, Todd Gilliland, Kyle Larson, and Erik Jones round out the top five.
Kevin Harvick’s crew chief Rodney Childers is working his 600th race today.
After several weeks of bad luck and DNF’s, NBC Sports reports that Kyle Busch is quiet on the radio and very happy with his car which is currently in sixth place.
Lap 89, Aric Almirola continues to lead the race; Kevin Harvick, Todd Gilliland, Kyle Larson, and Erik Jones round out the top five.
Lap 92, Aric Almirola continues to lead the race on the inside lane. Ross Chastain leads the pack on the outside lane back in seventh place.
The drivers use hand signals to let each other know when they are slowing to come down pit road or to back off on a push; Chase Briscoe reports that he cannot see those hand signals.
Ryan Blaney is reporting some kind of issue with his car; he feels like there is some damage to the car.
Lap 96, drivers are beginning to position themselves for a green flag pit stop.
Lap 97, the top five continues to be Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick, Todd Gilliland, Kyle Larson, and Erik Jones./
Lap 98, drivers are beginning to make green flag pit stops
Lap 99, more drivers come down pit road; Christopher Bell spins coming down pit road. The crew had planned to make a fuel only stop but had to change to a four tire change after the spin.
Christopher Bell was caught speeding on pit road when he spun out. Under green flag conditions a speeding penalty means a drive through penalty.
Lap 101, the Chevys make their green flag pit stops.
Lap 102,More drivers make their pit stops. Reports are that Tyler Reddick does not have fourth gear.
Lap 103, the final group makes their green flag pit stops – the leaders. Tyler Reddick is the new leader.
Lap 104, green flag pit stops have cycled through; Tyler Reddick leads the race with Daniel Suarez, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Ross Chastain rounding out the top five.
Lap 108, Tyler Reddick leads the race with Daniel Suarez in second; Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.
Lap 110, only four of the top 10 drivers are in the playoffs – Daniel Suarez, Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott.
Lap 111, Tyler Reddick leads the race with Kyle Larson coming up on the inside to take the lead.
Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick are side by side in a battle for the lead.
Lap 112, Kyle Larson leads the race with Tyler Reddick in second; Chase Elliott Daniel Suarez, and Justin Haley round out the top five.
Lap 114, there are 29 cars on the lead lap with Tyler Reddick back out in front with Daniel Suarez and Kyle Larson battling for second.
Lap 115, Chase Elliott pushes Kyle Larson on the inside lane to pass Tyler Reddick for the lead.
Lap 117, Kyle Larson leads the race with Tyler Reddick in second.
Lap 117, Tyler Reddick gets back out in front after a push from Daniel Suarez; Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Lap 119, Kyle Larson retakes the lead on the inside lane after a push form Chase Elliott.
Tyler Reddick gets pushed out and it becomes a battle between Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson in a battle for the lead.
Chase Elliott wins stage two.
Tyler Reddick makes an unscheduled trip down pit road out of fuel even though pit road is closed.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Chase Elliott
Justin Haley
Kyle Larson
Daniel Suarez
Erik Jones
Ross Chastain
Landon Cassill
Chris Buescher
Daniel Hemric
Chase Briscoe
Drivers come down pit road for service and to pack the fuel cell. The right side tires on Erik Jones’ car showed some troubling signs of cording.
Chase Elliott brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 127 and edges out for the lead with Erik Jones on the outside.
Erik Jones takes the lead.
Lap 128, Chris Buescher comes up form the outside to take the lead with William Byron in second; Erik Jones, Chase Elliott, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.
There are 30 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 129, Ross Chastain is the new leader with Ryan Blaney in second; Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Lap 132, watermelon man Ross Chastain leads the race with Denny Hamlin moving up to battle for the lead; Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney, and Brad Keselowski round out the top five.
Denny Hamlin takes the lead.
Lap 133, Ross Chastain comes up from the out side lane to take the lead. It is the 47th lead change so far – the most this season.
Lap 135, Ross Chastain continues to lead the race from the outside lane with Ryan Blaney in second; Brad Keselowski, Todd Gilliland, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.
Fifty to go, Ross Chastain leads the race with Ryan Blaney in second; Brad Keselowski, Todd Gilliland, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five with Kyle Busch in sixth.
Lap 143, Ross Chastain continues to lead the race with Ryan Blaney in second. Denny Hamlin leads the bottom lane form seventh.
Lap 148, Ross Chastain leads the race but Denny Hamlin on the inside lane has begun to move up to challenge Chastain for the lead.
Lap 149, the top five are Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Todd Gilliland, and Denny Hamlin.
Lap 152, Ross Chastain holds on to the lead with Ryan Blaney in second; Brad Keselowski, Todd Gilliland, Denny Hamlin, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.
Denny Hamlin is gaining some steam to move up from the inside lane.
Ross Chastain drops to the inside lane and battle with Ryan Blaney for the lead.
Lap 154, Ryan Blaney takes the lead.
With 35 laps remaining in the race, the drivers are now within their pit window to make it to the end of the race on a single load of fuel.
Lapa 155, after a big push, Ross Chastain moves up to battle with Ryan Blaney for the lead; but so far Blaney holds on to the spot.
Lap 158, most of the field has gotten single file on the inside as they prepare to make their final pit stops with Ryan Blaney leading the way.
Lap 160, the top five are Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Todd Gilliland, Kevin Harvick, and Ross Chastain.
Lap 161, the first group of drivers come down pit road for service including leader Ryan Blaney. Denny Hamlin is the new leader. Several of the drivers are taking fuel only.
Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick were caught speeding on pit road.
The remainder of the field come down pit road for service on pit road. Kyle Larson is the new leader.
Kyle Larson leads the race from the inside lane but Ryan Blaney followed by a train of cars on the outside retakes the lead.
Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick come down pit road for their green flag speeding penalty.
Lap 164, Ryan Blaney leads the race with Ross Chastain in second; Erik Jones, Todd Gilliland, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.
Drivers are getting three and four wide across the track.
Just 23 laps remaining in the race, there are 30 cars on the lead lap but no cars just one lap down.
Lap 166, Ryan Blane leads the race with Ross Chastain in second; Todd Gilliland, Erik Jones, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.
With 19 laps to go, there has been 52 lead changes so far. Ryan Blaney leads the race with Ross Chastain in second; Erik Jones, Todd Gilliland, and Michael McDowell round out the top five.
With 18 to go, Erik Jones takes the lead.
Seventeen to go, Ryan Blaney moves down to the inside lane in front of Ross Chastain to hold on to the lead.
Ryan Blaney’s crew reports that they are right on the edge of having enough fuel to make it to the end of the race.
Fifteen to go, Ryan Blaney leads the race with Ross Chastain in second; Todd Gilliland, Erik Jones, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.
With 13 to go, the leaders are approaching slower traffic including Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick who are out of the draft after serving a pass through penalty for speeding.
Eleven to go, the top eight drivers in the outside lane are single file.
Ten to go, Ryan Blaney leads the race with Ross Chastain in second; Todd Gilliland, Erik Jones, and Michael McDowell round out the top five. The inside lane led by Erik Jones is slowly working its way forward to challenge the leader.
Erik Jones passes Ryan Blaney for the lead with Michael McDowell on his bumper.
Nine to go, the outside lane moves forward but Erik Jones moves up in front of the outside lane.
After moving back down to the inside lane, Erik Jones battles with Ryan Blaney for the lead.
Seven to go, Erik Jones takes the inside lane to the front.
Daniel Hemric is sitting at the end of pit road and brings out the caution flag with just six laps remaining in the race. NASCAR has deemed it an unsafe condition to have Hemric exit the car under green flag conditions. Safety crews have a small fire in the grass they put out.
Drivers are shutting their engines off on caution laps to save fuel. A few drivers from the back of the field come down pit road to top off their tanks.
Erik Jones brings the field down for the final two laps of the race with Ryan Blaney on the inside lane. The drivers are looking for Michael McDowell and Ross Chastain to push them to victory. Ryan Blaney gets out in front after a push from Michael McDowell.
Chase Elliott comes up on the outside lane with Erik Jones behind him for a battle for the lead.
Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney are side by side at the white flag.
Chase Elliott gets out in front as the driver spread out four and five wide across the track.
Chase Elliott wins the race! The sireeen will be blasting in Dawsonville tonight!!! Chase Elliott has secured himself a spot in the next round of the playoffs and is the first playoff driver to win a race since the beginning of the playoffs. This is Elliott’s fifth win of the season.
In the post race interview, Marty Snider asked Chase about the win and Erik Jones. Chase’s first remarks were about the fans and thanking them for coming; saying they are what makes it special for him.
The unofficial results of the Yella Wood 500:
Chase Elliott
Ryan Blaney
Michael McDowell
Ross Chastain
Denny Hamlin
Erik Jones
Todd Gilliland
Daniel Suarez
Austin Cindric
Chase Briscoe
Landon Cassill
William Byron
Austin Dillon
Aric Almirola
Justin Haley
Bubba Wallace
Christopher Bell
Kyle Larson
Noah Gragson
Kyle Busch
Cole Custer
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ty Dillon
Brad Keselowski
Chris Buescher
Martin Truex Jr
Joey Logano
Tyler Reddick
Kevin Harvick
Justin Allgaier
JJ Yeley
Cody Ware
BJ McLeod
Daniel Hemric
Corey LaJoie
Harrison Burton
Ty Gibbs