The Cup Series caps off a triple header weekend with the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway with a full field of 40 cars.
The drivers will make their qualifying runs without the benefit of any practice. There are two rounds of qualifying with the top 10 drivers running round two to set the pole.
Casey Mears is making career NASCAR start 600 this weekend. He will be running the races for the remainder of the season.
There are some Silly Season rumours running around that Daniel Suarez will be taking over the driving duties for the number seven car at Spire Motorsports next season. Corey LaJoie revealed the news on his podcast but there has been no confirmations or other sources.
This is career start number 400 for Kyle Larson.
The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run is Anthony Alfredo whop posted a time of 53.483 seconds.
Cole Custer is the first driver to break the 53 second mark with a time of 52.773 seconds.
Chase Briscoe, Riley Herbst, Josh Berry, Kyle Busch, Michael McDowell, Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney, Ryan Preece, Christopher Bell, and Bubba Wallace will make a second qualifying run to set the pole.
With a time of 52.481 seconds, Michael McDowell puts his number 71 car on the pole with Chase Briscoe alongside on the front row.
The starting lineup for the YellaWood 500:
Michael McDowell
Chase Briscoe – playoffs
Kyle Busch
Austin Cindric
Ryan Preece
Josh Berry
Christopher Bell – playoffs
Ryan Blaney – playoffs
Riley Herbst
Bubba Wallace
Alex Bowman
Cole Custer
William Byron – playoffs
Chris Buescher
Tyler Reddick
Joey Logano – playoffs
Denny Hamlin – playoffs
Ty Gibbs
Kyle Larson – playoffs
Brad Keselowski
Austin Dillon
Justin Haley
Zane Smith
Ross Chastain
Chase Elliott – playoffs
Daniel Suarez
Todd Gilliland
John Hunter Nemechek
Ty Dillon
Erik Jones
Shane van Gisbergen
Carson Hocevar
Austin Hill
AJ Allmendinger
Cody Ware
Noah Gragson
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Anthony Alfredo
BJ McLeod
Casey Mears
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.
There was some rain in the area last night and earlier today; the track has a few “weepers” – spots where water seeps through.
There are no lights at Talladega and the race must end before the sun goes down. NASCAR has given a 6pm cut off time. Should the race still be going on at that time, NASCAR will call for two final laps and the race will end; not matter how many laps remain.
Michael McDowell brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Chase Briscoe alongside before a packed house. Back in the field, Joey Logano jumps out to form a third lane. Michael McDowell and Chase Briscoe are side by side with Josh Berry coming up on the outside to make it a three way battle for the lead.
Lap two, Josh Berry takes the lead from the outside lane up near the wall.
Lap three, the top five are Josh Berry, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch, and Ty Gibbs.
Drivers are three wide through the field with some driver four wide back in the field.
Lap five, the field has gotten four wide!
Kyle Busch takes the lead on the inside lane.
As the lanes shuffle, leaders change with Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace, and Josh Berry.
Lap six, Bubba Wallace leads the race.
Lap seven, the top five are Bubba Wallace, Chase Brisoce, Kyle Busch, Michael McDowell, and Ryan Preece.
Lap nine, Shane van Gisbergen is the fourth car back on the top lane; proving that his oval prowess has massively improved since coming to NASCAR.
Lap 10, Josh Berry is the new leader on the outside lane.
Lap 12, leaders have gotten double file with drivers three and four wide back in the field.
Typical for Talladega, drivers migrate back and forth through the field as the lanes move forward and back.
Lap 14, the top five are Josh Berry, Joey Logano, Shane van Gisbergen, Justin Haley, and Bubba Wallace.
Lap 15, Ryan Preece moves up on the inside to challenge leader Josh Berry.
Lap 16, Ryan Preece takes the lead; Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Josh Berry, and Shane van Gisbergen rounding out the top five.
Lap 18, Kyle Busch is the new leader with Shane van Gisbergen in second; Ryan Preece, Bubba Wallace, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.
Safe with his win at Las Vegas and the first driver in the championship four, Denny Hamlin is riding around near the back of the field.
Lap 21, all 40 drivers are on the track and on the lead lap.
Lap 23, Josh Berry takes the lead.
Lap 26, leaders have gotten single file with Josh Berry leading the way; Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Shane van Gisbergen, and Justin Haley round out the top five.
With at least 60 laps in each stage, the drivers must make a pit stop during the stages.
Kyle Larson is reporting that he is slow.
Lap 30, the drivers have spread out three wide once again with John Hunter Nemechek leading the race.
Lap 31, Josh Berry retakes the lead.
Lap 35, after riding around in the back of the field, Denny Hamlin has worked his way through the field and is now leading the race.
A little over a second separates the entire field.
Lap 38, Brad Keselowski is the new leader.
Lap 43, green flag pit stops begin. Kyle Busch is the new leader.
Chase Briscoe and BJ McLeod were caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty
More drivers make pit stops.
Kyle Busch was caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Lap 46, Brad Keselowski leads the race.
Austin Cindric is the new leader as green flag pit stops continue.
Lap 47, green flag pit stops continue.
Ross Chastain was caught speeding on pit road.
Lap 49, AJ Allmendinger leads the race.
Carson Hocevar had to make an unscheduled trip down pit road with a flat tire.
Ten laps remain in stage one with Noah Gragson leading the race; AJ Allmendinger, Joey Logano, Erik Jones, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.
The caution flag comes out on lap 52 for a wreck involving Chase Elliott, AJ Allmendinger, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Noah Gragson, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Austin Cindric, and Justin Haley. Allmendinger’s car is smoking heavily and on fire. AJ is out of the car and is being assisted to the ambulance.
Joey Logano leads the race.
Some of the drivers come down pit road for service.
Austin Dillon was charged with pitting too soon – while pit road was closed – and will restart the race from the back of the field.
Chase Elliott is in the garage and out of the car.
Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag restart with Ty Gibbs alongside for a two lap shootout to end the stage. Ty Gibbs takes the lead after a push.
Tyler Reddick comes up on the outside to battle with Gibbs for the lead.
Ty Gibbs wins stage one by a nose.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Ty Gibbs
Tyler Reddick
John Hunter Nemechek
Ryan Blaney
Joey Logano
Bubba Wallace
Michael McDowell
Zane Smith
Carson Hocevar
Chrisotpher Bell
Drivers who did not put during the caution come down pit road for service.
Daniel Suarez leads the race.
Out of the care center, AJ Allmendinger said that he is fine, the wreck just knocked the breath out of him; adding that he will be sore tomorrow.
NASCAR is holding Austin Dillon one lap for pitting as the “lucky dog” car.
Ty Dillon brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Chris Buescher alongside on lap 66. Chris Buescher takes the lead with Kyle Busch on his bumper.
Drivers Noah Gragson, Justin Haley, Chase Elliott, AJ Allmendinger, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr are out of the race.
Lap 67, Chris Buescher leads the race with Kyle Busch in second; Josh Berry, Ryan Preece, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.
BJ McLeod takes his car to the garage with a mechanical issue.
Lap 69, Josh Berry takes the lead with Denny Hamlin in second; Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, and Brad Keselowski round out the top five.
Lap 71, BJ McLeod returns to the track.
Kyle Busch battles with Josh Berry for the lead.
Drivers are three wide through the field.
Josh Berry, Kyle Busch, and Riley Herbst battle back and forth for the lead.
Kyle Busch has taken the lead.
Lap 80, drivers have gotten double file with Chase Briscoe leading.
Joey Logano is reporting a gear oil heating issue.
Lap 82, Michael McDowell takes the lead.
Anthony Alfredo comes down from the top lane and barely avoids hitting Michael McDowell.
Kyle Busch is the new leader.
The drivers are running around 190mph, three wide
Michael McDowell retakes the lead.
Ryan Blaney is also reporting some radio issues; he can hear the spotter but the crew has trouble hearing him.
Lap 87, Cody Ware takes the lead.
Lap 88, Kyle Busch retakes the lead in a three wide battle.
Lap 93, Kyle Busch, Cody Ware, and Michael McDowell are in a three wide battle for the lead.
Lap 95, so far 20 drivers in the 40 car field have led at least one lap in today’s race.
Lap 101 Josh Berry leads the race.
Green flag pit stops have begun, Austin Dillon and BJ McLeod were caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Lap 104, Josh Berry and Kyle Busch battle for the lead.
Of the 20 drivers who have lead laps today, Josh Berry and Kyle Busch have led the most.
With 14 laps remaining in stage two, drivers begin their green flag stops. Chase Briscoe leads the race.
Just eleven laps remain in stage two with Chase Briscoe in the lead.
More drivers come down pit road for fuel. Chris Buescher was caught speeding on pit road.
Ten to go, a big group of cars come down pit road. Shane van Gisbergen gets sideways trying to come down pit road when he hits a watery spot and gets stuck in the grass to bring out a caution flag. He taps the back of Christopher Bell on the spin.
Chris Buescher’s passthrough becomes a restart from the back of the field with the caution flag.
Leader Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano are the only drivers who have yet to make a pit stop for fuel.
When Logano and Reddick make their pit stops, Chase Briscoe takes the lead.
Ty Dillon was charged with equipment interference when he runs over a tire in Josh Berry’s pit.
Chase Briscoe brings the field down for the shootout to the end of stage two with Carson Hocevar alongside. Briscoe gets out in front after a push from Kyle Larson.
Drivers are spread out three wide back in the field as patience runs thin.
Kyle Larson moves up on the outside and getting a push from William Byron; Chase Briscoe leads the race.
Chase Briscoe edges out to win stage two.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Chase Briscoe
Kyle Larson
Carson Hocevar
William Byron
Christopher Bell
Ty Gibbs
Ryan Blaney
Todd Gilliland
John Hunter Nemechek
Alex Bowman
Drivers come down pit road for service. Carson Hocevar was caught speeding on pit road.
Ross Chastain leads the race.
Josh Berry takes his car to the garage.
Denny Hamlin needs a push out of his pit stall. He reports some starter issues.
John Hunter Nemechek brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Kyle Busch alongside on lap 127. Nemechek edges out for the lead.
Lap 129, Josh Berry returns to the track. He is also having some gear oil cooling issues.
Joey Logano continues to report gear oil temperature issues. Logano says that he can smell it.
Lap 131, the drivers have mostly gotten single file with a handful of drivers in the lower lane.
Ty Gibbs takes the lead from the lower lane.
Lap 133, Bubba Wallace takes the lead.
Riley Herbst is the new leader.
Daniel Suarez takes the lead. Trackhouse Racing won the Motor GP race in Australia.
With 53 laps to go, Joey Logano leads the race.
Lap 138, drivers have gotten three wide once again.
Josh Berry takes his car to the garage and is out of the race.
Riley Herbst is slowed on the track and makes his way to pit road.
Lap 143, Joey Logano leads the race. He came into the race below the cut line in points.
Teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney lead the race with RFK drivers Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, and Ryan Preece rounding out the top five.
Forty to go, Joey Logano holds on to the lead with teammates Ryan Blaney on his bumper; Ross Chastain, Michael McDowell, and Brad Keselowski round out the top five.
Lap 150, Melon Man Ross Chastain takes the lead shortly before Joey Logano gets back out in front.
Lap 154, Shane van Gisbergen leads the outside lane with Joey Logano leading the race.
With just 32 laps remaining in the race, the final pit stops for fuel should be starting soon.
Leading 30 laps, Joey Logano has led the most laps today.
There have been 25 different leaders in the 40 car field.
Todd Gilliland comes up on the outside to battle with Joey Logano for the lead.
Twenty-five laps to to, Joey Logano leads the race with Todd Gilliland in a battle for the lead.
The caution flag comes out with 23 laps remaining in the race when Cody Ware spins out from fluid on the track. He had slowed the lap prior with a possible engine issue.
Denny Hamlin reports a stuck throttle.
Drivers come down pit road for fuel and service. Many of the drivers are taking fuel only with Ryan Blaney winning the race off of pit road.
William Byron and Bubba Wallace have a close encounter on pit road.
Alex Bowman was charged with coming down pit road too soon. Shane van Gisbergen was caught speeding on pit road.
Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag restart with Todd Gilliland alongside with just 17 laps remaining in the race. Todd Gilliland gets out in front.
Cody Ware and Riley Herbst are out of the race with engine issues.
William Byron’s crew chief reports that they have enough fuel to make it to the end of the race but it will be tight.
Todd Gilliland and Kyle Larson battle for the lead.
Twelve to go, Kyle Larson takes the lead. Larson has never won a race on a drafting track; he is 0 for 52.
The field is three wide with Zane Smith taking the lead from the top lane.
NASCARA has posted Alex Bowman for not making minimum speed. He has one chance to fix the issue or be out of the race.
Todd Gilliland and Zane Smith battle for the lead with 10 laps to go.
Eight to go, Todd Gilliland leads the race.
Seven to go, Chase Briscoe and Kyle Larson battle for the lead.
Five to go, Chase Briscoe leads the race.
Coming from nowhere, William Byron takes the lead with teammate Kyle Larson on his bumper.
Bubba Wallace moves up on the inside to take the lead.
Chris Buescher comes up on the outside lane to battle with William Byron for the lead.
The caution flag comes out just before the white flag when Chris Buescher gets loose and into the wall after contact from William Byron. Carson Hocevar gave Byron a big push that sent Byron into Buescher.
William Byron leads the race.
The race goes into overtime!
Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano make a pit stop for fuel.
William Byron brings the field down for the overtime shootout to the end with Kyle Larson alongside. Byron and Larson go side by side.
Bubba Wallace moves up to battle with Kyle Larson for the lead.
Kyle Larson is out of fuel.
Chase Briscoe takes the lead with Bubba on the outside.
Chase Briscoe wins the race as cars wreck behind him.
Briscoe joins teammate Deny Hamlin in the championship four.
The unofficial results of the YellaWood 500:
Chase Briscoe
Todd Gilliland
Ty Gibbs
Bubba Wallace
Cole Custer
Carson Hocevar
Tyler Reddick
Christopher Bell
Zane Smith
Brad Keselowski
Shane van Gisbergen
Daniel Suarez
Ross Chastain
John Hunter Nemechek
Ryan Preece
Joey Logano
Michael McDowell
Casey Mears
Kyle Busch
Ty Dillon
Anthony Alfredo
Austin Hill
Ryan Blaney
Denny Hamlin
William Byron
Kyle Larson
Austin Dillon
BJ McLeod
Alex Bowman
Chris Buescher
Cody Ware
Riley Herbst
Josh Berry
Austin Cindric
Erik Jones
Noah Gragson
AJ Allmendinger
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Justin Haley
Chase Elliott