Entry List

YellaWood 500

Sunday, October 3rd, 2021

Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, AL

  • 15 Ford
  • 6 Toyota
  • 19 Chevrolet

  • Talladega Superspeedway
  • YellaWood 500
  • Pole Winner: Denny Hamlin
  • Age: 40
  • Team: No. 11 - FedEx Express Toyota
  • Owner: Joe Gibbs Racing
  • Crew Chief: Chris Gabehart
  • Start positions set by NASCAR's Performance Metrics Qualifying (PMQ).
  • Denny Hamlin won the Pole Award for the YellaWood 500 by having the highest total PMQ.
  • PMQ is a total number calculated on four performance metrics from the previous race:
  • 15% of the driver's fastest lap time position.
  • 25% of the driver's final race finish position.
  • 25% of the owner's final race position.
  • 35% of the Owner Points position.

  • Monday, October 4th, 2021
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer
Bubba Wallace scores historic triumph in rain-shortened NASCAR Cup race at Talladega

An opportune caution and a sudden rain shower helped make Bubba Wallace the second African-American driver ever to win a NASCAR Cup Series race.

Wallace held the lead in Monday's rain-delayed YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway when Ryan Preece turned into the outside wall off the bumper of Chris Buescher's Ford to cause the fifth caution of the event.

As the cars circled under the yellow, rain drenched the 2.66-mile race track. NASCAR brought the cars to pit road on Lap 118 of a scheduled 188. After another shower thwarted track-drying attempts, NASCAR called the race and declared Wallace the winner.

Wallace is the first black driver to win a race in NASCAR's premier series since Wendell Scott took the checkered flag at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Fla., on Dec. 1, 1963.

It was the first victory for 23XI Racing, a team that debuted this year with driver Denny Hamlin and Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan as co-owners. Drivers outside the respective Playoffs won all three Talladega races in NASCAR's top three divisions this week. All were first-time winners.

Wallace's victory came at the same track where the sport came together to support him after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and after a noose—later found not to be directed at Wallace—was discovered in his garage stall.

"Man, I'm just so proud of everyone at 23XI," Wallace said. "New team coming in and getting a win late in the season. I know a lot of history was made today, I believe, which is really cool, but it's about our guys, about our team, about what was done.

"I appreciate Michael Jordan, I appreciate Denny for believing in me and giving me the opportunity… It's pretty fitting that it comes here at Talladega."

Wallace was choked up when asked about the historic significance of his achievement.

"I never think about those things, and when you say it like that, it obviously brings a lot of emotions, a lot of joy to my family, fans, friends… You've got to stay true to your path and not let the nonsense get to you and stay strong, stay humble, stay hungry.

"There've been plenty of times when I wanted to give up. You surround yourself with the right people, and moments like this that you appreciate."

Team Penske drivers Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano improved their chances of transferring into the Round of 8 in the Playoff with second- and third-place finishes. Kurt Busch was fourth, followed by Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, Hamlin and Kevin Harvick.

The wreck that ultimately made a winner of Wallace severely damaged the Playoff hopes of William Byron, whose Chevrolet was collected by the spinning car of Preece. Byron was relegated to 36th in the finishing order and likely will need a victory in Sunday's Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte to advance to the Round of 8.

"He (Preece) was just coming down the track, and I was kind of trying to run a third lane," Byron said of the wreck. "Just part of Talladega. We'll go to the Roval, try to win that one and advance that way."

Byron was the last of three Hendrick Motorsports drivers to get swept up in an accident. Kyle Larson was the first. By the time the first sudden rain shower of the day darkened the asphalt in Turns 1 and 2 and forced a stoppage on Lap 74, Larson's fortunes already had taken a turn for the worse.

A strong push from Byron's Chevrolet turned Justin Allgaier's Camaro sideways as the cars thundered through the tri-oval on Lap 56. Allgaier shot up the track into Larson's Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, severely damaging the front suspension and the sheet metal on the driver's side of the car.

Larson was able to make minimum speed after a restart on Lap 65. The caution for the five-car wreck that crippled Larson's car also encompassed the end of Stage 1, won by non-Playoff driver Chris Buescher.

On Lap 67, Larson shredded his right front tire, which was cocked at an angle toward the outside wall when he resumed racing. He lost three laps on pit road and fell to 39th in the running order as his crew made frantic repairs.

Attrition elevated Larson to 37th at the finish, but he lost the security he had as a six-time winner in the series this year. The regular-season champion leaves Talladega second in the standings but just 22 points above the current cutoff for the Round of 8.

A multicar chain-reaction wreck after the resumption of the action brought an early end to Alex Bowman's afternoon. On Lap 98, Chase Elliott pushed the Chevrolet of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. into the rear bumper of Bowman's Chevy, turning the No. 48 Camaro into the outside wall and out of the race.

"The 9 (Elliott) just shoved me one last time there, and it got the 48 loose," Stenhouse radioed to his team.

Bowman was fighting for the race lead when he was turned by the contact from Stenhouse's car.

"Yeah, just dumped over on the left rear and turned us around really bad," Bowman said. "Bummer for the Ally 48 team. We had a fast car; we were leading there. That's just superspeedway racing and the box that we're put in by these racetracks. You'll have that. Bummed to have torn up race car, but we'll move on and try to go win the Roval."

Kyle Busch was another victim of the Lap 98 wreck, but the two-time Cup champion remains nine points above the current cut line—tied with defending champion Chase Elliott—heading to the Round of 12 elimination race on Sunday at the Charlotte Roval.

Harvick is nine points below the cutoff, with Bell 28 points in arrears and Byron and Bowman 44 and 52 points on the outside, respectively.

  • Drivers Entered: 40
  • Laps Scheduled: 267
  • Laps Actual: 117 - Race Shortened
  • Margin of Victory: Under Caution Seconds
  • Time of Race: 2 Hours 23 Minutes 24 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 130.218
  • Cautions: 5 for 27 laps
  • Lead Changes: 35
  • Green Flag Passes: 8,852 (98.4 passes per green flag lap)

  • Talladega Superspeedway
  • 53rd Annual YellaWood 500
  • Race Winner: Bubba Wallace
  • Age: 27
  • Team : No. 23 - McDonald's Toyota
  • Owner: Michael Jordan
  • Crew Chief: Robert Barker
  • Bubba Wallace won the 53rd Annual YellaWood 500, his first victory in 144 Cup Series races.
  • This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in 2021.
  • This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in nine races at Talladega Superspeedway.
  • Brad Keselowski (second) posted his 13th top-10 finish in 27 races at Talladega Superspeedway. It is his 14th top-10 finish in 2021.
  • Joey Logano (third) posted his 11th top-10 finish in 27 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
  • Anthony Alfredo (10th) was the highest finishing rookie.
  • Denny Hamlin leads the point standings by 19 points over Kyle Larson.
  • This is the first time in history there has been a winner from all three series in a single weekend at the same track.
Brad Keselowski in victory lane
Talladega, Alabama - April 25, 2021 : Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 MoneyLion Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 25, 2021 in Talladega, Alabama.
Sean GardnerGetty Images
YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway Entry List
ENTRY # DRIVER HOMETOWN DOB AGE MAKE SPONSOR TEAM CREW CHIEF
1 10 Aric Almirola Tampa, FL Mar 14, 1984 40 Ford Smithfield Stewart-Haas Racing Mike Bugarewicz
2 2 Brad Keselowski Auburn Hills, MI Feb 12, 1984 40 Ford Discount Tire Team Penske Jeremy Bullins
3 11 Denny Hamlin Chesterfield, VA Nov 18, 1980 43 Toyota FedEx Express Joe Gibbs Racing Chris Gabehart
4 22 Joey Logano Middleton, CT May 24, 1990 34 Ford Shell Pennzoil Team Penske Paul Wolfe
5 4 Kevin Harvick Bakersfield, CA Dec 8, 1975 48 Ford Busch Light #Hunt4Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Greg Zipadelli
6 1 Kurt Busch Las Vegas, NV Aug 4, 1978 46 Chevrolet Monster Energy Chip Ganassi Racing Matt McCall
7 18 Kyle Busch Las Vegas, NV May 2, 1985 39 Toyota M&M's Joe Gibbs Racing Ben Beshore
8 19 Martin Truex Jr Mayetta, NJ Jun 29, 1980 44 Toyota Bass Pro Shops Joe Gibbs Racing James Small
9 34 Michael McDowell Phoenix, AZ Dec 21, 1984 39 Ford Love's Travel Stops Front Row Motorsports Drew Blickensderfer
10 6 Ryan Newman South Bend, IN Dec 8, 1977 46 Ford Kohler Generators RFK Racing Scott Graves
11 96 Landon Cassill Cedar Rapids, IA Jul 7, 1989 35 Toyota Carnomaly Gaunt Brothers Racing Jacob Canter
12 3 Austin Dillon Lewisville, NC Apr 27, 1990 34 Chevrolet Breztri Richard Childress Racing Justin Alexander
13 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr Olive Branch, MS Oct 2, 1987 37 Chevrolet SunnyD JTG Daugherty Racing Brian Pattie
14 77 Justin Allgaier Riverton, IL Jun 6, 1986 38 Chevrolet Brandt Spire Motorsports Kevin Bellicourt
15 5 Kyle Larson Sacremento, CA Jul 31, 1992 32 Chevrolet Cincinnati Hendrick Motorsports Cliff Daniels
16 48 Alex Bowman Tuscon, AZ Apr 25, 1993 31 Chevrolet Ally Hendrick Motorsports Greg Ives
17 12 Ryan Blaney High Point, NC Dec 31, 1993 30 Ford Menards / Maytag Team Penske Todd Gordon
18 7 Corey Lajoie Kannapolis, NC Sep 25, 1991 33 Chevrolet Schluter Systems Spire Motorsports Ryan Sparks
19 53 Joey Gase Cedar Rapids, IA Feb 8, 1993 31 Chevrolet Sparks Rick Ware Racing Billy Plourde
20 9 Chase Elliott Dawsonville, GA Nov 28, 1995 28 Chevrolet Adrenaline Shoc Hendrick Motorsports Alan Gustafson
21 21 Matt DiBenedetto Grass Valley, CA Jul 27, 1991 33 Ford Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Wood Brothers Racing Jonathan Hassler
22 17 Chris Buescher Prosper, TX Oct 29, 1992 31 Ford Violet Defense RFK Racing Luke Lambert
23 43 Erik Jones Byron, MI May 30, 1996 28 Chevrolet US Air Force: Special Warfare Richard Petty Motorsports Jerry Baxter
24 78 BJ McLeod Wauchula, FL Nov 17, 1983 40 Ford NASCAR 21 Ignition Live Fast Motorsports Frank Kerr
25 37 Ryan Preece Berlin, CT Oct 25, 1990 33 Chevrolet Kroger / Velveeta JTG Daugherty Racing Trent Owens
26 99 Daniel Suarez Monterrey, Mexico Jan 7, 1992 32 Chevrolet Good Sam Trackhouse Racing Travis Mack
27 51 Cody Ware Greensboro, NC Nov 7, 1995 28 Chevrolet Nurtec ODT Petty Ware Racing Mike Hillman Sr
28 42 Ross Chastain Alva, FL Dec 4, 1992 31 Chevrolet Clover Chip Ganassi Racing Phil Surgen
29 23 Bubba Wallace Mobile, AL Oct 8, 1993 31 Toyota McDonalds 23XI Racing Bootie Barker
30 24 William Byron Charlotte, NC Nov 29, 1997 26 Chevrolet Axalta Hendrick Motorsports Rudy Fugle
31 41 Cole Custer Ladera Ranch, CA Jan 23, 1998 26 Ford Autodesk / HaasTooling.com Stewart-Haas Racing Mike Shiplett
32 15 Garrett Smithley Ligonier, PA Apr 27, 1992 32 Chevrolet Boom Mobile Rick Ware Racing Ken Evans
33 52 Josh Bilicki Menomonee Falls, WI Jun 3, 1995 29 Ford Junction Fuels Rick Ware Racing Jason Houghtaling
34 8 Tyler Reddick Corning, CA Jan 11, 1996 28 Chevrolet Realtree Richard Childress Racing Randall Burnett
35 00 Quin Houff Weyers Cave, VA Sep 15, 1997 27 Chevrolet 8 Ball Chocolate Whiskey StarCom Racing George Church
36 116 Justin Haley Winamac, IN Apr 28, 1999 25 Chevrolet LeafFilter Gutter Protection Kaulig Racing Matt Swiderski
37 20 Christopher Bell Norman, OK Dec 16, 1994 29 Toyota Rheem Joe Gibbs Racing Adam Stevens
38 66 James Davison Melbourne, Australia Aug 28, 1986 38 Ford Rich-Mar Florist Motorsports Business Management Johnny Roten
39 14 Chase Briscoe Mitchell, IN Dec 15, 1994 29 Ford Rush Truck Centers / Mobil Delvac 1 Stewart-Haas Racing Johnny Klausmeier
40 38 Anthony Alfredo Ridgefield, CT Mar 1, 1999 25 Ford Georgia Peanuts Front Row Motorsports Seth Barbour