Pit Stops

YellaWood 500

Sunday, October 6th, 2024

Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, AL

  • 18 Chevrolet
  • 14 Ford
  • 8 Toyota

  • Thursday, October 3rd, 2024
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Holly Cain
Highly anticipated Talladega could shake-up the Cup Playoffs

The NASCAR Cup Series takes the 2024 Playoffs to one of the most anticipated races of the season this weekend, Sunday’s YellaWood 500 (2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) on the world-famous Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway high-banks.

With a non-Playoff driver, Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain claiming the trophy last weekend at Kansas Speedway, now only two races – at Talladega and at the Charlotte ROVAL next week – remain in this round for the 12 Playoff eligible drivers to score a win and automatic ticket to the Playoffs’ Round of 8.

With his runner-up showing at Kansas, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron has taken the lead in the Playoff standings – six points ahead of reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell. Hendrick’s Kyle Larson is ranked fourth.

JGR’s Denny Hamlin, Hendrick teammates Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott and Team Penske’s Joey Logano complete the top eight drivers. Elliott and Logano, however, have only a four-point advantage on the Regular Season Champion, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick for that final spot to advance in the Playoffs.

Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez (-14), Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe (-25) and Team Penske’s Austin Cindric (-29) are all below the cutoff line heading into the weekend. But when it comes to racing on the Talladega high banks anything can happen. And typically, does.

Blaney is the defending race winner, the victory last year setting him up for a Championship 4 Round appearance where he ultimately claimed the title in the Phoenix season finale. In fact, Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford is a three-time winner at the big track and joins Elliott – the 2020 series champion – as the only multi-time Talladega winners in the last 10 races at the track.

Owner-driver Brad Keselowski is the winningest active driver at Talladega – scoring his first career NASCAR Cup Series win there in 2009 and making five additional trips to Victory Lane since. He finished runner-up to Reddick this spring.

Only three current Playoff drivers – Reddick, Byron and Bowman – finished among the top-10 this May.

Among the current Playoff contenders, Blaney, Elliott (two), Hamlin (two) and Logano (three) all have multiple Talladega victories.

Among those four drivers below the cutoff line and needing a solid performance at Talladega to advance their Playoff run, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe brings a strong resume with him this weekend. In seven NASCAR Cup Series starts on the big track, his best finish was fourth in the 2023 spring race and he has finished worse than 15th only once. Briscoe’s average finish of 14.4 is fourth best in the field among drivers with multiple starts – behind only Beard Motorsport’s Anthony Alfredo (9.3), Front Row Motorsports’ Todd Gilliland (12.8) and Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott (13.7).

Instead of fearing the unpredictability of a track like Talladega, Briscoe, 29, said he has developed a calm mentality about the style of racing. And interestingly, since 2014 eight of the 10 Talladega Playoff races have been won by drivers ranked below the Round of 8 cutoff line – as Briscoe finds himself this weekend.

“I think you have to have a short memory,” the two-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner said. “I’ve gone through different kinds of spectrums of superspeedway racing. I’ve taken the conservative route and I’ve gone the super-aggressive route. And every time I’ve gone the conservative route, I typically end up crashed.

“So, I’m just going to go back to being on the aggressive side. It’s a little tougher with this Next Gen car just because you can’t take runs or do things like you typically would. You’re going to have to try to be up in the mix for stage points and try to just finish the best you can.

“… I’m just going to go with the mindset of being aggressive and trying to lead every lap and trying to make every move I can and hopefully, stay out of the chaos.”

Fifteen different drivers have won the 20 Talladega Playoff races. Team Penske teammates Blaney and Logano are the only current Playoff contenders to win multiple Playoff races at Talladega – both claiming two Playoff victories.

Of note, NASCAR has issued a technical bulletin for the Talladega race weekend with changes to the cars designed to increase safety at the big track. Modifications will be made to the Rocker skirt, Right side roof flap fabric and the Ride side roof rails will be extended to 2” with polycarbonate.

Busch Light Pole Qualifying is set for Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET (USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Aric Almirola won the pole position for this race last year. Michael McDowell started on pole at Talladega this spring.

  • YellaWood 500
  • Busch Pole Award Pole Winner: Michael McDowell
  • Age: 39
  • Team : No 34 - Love's Travel Stops Ford
  • Owner: Bob Jenkins
  • Crew Chief: Travis Peterson
  • Michael McDowell won the Pole Award for the YellaWood 500 with a lap of 5231 seconds, 183063 mph
  • This is his sixth pole in 496 NASCAR Cup Series races
  • This is his sixth pole and 15th top-10 start in 2024
  • This is his second pole in 28 races at Talladega Superspeedway
  • Austin Cindric (second) posted his 13th top-10 start of 2024 and his third in six races at Talladega Superspeedway
  • Todd Gilliland (third) posted his second top-10 start at Talladega Superspeedway It is his sixth in 31 races this season
  • Josh Berry (19th) was the fastest qualifying rookie

  • Sunday, October 6th, 2024
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Holly Cain
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. bests Keselowski, Byron in intense Talladega Playoff race

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. held off the field in overtime to claim the victory in a dramatic NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway – edging Brad Keselowski and William Byron by a mere .006-second in a thrilling three-wide finish.

That heart-stopping finish was indicative of the afternoon of competition at NASCAR’s biggest track (2.66-mile) – which once again lived up to its reputation and provided a thrilling Playoff race that has major implications for the championship contenders. 

A massive 27-car accident with five laps remaining brought out a red flag and stopped the race for nearly 10 minutes. The incident affected eight of the 12 Playoff cars in varying degrees. There is only one more race remaining in this round to settle which eight drivers advance to the next round of championship competition.

Stenhouse, the 36-year-old Mississippi native who is not Playoff-eligible, hoisted his fourth career trophy – all coming at superspeedway tracks – and first in 65 races. His No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Chevrolet led 19 of the 195 laps, including the all-important last one after a side-to-battle with six-time Talladega winner Keselowski and this year’s Daytona 500 winner Byron. 

This marks the third time in the five Playoff races that a non-Playoff driver has hoisted the race trophy.

“Felt really good, we had our Chevy teammates behind us and I was hoping Kyle [Busch] wouldn’t push the six [Keselowski] that hard, I knew the 24 was going to try to get to the line,’’ said Stenhouse, who scored his first career NASCAR Cup Series win at Talladega in 2017.

“Man, this team has put a lot of hard work in and obviously we haven’t won since the Daytona 500 in ’23. It’s been an up and down season, a lot of hard work this season trying to find a little bit of speed but we knew this track is one of ours to come get it.’’

The finish was set-up after the vast incident that took out several front-running cars and affected all but four Playoff drivers. Team Penske’s Austin Cindric – who essentially needed a victory to earn an automatic berth in the next Playoff round – was leading the race – having exchanged the top spot multiple time with Stenhouse in the closing 20 laps.

With five laps remaining, Cindric’s leading No. 2 Ford was hit from behind on the backstretch by Keselowski’s No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Ford which triggered an accordion-style accident from three rows behind the leader. Harrison Burton’s No. 21 Ford struck Joey Logano’s No. 22 Ford that then pushed Keselowski’s car forward and into Cindric.

The aftermath collected 27 cars in all, completely sidelining Playoff drivers Cindric, who was credited with a 32nd place finish, his Penske teammate Logano (33rd), and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe (30th).

“Obviously incredibly frustrated,’’ Cindric said. “Just really proud of my team and the full execution of the day. We got that stage win {second stage) and put ourselves at the front of that green flag pit cycle and had another shot [to win].

“I don’t feel like complaining right now, I’m too pissed off and it won’t do anything. But proud of the team. We’ve brought really fast race cars to every single race of the Playoffs and we’re going to have to bring another one next week and I need to go out and do my job.’’

His Penske teammate Logano, who was similarly frustrated, said there was nothing he could have done to avoid the accident.

“I don’t think we could have done anything much different,’’ the two-time series champion Logano said. “We had the bottom working fairly well and by the time we got off [turn] two, the push from the 21 [Burton] that transferred to the six (Keselowski) that transferred to the 2 [Cindric] just at a bad angle. And off he went.’’

Other Playoff drivers affected in the accident included, perennial Talladega race favorite Chase Elliott, who finished 29th after pitting for repairs following the accident.

Regular season champion Tyler Reddick was also in the accident and rallied to finish 20th. Alex Bowman, who was involved in two accidents on the day, finished 16th.

Reigning series champion Ryan Blaney ran among the leaders and scored points in both stages but was eliminated from competition mid-race in the day’s first multiple car accident, leaving him 39th of the 40 starters.

On the up-side, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson finished fourth tying his best ever Talladega finish – only his second top-five at the track in 20 races. Non-Playoff driver Erik Jones was fifth.

Another Playoff competitor, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell was sixth, followed by Justin Haley, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace and Bell’s fellow Playoff driver and JGR teammate Denny Hamlin in 10th.

With Byron’s finish, he becomes the first and only Playoff driver to secure a position in the next eight-race round. Bell is next in the standings, holding a 57-point advantage on the Playoff cutoff line, followed by Larson, Hamlin, Bowman, Blaney, Reddick and Elliott.

Elliott is 13 points ahead of Logano going into next week’s road course race at the Charlotte ROVAL – the final race of this Playoff round which will set the next eight-driver round. Daniel Suarez, who rallied to a 26th place finish despite spending most of the race recovering from a pre-race penalty for equipment violations, is now 20 points behind Elliott for that final transfer position.

Cindric and Briscoe are 29 and 32 points back, respectively, essentially needing a victory at Charlotte.

The final race of this Playoff round is next Sunday, the Bank of America ROVAL400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. A.J. Allmendinger is the defending race winner.

  • Drivers Entered: 40
  • Laps Scheduled: 188
  • Laps Actual: 195 - NASCAR OVERTIME!
  • Margin of Victory: 0.006 Seconds
  • Time of Race: 3 Hours 26 Minutes 25 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 150.773
  • Cautions: 4 for 24 laps
  • Lead Changes: 66
  • Green Flag Passes: 21,514 (125.8 passes per green flag lap)

  • YellaWood 500
  • Race Winner: Ricky Stenhouse Jr
  • Age: 37
  • Team : No 47 - Kroger Health/Palmolive Chevrolet
  • Owner: Gordon Smith
  • Crew Chief: Mike Kelley
  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr won the YellaWood 500, his fourth victory in 431 Cup Series races
  • This is his first victory and sixth top-10 finish in 2024
  • This is his second victory and 11th top-10 finish in 23 races at Talladega Superspeedway
  • Brad Keselowski (second) posted his 16th top-10 finish in 32 races at Talladega Superspeedway It is his 13th top-10 finish in 2024
  • William Byron (third) posted his sixth top-10 finish in 14 races at Talladega Superspeedway
  • Carson Hocevar (14th) was the highest finishing rookie
  • William Byron leads the point standings by 17 points over Christopher Bell
Cup Series pit stops at Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida - February 8, 2020 : Cup Series pit stops at Daytona International Speedway
Brian LawdermilkGetty Images

Pit Stop Summary Report

Summary of each driver's pit stop during the race. Detailed Report is below the Summary Report.

Average Driver and Crew Pit Stop Time
YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway Pit Stop Summary
DRIVER ST FIN STATUS # STOPS AVG DRV TIME DRV RNK AVG CREW TIME CREW RANK AVG TOT TIME TOT RNK FASTEST STOP SLOWEST STOP
Harrison Burton 9 34 Accident 3 15.906 1 14.243 23 30.149 1 13.549 38.529
Tyler Reddick 14 20 Running 2 25.235 27 9.777 1 35.012 2 31.173 38.851
Kyle Busch 4 19 Running 3 24.295 5 11.323 3 35.618 3 30.631 39.445
Ty Gibbs 15 13 Running 3 24.846 15 10.939 2 35.785 4 31.171 38.706
Erik Jones 30 5 Running 3 24.719 13 11.578 5 36.297 5 30.887 39.013
Shane van Gisbergen 17 15 Running 5 24.984 19 11.498 4 36.482 6 30.906 40.249
Denny Hamlin 8 10 Running 3 25.151 25 11.611 6 36.762 7 30.903 41.558
Christopher Bell 21 6 Running 2 24.956 18 12.947 8 37.903 8 36.864 38.941
Joey Logano 6 33 Accident 1 24.229 4 13.815 21 38.044 9 38.044 38.044
William Byron 16 3 Running 2 24.342 7 13.736 19 38.078 10 37.569 38.586
Bubba Wallace 26 9 Running 3 24.986 20 13.147 10 38.133 11 36.029 39.468
Chase Elliott 11 29 Running 2 24.483 10 13.697 18 38.180 12 37.607 38.752
Austin Cindric 2 32 Accident 2 24.547 11 13.680 17 38.227 13 37.529 38.925
Zane Smith 39 21 Running 4 25.464 28 12.778 7 38.242 14 29.925 42.885
Ryan Blaney 5 39 Accident 1 24.918 17 13.381 13 38.299 15 38.299 38.299
Kyle Larson 12 4 Running 3 24.729 14 13.613 15 38.342 16 31.258 47.091
Brad Keselowski 13 2 Running 2 23.970 2 14.398 25 38.367 17 38.342 38.392
John Hunter Nemechek 29 31 Running 2 25.042 23 13.547 14 38.589 18 37.811 39.366
Carson Hocevar 37 14 Running 5 25.617 30 13.333 12 38.950 19 30.849 52.008
Anthony Alfredo 33 24 Running 3 25.208 26 13.746 20 38.954 20 38.446 39.282
Chris Buescher 20 17 Running 2 24.374 8 14.865 28 39.239 21 38.977 39.501
Chase Briscoe 36 30 Running 2 24.996 21 14.249 24 39.244 22 38.679 39.809
Josh Berry 19 36 Accident 3 25.657 31 13.636 16 39.292 23 39.073 39.667
Austin Dillon 7 8 Running 2 24.136 3 15.266 32 39.401 24 38.971 39.831
Ross Chastain 27 40 Accident 1 24.318 6 15.183 31 39.501 25 39.501 39.501
Ricky Stenhouse Jr 32 1 Running 2 25.020 22 14.699 26 39.718 26 39.351 40.085
AJ Allmendinger 25 28 Running 2 26.535 35 13.197 11 39.731 27 31.736 47.726
Ryan Preece 18 35 Accident 2 25.061 24 14.933 30 39.993 28 39.849 40.137
Cody Ware 34 12 Running 3 25.484 29 14.826 27 40.311 29 38.993 41.704
Martin Truex Jr 24 11 Running 3 27.538 36 12.980 9 40.517 30 37.238 44.574
Noah Gragson 22 25 Running 2 25.793 32 14.881 29 40.674 31 38.891 42.457
Corey Lajoie 28 18 Running 3 24.897 16 16.273 33 41.170 32 36.858 44.630
Todd Gilliland 3 23 Running 3 27.624 37 14.047 22 41.671 33 37.147 49.281
BJ McLeod 38 22 Running 2 26.073 33 16.767 35 42.840 34 37.596 48.083
Justin Haley 35 7 Running 3 26.423 34 16.501 34 42.924 35 31.329 52.159
Michael McDowell 1 37 Accident 2 24.385 9 19.447 38 43.832 36 39.788 47.876
Alex Bowman 23 16 Running 2 24.633 12 20.271 39 44.904 37 38.720 51.087
Daniel Hemric 10 38 Accident 2 28.311 39 16.884 36 45.195 38 38.281 52.108
JJ Yeley 40 27 Running 3 28.054 38 17.795 37 45.848 39 38.707 54.754

Pit Stop Detailed Report

Each 2- and 4-wheel pit stop during the race.

YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway Pit Stop Detail
DRIVER LDR LAP DRV LAP DRV TIME CREW TIME TOT TIME TYPE
AJ Allmendinger 166 166 24.562 7.174 31.736 Right-sides only
AJ Allmendinger 124 123 28.507 19.219 47.726 4-wheel change
Brad Keselowski 63 63 24.028 14.314 38.342 4-wheel change
Brad Keselowski 123 123 23.911 14.481 38.392 4-wheel change
Denny Hamlin 171 171 24.597 6.306 30.903 Right-sides only
Denny Hamlin 122 122 24.980 12.846 37.826 4-wheel change
Denny Hamlin 62 62 25.876 15.682 41.558 4-wheel change
JJ Yeley 190 188 25.462 13.245 38.707 4-wheel change
JJ Yeley 123 121 26.100 17.984 44.084 4-wheel change
JJ Yeley 62 62 32.599 22.155 54.754 4-wheel change
Joey Logano 62 62 24.229 13.815 38.044 4-wheel change
Kyle Busch 13 13 24.559 6.072 30.631 Right-sides only
Kyle Busch 122 122 23.964 12.813 36.777 4-wheel change
Kyle Busch 62 62 24.362 15.083 39.445 4-wheel change
Martin Truex Jr 123 123 24.726 12.512 37.238 4-wheel change
Martin Truex Jr 62 62 25.358 14.382 39.740 4-wheel change
Martin Truex Jr 93 93 32.529 12.045 44.574 4-wheel change
Michael McDowell 62 62 24.306 15.482 39.788 4-wheel change
Michael McDowell 122 122 24.464 23.412 47.876 4-wheel change
Austin Dillon 122 122 24.156 14.815 38.971 4-wheel change
Austin Dillon 63 63 24.115 15.716 39.831 4-wheel change
Ricky Stenhouse Jr 122 122 25.337 14.014 39.351 4-wheel change
Ricky Stenhouse Jr 62 62 24.702 15.383 40.085 4-wheel change
Kyle Larson 13 13 25.118 6.140 31.258 Right-sides only
Kyle Larson 122 122 24.064 12.613 36.677 4-wheel change
Kyle Larson 62 62 25.004 22.087 47.091 4-wheel change
Alex Bowman 122 122 24.673 14.047 38.720 4-wheel change
Alex Bowman 62 62 24.593 26.494 51.087 4-wheel change
Ryan Blaney 62 62 24.918 13.381 38.299 4-wheel change
Corey Lajoie 14 14 24.913 11.945 36.858 4-wheel change
Corey Lajoie 62 62 24.801 17.222 42.023 4-wheel change
Corey Lajoie 122 122 24.977 19.653 44.630 4-wheel change
Chase Elliott 122 122 24.093 13.514 37.607 4-wheel change
Chase Elliott 62 62 24.872 13.880 38.752 4-wheel change
Chris Buescher 122 122 24.563 14.414 38.977 4-wheel change
Chris Buescher 62 62 24.185 15.316 39.501 4-wheel change
Erik Jones 168 168 25.416 5.471 30.887 Right-sides only
Erik Jones 122 122 24.542 14.448 38.990 4-wheel change
Erik Jones 62 62 24.199 14.814 39.013 4-wheel change
BJ McLeod 189 189 25.551 12.045 37.596 4-wheel change
BJ McLeod 62 62 26.595 21.488 48.083 4-wheel change
Ryan Preece 122 122 25.234 14.615 39.849 4-wheel change
Ryan Preece 62 62 24.887 15.250 40.137 4-wheel change
Cody Ware 188 188 26.114 12.879 38.993 4-wheel change
Cody Ware 122 122 25.253 14.982 40.235 4-wheel change
Cody Ware 62 62 25.086 16.618 41.704 4-wheel change
Ross Chastain 62 62 24.318 15.183 39.501 4-wheel change
Bubba Wallace 122 122 23.884 12.145 36.029 4-wheel change
Bubba Wallace 62 62 25.588 13.314 38.902 4-wheel change
Bubba Wallace 189 189 25.487 13.981 39.468 4-wheel change
Daniel Hemric 122 122 24.067 14.214 38.281 4-wheel change
Daniel Hemric 62 61 32.555 19.553 52.108 4-wheel change
William Byron 122 122 24.156 13.413 37.569 4-wheel change
William Byron 62 62 24.527 14.059 38.586 4-wheel change
Tyler Reddick 93 93 25.601 5.572 31.173 Left-sides only
Tyler Reddick 62 62 24.869 13.982 38.851 4-wheel change
Justin Haley 172 172 25.101 6.228 31.329 Right-sides only
Justin Haley 61 61 27.701 17.584 45.285 4-wheel change
Justin Haley 116 115 26.467 25.692 52.159 4-wheel change
John Hunter Nemechek 122 122 24.664 13.147 37.811 4-wheel change
John Hunter Nemechek 62 62 25.419 13.947 39.366 4-wheel change
Christopher Bell 122 122 24.785 12.079 36.864 4-wheel change
Christopher Bell 62 62 25.126 13.815 38.941 4-wheel change
Austin Cindric 122 122 24.249 13.280 37.529 4-wheel change
Austin Cindric 62 62 24.845 14.080 38.925 4-wheel change
Chase Briscoe 62 62 24.797 13.882 38.679 4-wheel change
Chase Briscoe 122 122 25.194 14.615 39.809 4-wheel change
Harrison Burton 187 183 -1.451 15.000 13.549 4-wheel change
Harrison Burton 62 62 24.655 13.715 38.370 4-wheel change
Harrison Burton 122 122 24.515 14.014 38.529 4-wheel change
Noah Gragson 122 122 25.378 13.513 38.891 4-wheel change
Noah Gragson 62 62 26.208 16.249 42.457 4-wheel change
Anthony Alfredo 190 189 25.768 12.678 38.446 4-wheel change
Anthony Alfredo 123 122 25.087 14.047 39.134 4-wheel change
Anthony Alfredo 58 57 24.768 14.514 39.282 4-wheel change
Zane Smith 172 172 24.953 4.972 29.925 Right-sides only
Zane Smith 122 122 24.552 13.814 38.366 4-wheel change
Zane Smith 63 63 25.076 16.716 41.792 4-wheel change
Zane Smith 14 14 27.276 15.609 42.885 4-wheel change
Josh Berry 62 62 25.560 13.513 39.073 4-wheel change
Josh Berry 122 122 24.756 14.381 39.137 4-wheel change
Josh Berry 14 14 26.654 13.013 39.667 4-wheel change
Ty Gibbs 189 189 24.780 6.391 31.171 Right-sides only
Ty Gibbs 122 122 25.067 12.412 37.479 4-wheel change
Ty Gibbs 62 62 24.691 14.015 38.706 4-wheel change
Todd Gilliland 184 182 26.136 11.011 37.147 Right-sides only
Todd Gilliland 123 123 24.839 13.747 38.586 4-wheel change
Todd Gilliland 62 62 31.898 17.383 49.281 4-wheel change
Carson Hocevar 172 172 24.543 6.306 30.849 Right-sides only
Carson Hocevar 184 184 26.164 6.073 32.237 Left-sides only
Carson Hocevar 123 123 24.663 14.681 39.344 4-wheel change
Carson Hocevar 62 62 25.232 15.081 40.313 4-wheel change
Carson Hocevar 14 14 27.484 24.524 52.008 4-wheel change
Shane van Gisbergen 166 166 24.500 6.406 30.906 Right-sides only
Shane van Gisbergen 189 189 25.212 10.644 35.856 4-wheel change
Shane van Gisbergen 14 14 26.030 11.378 37.408 4-wheel change
Shane van Gisbergen 122 122 24.511 13.480 37.991 4-wheel change
Shane van Gisbergen 63 63 24.667 15.582 40.249 4-wheel change