EAST LANSING– The NASCAR Cup Series made its journey to the longest track on the calendar, also known as Talladega Superspeedway. Sitting at 2.66 miles, it was once deemed too dangerous to even race at. Now, the Cup series has its second race in the round of 8, with the remaining playoff drivers
Michael McDowell and playoff driver Chase Briscoe started on the front row to kick off the 2025 Yellawood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
After the green flag dropped, the 40-car field stayed in organized chaos, moving three and four wide throughout the entire field. An aggressive move by the defending champion Joey Logano in the opening laps, moved him up 16 positions, bringing the 22 car in the fight for the lead.
The race stayed green, requiring all drivers to come to the pits for fuel under green. All the drivers coming for service at the 40-50 lap range, the cars get organized in their pitting groups, and the first round of pit stops went cleanly. AJ Allmendinger cycled to the lead with Joey Logano and Noah Gragson leading the lanes behind.
Chaos broke loose on lap 52 when Michigan-born driver Erik Jones bumped the leader Noah Gragson, triggering a multicar pile-up. The most notable driver stuck in the middle of this wreck was playoff driver Chase Elliott.
Lap 52 Wreck Involved: Austin Cindric, Austin Dillion, Noah Gragson, Justin Haley, Chase Elliott, AJ Allmendinger, Erik Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
A 2 lap shootout for stage one resulted in Ty Gibbs beating out Tyler Reddick to win the first stage. Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Christopher Bell were the only playoff drivers collecting points for stage one.
A cycle of green flag pit stops amidst a long green flag run in stage two went from smooth to rough quickly. A group of drivers, including Shane Van Gisbergen, peeled off turn 4, and Van Gisbergen crossed over a patch of water, causing him to lose control, eventually getting stuck in the grass. The caution flies at lap 112.
A green flag run up until the end of stage two had Chase Briscoe winning, with Kyle Larson and Carson Hocevar rounding out the top three.
The third and final stage was going smoothly with Penske teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney up front, defending Todd Gilliland and others for the lead. On Lap 166 of 188, the caution came out after Cody Ware spun due to a blown engine. After a cycle of pit stops, Ryan Blaney and Todd Gilliland led the field back to green.
Lap 187, Chris Buescher got spun out from the lead, sending the race into overtime. Due to fuel concerns, Logano and Blaney pit from contending positions, essentially ending their chances for the much-needed win.
The overtime restart has Hendrick Motorsport drivers William Byron and Kyle Larson on the front row. With 2 laps to go in overtime, both the inside and outline lanes held off good pushes all the way to the white flag (1 lap to go). When the field covered the backstretch for the last time, playoff driver Kyle Larson ran out of gas from the lead, shaking up the front of the field. The battle at the front continued through turns three and four, with Chase Briscoe and Bubba Wallace battling for the lead side-by-side. Just a few hundred meters from the start finish line, playoff driver William Byron gets turned as the entire field, led by Chase Briscoe, crosses the finish line ahead of him.
With that win by Chase Briscoe, he punched his ticket to the championship race in Phoenix. The top 10 for the 2025 Yellawood 500 were Chase Briscoe, Todd Gilliland, Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace, Cole Custer, Carson Hocevar, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Zane Smith, and Brad Keselowski.
From NASCAR’s biggest track to the smallest, all three of NASCAR’s national series will make their stop at Martinsville Speedway. In the cutoff race for the round of 8, this will decide the remaining two drivers who will fill the final spots in the Cup Series Championship Race. You can catch that race on NBC at 2:00 p.m. EST.
