Stenhouse Jr. wins Talladega for 1st win of 2024, Larson strengthens P1 ranking
6 October 2024
By Bob Francis, Managing Editor
Go Full Throttle Racing News
TALLADEGA, AL — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. survived “the big one” and an overtime restart to win the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, clinching the victory by a razor-thin margin of 0.006 seconds over Brad Keselowski. This victory marks Stenhouse Jr.’s second win at Talladega and adds to his Superspeedway triumphs, including the 2023 Daytona 500.
Another Overtime Shootout
With just five laps remaining, a massive crash, often referred to as “The Big One,” dramatically altered the race’s outcome. The incident was triggered when Austin Cindric, who was leading at the time, was spun out after an aggressive push, resulting in a 23-car pileup on the backstretch. This chaotic scene involved eight playoff drivers, significantly impacting their standings. After a long red flag to clean up the damaged cars, Stenhouse Jr. and Brad Keselowski led the field on the NASCAR Overtime restart and finished 1–2 in another epic photo finish.
Other top five finishers included William Byron P3, Kyle Larson P4, and Erik Jones P5, who all delivered strong performances. William Byron’s third-place finish was particularly noteworthy as it secured his spot in the Round of 8, thanks to the points buffer he accumulated by the end of the race.
Other notable finishers in the top 10 were Christopher Bell, Justin Haley, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace, and Denny Hamlin. Bell and Hamlin gathering much-needed playoff points.
Defending race winner and reigning champion Ryan Blaney faced a challenging day. He was on track for a solid points finish until a push from Alex Bowman sent his car out of shape, causing a wreck that involved Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano on the final lap of Stage 1. This incident ended Blaney’s race, resulting in a disappointing 39th-place finish in a 40-car field.
As the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continue, the competition intensifies. The Round of 12 will conclude next Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course. Fans can expect more thrilling action as drivers battle for their place in the next round, with every point and position becoming increasingly crucial to make the Round of 8. Chase Elliott is on the bubble with Logano, Suarez, Cindric, and Briscoe below the cut line and facing elimination from the Championship race.
Stenhouse Jr.’s victory at Talladega not only adds to his impressive career achievements but also serves as a reminder of the unpredictable nature of NASCAR racing as for the 2nd week in a row a non-playoff driver has won the race.
GFT AI Driver Rankings after Talladega
Very little movement in the ranking models as the impact only shifted two drivers’ positions- Alex Blowman moved up a spot to P8 while Joey Logano dropped a spot to P9.
GFT NASCAR BOX SCORES
After 31 Races …
Manufactures Box Score:
Chevrolet = 14
Toyota = 8
Ford = 9
Team Box Score:
Hendrick Motorsports = 10
Driver Box Score:
Kyle Larson = 5 wins
GFT AI NASCAR Fantasy LIVE — back in the top 15%
121 points —after 3 of our 5 picks ended up on the hook or with significant damage, but good enough for our GFT AI Race Prediction models to remain in the top 15% of all players (12.78%) in the TMD NASCAR Fantasy Live League.
Looking Ahead to the Final race of the Round of 12
Bank of America ROVAL 400
Sunday, Oct. 13–2:00 PM ET
