Ricky Stenhouse Jr. held on in a two-lap dash to the checkered flag at Talladega for his first NASCAR Cup win since the 2023 Daytona 500 after a race-stopping pileup.
The JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet driver crossed the line just 0.006s ahead of Brad Keselowski, who finished second, and 0.027s clear of lead playoff challenger William Byron in third.
The overtime finish followed a 23-car accident that caused the race to be stopped, with Stenhouse surviving contact to take the final restart from the lead alongside Keselowski's RFK Ford.
With a push from Byron's Hendrick Chevrolet, Stenhouse moved ahead of Keselowski on the run to the flag and survived a last gasp challenge from Byron to snap a winless streak that lasted 65 races.
Stenhouse's fourth career victory makes him the third non-playoff driver to win in the first five races of the playoffs and the 18th different driver to win a Cup race in 2024.
"It's been an up-and-down season," Stenhouse said. "A lot of hard work this season just trying to find a little bit of speed. We knew that this track is one of ours to come get."
After pushing Keselowski to the flag, Kyle Larson (Hendrick) was fourth and Erik Jones finished fifth for his best result of the 2024 season in the Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet.
Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota), Justin Haley (Spire Chevrolet), Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Chevrolet), Bubba Wallace (23XI Toyota), and Denny Hamlin (JGR) rounded out the top 10.
It was a fairly clean race until later on. After serving a pass-through penalty for unapproved adjustments before the race, Daniel Suarez (Trackhouse Chevrolet) spun out and remained trapped off the lead lap for the remainder of the race.
Chris Buescher (RFK) ended up winning the opening stage in a clean run to the line, but the same can not be said for the finish to Stage 2.
While Austin Cindric (Penske Ford) approached the line to collect the green-and-white checkered flag, his team-mate Ryan Blaney got turned in the middle of the pack and shot across the track before making heavy contact with Ross Chastain that ended both of their days.
The race featured an impressive amount of four-wide action, but no large crashes into the closing moments. After the final cycle of green-flag stops, playoff contender Cindric emerged with the race lead and led the bottom line while Stenhouse led the charge from the outside.
But with less than five laps to go, a massive wreck triggered when Keselowski pushed Cindric on the left-side of his rear bumper sent the 2022 Daytona 500 winner spinning in the middle of pack.
Stenhouse was hit in the door by Cindric, but kept it straight and inherited the race lead, however over half the field were collected and several playoff drivers were eliminated as red flags flew.
NBC initially claimed that 28 cars were involved, making it the biggest Talladega crash in Cup history, but the official NASCAR report put the number at five fewer.
Heading into the Round of 12 elimination race, Chase Elliott (Hendrick) sits on the bubble after becoming embroiled in the 'Big One'.
He is 13 points ahead of Penske's two-time champion Joey Logano, while Suarez is 20 points away from the cut. Cindric now faces a mountain to climb, 29 points adrift, along with Stewart-Haas Ford driver Chase Briscoe (+32 points).
NASCAR Cup Talladega Race Results:
| Cla | Driver | # | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Interval | Pits | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R. Stenhouse JrJTG Daugherty Racing | 47 | Chevrolet | 195 |
3:26'24.803 |
8 | 49 | ||
| 2 | B. KeselowskiRFK Racing | 6 | Ford | 195 |
+0.006 3:26'24.809 |
0.006 | 10 | 35 | |
| 3 | W. ByronHendrick Motorsports | 24 | Chevrolet | 195 |
+0.027 3:26'24.830 |
0.021 | 10 | 48 | |
| 4 | K. LarsonHendrick Motorsports | 5 | Chevrolet | 195 |
+0.080 3:26'24.883 |
0.053 | 10 | 42 | |
| 5 | E. JonesLegacy Motor Club | 43 | Toyota | 195 |
+0.101 3:26'24.904 |
0.021 | 9 | 32 | |
| 6 | C. BellJoe Gibbs Racing | 20 | Toyota | 195 |
+0.166 3:26'24.969 |
0.065 | 8 | 37 | |
| 7 | J. HaleySpire Motorsports | 7 | Chevrolet | 195 |
+0.178 3:26'24.981 |
0.012 | 8 | 30 | |
| 8 | A. DillonRichard Childress Racing | 3 | Chevrolet | 195 |
+0.236 3:26'25.039 |
0.058 | 10 | 29 | |
| 9 | B. Wallace23XI Racing | 23 | Toyota | 195 |
+0.259 3:26'25.062 |
0.023 | 11 | 32 | |
| 10 | D. HamlinJoe Gibbs Racing | 11 | Toyota | 195 |
+0.293 3:26'25.096 |
0.034 | 8 | 27 | |
| 11 | M. Truex JrJoe Gibbs Racing | 19 | Toyota | 195 |
+0.404 3:26'25.207 |
0.111 | 11 | 26 | |
| 12 | C. WareRick Ware Racing | 15 | Ford | 195 |
+0.425 3:26'25.228 |
0.021 | 10 | 25 | |
| 13 |
T. GibbsJoe Gibbs Racing
|
54 | Toyota | 195 |
+0.428 3:26'25.231 |
0.003 | 10 | 24 | |
| 14 |
C. HocevarSpire Motorsports
|
77 | Chevrolet | 195 |
+0.519 3:26'25.322 |
0.091 | 11 | 23 | |
| 15 | S. van GisbergenKaulig Racing | 16 | Chevrolet | 195 |
+0.530 3:26'25.333 |
0.011 | 10 | ||
| 16 | A. BowmanHendrick Motorsports | 48 | Chevrolet | 195 |
+0.615 3:26'25.418 |
0.085 | 11 | 26 | |
| 17 | C. BuescherRFK Racing | 17 | Ford | 195 |
+0.736 3:26'25.539 |
0.121 | 11 | 30 | |
| 18 | C. LajoieRick Ware Racing | 51 | Ford | 195 |
+0.848 3:26'25.651 |
0.112 | 12 | 19 | |
| 19 | K. BuschRichard Childress Racing | 8 | Chevrolet | 195 |
+0.999 3:26'25.802 |
0.151 | 9 | 26 | |
| 20 | T. Reddick23XI Racing | 45 | Toyota | 195 |
+1.507 3:26'26.310 |
0.508 | 11 | 22 | |
| 21 |
Z. SmithSpire Motorsports
|
71 | Chevrolet | 195 |
+3.607 3:26'28.410 |
2.100 | 10 | 16 | |
| 22 | B. McLeodLive Fast Motorsports | 78 | Chevrolet | 195 |
+4.803 3:26'29.606 |
1.196 | 11 | ||
| 23 | T. GillilandFront Row Motorsports | 38 | Ford | 194 |
+1 Lap 3:26'28.864 |
1 Lap | 15 | 14 | |
| 24 |
A. AlfredoBeard Motorsports
|
62 | Chevrolet | 194 |
+1 Lap 3:26'29.067 |
0.203 | 10 | ||
| 25 | N. GragsonStewart-Haas Racing | 10 | Ford | 194 |
+1 Lap 3:26'35.247 |
6.180 | 9 | 12 | |
| 26 | D. SuarezTrackHouse Racing | 99 | Chevrolet | 194 |
+1 Lap 3:28'03.864 |
1'28.617 | 12 | 11 | |
| 27 | J. YeleyNY Racing Team | 44 | Chevrolet | 193 |
+2 Laps 3:26'29.867 |
1 Lap | 12 | ||
| 28 | A. AllmendingerKaulig Racing | 13 | Chevrolet | 193 |
+2 Laps 3:26'43.857 |
13.990 | 12 | ||
| 29 | C. ElliottHendrick Motorsports | 9 | Chevrolet | 190 |
+5 Laps 3:26'30.378 |
3 Laps | 11 | 17 | |
| 30 | C. BriscoeStewart-Haas Racing | 14 | Ford | 189 |
+6 Laps 3:26'43.372 |
1 Lap | 10 | 10 | |
| 31 | J. NemechekLegacy Motor Club | 42 | Toyota | 188 |
+7 Laps 3:27'49.580 |
1 Lap | 10 | 6 | |
| 32 | A. CindricTeam Penske | 2 | Ford | 183 |
+12 Laps 2:57'44.528 |
5 Laps | 7 | 17 | |
| 33 | J. LoganoTeam Penske | 22 | Ford | 183 |
+12 Laps 2:57'44.727 |
0.199 | 9 | 4 | |
| 34 | H. BurtonWood Brothers Racing | 21 | Ford | 183 |
+12 Laps 2:57'44.803 |
0.076 | 8 | 3 | |
| 35 | R. PreeceStewart-Haas Racing | 41 | Ford | 183 |
+12 Laps 2:57'44.937 |
0.134 | 8 | 2 | |
| 36 | J. BerryStewart-Haas Racing | 4 | Ford | 183 |
+12 Laps 2:57'45.199 |
0.262 | 7 | 1 | |
| 37 | M. McDowellFront Row Motorsports | 34 | Ford | 183 |
+12 Laps 2:57'45.323 |
0.124 | 9 | 1 | |
| 38 | D. HemricKaulig Racing | 31 | Chevrolet | 183 |
+12 Laps 2:57'45.937 |
0.614 | 8 | 1 | |
| 39 | R. BlaneyTeam Penske | 12 | Ford | 124 |
+71 Laps 2:03'21.539 |
59 Laps | 5 | 5 | |
| 40 | R. ChastainTrackHouse Racing | 1 | Chevrolet | 120 |
+75 Laps 1:54'53.853 |
4 Laps | 6 | 6 |
