Ross Chastain Wins at Talladega

Talladega Superspeedway is the largest oval track on the NASCAR schedule, measuring 2.66 miles with 33 degrees of banking in the turns. So, it makes sense that the biggest track would produce the biggest accidents, especially with pack-racing and speeds reaching nearly 200MPH. While that has typically been the case at most Talladega races, often with 2 and 3 big wrecks involving the majority of the field, the same could not be said for Sunday’s race. The Geico 500 may have only seen one large wreck, but captivating nonetheless with a wild finish.

LAP 1: After scoring the pole in qualifying, Christopher Bell led the field to the green flag beside JGR teammate, Martin Truex Jr.

CAUTION – LAP 56: While racing at the back of the field, the #16 of Daniel Hemric slowed with an apparent mechanical failure. Hemric was hit from behind by the #41 of Cole Custer, causing the #16 to spin up the track and collect Chris Buescher in the #17 Ford Mustang. Both Hemric and Buescher were out of the race.

STAGE 1 END – LAP 60: The stage ended under yellow, allowing Bubba Wallace to seal the segment victory and the playoff point. Behind him, Kyle Larson ,Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Martin Truex Jr rounded out the Top 5 and scored points as well.

CAUTION – LAP 81: The yellow came out for the #44 Chevrolet Camaro of Greg Biffle, which stalled in Turn 4.

CAUTION – LAP 85: BJ McLeod in the #78 brought out the caution when he spun by himself in Turn 2.

CAUTION – LAP 89: On the restart, The #23 of Bubba Wallace made an agressive push to the back of Joey Logano in the #22 Ford which sent Logano into the ouside wall. This collected several other cars including the #2 of Austin Cindric, the #21 of Harrison Burton, and the #99 of Daniel Suarez – all the of whom where out of the race, along with Logano.

STAGE 2 END – LAP 120: A team effort from Hendrick Motorsports saw all 4 of their drivers in the Top 5 at the end of the stage, with the #24 of William Byron collecting the win and the point. Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr, and Alex Bowman also collected points respectively.

The final 10 laps were nail-biting as Erik Jones, William Byron, and Chase Elliott tried desperately to generate momentum in the outside lane while Kyle Larson led the inside line. On the final lap, the two lanes were side-by-side, with Erik Jones out front.

CHECKERED FLAG – LAP 188: Coming out of Turn 4 to take the checkered flag, Kyle Larson made an aggresive move in an effort to pass Jones, causing Jones to block and opening the door for Ross Chastain to sneak-by on the inside. Chastain crossed the finish line in P1 while several cars wrecked behind him as they jockied to get every position possible; this included Corey Lajoie, Bubba Wallace, and Kurt Busch. Watch the final laps here: