NASCAR Talladega: Larson wins and leads the Chase by 73 points

Kyle Larson won the YellaWood 500 at Talladega on Sunday 25 October, round 34 of the NASCAR Cup season, after a green-white-checkered overtime finish. The driver of Hendrick Motorsports' No. 5 Chevrolet, 11th on the final lap, surged through the pack for his first career Cup win at a superspeedway. He now leads the Chase by 73 points over Denny Hamlin with two races left.

A last-lap charge

The race was decided in overtime. With five laps to go, Joey Logano was caught in a multi-car crash: his No. 22 Ford flipped before coming to rest near Turn 1. The race was stopped while crews righted the car, and Logano climbed out unhurt. Riley Herbst took a heavy impact, and both Logano and Herbst were examined and released from the infield care centre.

At the restart the race was extended from 188 to 189 laps. Larson, 11th on the last lap, worked his way through the pack to beat teammate William Byron, giving Hendrick Motorsports a one-two. The winning margin was 0.041 seconds. It is Larson's third win of the season and the 35th of his Cup career; he led 23 laps.

The YellaWood 500 top 10

1. Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports)
2. William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports)
3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
4. Ross Chastain
5. Cole Custer
6. Carson Hocevar
7. Todd Gilliland
8. Denny Hamlin
9. Alex Bowman
10. Michael McDowell

Chevrolet took positions 1 to 6 and eight of the top ten places, its best Talladega showing of the season. Chase Briscoe (Joe Gibbs Racing) had taken pole.

Chase: Larson pulls clear

Larson has 2,441 points. Behind him Hamlin is 73 points back, Christopher Bell 74, Chase Briscoe 79 and Joey Logano 100. Several rivals were caught in crashes: Christopher Bell finished 35th, Tyler Reddick 37th and Ryan Blaney 38th.

Two races remain: Martinsville on 1 November, then Homestead-Miami on 8 November, which will crown the champion.

The editorial team