Chase Elliott's Last Lap Pass Seals Talladega Victory

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TALLADEGA, AL – RIS – Finally, a playoff driver wins a playoff race.  Chase Elliott passed Ryan Blaney on the final lap to claim victory at Talladega Superspeedway.  That means that Elliott moves on to the next round, which starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s ROVAL—a half road could and banked speedway hybrid. That’s a cutoff race.

Blaney was the leader when a caution came out on lap 181 for Daniel Hemric’s stalled car on pit road. The race restarted on lap 187 for a two-lap sprint to the finish and Blaney held the lead on the low line with help from Michael McDowell and Elliott. But Elliott made his move to the top side of the track and got a push from Erik Jones to clear Blaney at the start of the trioval on the final lap. McDowell finished third while Ross Chastain was fourth and Denny Hamlin was fifth. Playoff drivers grabbed seven of the top 10 spots.

"It was a wild last couple laps," Elliott said after the race. "I wasn't super crazy about being on the bottom and fortunately got just clear enough off of two and was able to slide up in front of Erik."

The race was relatively clean based on past races at the 2.66-mile high banked track.It could have gone caution free for the final laps if not for Hemric’s problem.  The only big crash of the day came in the first stage when a push from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. sent Harrison Burton spinning and collected eight cars that were running near the back of the pack at the time, and that was early on at the 23 lap mark when Cory Lajoie hit the wall when he cut a right front tire, a common theme this season. The 12 combined cautions over the two Talladega races in 2022 are the fewest at Talladega over a NASCAR season since 2015. The spring race at Talladega won by Ross Chastain went green for the final 63 laps.

Blaney is now in a good position to advance to the third round too. He enters the final race of the second round 32 points ahead of ninth place — the top eight drivers move on — after winning the first stage and scoring 45 total points. Joey Logano was the points leader entering Talladega but he was caught up in that early crash and only scored 16 points on Sunday. He’s now fifth in the standings.

2022 is the first season where a playoff driver had failed to win any of the first four races of the postseason. Elliott became the first driver to guarantee advancement in the playoffs with his win on Sunday.

Unofficial Results: 54th Annual YellaWood 500 - October 2, 2022 - Talladega Superspeedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps , St1, St2, Tms, Laps, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 16, Chase Elliott (P), No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 188, 3, 1, 4, 10, 6, 58, Running
2) 19, Ryan Blaney (P), No. 12 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford, 188, 1, , 7, 31, 1, 45, Running
3) 29, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 188, , , , , , 34, Running
4) 6, Ross Chastain (P), No. 1 Jockey Chevrolet, 188, , 6, 5, 36, , 38, Running
5) 3, Denny Hamlin (P), No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, 188, 2, , 6, 20, , 41, Running
6) 12, Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Chevrolet, 188, 10, 5, 10, 23, , 38, Running
7) 34, Todd Gilliland #, No. 38 Georgia Peanuts Ford, 188, , , 1, 1, , 30, Running
8) 14, Daniel Suarez (P), No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet, 188, , 4, 2, 2, , 36, Running
9) 17, Austin Cindric # (P), No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, 188, 4, , , , , 35, Running
10) 5, Chase Briscoe (P), No. 14 Magical Vacation Planner Ford, 188, , 10, , , , 28, Running
11) 33, Landon Cassill(i), No. 77 Voyager: Crypto for All Chevrolet, 188, , 7, 1, 1, , 0, Running
12) 9, William Byron (P), No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet, 188, , , 1, 1, , 25, Running
13) 20, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet, 188, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 4, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield Ford, 188, , , 7, 36, , 23, Running
15) 21, Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 188, , 2, , , , 31, Running
16) 27, Bubba Wallace (P), No. 45 Leidos Toyota, 188, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 1, Christopher Bell (P), No. 20 Sirius XM Toyota, 188, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 2, Kyle Larson (P), No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 188, 8, 3, 5, 8, , 30, Running
19) 7, Noah Gragson(i) (P), No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 188, 9, , , , , 0, Running
20) 26, Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota, 188, 7, , 1, 3, , 21, Running
21) 28, Cole Custer, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 188, , , 1, 2, , 16, Running
22) 25, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/SunnyD Chevrolet, 188, 6, , , , , 20, Running
23) 30, Ty Dillon, No. 42 SunseekerResorts.com Chevrolet, 188, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 18, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Kohler Generators Ford, 188, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 23, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 188, , 8, 1, 1, , 15, Running
26) 22, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 188, , , 1, 1, , 11, Running
27) 11, Joey Logano (P), No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 188, 5, , , , , 16, Running
28) 8, Tyler Reddick, No. 8 REALTREE Chevrolet, 187, , , 3, 11, , 9, Running
29) 24, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Light Ford, 187, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 31, Justin Allgaier(i), No. 62 Beard Oil/South Point Chevrolet, 186, , , , , , 0, Running
31) 36, JJ Yeley(i), No. 15 Summit Racing Equipment Ford, 184, , , , , , 0, Running
32) 37, Cody Ware, No. 51 Nurtec ODT UBCF Ford, 184, , , , , , 5, Running
33) 35, BJ McLeod(i), No. 78 NASCAR Rivals Ford, 182, , , , , , 0, Running
34) 13, Daniel Hemric(i), No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet, 180, , 9, , , , 0, Electrical
35) 32, Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Schluter Systems Chevrolet, 44, , , 1, 1, , 2, Accident
36) 15, Harrison Burton #, No. 21 Dex Imaging Ford, 23, , , , , , 1, Accident
37) 10, Ty Gibbs(i), No. 23 Monster Energy Toyota, 23, , , , , , 0, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs

Length: 188 Laps - 500.08 Miles
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 15 Mins, 23 Secs.
Average Speed: 153.569 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.046 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 12, 11, 9, 2, 22, 47, 18, 5, 48, 43
Stage 2 Top 10: 9, 31, 5, 99, 43, 1, 77, 17, 16, 14

Comments: Chase Elliott won the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, his 18th NASCAR Cup Series victory.

Prior to the start, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason indicated: No. 45 (engine change), No. 8, 23, 78 (unapproved adjustments).

Cautions: 6 for 25 laps;
Laps: 9-11 (Debris [None]);
25-29 (No. 2, 21, 22, 23, 31, 47, 48, 62 Incident Turn 1 [None]);
46-49 (No. 7 Incident Turn 2 [62]);
62-65 (Stage 1 Conclusion [None]);
122-126 (Stage 2 Conclusion [20]);
183-186 (No. 16 Stopped on Track [6]).

Lead Changes: 57 among 17 drivers;
C. Bell (P) 0;
A. Almirola 1-2;
R. Chastain (P) 3-5;
A. Almirola 6-7;
R. Chastain (P) 8-13;
E. Jones 14-15;
R. Chastain (P) 16;
E. Jones 17-20;
R. Chastain (P) 21-22;
E. Jones 23-25;
C. LaJoie 26;
K. Busch 27-29;
D. Suarez (P) 30;
C. Elliott (P) 31-33;
D. Suarez (P) 34;
A. Almirola 35;
D. Hamlin (P) 36-38;
A. Almirola 39;
D. Hamlin (P) 40-42;
A. Almirola 43;
D. Hamlin (P) 44-50;
C. Custer 51-52;
D. Hamlin (P) 53-55;
W. Byron (P) 56;
D. Hamlin (P) 57-59;
R. Blaney (P) 60-61;
M. Truex Jr. 62;
K. Larson (P) 63-64;
E. Jones 65-66;
R. Blaney (P) 67-71;
E. Jones 72;
A. Almirola 73-76;
T. Gilliland # 77;
E. Jones 78;
A. Almirola 79-103;
T. Reddick 104-110;
K. Larson (P) 111-112;
T. Reddick 113-115;
K. Larson (P) 116;
T. Reddick 117;
K. Larson (P) 118-119;
C. Elliott (P) 120-122;
L. Cassill(i) 123;
C. Elliott (P) 124-126;
E. Jones 127;
C. Buescher 128;
R. Chastain (P) 129-152;
R. Blaney (P) 153-160;
D. Hamlin (P) 161;
K. Larson (P) 162;
R. Blaney (P) 163-168;
E. Jones 169;
R. Blaney (P) 170;
E. Jones 171;
R. Blaney (P) 172-179;
E. Jones 180-186;
R. Blaney (P) 187;
C. Elliott (P) 188.

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Unofficial Points Report 54th Annual YellaWood 500 - Talladega Superspeedway
Pos) Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1) Chase Elliott (P), 9, 31, 6, 3103, 0, 0, 5, 6, 46
2) Ryan Blaney (P), 12, 31, 2, 3101, -2, 2, 0, 7, 15
3) Ross Chastain (P), 1, 31, -1, 3097, -6, 4, 2, 5, 20
4) Denny Hamlin (P), 11, 31, 1, 3090, -13, 7, 2, 3, 13
5) Joey Logano (P), 22, 31, -4, 3087, -16, 3, 2, 5, 25
6) Kyle Larson (P), 5, 31, -3, 3087, -16, 0, 2, 4, 20
7) Daniel Suarez (P), 99, 31, -1, 3081, -22, 6, 1, 2, 7
8) Chase Briscoe (P), 14, 31, 0, 3069, -34, 12, 1, 4, 9
9) Austin Cindric # (P), 2, 31, 0, 3069, -34, 0, 1, 1, 6
10) William Byron (P), 24, 31, 0, 3058, -45, 11, 2, 4, 15
11) Christopher Bell (P), 20, 31, 0, 3036, -67, 22, 1, 4, 13
12) Alex Bowman, , 30, 0, 3015, -88, 21, 1, 2, 7
13) Tyler Reddick, 8, 31, 0, 2116, -987, 899, 3, 2, 17
14) Austin Dillon, 3, 31, 0, 2107, -996, 9, 1, 0, 5
15) Kyle Busch, 18, 31, 0, 2089, -1014, 18, 1, 3, 10
16) Kevin Harvick, 4, 31, 0, 2071, -1032, 18, 2, 0, 12
17) Martin Truex Jr, 19, 31, 0, 880, -2223, 1191, 0, 7, 0
18) Erik Jones, 43, 31, 0, 727, -2376, 153, 1, 0, 5
19) Bubba Wallace (P), 45, 31, 0, 678, -2425, 49, 1, 1, 5
20) Aric Almirola, 10, 31, 0, 663, -2440, 15, 0, 0, 0
21) Chris Buescher, 17, 30, 0, 621, -2482, 42, 1, 0, 5
22) Justin Haley, 31, 31, 0, 615, -2488, 6, 0, 0, 0
23) Michael McDowell, 34, 31, 0, 582, -2521, 33, 0, 0, 0
24) Brad Keselowski, 6, 31, 0, 541, -2562, 41, 0, 1, 1
25) Cole Custer, 41, 31, 0, 537, -2566, 4, 0, 0, 0
26) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, 47, 31, 0, 506, -2597, 31, 0, 0, 0
27) Kurt Busch, , 20, 0, 485, -2618, 21, 1, 2, 0
28) Harrison Burton #, 21, 31, 0, 483, -2620, 2, 0, 0, 0
29) Todd Gilliland #, 38, 31, 1, 474, -2629, 9, 0, 0, 0
30) Ty Dillon, 42, 31, -1, 474, -2629, 0, 0, 0, 0
31) Corey LaJoie, 7, 31, 0, 379, -2724, 95, 0, 0, 0
32) Cody Ware, 51, 31, 0, 276, -2827, 103, 0, 0, 0
33) David Ragan, , 4, 0, 89, -3014, 187, 0, 0, 0
34) Joey Hand, , 5, 0, 63, -3040, 26, 0, 0, 0
35) Greg Biffle, , 5, 0, 24, -3079, 39, 0, 0, 0
36) Jacques Villeneuve, , 1, 0, 15, -3088, 9, 0, 0, 0
37) Boris Said, , 1, 0, 11, -3092, 4, 0, 0, 0
38) Kyle Tilley, , 2, 0, 8, -3095, 3, 0, 0, 0
39) Mike Rockenfeller, , 1, 0, 7, -3096, 1, 0, 0, 0
40) Daniil Kvyat, , 2, 0, 2, -3101, 5, 0, 0, 0
41) Kimi Raikkonen, , 1, 0, 1, -3102, 1, 0, 0, 0
42) Aj Allmendinger(i), , 13, 0, 0, -3103, 1, 0, 0, 0
43) Landon Cassill(i), 77, 13, 0, 0, -3103, 0, 0, 0, 0
44) Noah Gragson(i) (P), 48, 14, 0, 0, -3103, 0, 0, 0, 0
45) BJ McLeod(i), 78, 25, 0, 0, -3103, 0, 0, 0, 0
46) Daniel Hemric(i), 16, 8, 0, 0, -3103, 0, 0, 0, 0
47) Ty Gibbs(i), 23, 11, 0, 0, -3103, 0, 0, 0, 0
48) Josh Bilicki(i), , 16, 0, 0, -3103, 0, 0, 0, 0
49) Zane Smith(i), , 1, 0, 0, -3103, 0, 0, 0, 0
50) Austin Hill(i), , 1, 0, 0, -3103, 0, 0, 0, 0
51) Garrett Smithley(i), , 5, 0, 0, -3103, 0, 0, 0, 0
52) JJ Yeley(i), 15, 15, 0, 0, -3103, 0, 0, 0, 0
53) Kaz Grala(i), , 3, 0, 0, -3103, 0, 0, 0, 0
54) Josh Williams(i), , 2, 0, 0, -3103, 0, 0, 0, 0
55) Ryan Preece(i), , 2, 0, 0, -3103, 0, 0, 0, 0
56) Justin Allgaier(i), 62, 2, 3, 0, -3103, 0, 0, 0, 0
57) Parker Kligerman(i), , 1, -1, 0, -3103, 0, 0, 0, 0
58) Loris Hezemans(i), , 4, -1, 0, -3103, 0, 0, 0, 0
59) Scott Heckert(i), , 1, -1, 0, -3103, 0, 0, 0, 0
60) Andy Lally(i), , 1, 0, 0, -3103, 0, 0, 0, 0
61) Timmy Hill(i), , 0, 0, 0, -3103, 0, 0, 0, 0
 -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series