Update: Harvick DQ at Tech:Ryan Blaney Nips Kevin Harvick for a Playoff Win at Talladega

Roger Penske and Ryan Blaney celebrate in Victory Lane

TALLADEGA, AL - RIS − Ryan Blaney won the 2023 YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday in the middle race of the NASCAR Cup Series playoff Round of 12. Blaney took the white flag and was the first one back, beating Kevin Harvick by 0.012 seconds. It is Harvick's final race at Talladega. Stage one was won by Blaney and stage two was on by Brad Keselowski. With the win Blaney clinches his way into the Round of 8, joining William Byron. In a surprise turnabout, Harvick was disqualified after tech inspection found that the windshield fasteners were "found in violation of Sections 14.5.6.2.F and 14.1.E and P; the first rule requires that “windshield fasteners must remain secure for the entire Event,” and the latter section pertains to “Overall Assembled Vehicle Rules.” This moved Harvick to last place and elevated William Byron to second place behind Blaney.“You just got to drag race to the line and hope you get help,” said Blaney, who won by 0.012 seconds. “William gave me a pretty good shove, but he was forced to.”

Blaney also got pushing help late from one of the more unlikely candidates in the field, Riley Herbst. The 24-year-old was making his fourth Cup Series start, all of which have come at superspeedways.

“I have to give a big thanks to Riley Herbest, he did a really good job there the last couple restarts,” Blaney said. “He doesn’t have a lot of Cup starts but he did a great job pushing me.” Herbst got shuffled out at the end and finished 10th.

The win, Blaney’s third at Talladega Superspeedway, advances him to the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs along with William Byron. The final race in the Round of 12 – the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course is next Sunday at 1 p.m. 

It was his first victory at Talladega Superspeedway since he went back-to-back with the fall race of 2019 and the COVID-postponed spring race of 2020.

Blaney won by .012 seconds on Sunday. This was his largest margin of victory at the 2.66-mile superspeedway. He won by .007 seconds in both 2019 and 2020. Sunday’s win was also Blaney’s third consecutive top-two finish at Talladega.

“I’ve won it by more than I have the last couple years,” Blaney told NBC Sports after the race. “That one might have been by four feet, the others were by two but you just don’t know. You just kind of drag race a line and hope you get help.”

This performance was pivotal for Blaney considering that he entered the Talladega weekend sitting 11 points below the cutline. He would have gained ground on other drivers considering that both Ross Chastain and Brad Keselowski failed to finish the race, but now he does not have to worry about the elimination race at the Charlotte Roval.

This race was also one of the most competitive in NASCAR history. It had 69 lead changes between 24 leaders. This was the seventh-most all-time.

The most lead changes in a Cup Series race is 88 between 29 drivers. This took place at Talladega Superspeedway in April 2010. There were also 88 lead changes between 26 drivers at Talladega in April 2011.

One reason for the number of lead changes is that the drivers were able to get the third lane going early in the race. The majority of superspeedway races in the Next Gen era have featured only two lanes.

This was not the case Sunday at Talladega. The third lane was not always there but drivers were still able to use it to make moves at key points of the race.

Kyle Busch will be facing a significant hurdle during the road course race. He is 26 points below the cutline after finishing 34th at Texas and 26th at Talladega.

The two-time Cup Series champion has five starts at the Roval. He finished 30th or worse in the first three. He posted top-five finishes in the last two races at the road course.

Busch was not the only driver that lost points at Talladega. Ross Chastain crashed on the final lap of stage 1 and finished 38th. He fell to nine points below the playoff cutline, putting him in a tie with Bubba Wallace.

Three-time road course winner Tyler Reddick is the fourth driver below the cutline. He is two points out of the transfer spot to the Round of 8 and only two points behind Brad Keselowski, who crashed on Lap 162.

Denny Hamlin is in a strong position heading to the Charlotte Roval. He is 50 points above the cutline. He is the top driver without a win in the Round of 12. Now he heads to a track where he has five starts with one top-five finish.

One other driver sitting in a favorable position is Martin Truex Jr. The regular-season champion has struggled throughout the playoffs but has remained in contention for a spot in the Round of 8 due to his playoff points.

The race at Talladega was the latest example. Truex finished 19th, his fourth straight finish of 17th or worse in the playoffs. He left the Alabama track still 17 points above the cutline.

Truex now sits in a solid position to move on to the Round of 8. He has two top-10 finishes in five starts at the road course.

(Updated) Unofficial Results: YellaWood 500, October 1, 2023 - Talladega Superspeedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, Sta2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 10, Ryan Blaney (P), No. 12 Menards/Pennzoil Ford, 188, 1, , 4, 8, 6, 50, Running
2) 8, William Byron (P), No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, 188, 2, 2, 4, 12, , 52, Running
3) 12, Denny Hamlin (P), No. 11 Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota, 188, , , 1, 3, , 33, Running
4) 36, Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet, 188, , , , , , 32, Running
5) 7, Austin Cindric, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, 188, 6, , 7, 15, , 36, Running
6) 30, Justin Haley, No. 31 Morris-Shea Bridge Co.  Inc. Chevrolet, 188, 7, , 1, 1, , 34, Running
7) 23, Chase Elliott (P), No. 9 LLumar Chevrolet, 188, 4, 5, 4, 8, , 42, Running
8) 19, Ryan Preece, No. 41 Wonder Bread Ford, 188, 10, , 1, 8, , 29, Running
9) 6, * Riley Herbst(i), No. 36 Beast Unleashed White Haze Ford, 188, , , 5, 10, , 0, Running
10) 28, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet, 188, , 6, , , , 31, Running
11) 34, * Chandler Smith(i), No. 13 Quick Tie Products  Inc. Chevrolet, 188, , , , , , 0, Running
12) 17, Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Georgia Peanuts Ford, 188, , , , , , 24, Running
13) 3, Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Old Spice Ford, 188, , 8, , , , 26, Running
14) 15, Christopher Bell (P), No. 20 DEWALT Electrical Solutions Toyota, 188, , , 1, 2, , 22, Running
15) 4, Kyle Larson (P), No. 5 Valvoline/HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 188, 3, 7, 1, 1, , 33, Running
16) 13, Tyler Reddick (P), No. 45 McDonald's Toyota, 188, , 10, 2, 2, , 21, Running
17) 1, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield Ford, 188, , , 4, 7, , 19, Running
18) 16, Martin Truex  Jr. (P), No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 188, , , , , , 18, Running
19) 24, Chris Buescher (P), No. 17 BuildSubmarines.com Ford, 188, , , 2, 3, , 17, Running
20) 31, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet, 188, , , , , , 16, Running
21) 18, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 188, , , 4, 5, , 15, Running
22) 35, Ricky Stenhouse  Jr., No. 47 Sara Lee Artesano Bakery Bread Chevrolet, 188, , , 4, 14, , 14, Running
23) 9, Bubba Wallace (P), No. 23 Leidos Toyota, 188, , , 1, 3, , 13, Running
24) 2, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 188, 9, 3, 7, 48, , 22, Running
25) 25, Kyle Busch (P), No. 8 X World Wallet Chevrolet, 188, , , 1, 2, , 11, Running
26) 26, Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Chevrolet, 188, , , 2, 4, , 10, Running
27) 33, Ty Dillon, No. 77 Ferris Commercial Mowers Chevrolet, 188, , 9, 1, 2, , 11, Running
28) 20, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 188, 5, , 6, 13, , 14, Running
29) 37, BJ McLeod(i), No. 78 Gunk Chevrolet, 187, , , , , , 0, Running
30) 29, Brennan Poole(i), No. 15 Finance Pro Plus Ford, 186, , , , , , 0, Running
31) 21, Harrison Burton, No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford, 175, , , , , , 5, Suspension
32) 5, Brad Keselowski (P), No. 6 Solomon Plumbing Ford, 161, , 1, 2, 5, 1, 14, Accident
33) 14, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, 161, , 4, 1, 1, , 10, Accident
34) 22, Ty Gibbs #, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, 161, , , , , , 2, Accident
35) 38, Carson Hocevar(i), No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet, 161, , , , , , 0, Accident
36) 27, JJ Yeley(i), No. 51 Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford, 83, , , , , , 0, Fuel Pump
37) 32, Ross Chastain (P), No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, 59, , , , , , 1, Accident
38) 11, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Light Camo Ford, 188, 8, , 4, 11, , 38, Running
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs

Total Race Length: 188 Laps, 500.08 miles
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 7 Mins, 25 Secs.
Average Speed: 160.097 mph
Margin of Victory: 0.012 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 12, 24, 5, 9, 48, 2, 31, 4, 22, 41
Stage 2 Top 10: 6, 24, 22, 3, 9, 99, 5, 14, 77, 45

Comments: Ryan Blaney won the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, his ninth NASCAR Cup Series victory. 

Prior to the start, the following car dropped to the rear of the field under penalty: No. 42 (unapproved adjustments).

Cautions: 4 for 19 laps;
Laps: 61-65 (No. 1, 8, 20, 47 Incident Turn 3 / Stage 1 Conclusion [43]);
122-125 (Stage 2 Conclusion [42]);
163-168 (No. 3, 6, 14, 16, 17, 21, 42, 54 Incident Frontstretch [Red Flag: 9:57] [11]);
172-175 (Debris on The Backstretch [2]).

Lead Changes: 70 among 24 drivers;
J. Logano 1-5;
A. Almirola 6;
J. Logano 7-18;
W. Byron (P) 19;
J. Logano 20-22;
R. Preece 23-30;
R. Stenhouse  Jr. 31-38;
T. Dillon 39-40;
C. Bell (P) 41-42;
A. Cindric 43-48;
R. Stenhouse  Jr. 49-50;
A. Cindric 51;
R. Stenhouse  Jr. 52-53;
A. Cindric 54-55;
R. Stenhouse  Jr. 56-57;
A. Cindric 58-59;
R. Blaney (P) 60-61;
Herbst (*) (i) 62;
R. Blaney (P) 63-65;
C. Elliott (P) 66-67;
R. Blaney (P) 68;
C. Elliott (P) 69-72;
A. Bowman 73;
A. Cindric 74;
A. Bowman 75-76;
A. Cindric 77-78;
E. Jones 79;
A. Bowman 80-81;
A. Cindric 82;
E. Jones 83-85;
M. McDowell 86-87;
Herbst (*) (i) 88;
M. McDowell 89;
Herbst (*) (i) 90-91;
M. McDowell 92;
Herbst (*) (i) 93-94;
T. Reddick (P) 95;
Herbst (*) (i) 96-99;
T. Reddick (P) 100;
M. McDowell 101;
D. Hamlin (P) 102-104;
K. Busch (P) 105-106;
A. Dillon 107;
B. Keselowski (P) 108-110;
J. Logano 111-115;
W. Byron (P) 116-119;
B. Keselowski (P) 120-121;
J. Haley 122;
J. Logano 123-132;
K. Larson (P) 133;
J. Logano 134-143;
C. Buescher (P) 144-145;
J. Logano 146-148;
W. Byron (P) 149-153;
B. Wallace (P) 154-156;
W. Byron (P) 157-158;
A. Almirola 159-160;
K. Harvick 161-164;
C. Buescher (P) 165;
A. Almirola 166-168;
A. Bowman 169;
A. Almirola 170;
A. Bowman 171-176;
K. Harvick 177-178;
A. Bowman 179;
C. Elliott (P) 180;
K. Harvick 181-182;
C. Elliott (P) 183;
K. Harvick 184-186;
R. Blaney (P) 187-188.

Unofficial Points: YellaWood 500, Talladega Superspeedway
Rank, Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1), William Byron (P), 24, 31, 0, 3135, 0, 0, 6, 8, 41
2), Denny Hamlin (P), 11, 31, 0, 3107, -28, 28, 3, 7, 32
3), Christopher Bell (P), 20, 31, 1, 3079, -56, 28, 1, 4, 16
4), Ryan Blaney (P), 12, 31, 7, 3078, -57, 1, 2, 4, 14
5), Chris Buescher (P), 17, 31, -2, 3076, -59, 2, 3, 1, 21
6), Martin Truex Jr (P), 19, 31, -1, 3074, -61, 2, 3, 6, 36
7), Kyle Larson (P), 5, 31, 1, 3072, -63, 2, 3, 5, 24
8), Brad Keselowski (P), 6, 31, -1, 3059, -76, 13, 0, 6, 12
9), Tyler Reddick (P), 45, 31, 1, 3057, -78, 2, 2, 5, 15
10), Ross Chastain (P), 1, 31, -4, 3050, -85, 7, 1, 5, 11
11), Bubba Wallace (P), 23, 31, -2, 3050, -85, 0, 0, 0, 0
12), Kyle Busch (P), 8, 31, 0, 3033, -102, 17, 3, 2, 19
13), Kevin Harvick, 4, 31, 0, 2140, -995, 893, 0, 1, 4
14), Ricky Stenhouse Jr, 47, 31, 0, 2110, -1025, 30, 1, 0, 5
15), Joey Logano, 22, 31, 0, 2109, -1026, 1, 1, 3, 8
16), Michael McDowell, 34, 31, 0, 2102, -1033, 7, 1, 2, 7
17), Chase Elliott (P), 9, 24, 0, 709, -2426, 1393, 0, 1, 0
18), Daniel Suarez, 99, 31, 1, 674, -2461, 35, 0, 0, 0
19), Ty Gibbs #, 54, 31, -1, 654, -2481, 20, 0, 0, 0
20), Alex Bowman, 48, 28, 0, 626, -2509, 28, 0, 0, 0
21), AJ Allmendinger, 16, 31, 0, 588, -2547, 38, 0, 0, 0
22), Aric Almirola, 10, 31, 0, 548, -2587, 40, 0, 1, 0
23), Austin Cindric, 2, 31, 0, 544, -2591, 4, 0, 1, 0
24), Justin Haley, 31, 31, 0, 533, -2602, 11, 0, 0, 0
25), Ryan Preece, 41, 31, 0, 527, -2608, 6, 0, 1, 0
26), Corey LaJoie, 7, 31, 1, 525, -2610, 2, 0, 0, 0
27), Erik Jones, 43, 31, -1, 507, -2628, 18, 0, 0, 0
28), Todd Gilliland, 38, 31, 0, 480, -2655, 27, 0, 0, 0
29), Chase Briscoe, 14, 31, 1, 439, -2696, 41, 0, 0, 0
30), Austin Dillon, 3, 31, -1, 431, -2704, 8, 0, 0, 0
31), Harrison Burton, 21, 31, 0, 387, -2748, 44, 0, 0, 0
32), Ty Dillon, 77, 31, 0, 309, -2826, 78, 0, 0, 0
33), Noah Gragson, , 21, 0, 199, -2936, 110, 0, 0, 0
34), Cody Ware, , 7, 0, 65, -3070, 134, 0, 0, 0
35), Jenson Button, , 3, 0, 45, -3090, 20, 0, 0, 0
36), Ryan Newman, , 5, 0, 35, -3100, 10, 0, 0, 0
37), Andy Lally, , 4, 0, 32, -3103, 3, 0, 0, 0
38), Mike Rockenfeller, , 2, 0, 31, -3104, 1, 0, 0, 0
39), Travis Pastrana, , 1, 0, 26, -3109, 5, 0, 0, 0
40), Jordan Taylor(i), , 1, 0, 16, -3119, 10, 0, 0, 0
41), Brodie Kostecki, , 1, 0, 15, -3120, 1, 0, 0, 0
42), Jimmie Johnson, , 3, 0, 12, -3123, 3, 0, 0, 0
43), Kimi Raikkonen, , 1, 0, 8, -3127, 4, 0, 0, 0
44), Jonathan Davenport, , 1, 0, 1, -3134, 7, 0, 0, 0
45), Shane Van Gisbergen(i), , 2, 0, 0, -3135, 1, 1, 0, 0
46), Josh Berry(i), , 10, 0, 0, -3135, 0, 0, 0, 0
47), JJ Yeley(i), 51, 22, 0, 0, -3135, 0, 0, 0, 0
48), * Riley Herbst(i), 36, 4, 1, 0, -3135, 0, 0, 0, 0
49), Zane Smith(i), , 7, -1, 0, -3135, 0, 0, 0, 0
50), Carson Hocevar(i), 42, 6, 0, 0, -3135, 0, 0, 0, 0
51), * Chandler Smith(i), 13, 3, 1, 0, -3135, 0, 0, 0, 0
52), Austin Hill(i), , 4, -1, 0, -3135, 0, 0, 0, 0
53), BJ McLeod(i), 78, 20, 0, 0, -3135, 0, 0, 0, 0
54), Josh Bilicki(i), , 8, 0, 0, -3135, 0, 0, 0, 0
55), Cole Custer(i), , 6, 0, 0, -3135, 0, 0, 0, 0
56), Grant Enfinger(i), , 1, 0, 0, -3135, 0, 0, 0, 0
57), Brennan Poole(i), 15, 6, 0, 0, -3135, 0, 0, 0, 0
58), Conor Daly(i), , 2, 0, 0, -3135, 0, 0, 0, 0
59), Gray Gaulding(i), , 1, 0, 0, -3135, 0, 0, 0, 0
60), Sheldon Creed(i), , 1, 0, 0, -3135, 0, 0, 0, 0
61), Anthony Alfredo(i), , 2, 0, 0, -3135, 0, 0, 0, 0
62), Kamui Kobayashi(i), , 1, 0, 0, -3135, 0, 0, 0, 0
63), Matt Crafton(i), , 1, 0, 0, -3135, 0, 0, 0, 0
 -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series