Larson wins Talladega after dropping to 11th on the final lap
Kyle Larson recovered from 11th on the last lap to take his first NASCAR Cup victory at Talladega. William Byron finished second and Ricky Stenhouse Jr third. With two races remaining, Larson’s championship lead over Denny Hamlin grew from five points to 73 after an overtime finish.
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A last-lap recovery
At Talladega in Alabama, Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Cup Series race after dropping from first to 11th during the opening two corners of the final lap. The Hendrick Motorsports driver recovered through the last two corners with help from a drafting push by Ross Chastain. It was Larson’s first victory at Talladega and his first on the series’ drafting tracks.[1], [2]
William Byron took second behind his Hendrick teammate Larson. Ricky Stenhouse Jr finished third, just 0.066 seconds behind the winner, and Chastain was fourth. Larson led 21 laps in total. He had also slipped from the lead to 21st with 15 laps remaining before returning to second with six to go, ahead of the race’s overtime conclusion.[1]
Crashes and overtime
A late 15-car crash sent Joey Logano’s car rolling and required a 13-minute cleanup. The race then went into overtime. On the final lap, Larson lost places while being bumped by Austin Hill before recovering to the front. The finish gave Larson his 35th career Cup victory and his third win in the past seven races of the season.[1]
Earlier, a crash involving 12 cars on lap 132 had caught five championship contenders. Christopher Bell’s trouble had come sooner: he spun during the first green-flag pit-stop sequence on lap 56 and finished 35th. The race therefore included separate incidents at different stages, before the final overtime scramble delivered the winning result for Larson and a second place for Byron.[1]
Two races remain
In the championship standings, Larson’s advantage over Denny Hamlin increased from five points before Talladega to 73 afterward. Bell was third, 74 points behind the leader. Two races remained on the schedule, with the next round at Martinsville on 1 November. The maximum available for a driver in one race was 76 points, keeping the remaining rounds on the championship calendar.[1]
Before this win, Larson had made 58 starts across Talladega, Daytona and Atlanta without a victory. At Talladega, his final-lap recovery ended that run. His first win on these drafting tracks came in the same race in which Hendrick teammate Byron finished second, with Stenhouse third and Chastain fourth behind them.[1]
