Chase Briscoe wins in Talladega overtime and earns Championship 4 berth
LINCOLN, Ala. — With a little bit of teamwork and the right amount of luck, Chase Briscoe won at Talladega Superspeedway and will race for a NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway.
Briscoe led seven times for 16 laps, including the final one, to earn his first Championship 4 berth. The winning pass came on the backstretch when Kyle Larson ran out of fuel and opened the door for Briscoe to move to the inside lane under Bubba Wallace with Ty Gibbs following him through.
“Ty. Ty Gibbs, what an incredible teammate. I can’t believe I won at a superspeedway. This is an incredible atmosphere. It hasn’t hit me…. We’re going to Phoenix,” Briscoe said.
TOP-10 FINISHERS (LAP 193): Chase Briscoe, Todd Gilliland, Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace, Cole Custer, Carson Hocevar, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Zane Smith, Brad Keselowski.
Briscoe and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin are locked into the Championship 4 heading into Martinsville. Here is what the cutline looks like going into Martinsville:
Christopher Bell +37, Kyle Larson +36, William Byron -36, Joey Logano -38, Ryan Blaney -47, Chase Elliott -62.
Larson finished 26th after running out of gas on the final lap. Byron finished just ahead of him after getting spun in the tri-oval.
Logano and Blaney ran up front all day, with Logano leading a race-high six times for 35 of 193 laps. However, the Penske duo needed to pit for fuel and restarted back in the pack for overtime. Ultimately, Logano and Blaney finished 16th and 23rd, respectively.
Meanwhile, Elliott crashed out of the race on lap 53.
MORE: Chase Elliott wreck at Talladega forces him into must-win territory at Martinsville
Below is the archive of live updates on the eighth race of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Who is leading the NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega?
Chase Briscoe took the second stage and has led four times for 12 laps. Kyle Larson, Carson Hocevar, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, Ryan Blaney, Todd Gilliland, John Hunter Nemechek and Alex Bowman rounded out the top 10.
Ty Gibbs took the first stage over Tyler Reddick, John Hunter Nemechek, Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, Zane Smith, Michael McDowell, Carson Hocevar and Christopher Bell on lap 60. Through the first stage, Josh Berry has led the most laps — 17. Chase Elliott is out of the race after a crash.
Follow here for live race updates.
FINAL STAGE
Interesting… Hendrick splits the front row with Larson on the outside and Byron on the inside. I’d put money on Byron more than Larson. Larson has some Toyotas behind him.
The race is going into overtime after an intense run of racing, maybe some of the best SS racing we’ve had with the Gen 7 car. Top 10: Byron, Larson, Wallace, Hocevar, Bell, Briscoe, Gibbs, Z. Smith, Gilliland, Suarez. Blaney and Logano pit.
4 to go: Chris Buescher gets spun from racing for the lead and hits the inside wall
11 to go: Zane Smith rockets out in front with Ross Chastain pushing. Kyle Larson and Todd Gilliland are in tow.
15 to go: Todd Gilliland and Kyle Larson race door-to-door for the win.
18 to go TOP 10: Blaney, Logano, Gilliland, Larson, Keselowski, Suarez, Preece, Buescher, McDowell, Byron. Byron is told he’ll be close on fuel.
20 to go off pit road: Blaney, Logano, Gilliland, Larson, Keselowski, Suarez, Buescher.
23 to go: Cody Ware spins after blowing an engine and brings out the caution. Denny Hamlin is having issues with a possible stuck throttle.
24 to go (Lap 164): Logano, Gilliland, Blaney, Hamlin, Keselowski, Byron, Buescher, Larson, Preece, Suarez.
LAP 159: The championship contenders are starting to position themselves for the final pit stop. Playoff drivers comprise five of the top seven spots. The other three are 14th (Bell), 15th (Briscoe) and out of the race (Elliott).
LAP 158: Alex Bowman has fallen off the pack with a possible engine issue.
LAP 157: Todd Gilliland surges on the outside lane to look for the lead on Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin. It looked like Ross Chastain singlehandedly pushed Gilliland up there.
LAP 152: Christopher Bell looks for the lead on the outside of Joey Logano. Bell is looking to challenge Logano who would force him down to the cutline with a win.
LAP 150: Ross Chastain takes the lead from Joey Logano for the 52nd lead change of the race. Logano takes it back for the 53rd.
LAP 142: Riley Herbst slows suddenly and causes the pack to scatter. Everyone avoided him.
LAP 141: Josh Berry is out of the race after leading a race-high (so far) 27 laps. He had a gear issue. Quasi-teammates and playoff drivers Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney aren’t out of the woods, especially Logano who has smelled gear oil all day.
LAP 136: Joey Logano is out in front after taking the lead in the 54th lead change of the day. John Hunter Nemechek led seven laps while Ty Gibbs and Riley Herbst each led a lap in stage one before Logano took over on lap 134.
The final stage is 68 laps and is scheduled to end with the checkered flag on lap 188.
STAGE TWO Winner: Chase Briscoe
STAGE TWO TOP-10 (LAP 120): Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, Carson Hocevar, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, Ryan Blaney, Todd Gilliland, John Hunter Nemechek, Alex Bowman.
Top 10 (Lap 116): 19 77 5 20 24 12 54 11 48 41
So many drivers pitted that Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick will restart 15th and 16th after initially pitting on the first lap of caution.
LAP 110: A bunch of cars pit. Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano do not pit. Shane van Gisbergen spins coming on to pit road! Chase Briscoe is first off of pit road.
LAP 109: Buescher, Keselowski and Preece pit.
LAP 106: Pit stops are starting. Hill, Berry, Busch, McDowell and Ware pit together.
LAP 103: Lap times are ramping up with 17 to go in Stage 2. Pit stops are coming.
LAP 102: Kyle Busch is still up front with Josh Berry on the inside but the racing is heating up. Some dicey moves have been made and now Josh Berry, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Todd Gilliland are lined up on the inside lane.
LAP 85: Kyle Busch leads briefly. He has led 15 laps.
LAP 83: Whoa! Anthony Alfredo tried blocking Michael McDowell and almost wrecked him.
LAP 81: Michael McDowell to the lead with Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney pushing him.
Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney went from 22nd and 24th on lap 80 to 3rd and 5th on lap 81.
LAP 80: Chase Briscoe takes the lead. He and Kyle Busch have recovered very well after each getting a speeding penalty.
Joey Logano has a reported gear oil temperature issue.
Kyle Busch has led 13 laps. This is the most laps he has led an oval since Atlanta in February, 32 Cup races ago. It’s the most laps he has led in any race since COTA in March, 31 races ago.
LAP 69: Josh Berry to the lead again. He has led the most laps — 18 so far.
LAP 68: Chris Buescher leads Kyle Busch. About five cars back to the outside is Denny Hamlin. Buescher’s teammate Brad Keselowski is pushing Hamlin.
Top 10 to start the second stage on lap 65 is Ty Dillon, Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece, Josh Berry, Chase Briscoe, Riley Herbst, Cole Custer, Cody Ware and Denny Hamlin.
Busch and Briscoe are back in the top 10 after their speeding penalties in the first stage.
Some early contenders are out after a crash in the first stage.
The first stage is also 60 laps and ends on lap 120.
STAGE ONE Winner: Ty Gibbs
STAGE ONE TOP-10 (LAP 60): Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, John Hunter Nemechek, Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, Zane Smith, Michael McDowell, Carson Hocevar, Christopher Bell.
TOP 10 (LAP 58): Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs, Michael McDowell, John Hunter Nemechek, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace, William Byron.
Chase Elliott is out of the race, the team says. He will finish 40th and only collect 1 point today. As they run, he is 59 points below the cutline.
Chase Elliott is going to the garage.
LAP 52: OH NO. Chase Elliott has crashed in a wreck involving Justin Haley, A.J. Allmendinger and others. Allmendinger is out lying on the ground. Some guys took some hard hits, I think he was one of them, clearly. Ouch.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Noah Gragson, Erik Jones, Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon, Daniel Suarez also involved.
The wreck started when Jones gave a bad bump to Gragson, setting off that incident in turn three.
LAP 50: Very telling that Joey Logano raced up front all stage and cycled around to the lead. The Hendrick cars couldn’t cycle to the lead by fuel saving. Carson Hocevar pits with a flat tire.
LAP 49: Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric move right in front of the pack as they were going much faster. That was a very, very risky move.
LAP 47: Byron, Bowman, Elliott, Larson and others pit. Ross Chastain also gets a speeding penalty.
LAP 46: Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and others pit.
LAP 45: Kyle Busch gets a speeding penalty too. He has led nine laps so far.
LAP 44: Chase Briscoe speeding penalty!
LAP 43: Pit stops begin on lap 43. Briscoe, Nemechek, Berry, Gibbs, Ware, Jones, McDowell and others. Others, including Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin and others, including Tyler Reddick, pit on lap 44.
LAP 40: Joey Logano reports: Joey Logano: “A little free. Dirty air, clean air, it’s a little wild.” He was scored ninth.
LAP 39: Inside lane prevails with Keselowski, Briscoe, Nemechek and McDowell. Hamlin, Berry and Logano are now outside of the top 10, mostly.
LAP 34: Denny Hamlin to the lead. Joey Logano is pushing him hard now.
LAP 33: Josh Berry takes the lead back. Joey Logano remains up there and makes a big move to lead the outside lane.
LAP 32: John Hunter Nemechek now leads Josh Berry and Shane van Gisbergen.
LAP 28: Cody Ware takes the lead for a lap but now Noah Gragson and John Hunter Nemechek are up front. Denny Hamlin is up there too after riding in 39th for a while.
LAP 27: The field is single file with Josh Berry leading. Now, Chase Briscoe is making a push to the front with Cody Ware pushing him. Lap times are about three seconds off the fastest time today and five seconds off of the fastest time in the spring.
Ryan Preece led lap 16 and Kyle Busch led six laps before Berry retook the lead.
LAP 9: Josh Berry to the lead with Joey Logano behind him. Justin Haley, Shane van Gisbergen, Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe, Austin Hill, Michael McDowell, Anthony Alfredo and Carson Hocevar round out the top 10.
Other playoff drivers: Christopher Bell (18th), Kyle Larson (22nd), Ryan Blaney (26th), William Byron (28th), Chase Elliott (30th), Denny Hamlin (39th).
LAP 6: Bubba Wallace to the lead as some four-wide racing emerges. Although they’re saving some fuel, some drivers are mixing it up.
LAP 2: Josh Berry leads as Chase Briscoe moves to the middle. Bubba Wallace goes for the lead now.
LAP 1: Chase Briscoe leads the first lap but here comes Josh Berry to the third lane to take the lead. Michael McDowell is leading the middle. Bubba Wallace and Joey Logano are pushing Berry.
One to green, here we go!
Officials are drying some wet spots exiting the tri-oval from the weepers. The first stage is 60 laps.
RACE INFO
Riley Herbst, John Hunter Nemechek will go to the rear of the field for the race.
The weather is looking nice after rain reportedly moved through quickly over night. The forecast called for rain this morning but Mother Nature dealt a winning.
So far, the 2025 season has seen no significant postponements due to weather. Every race has gotten in on its scheduled day without getting moved to another day.
It has been since 1994 that that has happened for all three top NASCAR national series.
Michael McDowell is happy either way. He will start on the pole with Chase Briscoe alongside him.
Green flag is set for just after 2 p.m. ET on NBC, Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Here are some of the biggest pre-race storylines:
- Penske drivers both below the cutline
- William Byron below the cutline after wild crash with Ty Dillon at Las Vegas
- Ty Dillon’s spotter fired after Las Vegas
- Justin Haley will not return to Spire Motorsports in 2025
- Kyle Busch will get Justin Allgaier’s championship winning crew chief as his crew chief in Cup in 2026
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com