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Writer's pictureSean McKean
Oct 65 min read

Cup Series: Stenhouse beats Keselowski to the line in Talladega thriller

Written by Sean McKean


Credit - NASCAR Digital Media via X

In a three-wide photo-finish, it was Ricky Stenhouse who beat Brad Keselowski to the line by only six-thousandths of a second. It was Stenhouse’s fourth career win and second at Talladega.


As it unfolded


From the front row, Michael McDowell and Austin Cindric got good getaways and led both lines. 


After the first lap, Daniel Suarez had to serve a drive-through for a technical infringement in inspection. However, he became the first caution of the race on Lap 10, when an attempted blend into traffic went wrong, sending him into the wall and a spin. He continued with damage.


McDowell led the way again on Lap 19, and he maintained the lead whilst fuel-saving began in the main pack. 


The FRM driver soon relinquished the lead to Justin Haley on Lap 39 as the pack began picking up the aggression – going four-wide multiple rows deep. Once the four-wide racing settled, Ross Chastain then took the lead.


The jostling for position continued until the end of the stage, with Chris Buescher taking top honours followed by Ricky Stenhouse and William Byron.


Stage 1 Results:

  1. No. 17 - Chris Buescher

  2. No. 47 - Ricky Stenhouse

  3. No. 24 - William Byron [Playoffs]

  4. No. 5 - Kyle Larson [Playoffs]

  5. No. 20 - Christopher Bell [Playoffs]

  6. No. 45 - Tyler Reddick [Playoffs]

  7. No. 1 - Ross Chastain

  8. No. 14 - Chase Briscoe [Playoffs]

  9. No. 2 - Austin Cindric [Playoffs]

  10. No. 12 - Ryan Blaney [Playoffs]


Buescher led the field to the green on Lap 67 followed by McDowell on the outside. 


The pack continued until Lap 83, when a bunch of cars, mostly Fords, pitted – including all Stewart-Haas Racing and Rick Ware Racing cars. Notably, Brad Keselowski and Todd Gilliland overshot the pit lane, thus having to do an extra lap off the pace. Van Gisbergen and Blaney now led the main pack.


As the main pack split lapped traffic, a portion of the pack pitted on Lap 95. With them was Martin Truex, who went for a spin on entry. He rejoined the race undamaged but lost touch with his teammates.


By Lap 101, most of the main pack received pit-lane service. Once everything cycled, Austin Cindric assumed the lead followed by Chase Elliott. 


They swapped the lead lots coming to stage’s end, but Austin Cindric crossed the line first followed by Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch. 


The end also saw a crash unfold between Ryan Blaney and Ross Chastain, both drivers retiring from the race. Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Corey Lajoie were also collected but only sustained minor damage.


Stage 2 Results:

  1. No. 2 - Austin Cindric [Playoffs]

  2. No. 9 - Chase Elliott [Playoffs]

  3. No. 8 - Kyle Busch

  4. No. 16 - Shane van Gisbergen

  5. No. 24 - William Byron [Playoffs]

  6. No. 48 - Alex Bowman [Playoffs]

  7. No. 23 - Bubba Wallace

  8. No. 12 - Ryan Blaney [Playoffs]

  9. No. 5 - Kyle Larson [Playoffs]

  10. No. 1 - Ross Chastain 


Kyle Busch led everyone to the green again on Lap 128. The field eventually fanned out three-wide again to conserve fuel.


The first pit road takers came on Lap 167, with all three Kaulig cars coming in. Erik Jones, Chris Buescher, and Bubba Wallace followed two laps later. The rest of the field eventually received service by Lap 173, with the top two cycling to Austin Cindric and Brad Keselowski.


As the laps wound down, energy was building, and it resulted in a massive crash. Out of the 28 cars involved, these were the retirements: Austin Cindric, Joey Logano, Daniel Hemric, Ryan Preece, and Michael McDowell. The red flag was thrown. Notably, this crash was recorded as the biggest crash in documented Cup history post-1972. 


Everyone stayed out for the upcoming restart, of which Stenhouse led the way in overtime. Brad Keselowski remained hooked on the inside. They came to the line side by side whilst Byron went high, but Stenhouse took victory by six-thousandths at the line. It was his first victory since the Daytona 500 in 2023. 


Provisional Results:

  1. No. 47 - Ricky Stenhouse (JTG-Daugherty Racing)

  2. No. 6 - Brad Keselowski (Roush Fenway-Keselowski Racing)

  3. No. 24 - William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports) [Playoffs]

  4. No. 5 - Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports) [Playoffs]

  5. No. 43 - Erik Jones (Legacy Motor Club)

  6. No. 20 - Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing) [Playoffs]

  7. No. 7 - Justin Haley (Spire Motorsports)

  8. No. 3 - Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing)

  9. No. 23 - Bubba Wallace (23XI Racing)

  10. No. 11 - Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing) [Playoffs]

  11. No. 19 - Martin Truex (Joe Gibbs Racing)

  12. No. 15 - Cody Ware (Rick Ware Racing)

  13. No. 54 - Ty Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing)

  14. No. 77 - Carson Hocevar (Spire Motorsports)

  15. No. 16 - Shane van Gisbergen (Kaulig Racing)

  16. No. 48 - Alex Bowman (Hendrick Motorsports) [Playoffs]

  17. No. 17 - Chris Buescher (Roush Fenway-Keselowski Racing)

  18. No. 51 - Corey Lajoie (Rick Ware Racing)

  19. No. 8 - Kyle Busch (Richard Childress Racing)

  20. No. 45 - Tyler Reddick (23XI Racing) [Playoffs]

  21. No. 71 - Zane Smith (Spire Motorsports)

  22. No. 78 - BJ McLeod (Live Fast Motorsports)

  23. No. 38 - Todd Gilliland (Front Row Motorsports) +1 lap

  24. No. 62 - Anthony Alfredo (Beard Motorsports) +1 lap

  25. No. 10 - Noah Gragson (Stewart-Haas Racing) +1 lap

  26. No. 99 - Daniel Suarez (Trackhouse Racing) [Playoffs] +1 lap

  27. No. 44 - JJ Yeley (NY Racing) +2 laps

  28. No. 13 - AJ Allmendinger (Kaulig Racing) +2 laps

  29. No. 9 - Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports) [Playoffs] [DNF]

  30. No. 14 - Chase Briscoe (Stewart-Haas Racing) [Playoffs] [DNF]

  31. No. 42 - John Hunter Nemechek (Legacy Motor Club) [DNF]

  32. No. 2 - Austin Cindric (Team Penske) [Playoffs] [DNF]

  33. No. 22 - Joey Logano (Team Penske) [Playoffs] [DNF]

  34. No. 21 - Harrison Burton (Wood Brothers Racing) [DNF]

  35. No. 41 - Ryan Preece (Stewart-Haas Racing) [DNF]

  36. No. 4 - Josh Berry (Stewart-Haas Racing) [DNF]

  37. No. 34 - Michael McDowell (Front Row Motorsports) [DNF]

  38. No. 31 - Daniel Hemric (Kaulig Racing) [DNF]

  39. No. 12 - Ryan Blaney (Team Penske) [Playoffs] [DNF]

  40. No. 1 - Ross Chastain (Trackhouse Racing) [DNF]


With his third-placed result, William Byron became the first driver to lock into the Round of 8. The rest of the standings are as follows:


Provisional Playoff Standings:

  1. No. 24 - William Byron: [ADV]

  2. No. 20 - Christopher Bell: +57

  3. No. 5 - Kyle Larson: +52

  4. No. 11 - Denny Hamlin: +30

  5. No. 48 - Alex Bowman: +26

  6. No. 12 - Ryan Blaney: +25

  7. No. 45 - Tyler Reddick: +14

  8. No. 9 - Chase Elliott: +13

Playoff Cut Line

  1. No. 22 - Joey Logano: -13

  2. No. 99 - Daniel Suarez: -20

  3. No. 2 - Austin Cindric: -29

  4. No. 14 - Chase Briscoe: -32

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