{"id":62039,"date":"2026-10-25T21:36:55","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T02:36:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=62039"},"modified":"2026-10-25T21:37:52","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T02:37:52","slug":"kyle-larsons-eventful-last-lap-lands-him-talladega-victory-and-potential-third-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/25\/kyle-larsons-eventful-last-lap-lands-him-talladega-victory-and-potential-third-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyle Larson’s eventful last lap lands him Talladega victory and potential third championship"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – OCTOBER 25: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning during the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 25, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Holly Cain | <\/strong><\/b>NASCAR Wire Service<\/b><\/p>\n

TALLADEGA, Ala. \u2013 Kyle Larson turned in one of the most dramatic victories of his two-time NASCAR Cup Series championship career going from 11th place to Victory Lane on the final lap of overtime to win Sunday\u2019s YellaWood 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.<\/p>\n

\"\"
TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – OCTOBER 25: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 25, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Larson maneuvered his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet low and passed seven cars in just the final quarter-mile of Talladega\u2019s famed 2.66-mile high banks to claim his first ever win in 59 races on a big drafting-style track.<\/p>\n

He celebrated the \u201cstatement win\u201d with his three children who climbed into the car for the Victory Lap celebration – daughter Audrey, 8, waving to the crowd out of the passenger side window, his youngest son Cooper, 3, sitting inside too and 11-year old son Owen perched from the roof hatch waving the checkered flag to a thrilled crowd who clearly appreciated one of Larson\u2019s most amazing – and overdue \u2013 Victory Laps.<\/p>\n

\"\"
TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – OCTOBER 25: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning during the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 25, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Scott Taetsch\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The reigning series champion fell from the lead to 11th place with a lap to go and then negotiated his way forward once again, dropping to the bottom lane and roaring to the win by a photo finish .041-second over his Hendrick teammate William Byron, HYAK Motorsports Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Trackhouse Racing\u2019s Ross Chastain who crossed the line door-to-door-to-door directly behind.<\/p>\n

Haas Factory Team\u2019s Cole Custer and Spire Motorsports\u2019 Carson Hocevar helped Chevrolet to a top-six sweep on the afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, I got really lucky with kinda how everything worked out there,\u2019\u2019 the 34-year old Californian Larson said with a smile, trying to describe the phenomenal winning move.<\/p>\n

\"\"
TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – OCTOBER 25: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 25, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Karl Anderson\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI was so edgy in turns one and two with the 33 [Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Hill] pushing me, he was helping me.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Now with only two races remaining Larson has exponentially expanded his championship lead over his closest challengers: three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota teammates. He now holds a 73-point advantage on regular season champ Denny Hamlin, is 74 points up on JGR\u2019s Christopher Bell and 77 points up on JGR\u2019s Chase Briscoe.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally gotta thank all my Chevy GM partners for working with me all day,\u2019\u2019 Larson continued. \u201cI really felt it and definitely the best speedway race I\u2019ve ever had because of it, so thanks to all them.<\/p>\n

\"\"
TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – OCTOBER 25: Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, leads the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 25, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI was pissed at myself off of [turn] two, my hands off the wheel, just mad. And then all of a sudden everything just opened up and I was able to keep my momentum up,\u2019\u2019 he said of the last lap. \u201cUnbelievable way to get my first superspeedway win.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

The ending was an exclamation point for a race that had all the typical Talladega trademarks \u2013 a photo finish, close-quarter sparring all afternoon, a 13-minute red flag and a pair of massive multi-car accidents that have greatly impacted the NASCAR Chase with only a pair of races left to settle the 2026 championship.<\/p>\n

\"\"
TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – OCTOBER 25: A general view of racing during the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 25, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI felt like the energy got broken up off [turn] two and I was like, \u2018man, I\u2019ve got a shot here,\u2019” two-time Daytona 500 winner Byron said of the last lap dramatics. \u201cOnce I got clear going into [turn] three it was a good job keeping the momentum going. … Man, second sucks but it\u2019s good that Kyle won. We worked really well together all day and if I couldn\u2019t win, I wanted him to win.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cJust proud of the fight.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

It was just that. All day throughout the field.<\/p>\n

\"\"
TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – OCTOBER 25: A general view of racing during the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 25, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 98-lap opening stage of the 189-lap race set the stage for the drama. The three Roush Fenway Keselowski Ford Mustangs seemed to stun the competition \u2013 lining up bumper-to-bumper-bumper they roared off to a lead of more than 30-seconds on the entire fuel-saving field en route to RFK\u2019s Chris Buescher\u2019s easy Stage 1 win. He led a race high 53 laps on the day, but was collected in the late race accident.<\/p>\n

The second massive crash \u2013 with only five laps remaining – brought out the red flag and eliminated many strong cars. As with an earlier multi-car accident, it happened toward the front of the field. This one \u2013 involving 15 cars – appeared to be triggered by spring Talladega winner Hocevar who hit the rear bumper of three-time series champion Joey Logano in tight-quarter drafting.<\/p>\n

\"\"
TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – OCTOBER 24: Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, looks on in his car during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 24, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Scott Taetsch\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Logano\u2019s No. 22 Team Penske Ford led 23 laps on the day and was battling for the top position when Hocevar\u2019s Chevy made contact. It spun Logano\u2019s car into traffic behind and flipped it upside down. It slid down the track and came to rest that way in the tri-oval. After safety crews flipped the car back on its tires, Logano climbed out on his own.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust got a little push in the wrong spot there,\u2019\u2019 Logano said. \u201cIt was a very much a Talladega Nights moment like, \u2018Oh, no. I\u2019m upside down. This is not good moment.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I can\u2019t thank the safety crew enough. They did an amazing job flipping that thing over. The car did a great job. The last time I flipped it was crushed on my head. This time, I don\u2019t think anything really caved or crushed at all. I appreciate what NASCAR has done. Thank you and the safety team for getting me out of there.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"
TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – OCTOBER 25: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, waves to fans as he walks onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 25, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Karl Anderson\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An earlier multi-car incident on the backstretch \u2013 involving 12 cars \u2013 eliminated another Penske championship contender, 2023 series champion Ryan Blaney among others. The two Penske drivers are mathematically still in the title hunt but they lost significant ground after looking so strong.<\/p>\n

Logano is now fifth in the standings, 100 points off Larson\u2019s total and Blaney is sixth, 107 points back. 23XI Racing\u2019s Tyler Reddick, is the only other driver still technically in the title chase, but he trails Larson by 126 points.<\/p>\n

Bell, who went into the race ranked second, only five points behind Larson, spun and hit the wall coming to pit road on the opening pit stop of the race \u2013 his No. 20 JGR Toyota suffering significant damage and finishing 35th in the 40-car field. Briscoe, whose Toyota Camry started from pole position, was eliminated in the late race accident and finished 33rd.<\/p>\n

Hendrick Motorsports executive, NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon said after the race that although things certainly look in the team\u2019s favor toward Larson\u2019s title, \u201cThere\u2019s no points lead big enough at this point.<\/p>\n

The NASCAR Cup Series leaves the biggest track on the schedule and returns to action next Sunday at one of the smallest, the half-mile Martinsville (Va.) Speedway for the Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Byron is the defending race winner. His Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott won there this Spring.<\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/h3>\n

NCS Race Winner – Kyle Larson (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) –<\/p>\n

Crew Chief Cliff Daniels (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/PRODMEDIACENTER9BTALLADEGA25OCT2026NCSCDANIELS.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/PRODMEDIACENTER9ATALLADEGA25OCT2026NCSGORDON.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

NASCAR Cup Series Race – YellaWood 500<\/b><\/p>\n

Talladega Superspeedway<\/b><\/p>\n

Talladega, Alabama<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunday, October 25, 2026<\/b><\/p>\n

                  1. (10)  Kyle Larson (C), Chevrolet, 189.<\/p>\n

                  2. (17)  William Byron (C), Chevrolet, 189.<\/p>\n

                  3. (24)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 189.<\/p>\n

                  4. (15)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 189.<\/p>\n

                  5. (20)  Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 189.<\/p>\n

                  6. (26)  Carson Hocevar (C), Chevrolet, 189.<\/p>\n

                  7. (35)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 189.<\/p>\n

                  8. (9)  Denny Hamlin (C), Toyota, 189.<\/p>\n

                  9. (7)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 189.<\/p>\n

                  10. (23)  Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 189.<\/p>\n

                  11. (12)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 189.<\/p>\n

                  12. (21)  Josh Berry, Ford, 189.<\/p>\n

                  13. (19)  Ryan Preece (C), Ford, 189.<\/p>\n

                  14. (2)  Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 189.<\/p>\n

                  15. (30)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 188.<\/p>\n

                  16. (11)  Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 188.<\/p>\n

                  17. (8)  Ty Gibbs (C), Toyota, 188.<\/p>\n

                  18. (13)  Daniel Suarez (C), Chevrolet, 188.<\/p>\n

                  19. (31)  Zane Smith, Ford, 187.<\/p>\n

                  20. (39)  Noah Gragson, Ford, 186.<\/p>\n

                  21. (38)  Joey Gase(i), Chevrolet, 186.<\/p>\n

                  22. (25)  Bubba Wallace (C), Toyota, 185.<\/p>\n

                  23. (40)  Gray Gaulding(i), Ford, 185.<\/p>\n

                  24. (22)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 184.<\/p>\n

                  25. (36)  Daniel Dye(i), Chevrolet, 184.<\/p>\n

                  26. (14)  Riley Herbst, Toyota, Accident, 183.<\/p>\n

                  27. (28)  Austin Cindric (C), Ford, Accident, 183.<\/p>\n

                  28. (29)  Erik Jones, Toyota, Accident, 183.<\/p>\n

                  29. (3)  Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, Accident, 183.<\/p>\n

                  30. (4)  Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, Accident, 183.<\/p>\n

                  31. (37)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, Accident, 183.<\/p>\n

                  32. (5)  Chris Buescher (C), Ford, Accident, 183.<\/p>\n

                  33. (1)  Chase Briscoe (C), Toyota, Accident, 183.<\/p>\n

                  34. (16)  Joey Logano (C), Ford, Accident, 183.<\/p>\n

                  35. (6)  Christopher Bell (C), Toyota, Suspension, 177.<\/p>\n

                  36. (18)  Chase Elliott (C), Chevrolet, 147.<\/p>\n

                  37. (33)  Tyler Reddick (C), Toyota, 137.<\/p>\n

                  38. (27)  Ryan Blaney (C), Ford, Accident, 131.<\/p>\n

                  39. (32)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, Accident, 131.<\/p>\n

                  40. (34)  Casey Mears, Chevrolet, Mechanical, 131.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  160.534 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 7 Mins, 54 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.041 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  4 for 18 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  41 among 15 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   C. Briscoe (C) 0;A. Hill(i) 1-6;R. Preece (C) 7;J. Berry 8-13;B. Keselowski 14;C. Ware 15-21;R. Preece (C) 22;C. Ware 23-24;*. Dye(i) 25;*. Gaulding(i) 26-30;R. Preece (C) 31-51;C. Buescher (C) 52;C. Bell (C) 53-55;T. Gilliland 56;C. Buescher (C) 57-99;J. Berry 100-101;R. Herbst 102-103;J. Logano (C) 104-108;E. Jones 109-111;J. Logano (C) 112;B. Keselowski 113;J. Logano (C) 114;B. Keselowski 115;J. Logano (C) 116;B. Keselowski 117-125;J. Logano (C) 126-128;C. Buescher (C) 129-130;J. Logano (C) 131;K. Larson (C) 132-138;J. Logano (C) 139-144;C. Buescher (C) 145-151;E. Jones 152-154;K. Larson (C) 155-165;R. Stenhouse Jr. 166-169;K. Larson (C) 170-172;R. Stenhouse Jr. 173;J. Logano (C) 174-176;R. Stenhouse Jr. 177;J. Logano (C) 178-179;R. Stenhouse Jr. 180-182;T. Gilliland 183-187;K. Larson (C) 188-189.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Chris Buescher (C) 4 times for 53 laps; Joey Logano (C) 9 times for 23 laps; Kyle Larson (C) 4 times for 23 laps; Ryan Preece (C) 3 times for 23 laps; Brad Keselowski 4 times for 12 laps; Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 4 times for 9 laps; Cody Ware 2 times for 9 laps; Josh Berry 2 times for 8 laps; Erik Jones 2 times for 6 laps; Austin Hill(i) 1 time for 6 laps; Todd Gilliland 2 times for 6 laps; * Gray Gaulding(i) 1 time for 5 laps; Christopher Bell (C) 1 time for 3 laps; Riley Herbst 1 time for 2 laps; * Daniel Dye(i) 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 17,60,6,5,24,35,19,12,22,2<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 22,5,19,2,24,17,88,97,43,33<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain | NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. \u2013 Kyle Larson turned in one of the most dramatic victories of his two-time NASCAR Cup Series championship career going from 11th place to Victory Lane on the final lap of overtime to win Sunday\u2019s YellaWood 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Larson maneuvered his No. 5<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":62050,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1213,11],"tags":[225,16,208],"class_list":["post-62039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-editors-picks","category-nascar","tag-kyle-larson","tag-nascar","tag-talladega-superspeedway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-g8D","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2301987752-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62039"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62061,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62039\/revisions\/62061"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}