
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got his first win since the 2023 Daytona 500. (Photo: Chris Graythen | Getty Images)
TALLADEGA, Ala. — JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. survived the chaotic, overtime finish at Talladega Superspeedway to win the YellaWood 500, earning his first win in the NASCAR Cup Series since the 2023 Daytona 500.
The driver of the No. 47 Kroger Health/Palmolive Chevrolet scored his fourth career Cup Series victory by just 0.006 seconds to edge out Brad Keselowski, who was looking for his seventh victory at Talladega.
“It felt really good,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “We had our Chevy teammates behind us, and I was hoping Kyle [Larson] wasn’t going to push the 6 that hard. I knew the 24 was probably going to try and get to the line there. But, man, this team has put a lot of hard work in. Obviously, we haven’t won since the 500 in ’23. It’s been an up-and-down season. It was a lot of hard work this season just trying to find a little bit of speed, but we knew that this track is one of ours to come get. So for all of our Southern Mississippi people, appreciate you all coming. This means a lot, winning here.”
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wins at Talladega
RICKY STENHOUSE JR. WINS AT TALLADEGA!
0.006 SECONDS! #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/uRXYhyA1eU
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 6, 2024
All four of Stenhouse Jr.’s Cup Series victories occurred in superspeedway races at either Daytona (2017, 2023) or Talladega (2017, 2024).
On the other hand, Keselowski was looking to move into second all-time on the list of Talladega race winners until he came up just short of taking the checkered flag.
“It’s a good finish for us, we’ve been knocking on the door of these plate tracks,” Keselowski said. “I hate that we didn’t bust through with a win, but I’m happy to be right there in contention. I knew they [47] were gonna have a really big run and that the 24 was really tight to him and I was just gonna get split, so I felt like I made the right move, but there’s only so much you can do when you’re outnumbered.”
William Byron accumulated enough points to advance to the Round of 8, regardless of what happens in the next playoff race at the Charlotte Roval. The Hendrick Motorsports driver ended up third after earning 48 points (second behind Stenhouse Jr.’s 49 points).
“I didn’t have a chance to get the lead myself on the last lap, so that was the thought process,” Byron said. “I just couldn’t quite get him clear into (turn) three, or he didn’t take it into three. And then, I just kind of had to be diligent to push him the rest of the way. I felt like it all worked out. I’m happy for Ricky (Stenhouse Jr.) and everyone at Chevrolet. They deserve it. Ricky is a really good drafter.”
Results from the 2024 YellaWood 500 are listed below:
Other Race Facts
With just a handful of laps to go, a huge crash involving 28 cars took place, causing a red flag before NASCAR Overtime. According to NBC, this was the largest crash in modern NASCAR history.
Take a look here:
The Big One at Talladega
All of the angles of the Big One at Talladega.
Nearly the WHOLE FIELD involved in this crash. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/zmnsbaqCAR
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 6, 2024
Since the Olympic break, there have been nine winners from nine different teams.
Nine different teams have won the last nine races
A different team has won every NASCAR Cup race since the Olympic break
Richmond: RCR Michigan: 23XI Daytona: Wood Brothers Darlington: SHR Atlanta: Penske Watkins Glen: RFK Bristol: HMS Kansas: Trackhouse Talladega: JTG pic.twitter.com/eObCZpSJpc
— Asteroid (@Asteroid4914) October 6, 2024
According to statistician Trey Ryan, Ford has been the manufacturer to watch on superspeedways in 2024 at Daytona, Talladega and Atlanta. The manufacturer had five drivers finish in the top six in most laps led on those drafting-style tracks this season.
Austin Cindric was first with 197 laps led, followed by Michael McDowell in second (167), Joey Logano in third (156), Ryan Blaney in fifth (83) and Todd Gilliland in sixth (81). Kyle Busch was the only non-Ford driver in fourth with 84 laps led.
GRID Ranking
The 2024 GRID Ranking is the eighth year of the world’s premier motorsport ranking and was initially released on Sunday, April 7.
The official ranking includes drivers that participate in seven racing series (NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1, Formula E, World Rally Championship, Repco Supercars, MotoGP), and each driver earns GRID Ratings, which help determine their seeding in the GRID Ranking.
DRIVER | OLD RATING | PREVIOUS RANKING | MOST RECENT FINISH | NEW RATING | NEW RANKING |
Kyle Larson | 10.56 | 23rd | 4th | 10.78 | 24th |
Christopher Bell | 10.13 | 26th | 6th | 10.17 | 25th |
Tyler Reddick | 10.42 | 24th | 20th | 10.08 | 26th |
William Byron | 9.55 | 28th | 3rd | 9.94 | 27th |
Denny Hamlin | 9.07 | 31st | 10th | 8.83 | 32nd |
GRID Ranking
The 27th week of the #GRIDRanking. Pecco’s win comes as four races are remaining in MotoGP. But Will Brown will be back this next race weekend for the #Bathurst1000! #F1 | #ABBFormulaE | #INDYCAR | #MotoGP | #NASCAR | #RepcoSC | #WRC pic.twitter.com/b9i2IwhftV
— GRID Network (@GridNetworkTV) October 7, 2024
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