More than 500 miles of racing came down to inches at the Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.
When the checkered flag flew, it was Ricky Stenhouse Jr. beating Brad Keselowski by just six one-thousandths of a second to claim his first Cup Series win since the 2023 Daytona 500.
The win is Stenhouse’s second at Talladega and the fourth of his Cup Series career.
A push from William Byron on the exit of turn four helped Stenhouse win the race, as Kyle Larson’s push to the rear of Keselowski’s Mustang didn’t quite have enough force behind it.
Keselowski, Byron, Larson and Erik Jones rounded out the top five, with Christopher Bell, Justin Haley, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin completing the top 10.
Other notable finishers in Sunday’s race include Alex Bowman in 16th, Tyler Reddick in 19th, Daniel Suarez in 26th, Chase Elliott in 29th, Chase Briscoe in 30th, Austin Cindric in 32nd, Joey Logano in 33rd and Ryan Blaney in 39th.
The race featured two major crashes, the first of which took out Blaney and Kansas winner Ross Chastain at the end of Stage 2.
“The Big One” struck with four laps to go, striking down a majority of the field, including a litany of playoff drivers.
When the dust from the race’s final incident settled, it was Stenhouse Jr. and Keselowski on the front row on the restart. Neither driver — both of whom are excellent superspeedway racers — conceded, racing hard all the way to the finish in an incredible finish.
It was just another chapter in Talladega’s incredible history.
The Cup Series will end the Round of 12 next Sunday (Oct. 13). The Bank of America ROVAL 400 will go green shortly after 2:30 p.m. ET, with coverage on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
