NASCAR News: Briscoe wins YellaWood 500 at Talladega

In the heart of superspeedway madness, where alliances shatter like rear bumpers and every draft is a high-stakes gamble, Chase Briscoe turned pandemonium into perfection. With a perfectly timed slingshot from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs, Briscoe rocketed to the checkered flag in Sunday’s YellaWood 500, notching his fifth career NASCAR Cup Series victory and punching his ticket to the Championship 4 for the first time in his eight-year tenure.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

The win—his third of the 2025 season—came by a razor-thin 0.145 seconds over RFK Racing’s Todd Gilliland in a photo-finish that had the 80,000-strong crowd on its feet, roaring through the Alabama haze.

It was a day defined by the draft: fleeting pacts formed in the tri-oval shadows, betrayals at 200 mph, and one opportunistic push that etched Briscoe’s name into Talladega lore. “Ty’s been my wingman all weekend,” Briscoe said in victory lane, sweat-streaked and grinning under the Southern sun. “He knew exactly when to send it. This one’s for the 14 crew—we’ve been knocking on the door; today, we kicked it down.”

The 500-mile slugfest at Talladega Superspeedway unfolded like a chess match on steroids, with 40 cars shuffling for position in endless packs. Stage 1 belonged to the Hendrick Motorsports duo, as William Byron edged out Kyle Larson for the win after a frantic final restart, capitalizing on a late charge from Joey Logano. But the real fireworks ignited early in Stage 2, on Lap 52, when a routine battle for the lead erupted into the day’s first mega-wreck.

Erik Jones, glued to the rear of Noah Gragson’s No. 9 Chevy, misjudged a bump-draft into the tri-oval apron. The nudge sent Gragson pinballing into AJ Allmendinger’s No. 16 Kaulig Chevrolet, triggering a nine-car accordion that scattered debris like confetti. Playoff contender Chase Elliott, running a steady sixth, had nowhere to go, plowing into the mess and limping to the garage with a mangled right-front. “Just got caught in the wrong spot,” Elliott radioed, frustration dripping from his voice. “We’ll regroup for Martinsville.”

Allmendinger, the veteran road-course wizard, climbed from his crumpled machine under his own steam but collapsed to the asphalt for a moment, chest heaving from the G-forces. Medics carted him off for precautionary checks, but he was cleared from the infield care center within the hour, flashing a thumbs-up to the cameras. “Talladega’s a beast,” he quipped later. “Reminds me why I love—and hate—this place.”

The cleanup red flag flew for 12 minutes, reshuffling the field and handing the lead to a resurgent pack led by Chris Buescher. The RFK Ford driver dominated the middle stint, fending off advances from Byron and Tyler Reddick with textbook side-drafts and a car that seemed glued to the high line. Buescher snagged Stage 2 honors, his third of the year, and entered the final stage with a 1.2-second edge over the field, his crew chief barking tire-conservation strategy over the scanner.

As the laps wound down, the chess pieces aligned for chaos. With 10 to go, Larson – who’d inherited the lead after a cycle of green-flag stops, held a slim advantage, his No. 5 Hendrick Chevy slicing through the pack like a scalpel. But Talladega’s fuel-mileage roulette bit hard: Larson sputtered down the backstretch on the white-flag lap, momentum fading like a dying engine note. He coasted to 26th, one agonizing spot behind Byron, who himself got turned sideways in the top 10 by a late nudge from Kyle Busch, slapping the inside wall and salvaging 25th.

That handed the point to Buescher, who thundered into the tri-oval with two laps remaining, his RFK Ford nose-to-tail with Byron’s charging No. 24. Desperation mode kicked in: Buescher threw a massive block down the 2.66-mile backstretch, door-slamming Byron to protect his sliver of daylight. But Byron, with 20-year-old prodigy Carson Hocevar glued to his bumper, fired back. Hocevar’s shove was textbook aggression—too much, too soon—hooking Buescher’s left-rear and sending the No. 17 into a slow-motion spin toward the SAFER barrier. Yellow flew, NASCAR Overtime loomed, and the playoff picture teetered.

The field stacked for the green-white-checkered dash, Briscoe and Gibbs tandem locked in like conjoined twins on the high line. When the flag dropped, it was a blur of blue-and-white JGR Fords against a rainbow of challengers. Gilliland, the underdog Xfinity champ turned Cup surprise, surged low with a hook from Bubba Wallace, but Briscoe dove inside off Turn 4, Gibbs’ push propelling him like a rail gun. “I could feel Ty’s nose – he gave me everything,” Briscoe recalled. “Thought Gilliland had us at the line, but we threaded the needle.”

Gilliland fought valiantly, his No. 34 Front Row Ford inches shy in the photo, but Briscoe held firm. Gibbs slotted third, the assist earning him a podium and a pat on the back from the victor. Wallace’s steady draft work netted fourth for the 23XI Racing star, while Cole Custer rounded out the top five in the No. 41 Haas Ford, his first top-five since Charlotte.

Behind them, Hocevar’s bold move paid dividends with sixth, followed by Reddick’s gritty seventh in the 45 Toyota. Christopher Bell, the playoff regular-season champ, salvaged eighth after a mid-race pit miscue, with Zane Smith ninth in a breakout run for the Trackhouse entry. Brad Keselowski, the superspeedway sage, closed the top 10, his Penske Ford nursing a tire rub from the Lap 52 melee.

For Briscoe, the triumph was poetic redemption. Eliminated from last year’s playoffs in a heartbreaker, the 30-year-old Indiana native now stares down Phoenix with a shot at the title. “This track humbles you every time,” he said, hoisting the YellaWood-branded trophy. “But today, we owned it.”

The fallout ripples into the playoffs: Elliott, 18th at Vegas last week, stares down a do-or-die at Martinsville, where his Hendrick team has won four of the last five. Byron clings to the final cutoff spot, 12 points clear of Austin Dillon, while Larson’s fuel fade drops him to third in the standings, 28 back of leader Reddick.

As the haulers rumble toward the Paperclip next Sunday, one truth endures from Talladega: In the draft’s unforgiving dance, fortune favors the fearless – and the well-pushed.

Chase Briscoe Quotes

Q. Chase, welcome to the Championship 4 for the first time ever. Heard tears in your eyes on that cool-down lap. From your windshield, how in the world did the final few laps play out?

CHASE BRISCOE: Ty Gibbs, incredible teammate there. I mean, I honestly would not have won that race without Ty. An amazing team effort. I can’t believe I won a superspeedway race. I haven’t done it at any level.

Thank you guys so much. Every time we come to Talladega, this place is sold out. Johnny Morris is here from Bass Pro Shops. It’s not hit me. We’re going to Phoenix.

Q. Raced for a championship in the Xfinity Series. This is the first time in the Championship 4 for you in Cup. Is this a dream come true?

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, absolutely. So thankful that the Lord has blessed me opening doors, even closing doors at times. Opening an incredible door here with Joe Gibbs Racing. I say it all the time, even today, I had such a peace. Normally I’m scared to death, nervous wreck around this place. I had such a peace that regardless of the finish He was going to use it somehow for His glory. Ends up in Victory Lane.

YellaWood 500 at Talladega 500 Results