Stenhouse Nips Keselowski In A Talladega Thriller

TALLADEGA, Ala. – There’s just something about superspeedway racing for Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

With a dominant flourish late in Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Stenhouse staved off a last-gasp charge from Brad Keselowski in overtime to snap a 65-race NASCAR Cup Series winless drought in thrilling fashion.

The Olive Branch, Miss., native led five times for 19 laps at the 2.66-mile oval, including the last 12, but it was the final two circuits where he showcased his prowess in the draft.

After managing a huge push from behind by William Byron on the outside lane at the final restart, Stenhouse worked his way clear down the backstretch, but couldn’t block a run on the inside by Keselowski coming to the white flag, setting up a side-by-side duel for the win.

With Byron committed as his pusher, Stenhouse stayed calm despite Keselowski getting clear off turn four on the last lap, getting a shove back forward entering the tri-oval before Byron flared out to the third lane coming to the finish line.

Side-drafting Keselowski while Byron tried to advance to his right, Stenhouse managed to eke out his fourth career Cup Series victory – all of which have come on superspeedways – by .006 seconds in a three-wide photo finish at the checkered flag.

It marked the third closest finish of the Cup Series season and put Stenhouse and his JTG-Daugherty Racing team back in victory lane for the first time since the 2023 Daytona 500.

“Man, this team has put a lot of hard work in,” said Stenhouse, who became the third non-playoff driver to win in the five playoff races thus far. “Obviously, we hadn’t won since the 500 in ’23 and it’s been a really up-and-down season.

“It was a lot of hard work all year just trying to find a little bit of speed, but we knew that this track was one of ours to come get,” Stenhouse added. “For all of our Southern Mississippi people, we appreciate you all coming. This means a lot, winning here [again].”

Considering the struggles and bumps that Stenhouse and company endured between their Daytona 500 score and Sunday’s return to the top of the scoring pylon, the celebration that ensued was a raucous one.

After a hands-free burnout where he leaned out the driver’s side window, Stenhouse leapt into the arms of several crew members before also climbing the catchfence all the way up into the flagstand and pumping his fist in jubilation.

“Just so proud of this group. … There are just so many great product partners in the Kroger program that have supported us through all the ups and downs. I’m so glad to give them another win.”

Stenhouse also paid a nod to those affected by Hurricane Helene in recent weeks, including the family of Brad Daugherty, who co-owns his No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 alongside Tad and Jodi Geschickter.

“I’m looking forward to seeing him,” said Stenhouse of Daugherty, who wasn’t at the racetrack Sunday. “I’m looking forward to going to North Carolina and helping the clean-up [efforts]. We're working on that now with Team Rubicon, to go out there and help clean-up, help do what we can for those affected. I’m looking forward to being a part of that.

“For that and so many other reasons, this win is really, really special.”

It was a celebratory moment that almost wasn’t, considering Stenhouse had the right front of Austin Cindric’s Ford in his left door with five laps left in regulation, when the largest modern-era crash in Cup Series history broke out on the backstretch.

As the lead pack came steaming past the slower car of Todd Gilliland to put Gilliland a lap down late, the energy in the draft shifted slightly as Keselowski tried to push Cindric past Stenhouse in the lower lane.

The push was slightly off-centered, however, pushing Cindric up briefly before he bounced down off the side of Stenhouse’s Chevrolet and spun in front of the entire field.

In total, 28 cars were involved in some form or fashion as contenders piled in with nowhere to go.

Those eliminated in the melee were polesitter Michael McDowell – who led four times for a race-high 42 laps – as well as Cindric, Joey Logano, Harrison Burton, Ryan Preece, Josh Berry, and Daniel Hemric.

Numerous playoff contenders were damaged as well, among them Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Alex Bowman, and Christopher Bell.

In fact, of the 12 remaining postseason drivers, only Byron – who ended up third in the triple-stack at the finish line – wasn’t involved in any sort of crash contact throughout the afternoon.

The reigning Daytona 500 winner also clinched a spot in the next round of the playoffs, with an insurmountable 74-point margin over the cut line and only one race remaining in the segment.

Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson was fourth, with Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones earning a season-best finish in fifth.

Bell rallied back to sixth despite his involvement in the Big One, with Justin Haley, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace, and Denny Hamlin closing the top 10.

Sunday’s race was largely as clean as it was electric, with just four total caution flags and only one other significant incident, which was coming to the finish of stage two when defending Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney was spun in the middle of the lead pack by his longtime friend Bubba Wallace.

The contact from behind sent Blaney nose-first into the outside wall, ending his day and leaving him with a 39th-place finish, while the ensuing chaos also collected Ross Chastain, Logano, and Hamlin.

Prior to that a stint of nearly 20 laps in the second half of stage two left fans on their feet and holding their collective breaths, when the frontrunners were racing four-wide nearly all the way through the field while maintaining pace and keeping their cars clean in the draft.

It was a strong harbinger of the excitement to come, considering the race featured 66 lead changes among 24 different drivers – meaning more than half the field was out front for at least one lap Sunday.

Heading into the Round of 12 elimination race at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway ROVAL, Logano, Daniel Suarez, Cindric, and Briscoe are the four drivers below the transfer threshold on points and in danger of being bounced from the postseason.

Broadcast coverage of the Bank of America ROVAL 400 is slated for Sunday, Oct. 13 at 2 p.m. ET, live on NBC, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.