Kyle Larson's last-lap miracle at Talladega puts a third NASCAR title within reach

A drought ends in a photo finish

Kyle Larson had never won at a NASCAR superspeedway. He was 0-for-48 at drafting tracks like Daytona and Talladega. On Sunday, 25 October 2026, that record changed in the most dramatic way imaginable, as Larson won the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in a photo finish.

Larson beat Hendrick Motorsports team-mate William Byron by 0.041 seconds, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr third. Ross Chastain was fourth and Cole Custer fifth, ahead of Carson Hocevar, Todd Gilliland, Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman and Michael McDowell.

The wildest final lap of the season

The final lap alone would have made a season's worth of highlights. Larson led at the white flag, but the pack shuffled violently behind him as Austin Hill pulled out of line and the leaders' drafting help broke up. Larson fell to 11th, seemingly beaten, as Stenhouse surged to the front. Then, with a powerful push from Chastain, Larson found momentum on the inside lane, dipped low through the final corners and surged back through the field.

The decisive moment came off Turn 4. Hill ran out of fuel at the start of the tri-oval, Stenhouse was left without help, and Larson arrived with a full head of steam.

"I got really lucky with how everything worked out there," Larson said afterwards. "All of a sudden, everything just opened up off of Turn 4. What a day. Points, holy... Points are great." He had been furious with himself moments earlier, after washing up the track in Turn 1 and watching the win slip away.

What the win means for the title

The win was Larson's third of the season, with all three victories coming in this postseason Chase, and the 35th of his Cup Series career. He entered Talladega with just a five-point lead over the field. He left Alabama with a commanding advantage and the championship firmly in his own hands.

Larson now leads Hamlin, who finished eighth on Sunday, by 73 points. Christopher Bell is third, 74 points behind, after a miserable day that ended in 35th place. Chase Briscoe is 79 points back, Joey Logano 100 back, Ryan Blaney 107 back and Tyler Reddick 126 back. With two races remaining, only seven drivers remain mathematically alive for the title: Larson, Hamlin, Bell, Briscoe, Logano, Blaney and Reddick.

The maths from here is stark. A maximum of 76 points is available in a single race, so Larson could wrap up the championship at Martinsville Speedway on 1 November. If he leaves Martinsville ahead by 77 points, the title will be his with one race still to run. The season finale follows at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Chaos before the finish

Talladega had already delivered chaos long before the finish. The opening stage was dominated by fuel saving, until Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski broke away and swept the top three places in Stage 1. Bell's championship hopes took a heavy blow in that same stage: while leading the race and coming to pit road on lap 56, he got loose, spun and slammed his right front into the inside wall. Repairs and further problems left him 12 laps down at the finish.

Late in Stage 2 came the first Big One. Blaney checked up in the high lane, was bumped from behind by Bubba Wallace, and slammed into the outside wall before being turned into the field. The chain reaction collected nearly half the Chase field, including Blaney, Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Wallace, Daniel Suarez, Reddick and Preece. Blaney and Reddick were done for the day, while Hamlin's crew repaired his car well enough for him to salvage eighth. Logano won Stage 2, edging Larson by 0.012 seconds.

Logano's terrifying flip

With five laps to go, the second Big One stopped the race. While Gilliland led and Larson pressed on the bottom lane, the high lane stacked up in the tri-oval. Carson Hocevar gave Logano a bump in the rear, Logano got loose, hit the wall and was then hit by Briscoe. His No. 22 Ford went airborne, landed roof-down and slid forward on the asphalt as the red flag came out.

Safety crews flipped Logano's car back onto its wheels, after which he climbed out under his own power to cheers from the crowd. Riley Herbst, who had suffered a hard second hit when his No. 35 Toyota went nose-first into the inside wall, had to be helped from his car. Both Logano and Herbst were evaluated and released from the infield care centre. Logano finished 34th.

"It was very much a Talladega Nights moment, like, 'Oh, no. I'm upside down. This is not good,'" Logano said. "I can't 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't think anything really caved or crushed at all. I'm just happy to be alive."

For Larson, the contrast could hardly be greater. He survived the two biggest crashes of the afternoon, then produced a final lap that will be replayed for years. Hamlin was blunt: as long as Larson keeps all four tyres on the car for the next two weeks, he will be champion again.

Larson does not need to win at Martinsville to stay in control, but a strong day would end the argument entirely.