SVG shines as Stenhouse wins in Talladega photo finish

The race was punctuated by a record-setting pile-up with five laps to go that involved 28 of the 40 cars in the field.

Stenhouse was among those to cop a whack in the melee, which was triggered by Keselowski giving Team Penske’s Austin Cindric too big of a bump, but continued only with cosmetic damage.

Stenhouse led the equal-third most laps with 19 to his name, leading the race on five different occasions. Michael McDowell in the #34 led a race-high 43 laps but was among the casualties in the late crash.

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

Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen enjoyed one of his best runs on a Superspeedway this season, finishing 15th.

In Stage 1, he cruised to 28th with a conservative approach. A mistake during the pit stop sequence in the stage break meant he missed his pit box and was forced to stop a lap later.

Having started Stage 2 from the rear, the team took an aggressive approach and opted not to save fuel.

By the mid-point of the stage, van Gisbergen had stormed through the field.

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He led the high line and eventually found his way to the lead of the race, clocking nine laps at the head of the field with Trackhouse Racing stablemate Ross Chastain in tow.

Ultimately, van Gisbergen ended up pushing Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron to the Stage 2 win while the New Zealander wound up fourth.

A BIG PUSH. A BIG WRECK.

Alex Bowman gets into Ryan Blaney, collecting Ross Chastain. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/djLvUBlhHR

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 6, 2024

The end of Stage 2 was marred by a wreck involving Ryan Blaney who got rear-ended by Alex Bowman in the #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro and tipped the #12 Team Penske Ford Mustang into a spin.

Blaney hit the side of van Gisbergen’s Camaro, but reported only a small tweak to his toe.

Stage 3 was turbulent for van Gisbergen. Having restarted at the pointy end of the field, he soon found himself buried in the middle of the pack and spent the lion’s share of the final stanza there.

He would pit under green and eventually tag onto the back of the peloton. His lowly position proved beneficial in the end when the pile-up unfolded in front of him.

Van Gisbergen backed off only to cop a hit from the Legacy Motor Club #43 Toyota Camry of Erik Jones, causing some minor damage.

The Kiwi pitted under yellow for a fresh set of tyres and fuel, putting him at the tail end of the lead lap on the fringe of the top 10.

RICKY STENHOUSE JR. WINS AT TALLADEGA!

0.006 SECONDS! #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/uRXYhyA1eU

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 6, 2024

In a green-white-chequered finish, Stenhouse pipped Keselowski.

Van Gisbergen tried to make headway but could not find any support to utilise the high line and went alone trying to make a third lane without a pusher.

“No push at the end, dammit,” said van Gisbergen over his radio at the chequered flag.

“That was a good day. Enjoyed it.”

One race remains in the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. As it stands, Joey Logano is the first car under the cut-off line at -13 points.

Below him are Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez (-20), Tema Penske’s Austin Cindric (-29), and Chase Briscoe (-32) for Stewart-Haas Racing.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott is the first driver above the line (+13) heading to the newly configured Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.

Results: NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500, Talladega Superspeedway