SVG nearly snags another top 10 at Talladega

The #88 Chevrolet Camaro wound up 11th, recovering from being a lap down.

Van Gisbergen spun entering the pit lane during Stage 2 after he hit a puddle, and in Stage 3 copped a speeding penalty that sent him to the back of the queue on the penultimate caution with 23 laps to go.

The penalty really put paid to van Gisbergen’s hopes of a win. The green flag flew with 17 laps to go, and van Gisbergen struggled to make any meaningful headway.

With two laps to go in the scheduled 188-lap contest, the caution came out for the final time when Chris Buescher in the #17 RFK Racing Ford Mustang spun off the nose of William Byron’s #24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro.

That set up a green-white-chequered with Byron leading alongside his teammate Kyle Larson in the #5 Camaro.

During the caution, van Gisbergen lamented to his team about his inability to make any moves forward

“I’m trying to make it happen, but I’m getting dropped and making a couple of bad choices,” van Gisbergen reported over the radio.

Bubba Wallace, who restarted fourth with two to go, surged to the lead in the #23 23XI Racing Camry when the white flag flew just as Larson shot to the low line in front of Byron.

The decisive moment for Larson came on the back straight when he ran out of fuel and plummeted to the back of the pack.

Heading into the third turn, Wallace led Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe in the #19 Camry, who shot to the low line to take the lead.

Pushed by his teammate Ty Gibbs, Briscoe took the chequered flag while Byron spun off the nose of the #77 Spire Motorsports Camaro driven by Carson Hocevar.

“Ty Gibbs, incredible teammate there,” said Briscoe.

“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. It’s not hit me. We’re going to Phoenix.”

Chase Briscoe wins at Talladega! He will race for a championship in Phoenix. https://t.co/rZKUMv39DO pic.twitter.com/6ZAQoIVu7n

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) October 19, 2025

Amid all that, van Gisbergen went from a possible seventh place finish to 11th as he got hung out to dry with no one pushing him entering the tri-oval.

Todd Gilliland fell just short of victory in the #34 Front Row Motorsports Mustang while Gibbs in the #54 Joe Gibbs Racing Camry was third. Wallace was fourth ahead of surprise performer Cole Custer in the #41 Haas Factory Racing Mustang.

The NASCAR Cup Series moves onto Martinsville on October 27 (AEDT) for the penultimate race of the season.

With victory, Briscoe has locked himself into the Championship 4 race at Phoenix. He and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin are the only two drivers who have booked their spot.

Christopher Bell (+37) and Kyle Larson (+36) are the two drivers above the elimination line. William Byron (-36), Joey Logano (-38), Ryan Blaney (-47), and Chase Elliott (-62) are all on the outside looking in.

Results: NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500, Talladega Superspeedway

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