autoevolution
 

2022 NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Live Coverage

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Talladega this weekend for the YellaWood 500 event, the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs Round of 12.
2022 NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Live Coverage 6 photos
Photo: NASCAR
2022 NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Live Coverage2022 NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Live Coverage2022 NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Live Coverage2022 NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Live Coverage2022 NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Live Coverage
The Talladega Superspeedway is a place that scares a lot of drivers because this track has a tradition of jeopardizing and destroying drivers' hopes of winning the championship. Winning here and ensuring a place in the next round of the playoffs is very satisfying for any competitor out there.

Alex Bowman is sitting out Talladega due to a concussion. At the same time, Cody Ware, who had an enormous crash last week in Texas, enters this race nursing a fracture on his right ankle.

Christopher Bell will start from pole position, followed by Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola, and Chase Briscoe to complete the top five. However, don't count out Brad Keselowski from this race because in the spring was extremely good around here with an inferior car.

Of the 12 remaining drivers in the playoffs, only five have won Talladega before. Joey Logano is the most successful out of them, with three wins.
Live updates (ended):

21:26 UTC 

21:25 UTC 

21:25 UTC  The top ten at the end of the race:

  • 1 - #9 - Chase Elliott
  • 2 - #12 - Ryan Blaney
  • 3 - #34 - Michael McDowell
  • 4 - #1 - Ross Chastain
  • 5 - #11 - Denny Hamlin
  • 6 - #43 - Erik Jones
  • 7 - #38 - Todd Gilliland (R)
  • 8 - #99 - Daniel Suarez
  • 9 - #2 - Austin Cindric (R)
  • 10 - #14 - Chase Briscoe

21:24 UTC  He holds off Blaney to take his fifth win of the season and the second around Talladega.

21:24 UTC  Chase gets a massive shove from Erik Jones on the outside line, while Ryan Blaney gets a push from McDowell.

21:23 UTC  CHASE ELLIOTT WINS AT TALLADEGA!!!

21:21 UTC  Coming to the white flag.

21:21 UTC  Eliott is now up to the outside line.

21:21 UTC  McDowell gives Blaney a strong push.

21:20 UTC 

21:20 UTC  Jones lines up with Chastain behind him, Blaney lines up with McDowell. Now we have green flag.

21:20 UTC  The top five: Jones, Blaney, McDowell, Chastain and Elliott.

21:19 UTC  Two laps to go when they take the green flag.

21:19 UTC  A couple of cars are coming to pit road under yellow while the leaders are staying out.

21:15 UTC  Brad Keselowski is the one to get the free pass under this caution.

21:14 UTC  Something looks like it's on fire in the infield in Turn 4. May or may not be something out of Hemric's car.

21:14 UTC  Daniel Hemric has an engine problem and stalled on the exit of pit road.

21:13 UTC  Caution is out coming to six laps to go!!!

21:13 UTC  McDowell has yet to make his move.

21:12 UTC  Blaney still leading the outside and still getting pushed by Chastain.

21:12 UTC  Erik Jones still leads with seven laps to go.

21:10 UTC  He overtakes Ryan Blaney for the lead.

21:09 UTC  Erik Jones is charging up towards the front.

21:09 UTC  Meanwhile, the inside line is starting to get some momentum.

21:08 UTC  Ten laps to go and the top seven cars single file.

21:06 UTC  Ryan Blaney is using the most fuel of anyone and with 15 laps to go he might be in trouble.

21:02 UTC 

21:02 UTC  Blaney leads at the start/finish line.

21:02 UTC  Pushes are getting more and more aggressive. Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney are now side-by-side for the lead.

21:01 UTC  We are now in the last 20 laps of the race.

21:01 UTC  Blaney is able to keep the lead with a push from Chastain and Gilliland.

20:59 UTC  Erik Jones drops down to pick up McDowell. Starting to draw even with Blaney for the lead.

20:59 UTC  Brad Keselowski peels off to serve his penalty.

20:58 UTC  Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick both recieved speeding penalties.

20:58 UTC  Green flag pit stops now beginning.

20:53 UTC 

20:52 UTC  Nine cars are breaking away at the front of the field. Less than 30 laps to go until the end.

20:52 UTC  The leaders are dropping now to the inside line.

20:49 UTC  The whole race we had intense battle in the front for the lead.

20:49 UTC  Blaney and Keselowski now clear of the inside line. Chastain coming back now and they're side by side again.

20:47 UTC  Chastain and Blaney are side-by-side for the lead.

20:47 UTC  With one more pit stop round to go there are a lot of things that can happen.

20:44 UTC  Meanwhile, Hamlin has now fallen back.

20:44 UTC  Ross Chastain now goes down to cover Hamlin. He'll try to cover Blaney on the outside too.

20:40 UTC  Ross Chastain leading a single-file train that is getting larger and larger.

20:40 UTC  Cole Custer has taken over as the first car in the inside line as the top ten cars are single file

20:39 UTC  Bubba Wallace got some pushes from Denny Hamln that made his car very uncomfortable. Maybe a handling issue.

20:34 UTC  As a fun fact, we’ve had 47 lead changes so far, the most of any race this year.

20:33 UTC 

20:33 UTC  Meanwhile, a couple of cars behind, Bubba Wallace is trying to overtake Stenhouse after getting a push from Hamlin.

20:32 UTC  Hamlin and Chastain now side-by-side for the lead. Field formed up double file.

20:28 UTC  Ross Chastain is side-by-side with Chris Buescher for the lead.

20:28 UTC  Chris Buescher gets a huge shove from William Byron and it brings him right to the front of the field.

20:28 UTC  Elliott leads Erik Jones on the restart with 62 laps to go.

20:15 UTC 

20:15 UTC  The top ten after Stage 2:

  • 1 - #9 - Chase Elliott
  • 2 - #31 - Justin Haley
  • 3 - #5 - Kyle Larson
  • 4 - #99 - Daniel Suarez
  • 5 - #43 - Erik Jones
  • 6 - #1 - Ross Chastain
  • 7 - #77 - Landon Cassill
  • 8 - #17 - Chris Buescher
  • 9 - #16 - Daniel Hemric
  • 10 - #47 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

20:15 UTC  Larson got pushed into the trioval by Chase Elliott, but Elliott decided to go for the Stage win himself. He holds off Justin Haley to win Stage 2.

20:14 UTC  Tyler Reddick got shoved out in Turn 3 and is coming to pit road with a problem. He was out of fuel.


20:11 UTC  Inside line pushes Larson to the lead. Outside line coming back. We are entering the last lap.

20:10 UTC  Reddick and Suarez are now both clear and both try to control the lead pack.

20:06 UTC  Five to go in Stage 2.

20:06 UTC  Elliott now giving Larson some strong pushes.

20:06 UTC 

20:06 UTC  Tyler Reddick is now in the lead.

20:06 UTC  However, Tyler Reddick is recieving some strong pushes from Suarez.

20:05 UTC  Larson clear to the lead.

20:04 UTC  Reddick and Larson now side-by-side for the lead with less than ten to go in Stage 2.

20:02 UTC  Bell is about to lose a lap to the leaders, but he will probably get the free pass.

20:02 UTC  With less than 15 to go in Stage 2 Chase Briscoe is the first car leading the outside line with drafting help from Buescher.

19:58 UTC  A lot of cars and aciton on the pit-road.

19:57 UTC  Christopher Bell has a penalty for speeding in the pit-road.

19:57 UTC  Top 15 cars are all single file as we get ready for pitstops.

19:51 UTC  Meanwhile, the rest of the grid is in full action. Cindric is trying to push Cole Custer to the top.

19:50 UTC  The top ten cars are still single file.

19:49 UTC  Cody Ware is not taking too many risks with that injured ankle.

19:48 UTC  Outside line has some momentum now with Ross Chastain moving up to P7.

19:46 UTC 

19:46 UTC  The inside line is still lined up orderly.

19:44 UTC  Cole Custer and Ross Chastain the first cars side-by-side.

19:43 UTC  Field is beginning to become more organized.

19:40 UTC  Erik Jones is back into the lead.

19:35 UTC  Todd Gilliland is going for the lead.

19:35 UTC  Ryan Blaney has also decided to get out of the lead pack after about putting Keselowski in the wall. Here is what he had to say: I was going to wreck trying to defend. I had to bail."

19:34 UTC 

19:32 UTC  Jones and Almirola now side-by-side for the lead.

19:32 UTC  Blaney almost blocked Keselowski to the wall in Turn 1.

19:31 UTC  Blaney almost got split by Jones and Keselowski.

19:29 UTC  Jones back to the outside line. He'll take the push from Busch.

19:27 UTC  Ryan Blaney had the lead but Erik Jones is now in front after a big bush from Larson.

19:26 UTC  Kyle Larson is the leader ahead of Erik Jones.

19:26 UTC  Green flag is back out on Lap 65.

19:19 UTC  Kyle Larsson wins the race off pit road from Erik Jones and Ross Chastain.

19:17 UTC  Top ten at the end of Stage 1:

  • 1 - #12 - Ryan Blaney
  • 2 - #11 - Denny Hamlin
  • 3 - #9 - Chase Elliott
  • 4 - #2 - Austin Cindric (R)
  • 5 - #22 - Joey Logano
  • 6 - #47 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  • 7 - #18 - Kyle Busch
  • 8 - #5 - Kyle Larson
  • 9 - #48 - Noah Gragson
  • 10 - #43 - Erik Jones

19:17 UTC 

19:16 UTC  Incredible! Ryan Blaney had a huge run up the outside. He got a big push from Austin Cindric to beat Hamlin. A photo finish at the end of Stage 1.

19:15 UTC  One to go and Kyle Busch is on the bottom line.

19:13 UTC  With two to go the top five cars are cleaning the inside line.

19:13 UTC  Byron lost his drafting help on the inside, which allowed Hamlin to take the lead with a push from Elliott.

19:11 UTC  Byron dives to the bottom, trying to get the lead.

19:11 UTC  Elliott leads the outside line with help from Kyle Busch. Less than five laps now.

19:09 UTC  Ricky Stenhouse and Ryan Blaney move up to the third lane.

19:09 UTC  Hamlin now clear to the lead.

19:07 UTC  Hamlin and Custer now side-by-side for the lead.

19:07 UTC  Green flag is out once again. We have now 11 laps to go in Stage 1.

19:03 UTC  Justin Allgaier has the free pass and get his lap back.

19:03 UTC  LaJoie is out of the race.

19:02 UTC  Erik Jones, Ross Chastain and Christopher Bell are in the pits.

19:01 UTC  Only a couple cars to pit road under caution.

18:58 UTC  LaJoie was running single file in a second pack when he cut a right front tire and shot to the wall.

18:58 UTC  Corey LaJoie slid off track and through the infield grass. A lot of damage on the right side.

18:58 UTC  Caution is out!

18:57 UTC  Moments later, Hamlin retakes the lead from the high line.

18:57 UTC  Aric Almirola now leads the inside line again and he'll lead this lap.

18:54 UTC  Hamlin resists and opens up a little bit from the rest of the pack.

18:51 UTC  Almirola and Hamlin side-by-side for the lead.

18:51 UTC  Aric Almirola takes advantage of that and he is back in the lead once again.

18:51 UTC  Moments later, Denny Hamlin is back to the top to try and pick up William Byron.

18:51 UTC  Hamlin drops down in front of Almirola.

18:50 UTC 

18:49 UTC  Aric Almirola pushed to the lead by Hamlin and now heads to the bottom line. Charge coming from Denny Hamlin.

18:49 UTC  Daniel Suarez finds himself now to the bottom. Almirola stays top.

18:49 UTC  Suarez back to the lead after getting a push from Almirola and Hamlin.

18:45 UTC  However, Chase Elliott dives to the bottom and takes the lead from Suarez. Blaney and Busch followed him.

18:44 UTC  Daniel Suarez leads at the start/finish line with a push from Chase Elliott.

18:43 UTC  Ty Gibbs and Harrison Burton have both been treated and released from the infield care center.

18:43 UTC  Green flag back out at Lap 29.

18:39 UTC  Four cars stayed out under this yellow: Corey LaJoie, BJ McLeod, Martin Truex Jr. and Cody Ware. We'll see whether or not they come to the pits before the green.

18:39 UTC 

18:38 UTC  There were a lot of fuel only stops.

18:38 UTC  Kyle Busch wins the race off the pit road. He gained eight spots.

18:36 UTC  A bunch of cars are in the pit road.

18:34 UTC  Caution is out again!

18:34 UTC  Basically, Burton tried to take the lead but the push from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was bad.

18:33 UTC  Harrison Burton got turned in front of traffic and there are a lot of cars involved in this chaos!

18:33 UTC  HUGE CRASH in TURN 1!

18:32 UTC  Side-by-side between Erik Jones and Ross Chastain.

18:32 UTC  Looked like BJ McLeod and Martin Truex Jr. flirted with the top of the track but they went back and settled into the tail of the outside line.

18:31 UTC  Jones is the only car that's been changing lanes, while everyone else is packed tight together.

18:30 UTC     Jones shoots out to the lead clear of Chastain.

18:20 UTC  Erik Jones got a push from Daniel Suarez, meaning he is now the leader of the race ahead of Ross Chastain.

18:20 UTC  Back to green on Lap 11.

18:18 UTC  Austin Cindric just received a pit-road speeding penalty.

18:18 UTC  The team has replaced the window and Dillon re-joins the field.

18:17 UTC  The caution was out because the right side window of Ty Dillon's car was out.

18:17 UTC  Quite a number of cars on pit road under caution.

18:17 UTC  Almirola is back in the lead on the inside. Immediately after, caution is out for debris on the backstretch.

18:12 UTC  There is something loose and making noise on Chase Briscoe's car.

18:12 UTC  Ross Chastain leads now after overtaking Aric with a push from Jones.

18:11 UTC  Almirola tries to cover both lanes and we have side-by-side action.

18:10 UTC  Ross Chastain gets pushed to the front from the outside lane by Erik Jones.

18:09 UTC  Aric Almirola is leading now after the first lap.

18:07 UTC  Green flag is out and we have a race underway here at Talladega.

18:00 UTC  Ryan Blaney had some radio issues, but apparently they are fixed.

17:58 UTC  Alex Bowman was ruled out this Thursday after suffering from concussion-like symptoms.

17:56 UTC 

17:55 UTC  Engines fired at Talladega

17:30 UTC  After the race in Texas last week two drivers were penalized for their action. WIlliam Byron was fined $50,000 and docked 25 points for intentionally spinning Denny Hamlin under caution. At the same time, Ty Gibbs was fined $75,000 for bumping into Ty Dillon on pit road.

17:28 UTC  The top ten drivers before the start:

  • 1 - #20 - Christopher Bell
  • 2 - #5 - Kyle Larson
  • 3 - #11 - Denny Hamlin
  • 4 - #10 - Aric Almirola
  • 5 - #14 - Chase Briscoe
  • 6 - #1 - Ross Chastain
  • 7 - #48 - Noah Gragson
  • 8 - #8 - Tyler Reddick
  • 9 - #24 - William Byron
  • 10 - #23 - Ty Gibbs

If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Silvian Irimia
Silvian Irimia profile photo

Silvian may be the youngest member of our team, being born in the 2000s, but you won't find someone more passionate than him when it comes to motorsport. An automotive engineer by trade, Silvian considers the Ferrari F50 his favorite car, with the original Lamborghini Countach a close second.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories