The 2024 YellaWood 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 6, 2024, at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Contested over 195 laps—extended from 188 laps due to an overtime finish on the asphalt superspeedway, it was the 31st race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, the fifth race of the playoffs, and the second race of the Round of 12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the race, his first since the 2023 Daytona 500. Brad Keselowski finished 2nd, and William Byron finished 3rd. Kyle Larson and Erik Jones rounded out the top five, and Christopher Bell, Justin Haley, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace, and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top ten.
The race is notable for containing the largest "Big One" in modern Cup Series history, with 28 cars being officially recorded as being involved.
Report Background
Talladega Superspeedway, formerly known as Alabama International Motor Speedway, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. A tri-oval, the track was constructed in 1969 by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking. The track currently hosts NASCAR's Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Craftsman Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which is 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km).
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (P) denotes playoff driver. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 2 Austin Cindric (P) Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Josh Berry (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5 Kyle Larson (P) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 7 Justin Haley Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott (P) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Noah Gragson Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin (P) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney (P) Team Penske Ford 13 A. J. Allmendinger (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 14 Chase Briscoe (P) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 16 Shane van Gisbergen (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell (P) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano (P) Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron (P) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31 Daniel Hemric Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 44 J. J. Yeley (i) NY Racing Team Chevrolet 45 Tyler Reddick (P) 23XI Racing Toyota 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Alex Bowman (P) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Corey LaJoie Rick Ware Racing Ford 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 62 Anthony Alfredo (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 71 Zane Smith (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 77 Carson Hocevar (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 99 Daniel Suárez (P) Trackhouse Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
Qualifying Michael McDowell scored the pole for the race with a time of 52.310 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 52.344 52.310 2 2 Austin Cindric (P) Team Penske Ford 52.545 52.493 3 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 52.630 52.541 4 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 52.707 52.655 5 12 Ryan Blaney (P) Team Penske Ford 52.613 52.678 6 22 Joey Logano (P) Team Penske Ford 52.647 52.706 7 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 52.764 52.741 8 11 Denny Hamlin (P) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 52.766 52.744 9 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 52.711 52.895 10 31 Daniel Hemric Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 52.769 52.912 11 9 Chase Elliott (P) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 52.812 — 12 5 Kyle Larson (P) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 52.821 — 13 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 52.832 — 14 45 Tyler Reddick (P) 23XI Racing Toyota 52.841 — 15 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 52.849 — 16 24 William Byron (P) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 52.904 — 17 16 Shane van Gisbergen (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 52.914 — 18 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 52.916 — 19 4 Josh Berry (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 52.932 — 20 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 52.994 — 21 20 Christopher Bell (P) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 53.007 — 22 10 Noah Gragson Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 53.011 — 23 48 Alex Bowman (P) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 53.012 — 24 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 53.020 — 25 13 A. J. Allmendinger (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 53.044 — 26 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 53.064 — 27 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 53.077 — 28 51 Corey LaJoie Rick Ware Racing Ford 53.220 — 29 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 53.223 — 30 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 53.259 — 31 99 Daniel Suárez (P) Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 53.253 — 32 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 53.291 — 33 62 Anthony Alfredo (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 53.316 — 34 15 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 53.324 — 35 7 Justin Haley Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 53.494 — 36 14 Chase Briscoe (P) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 53.498 — 37 77 Carson Hocevar (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 53.699 — 38 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 53.870 — 39 71 Zane Smith (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 53.921 — 40 44 J. J. Yeley (i) NY Racing Team Chevrolet 54.768 —Official qualifying results
Race The Big One With just 5 laps remaining in the race, the big one occurred down the backstretch. Austin Cindric was leading when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got side by side with Cindric. Behind Cindric was Brad Keselowski. Keselowski had a run behind Cindric and bumped into Cindric's rear. Keselowski hit him hard enough that caused Cindric to lose control of his car and turn up the track into Stenhouse which sent Cindric spinning in front of the pack. Cars checked up but ran into one another causing a chain reaction crash.
A total of 28 cars were involved in the crash, the largest in modern Cup Series history surpassing the 2003 Aaron's 499 big one at the same track that took out 27 cars. It was also the second-largest in modern NASCAR history behind the 2002 Aaron's 312 in the Busch Series (now called the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series) at the same track that took out 31 cars. There were cars with no damage while there were others that had severe damage such as crushed front bumpers and broken wheels while parts of the cars who were involved were stuck with flat tires that caused their tires to spin and not move the car. This prompted a red flag that lasted for nearly 9 minutes and a 9 lap caution period. Only 7 drivers ended up DNFing from the wreck.
Cars involved in the crash 2- Austin Cindric (P) 4- Josh Berry 8- Kyle Busch 9- Chase Elliott (P) 10- Noah Gragson 13- A. J. Allmendinger 14- Chase Briscoe (P) 16- Shane van Gisbergen 17- Chris Buescher 19- Martin Truex Jr. 20- Christopher Bell (P) 21- Harrison Burton 22- Joey Logano (P) 23- Bubba Wallace 31- Daniel Hemric 34- Michael McDowell 38- Todd Gilliland 41- Ryan Preece 42- John Hunter Nemechek 43- Erik Jones 45- Tyler Reddick (P) 47- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (eventual winner) 48- Alex Bowman (P) 51- Corey LaJoie 62- Anthony Alfredo 71- Zane Smith 77- Carson Hocevar 99- Daniel Suárez (P)
Final lap The wreck set up NASCAR overtime for a two lap shootout. On the restart, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took the lead but Brad Keselowski got side by side with Stenhouse. On the last lap, they both continued to be side by side with Stenhouse getting pushed by William Byron and Keselowski getting pushed by Kyle Larson. In turn 3, Keselowski got infront and looked like he was gonna be able to hold everyone off and win. But out of turn 4, Stenhouse got a big push from Byron and got side by side with Keselowski again. The two remained side by side through the tri-oval and Byron peaked to the outside in an attempt to make it a 3 wide finish but didn't get close enough and both Stenhouse and Keselowski crossed the finish line side by side. Stenhouse won the race by 0.006 seconds. This was Stenhouse's first win since the 2023 Daytona 500. It was the 4th photo finish in the top 3 Series of the year with the previous 3 being the 3 wide photo finish at Atlanta in Cup where Daniel Suárez beat Ryan Blaney by 0.003 seconds and Kyle Busch by 0.007 seconds, the 2nd closest Xfinity Series finish at Texas that saw Sam Mayer beat Ryan Sieg by 0.002 seconds, and the closest Cup Series finish at Kansas that saw Kyle Larson beat Chris Buescher by 0.001 seconds.
Race results
Stage results
Stage One Laps: 60
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 102 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 93 24 William Byron (P) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 84 5 Kyle Larson (P) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 20 Christopher Bell (P) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 66 45 Tyler Reddick (P) 23XI Racing Toyota 57 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 48 14 Chase Briscoe (P) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 39 2 Austin Cindric (P) Team Penske Ford 210 12 Ryan Blaney (P) Team Penske Ford 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 60
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 2 Austin Cindric (P) Team Penske Ford 102 9 Chase Elliott (P) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 93 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 84 16 Shane van Gisbergen (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 05 24 William Byron (P) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 66 48 Alex Bowman (P) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 57 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 48 12 Ryan Blaney (P) Team Penske Ford 39 5 Kyle Larson (P) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 210 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 1Official stage two results
Final Stage results
Stage Three Laps: 68