Ryan Blaney scores third Talladega win, spot in the Round of 8

A major change has taken place at Talladega Superspeedway.

NASCAR announced Sunday evening that the No. 4 entry of Stewart-Haas Racing had failed post-race inspection.

Officials disqualified Kevin Harvick and credited him with a 38th-place finish after he originally crossed the line second behind Ryan Blaney.

According to information provided by NASCAR, the No. 4 violated windshield and overall assembled vehicle rules. The windshield fasteners were not securely fastened through the entire event.

With the update, William Byron moved into second place. Denny Hamlin was credited with a third-place finish while Corey LaJoie was credited with a fourth-place finish. Austin Cindric rounded out the top five.

Here are some takeaways from Sunday’s playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway.

A promising part-time schedule

Ryan Blaney winning at Talladega is not surprising. He has achieved success at the track throughout his Cup Series career with three wins and six top five finishes.

What was slightly surprising was the driver behind him on the final run to the checkered flag. Xfinity regular Riley Herbst was in a Front Row Motorsports entry, which he used to push Blaney to the front of the pack.

Herbst has shown that he can contend during Xfinity superspeedway races. Sunday showed that he can also deliver strong performances at NASCAR’s top level.

“I have to give a big thanks to Riley Herbst, he did a really good job there the last couple of restarts,” Blaney said after winning. “He hasn’t had a lot of Cup starts, but he did a great job and pushed me so thanks to him.”

Herbst was only making his fourth career start at NASCAR’s top level. He made the most of his opportunity. He qualified inside of the top 10 and put himself in position for a top-five finish.

Herbst ultimately crashed across the finish line after contact from Corey LaJoie sent him spinning. He finished 10th.

Herbst made his Cup debut during the Daytona 500. He finished 10th for Rick Ware Racing. He then finished 20th at Talladega in the spring for Rick Ware.

A crash at Daytona in the regular-season finale led to a 38th-place finish, but Herbst scored his second career top-10 finish during the playoff race at Talladega. He also led the first 10 laps of his career.

A competitive race at Talladega

The race at Talladega Superspeedway was intense from the first waving of the green flag. There were aggressive blocks and big runs from playoff contenders.

This race was also one of the most competitive in NASCAR history. It had 69 lead changes between 24 leaders. This was the seventh-most all-time.

The most lead changes in a Cup Series race is 88 between 29 drivers. This took place at Talladega Superspeedway in April 2010. There were also 88 lead changes between 26 drivers at Talladega in April 2011.

One reason for the number of lead changes is that the drivers were able to get the third lane going early in the race. The majority of superspeedway races in the Next Gen era have featured only two lanes.

This was not the case Sunday at Talladega. The third lane was not always there but drivers were still able to use it to make moves at key points of the race.

Ryan Blaney became the second playoff driver to lock up a spot in the Round of 8. He won at Talladega and joined Texas winner William Byron.

There is now only one race remaining before four playoff drivers are eliminated from championship contention. This event takes place at the Charlotte Roval.

Updated driver points | Updated owner points

Kyle Busch will be facing a significant hurdle during the road course race. He is 26 points below the cutline after finishing 33rd at Texas and 26th at Talladega.

The two-time Cup Series champion has five starts at the Roval. He finished 30th or worse in the first three. He posted top-five finishes in the last two races at the road course.

Busch was not the only driver that lost points at Talladega. Ross Chastain crashed on the final lap of stage 1 and finished 37th. He fell to 10 points below the playoff cutline, putting him in a tie with Bubba Wallace.

Three-time road course winner Tyler Reddick is the fourth driver below the cutline. He is two points out of the transfer spot to the Round of 8 and only two points behind Brad Keselowski, who crashed on Lap 162.

Denny Hamlin is in a strong position heading to the Charlotte Roval. He is 50 points above the cutline. He is the top driver without a win in the Round of 12. Now he heads to a track where he has five starts with one top-five finish.

One other driver sitting in a favorable position is Martin Truex Jr. The regular-season champion has struggled throughout the playoffs but has remained in contention for a spot in the Round of 8 due to his playoff points.

The race at Talladega was the latest example. Truex finished 18th, his fourth straight finish of 17th or worse in the playoffs. He left the Alabama track still 17 points above the cutline.

Truex now sits in a solid position to move on to the Round of 8. He has two top-10 finishes in five starts at the road course.

Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway featured 24 leaders and 69 lead changes.

Click here to see where everyone finished at Talladega.

Click here for the penalty report.

Click here for the cumulative race report.

The No. 12 is moving on to the Round of 8.

Ryan Blaney won at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday after getting a late push from William Byron. He beat Kevin Harvick by 0.012 seconds and secured his spot in the next round of the playoffs.

Harvick crossed the line second while William Byron finished third. Denny Hamlin and Corey LaJoie rounded out the top five.

Austin Cindric, Chase Elliott, Justin Haley, Ryan Preece and Riley Herbst all scored top-10 finishes. Elliott and Herbst did so after being involved in a crash crossing the finish line.

The caution has flown for the fourth time at Talladega Superspeedway.

The latest yellow, which flew with 17 laps remaining in the race, was for debris on the track. There was a piece of carbon fiber bouncing on the backstretch.

Alex Bowman was at the front of the pack at the time of the caution. Ryan Blaney was just behind him.

Aric Almirola, Riley Herbst, Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, William Byron and Corey LaJoie were all in the top 10.

A wreck has brought out the caution on Lap 162. It collected multiple cars, including one driven by a playoff driver.

The incident unfolded as Carson Hocevar was leading a line on the outside. A push from Brad Keselowski sent the No. 42 into Ty Gibbs, who then collected Austin Dillon.

The cars moved up the track and hit Keselowski, who spun toward the inside wall. His No. 6 went up in the air but landed back on its tires instead of flipping.

The incident ended the day for Hocevar, Dillon, Gibbs and Keselowski. It also damaged cars driven by Chase Briscoe, Harrison Burton and AJ Allmendinger.

Denny Hamlin was one lap down at the time of the incident. He received the free pass and got back on the lead lap.

The red flag came out after the crash. The track crews had to spend time repairing the SAFER Barrier where Dillon and Gibbs made contact. The red flag lasted nine minutes and 56 seconds.

Brad Keselowski has put himself in a position to potentially move on to the Round of 8 by winning stage 2.

William Byron was in the lead on the final lap. He was not able to hold his advantage. Keselowski passed him with some help from Austin Dillon.

The six-time Talladega winner went on to win his sixth stage of the season. He locked up 10 points and one more playoff point. Both are crucial considering that Keselowski entered the weekend eight points above the cutline.

Byron crossed the line second. Behind him was Joey Logano, Dillon, Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez, Chase Briscoe, Ty Dillon, Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick.

Kyle Busch was the first playoff driver to miss on stage points as he crossed the line 11th. Ryan Blaney (13th), Martin Truex Jr. (15th), Chris Buescher (22nd), Bubba Wallace (24th), Christopher Bell (25th) and Denny Hamlin (33rd) were the other playoff drivers missing out on points.

The pit stops also featured a massive fire. Ty Gibbs left his pit stall and brought his gas can along with him. It ignited and came to rest in the middle of pit road surrounded by flames.

The safety crew was able to extinguish the blaze quickly. Gibbs received a penalty for removing equipment from his pit stall.

The second round of green flag pit stops have begun on Lap 105.

The Toyota drivers were the last to pit in the opening stage. They were the first in stage 2. Denny Hamlin led the way with Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, and several others behind him.

Just like in stage 1, the drivers opted for fuel only on their respective stops. Bubba Wallace, in particular, was told that he only needed four seconds.

The Ford drivers were the next to stop, followed by the Chevrolet drivers. Everyone in the field chose to stop for fuel only so that they could make it to the end of the stage.

The stops did not work well for Denny Hamlin. He was caught speeding at the entrance of pit road. He had to give up his spot at the front of the Toyota pack so that he could serve a pass-through penalty.

The playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway has reached its halfway point, making it official. Though nothing indicates that the teams will be unable to complete all 188 scheduled laps.

Front Row Motorsports is in control of the race with Riley Herbst and Michael McDowell running 1-2. Meanwhile, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace have cracked the top 10 after spending roughly 90 laps outside of the top 20.

There has only been one caution so far — the Ross Chastain crash that ended stage 1. The intensity is evident with aggressive blocks. They just haven’t led to more crashes.

Ryan Blaney locked up 10 points and a playoff point by winning the opening stage at Talladega.

William Byron, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Austin Cindric, Justin Haley, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Ryan Preece all finished inside of the top 10.

Blaney, who entered the weekend below the cutline, won the stage under caution. The reason was another playoff driver spinning and hitting the wall on the final lap.

Kyle Busch hit the outside wall while racing behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who ran out of fuel. Busch then made contact with Ross Chastain, who lost control and hit the wall.

Chastain damaged the right side of his car and cut the tire. He also made contact with Christopher Bell, who sustained some damage as well.

Chastain had to be towed back to the garage. He was unable to continue in the race. He finished 38th after entering the weekend 12 points above the cutline.

The Ford Performance drivers were the first to make their pit stops at Talladega Superspeedway.

The wave of stops began on Lap 39. A handful of Ford drivers headed down pit road. They all went with fuel only on their stops.

The Chevrolet drivers were the next to make their trips down pit road. They did so one lap after the Ford drivers. The choice was fuel only for Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson and others.

A small, four-car pack stopped on Lap 41. This included Ty Dillon, AJ Allmendinger, JJ Yeley and Chandler Smith.

The final group to make pit stops primarily featured Toyota drivers. Though Michael McDowell and Corey LaJoie also went with them. They stopped on Lap 42 and went with fuel only.

This group attempted to beat the pack back onto the track but failed. They merged into line at the rear of the field as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. moved back into the lead.

Erik Jones, who had run inside of the top five at an early point of the race, had to make a second trip down pit road. He received a penalty for a crew member over the wall too soon.

The first few superspeedway races of the Next Gen era featured only two lanes the majority of the time. Some drivers would attempt to form a third lane but often failed.

The situation began to change midway through the regular-season finale at Daytona as drivers successfully formed a third lane and kept it active.

This has continued into the playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway. The third lane formed at the top of the track and featured several drivers in the front. Martin Truex Jr., Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones, Riley Herbst and Alex Bowman were only some of the examples.

The green flag has flown, officially starting an intense playoff race in Alabama.

Aric Almirola led the field to the green flag with Joey Logano on his outside. Almirola then cleared Logano after a push from Chase Briscoe/Cal Naughton Jr. Though the outside line was able to catch back up as the lap progressed.

Logano crossed the start-finish line first, so he was credited with leading the opening lap. That is the nature of superspeedway racing as the two lines jockey for position.

The drivers have completed four laps. The leaders have remained organized while Alex Bowman, Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez and others have attempted to form a third line.

...

Ford Performance drivers will be the ones to watch early as they make up the front row at Talladega Superspeedway.

Aric Almirola will start from the pole as he pursues his second career Talladega win. This is his sixth career pole and second of the season.

Joey Logano will line up next to Almirola as he pursues his fourth career Talladega win.

MORE: Cup starting lineup

Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Riley Herbst, Austin Cindric, William Byron, Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney will all line up inside of the top 10.

Denny Hamlin (12th), Tyler Reddick (13th), Christopher Bell (15th), Martin Truex Jr. (16th), Chris Buescher (24th), and Ross Chastain (32nd) are the playoff drivers that will line up outside of the top 10.

William Byron is the only driver with a spot in the Round of 8 after winning at Texas last weekend. He sits atop the point standings, followed by Denny Hamlin (37 points above the cutline), Chris Buescher (+22), Christopher Bell (+20), Martin Truex Jr. (+19), Ross Chastain (+12), Brad Keselowski (+8) and Kyle Larson (+2).

None of these drivers have enough of a point cushion to feel safe at a track known for chaos. They could easily lose a spot to the four drivers currently in the hunt for a spot in the Round of 8.

Three Talladega winners are below the cutline. 2021 winner Bubba Wallace is two points below the cutline. Two-time winner Ryan Blaney is 11 points below. Two-time winner Kyle Busch is 17 points below. Tyler Reddick is the fourth driver below the cutline. He is three points out of a transfer spot to the next round.

Other storylines to watch:

--Hamlin has been one of the most consistent playoff drivers this season with one win and three top-five finishes in the past three races. He sits 37 points above the cutline with an opportunity to gain more at one of his best tracks.

Hamlin has top-10 finishes in the past seven playoff races at Talladega Superspeedway. This run started in 2016 when he finished third. It also includes a win during the 2020 season. If Hamlin can continue this consistent streak, he can set himself up to move on to the Round of 8 after next weekend’s elimination race at the Roval.

--Speaking of Hamlin, there is another playoff driver that can match a mark he set during the 2020 season. Chris Buescher has the opportunity to become the first driver since Hamlin to post top-five finishes in all of the races at Daytona and Talladega.

Hamlin’s 2020 campaign started with his third Daytona 500 win. It continued with a fourth-place finish in the spring race at Talladega, a third-place finish in the regular-season finale at Daytona and a win at Talladega.

Buescher started this season with a fourth-place finish in the Daytona 500. He finished third in the spring race at Talladega and then won the regular-season finale at Daytona. If he can deliver another top-five finish, he will match the mark Hamlin set during a seven-win season.