TALLADEGA, Ala. — A look at the winners and losers from Sunday’s Cup playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway.
WINNERS
Chase Briscoe — Earlier this week he said “I feel like I’m still trying to prove that I belong here and still trying to prove my worth.” Briscoe could be a Cup champion in two weeks. His last-lap victory in overtime at Talladega — his first win at a drafting track in Cup, Xfinity, Trucks and ARCA — advances him to the Nov. 2 title race at Phoenix.
Joe Gibbs Racing — The organization will have at least half of the four-driver field contending for a championship at Phoenix. Chase Briscoe joins teammate Denny Hamlin, who won at Las Vegas, in the title race. Teammate Christopher Bell is in a transfer position heading into this weekend’s elimination race at Martinsville Speedway.
Todd Gilliland — He finished a career-high second at Talladega. Said Gilliland: “I’m definitely excited, but maybe wishing a little bit what I could’ve done differently. I’m sure in 10 or 15 minutes it will sink in and I’ll be pretty happy. I mean, that’s just the dream, right? To be in contention to win a race like this, and I certainly think we had everything to get it done in our Ford Mustang. We just came up a bit short.”
Ty Gibbs — His third-place finish ended a 12-race streak without a top-five result.
Bubba Wallace — His fourth-place finish gives him top 10s in each of the last three Talladega races.
Cole Custer — His fifth-place finish was his second top-five result of the season.
LOSERS
Team Penske — Joey Logano (-38 points to the cutline) and Ryan Blaney (-47) are both in must-win situations at Martinsville to reach the Championship 4 and continue the organization’s quest to win a fourth consecutive Cup title. Both are that far back in points after their line fell back in the final laps. Logano finished 16th; Blaney 23rd.
Chase Elliott — He must win at Martinsville to reach the title race at Phoenix after he was collected in a crash Sunday and finished 40th at Talladega.
Justin Haley — Spire Motorsports announced this week that Haley would not return to the team after this season. Sunday, he was collected in a crash, finishing 39th.
William Byron — He was fifth in the trioval coming to the finish before he was spun and finished 25th, costing him 20 points. He is 36 points below the cutline heading to Martinsville and needs to win to advance.
Kyle Larson — He ran out of fuel on the final lap while leading and finished 26th. He still holds the final transfer spot to the title race by 36 points but had he not run out of fuel he could have won his first superspeedway race or all but clinched a spot in the title race.
